He drew his sodden fingers to his lips and licked them clean, savoring her tart spice.

  Hammer smiled as he rounded the frame again, never taking his eyes off her. The delicate lines and feminine angles of her body as she waited for his command made his cock ache and his blood surge.

  Bending near her head, he cuffed each of her wrists in the same leisurely, reassuring fashion. Once she was firmly secured to the bench, Hammer twisted his fingers into Raine’s hair and tugged, urging her to lift her head off the leather padding. Staring into her smoky blue eyes, he settled his gaze on her lips, slightly parted and ready to be kissed.

  The further Raine drifted into her submissive place and ceded to him, the more power Macen absorbed. As he descended into his Dominance, time slowed. The club and the patrons receded, blurring into the background. But every detail about Raine grew sharper, more defined. He heard her every breath, catalogued the heaviness of her lids, dissected her hint of a smile, absorbed the submissive plea in her eyes as she silently begged for more.

  “Your safe word is Paris. Take a deep breath and clear your mind, precious. Focus on my words and all the sensations I’m about to bestow on you.”

  She issued a soft sigh and nodded.

  “Good girl,” he whispered and kissed the bow of her pink lips.

  Stripping off his shirt, Hammer studied the assortment of impact toys lining the table next to him. He chose a thick, heavy flogger. Testing its weight in his hands, he rubbed the wide leather falls between his finger and thumb. Buttery. Supple. Exactly what he needed to free her mind.

  Hammer sensed the crowd around him flowing back to give him space to move. The chants of monks mingling with a techno beat faded away. Otherwise, the dungeon sounded eerily quiet, serving to heighten his focus on Raine.

  Gripping the cool metal handle in his fist, Hammer raised the flogger before settling the tip of the falls over Raine’s shoulder blades.

  She started with a little gasp and tensed.

  “I’ve got you. There’ll be no pain. Your body is safe in my care. Let your mind follow.”

  Her soft, consenting moan resonated in his head as he slowly dragged the long leather ribbons down her back, letting her grow accustomed to their feel. As he ate her up with his gaze, she shuddered, gave a longing sigh, then arched in supplication. But the heavy rise and fall of her chest told him she was still alert and mentally processing far too much.

  “Unwind for me, precious,” Hammer murmured as he skimmed his broad hand over her back. “Focus on my voice, my hand, the pleasure I give you—and nothing more. Nothing. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Sir,” she replied with a breathy whisper.

  Though Hammer knew her very well as a woman, he was still learning her as a submissive. But he had every reason to believe that giving her permission to let go of her worries would help her find that lovely place in her head where her troubles floated away.

  “Let go for me, Raine. Let me take you where you need to be.”

  Hammer dipped his hand between her legs and circled her clit with his thumb. Her whole body twitched. As he swept his fingers through her hot nectar, her hips rolled in time with each drag of his digits. She was doing exactly as he’d asked and surrendering beautifully.

  “You’re wet and aching for me, aren’t you?” When she moaned, Hammer smiled. Such a satisfying sound… “You’d like me to drive my cock into your tight little cunt and make you come, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes…” Raine strained against the cuffs and ground into his nimble fingers.

  “In time, I will. You belong to Liam and me—now and forever. We own every inch of you, and that includes your screams of ecstasy. No one hears them except us.”

  Hammer’s proclamation caused a flurry of loud whispers to fly through the dungeon. He ignored them and directed all his attention and energy to the rhythmic sway of Raine’s slender hips. He reveled in guiding her pleasure.

  As Macen drove two fingers deep inside her sweltering core, she gave a high-pitched cry that gripped his cock and pulsed in his brain. The rest of the world dissolved.

  “That’s it, Raine. Hand your control over to me. It doesn’t belong to you.”

  With every moment that passed, her pink folds shimmered more. Her essence flowed. The spicy scent of her cunt nearly made Hammer groan.

  He withdrew his fingers from her clutching walls, then dropped to one knee behind her. Dipping in low, he swiped his tongue over her glistening folds, striking her clit with the tip. Her intoxicating flavor exploded on his taste buds.

