After fine steaks, Raine took a picture of him and Hammer smiling and clinking beer mugs.
In that moment, he had no doubt he’d come to the right place at the right time for the right reason.
Before dessert and coffee arrived, Hammer excused himself for the restroom.
Liam seized his moments alone with Raine. “So tell me about you. When did you meet Hammer?”
“About six years ago. He’s probably told you the story about how he took me in.” Her gaze flitted away in embarrassment before she pasted on a bright, fake smile. “But things are much better now. He’s been really kind to me.”
Six fucking years?
Hammer had never—not once—mentioned Raine in all that time. He’d never even hinted the girl existed.
How the bloody hell had Macen managed to keep his hands off of her for so long? Since Hammer was neither blind nor stupid, he must know how Raine felt about him.
“You were a teenager then?” Liam asked.
“Seventeen.”
“It must have been a dreadful time,” Liam murmured softly, then fished for more information. “How long have you been Hammer’s girlfriend?”
She looked startled. “No. Oh, no. We’re not…” She blushed. “We’ve never…um. No.”
As he’d suspected.
Liam sat back in his seat and resisted the urge to shake his head. How long did Hammer expect to hoard her? A glance around the swanky restaurant proved he wasn’t the only man intrigued. Easily ten others stared at Raine with more than passing interest. She didn’t seem to notice even one, but rather appeared suddenly fascinated by the napkin in her lap.
“So he’s not your Dom, either?”
“No.” A little frown creased her face.
A wealth of meaning—and longing—lay in that expression.
God, she had a soft innocence, the sort that drove a man to protect and corrupt her at once. Liam definitely wouldn’t hate giving it a try.
But his friend needed her far more.
“Does Hammer already have a collared sub, then?”
She looked away, obviously uncomfortable with the subject. “I think that’s a better question for him.”
“I haven’t seen much of the man since he left New York. After he moved here, I worried about him, and I’m hoping you can help. Does he seem happy?”
Raine shrugged uneasily. “I don’t know much about his personal life. In fact, you’re the first of his friends outside the club I’ve met. It seems like you two might be close, but he’s never said anything.”
Ever? In six years? “So he’s never mentioned me, his best friend?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. No.”
“He’s never mentioned you, either, lass.”
She sipped her wine, trying not to look crestfallen. “That’s no surprise. I’m no one to him.”
Liam barely managed not to gape. How the devil had Hammer convinced her of that whopper? Probably through his tomcatting and seeming indifference. Stupid bugger…
“So…what brings you here from New York?”
A not-so-subtle change of subject.
Hammer reentering the dining room saved Liam from answering her. Instantly, the man’s stare lasered in on Raine, as if reassuring himself that she was unharmed and untouched. Still his, despite the fact he’d never taken her for his own.
That had to change.
Hammer needed to admit his feelings for Raine, and Liam would happily assist, especially if it gave him a necessary diversion from his own problems. All he had to do was tuck away his inconvenient interest in the girl and persuade his old mate to claim her.
Until today, Liam would never have called Hammer a jealous man. About Raine, though? Macen was both shockingly protective and possessive. Liam had every intention of using that against his old friend, until Hammer was forced to take the girl as his own—or lose her to another Dominant all too happy to treat her right.
Like him.
Watching them through the rest of dinner, Liam hid a smile and began to form a plan…
Ready to see what happens when Liam enacts his plan? Start the epic, dark romance journey with Raine, Hammer, and Liam in The Betrayal now!
Two friends. One woman. Let the games begin…
ABOUT THE BETRAYAL
Two friends. One woman. Let the games begin…
Raine Kendall has been in love with her boss, Macen Hammerman, for years. Determined to make him notice her, she pours out her heart and offers him her body—only to be crushingly rejected. When his very sexy best friend, Liam O’Neill, sees Hammer refuse to act on his obvious feelings for her, he plots to rouse his pal’s possessive instincts by making Raine a proposition too tempting to refuse. He never imagines he’ll fall for her himself.
Hammer has buried his lust for Raine for years. After rescuing the runaway from an alley behind his exclusive club, he’s come to crave her. But tragedy has proven he’ll never be the man she needs, so he protects her while keeping his distance. Then Liam’s scheme to make Raine his own blindsides Hammer. He isn’t ready to give the feisty beauty over to his friend. But can he heal from his past enough to fight for her? Or will he lose Raine if she gives herself—heart, body, and soul—to Liam?