Raine yanked a fresh dishtowel from the drawer, pressed it to her face, and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. A long moment later, she threw the towel down, flipped on the faucet, and shoved her hands under the stream of water. She hissed in a breath, and he frowned. How badly had she cut herself?
“Except…this is home. Where would I go?” she muttered as she cut off the water. “But how can I stay here?”
That was his cue.
Liam raised his fist and knocked on the door. Raine whipped her head around, hope brimming in her eyes. It visibly died when she realized he wasn’t Hammer.
She surprised him when she cast her gaze to the floor submissively. “Hi, Liam. Sir. Um, if you’re here because you’re worried or something, I’ll be fine. I’ll bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies and be as good as new.”
So sweet. And lying. Eventually, he’d both soothe and paddle her until she learned to be honest, but for now he simply tried to set her at ease. “While I’ve little doubt about your culinary skills, since your baked goods are most excellent, I doubt they’ll mend your woes, lass. Show me your hands.”
Obediently, Raine held them out. Liam stepped closer, taking her wrists in his grip and examining her fingers. “You’ve a few wee cuts, but nothing serious.” He gave her a smile and gently kissed her palm. “I think you’ll live.”
She stiffened. “I told you I’m fine.”
“Your hands, yes. What about your heart?” He watched her shoulders slump. “I’ve come with a proposition. Would you hear me out?”
He had to win her consent—and give her hope—or she would leave and take Hammer’s only chance of healing with her.
Raine sent him a wary glance. “I guess.”
Liam sidled closer cautiously, careful not to give her cause to bolt. “Would you be adverse to me training you?”
At his words, her startling blue eyes widened, sucking him in like a whirlpool. He’d surprised her. Almost an instant later, she opened her mouth, regret already softening her face.
Before she could refuse him, he cut in. “How much longer will you let your own happiness be denied? Why not seek it with someone ready to appreciate the beauty you are?”
He watched her, following her every nervous gesture: her slight shrug, the tilt of her head, the rise and fall of her chest, the cant of her hip as she leaned back against the counter. Her innate grace and the subtle feminine scent he inhaled as he drew closer sent blood rushing to his cock unexpectedly. The primal reaction surprised him, but he was male, and Raine was lovely, after all.
As he looked into her haunting eyes, he knew yet another reason Hammer had kept this one for his own. Innocence. Fear. Hunger. A swirling mirror to her soul lay just beyond reach. Interesting. A heady challenge.
She bit the fullness of her lower lip. It only took that instant to make him want to comfort her. But that wasn’t all. Lust to taste her sweet mouth, touch her, lay her back and—
He shoved the urge down and told his stiff cock to take a rest.
“I don’t understand.” She blinked up at him. “You want to train…me?”
“I think you need it. And you deserve it. I admire your spirit and your grace. I can’t imagine that you want to wilt away, pining for unrequited love.”
Her mouth pinched. “What’s in it for you? You saw my stupid display earlier.”
The girl needed reassurance. Liam reached for her and pulled her into his arms. The act nestled her pillowy breasts against his chest, her soft curves against his body. An intriguing musky lily scent wafted from her pale, smooth skin. A vision flashed across his brain of Raine beneath him, crying out as he fucked his way deep inside her.
Liam sucked in a shocked breath. He forced himself to think about something else—anything else. Absently, he rubbed her back, his thoughts racing. What the hell? Sure, he’d thought Raine was stunning when he’d first arrived at Shadows. Her inky hair and eloquent blue eyes turned heads every night. But now that he had her close, everything about her called not only to the Dom in him, but to the man as well. He needed to get his head screwed on straight, for Hammer’s sake.
“It isn’t your fault. You care for Hammer, and he’s...well, he’s got a few issues he needs to be sorting out, for sure. While he does, wouldn’t you like to learn about true submission so you might be ready for him? Have you ever wished to stretch a bit, find out if you truly have the courage to submit?”
The way her breath caught before she blushed and jerked her gaze to the floor again suggested that his idea intrigued her.