  Raine mewled long and loud. Her nub of nerves hardened beneath his lips. Christ, he wanted to stay here for hours and lap her up while her cries resonated through his brain. But this scene wasn’t about what he wanted, but what she needed.

  After one more deliciously long stroke, he savored her, then slowly stood, smoothing his palm down her ass in a long caress. Raine gave him a pleading groan. The depth of her frustration seared him.

  “Yes, precious. That’s exactly what I want… You suffering under my hand,” Macen cajoled. “Because you’re mine to tease, please, torture, and enjoy.”

  At his words, her spine dipped. She lifted the firm curve of her ass in the air, ready for whatever sensations he heaped on her next, and melted against the leather-topped frame. So fucking perfect…

  Hammer raised the flogger and gripped the handle firmly, feeling his biceps bunch from the weight of the bulky falls. Swinging his arm out to the side, he landed the thick bands over Raine’s ivory ass with a heavy thud.

  Raine aahed, flinched. Branding every detail of her response into his brain, Hammer brought the leather down again as he memorized each flex of her thighs, gasp of breath, clench of her ass. She turned rosy. Her breathing accelerated. Macen smiled. She didn’t like outright pain, but when he peeked around to her face, the subtle pinch and smoothing of her brow told him she loved the fuck out of this little sting.

  Flicking his wrist every so often, forcing the leather to land with an extra bite, he watched as Raine processed the added sensation with an occasional frown. But it wasn’t long before she strained against her cuffs, arching her ass higher into the air in a silent petition for more.

  Hammer heard a familiar, soft chuckle and glanced to his left to find Seth had stopped sceneing, too, and now gazed on with interest. He gave Macen a nod, then resumed his study of Raine’s face once more.

  The lull between whacks clearly frustrated her as she cried out and tugged at the cuffs around her wrists.

  “Ask for what you want,” Hammer instructed.

  Her arms and legs quivered. As he peeked between her thighs, he noted her slickness now coated her entire pussy. She’d swollen with need, gone from pink to a flushed rose pouting for attention. Macen’s mouth watered.

  “Yes, Sir,” she mewled. “Please. More.”

  Crouching behind her, Hammer leaned in and captured more of her tart, tangy taste. Then he flattened his tongue and swiped over her lush folds and all the way up to the small of her back.

  Raine squealed and bucked, panted and gasped. He pinned her in place with a wide palm splayed across the top of her ass to still the writhing roll of her hips.

  He rounded the spanking bench and bent until they were face to face. “More what?”

  “Everything.”

  “I can do that, sweet sub,” Hammer assured before he gripped her hair and took her lips in another savage kiss. He drank down every ounce of her surrender, letting it fill all the empty places inside him he’d never allowed another sub to touch.

  Tapering away, he released her hair and stood. She relaxed on the bench now. His chest expanded, and a potent rush of power blasted through him. Fuck, he wanted his whip—his go-to toy. He knew he could kiss her with it so sweetly and send her flying. But she’d asked him not to use it, and he wouldn’t betray her trust.

  Clenching his jaw, he strode to the back of the bench again. The scent of her feminine musk filled his senses and lingered on his tongue like a drug. Lovingly, he brushed his fingers over the imprint of his slap. The mark still stood visible but blended beautifully with the warm, reddened flesh of her backside.

  Dominance. Control. Peace.

  Drawing the flogger back, Hammer landed the heavy falls across her pale flesh in a steady, throbbing rhythm again. And again. And again. Time lost all meaning, measured only by each deliberate stroke and the subtle jerk of her body.

  Her soft moans echoed around him, coalesced in his brain, and pulsed through his body. Each second sharpened with crystal clarity, magnifying the rising energy inside him. Nothing else mattered. No one else existed. Time stood still for this one moment.

  “Tell me where you’re at?” Hammer asked, his voice rough and husky.

  “In the clouds,” Raine sighed, her tone laced with serenity.

  “Go farther, precious. Sail past the stars,” Hammer demanded softly. “I’ll bring you back when it’s time.”

  As he continued to strike her ass with the wide falls, he looked for any signs of distress and found none. Her ass was a pretty red. Neither her hands nor feet looked purple. All good.

  Her dreamlike moans amplified his senses. Hammer reviewed the scene—what he’d done, how she’d responded mentally, emotionally, physically. Though he still focused on her with a keen hyperawareness, Raine no longer reacted to the flogger landing on her flesh.

  He’d never taken her to subspace before, and the power she’d willingly ceded ignited every cell in Hammer’s body. He held tight to the priceless trust she’d placed in his hands and fought the urge to slide out of his own head, into Dom space. Once he’d learned the submissive in her well enough, after he knew her every reaction… Yes, then he’d slide into his own delicious place and fully consume her power as he sent her even beyond the stars.

  That day would come. Soon.

  “Are you still with me, precious?” he murmured, watching her eyes gently flutter.

  “Yes,” she whispered breathlessly.

  “That’s my beautiful girl,” he praised.

  Sending the flogger over her already fiery red flesh, he could feel her slip away almost as tangibly as if she slowly released his clutching hand.

  “She’s gone,” Seth finally murmured softly.

  “Excellent.” Hammer smiled but didn’t stop.

  Mesmerized by the give of her flesh beneath the falls and the deepening red of her backside, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He’d given her what she needed, had crafted a quiet place inside her mind where she could escape the chaos.

  Keeping her suspended in that peaceful euphoria as long as he dared, Macen finally laid the flogger aside.

  Staring at her welted flesh, he fixated on the slick cream coating her pussy. Raine called to every primal cell in his body. She had surrendered herself mind, body, soul—and it still wasn’t enough. He needed more.

  Own.

  Take.

  Claim.

  Bending, he kissed the hot flesh of her ass, felt the throb of it beneath his lips. The need to feel her soft pussy surrounding his cock had him gritting his teeth. Not here. Not yet. He’d enjoy the razor’s edge of need just a bit longer. When she was ready… Oh, he’d gorge on her.

  Tormenting himself further, he uncuffed her ankles, then laved the rippling welts across her skin. He tasted her heat, gently bit into it, before begrudgingly lifting his lips from her blistering flesh.

  Hammer stood and moved to the front of the bench and quickly freed her wrists. Raine still didn’t move—didn’t flinch—even when he brushed his fingers over her cheek and through her hair.

  Placid and free, she floated in the safe haven of subspace, somewhere far away from everyone, especially Gwyneth and the problems the bitch had wrought.

  Like a slow-rising wave, pride rolled over Hammer. He’d taken her there, dissolved her worries and fears, and given her the sweet gift of peace.

  His chest expanded. He couldn’t suck in air fast enough as he breathed through his urge to let loose a primal roar. Instead, he clenched his jaw and gently lifted his limp beauty from the bench.

  As he turned, he was almost startled to see the crowd still gathered, still staring, approval all over their faces.

  Cradling Raine close to his chest, he held her for a long moment, simply gazing at the peace on her face. Then Hammer turned and walked out of the dungeon, intending to bring her back gently and sate a few cravings of his own.

  * * *

  Beck met Liam in the car park and ushered him through a doctors’ entrance that led to the emergency room. As they walked the maze of corridors, he updated Liam on Kyle’s progress.

  “I don’t really know more than what I said on the phone,” Beck offered. “But like I said earlier, we give priority to babies, especially when they projectile vomit green and we can’t find any obvious cause.”

  Liam didn’t like the sound of that. “So it’s serious?”

  “Could be a sign of a liver problem or a twisted stomach,” Beck replied. “Both can be deadly in infants if they aren’t caught early enough. Those are worst-case scenarios, of course. Hopefully, it’ll turn out to be something more benign, but we won’t know without further testing.”

  Deadly? Liam staggered at that news. “Where are Gwyneth and the baby now?”

  “Kyle is with a nurse having blood drawn. Mom was agitated and disrupting treatment, so security escorted her to the waiting room.”

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Liam shook his head.

  Beck rubbed at his chin. “Just for the record, I haven’t decided yet if your ex is merely a drama queen or just fucking crazy.”

  “As a loon, mate. I’m all but convinced I never really knew her.”

  “Well, she’s a looker. I’ll give her that much, but I wouldn’t fuck her—and that’s saying something.” Beck grinned.

  It was. “Do you think Kyle will be all right?”

  “Honestly?” He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Poor little guy. And I thought I was having a rough time of it.” He raked a hand through his hair, feeling as if he’d repeated the motion all day.

  “And it will probably get rougher. His doctors will likely insist that Kyle get a barium bottle to test his upper gastrointestinal tract. It won’t be pleasant, but the test is vital if there’s a blockage.”

  “So we could be here for a bit, then?”

  “I’m thinking so. I’ve pulled strings where I can, but it’s a busy time, and the labs are backed up. The tests simply take a while. And this is where I leave you. Just carry on to the end and turn right. You’ll see the waiting room. Gwyneth’s in there. I need to get out of here and sleep, at least for a few hours.” The doctor clapped him on the shoulder. “Later, man.”

  “Thanks, Beck. I’m in your debt.”

  As the other man waved him off and disappeared into an elevator, Liam found the waiting room. He pushed the door open and spotted Gwyneth pacing by the window and wringing her hands, obviously distraught.

  When she turned again and caught sight of him, she rushed over in a soiled T-shirt and jeans, then threw herself in his arms. She smelled terrible.

  “Oh, Liam. Thank god you’re here. I’m so worried and fatigued. I’ve had no idea what to do, the name of a doctor to call. I would have rung you, but after this afternoon, I didn’t think… Then that surly man came…” She looked close to dissolving into tears.

  “Steady, Gwyneth. Take a seat and tell me about it,” he soothed as he took her elbow and led her to one of the chairs in a corner.

  There was only one other person in the room, but zero privacy.

  Liam waited until she finally settled herself into a chair before dragging another to face her. He dropped into it. “I’m glad that Beck stopped by his condo and could help.”

  “Yes, I am, too. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.” Gwyneth started wringing her hands again. “I’m just so worried.”

  He laid his palm over her fingers and squeezed. “Tell me what’s happened with the lad.”

  Gwyneth sniffled. “After you left, Kyle developed a fever. He’d been listless and fussy most of the afternoon. But when he woke from his sleep, his nappy was dry. He felt hot. Next thing I knew, he started vomiting green everywhere. I-I didn’t expect it. He doesn’t eat much more than formula, so I didn’t know…” The tears started up again. “I tried everything I could think of. I rocked him. I sang to him. I wrapped him in cool cloths. I even tried to smash up crackers and feed him some. I’d just decided to call an ambulance when Dr. Beckman walked in. You know the rest.”

  “Crackers?” Liam looked at his ex-wife as if she finally had lost her mind. “That’s what you thought to give a vomiting baby?”

  “I thought it would soothe his stomach. It works for me. I didn’t know what else to try. What do I know about babies?”

  Maybe the truth would finally come out… “You are his mother, aren’t you?”

  She avoided his probing stare, reaching for a box of tissues on the table beside her, and blew her nose daintily. Back ramrod straight, she flew out of the chair to the rubbish bin. Rather than return to her seat, she resumed pacing.

  “Gwyneth?” Liam refused to let her ignore the question.

  “I-I…” She turned back to look at him, a flush staining her cheeks. She gave an exhausted sigh. “Liam…”

  With just one word, Gwyneth asked him for mercy he didn’t feel.

  He cocked a brow at her. “Tell me.”

  With slow, reluctant steps, she crossed the room to him again. “Oh, bugger it all.”

  He remembered hearing exactly this tone of voice after he’d caught her cheating. His hackles rose. “Sit. Explain. Now.”

  She took her seat again, squirming gingerly to avoid sitting on the cheek where he’d paddled her, and reached out to pat his knee. Their gazes tangled, and she must have seen that he’d reached the end of his patience.

  Gwyneth drew her hand back. “I’d like to start by saying I never meant this situation to get quite so out of hand. But…Kyle isn’t your son.”