He finally lifted his heavy lids, confusion evident in the shimmering moonlight. Then he zeroed in on her and recognition dawned. His eyes widened. He pulled harder on her hair, then slid deeper into her mouth as a moan tore from his chest. Raine clasped his shaft with her red-painted lips, lavishing all her attention on him, worshiping his cock as she looked up at him with her heart in her eyes.
Horror spread across his face.
“No, Raine!” He choked out between harsh breaths and shoved away from her as if he was on fire. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Christ!”
“I-I wanted to make you feel good. I was…” Showing you how I felt.
He leapt from the bed, his hard cock still glistening with her saliva as he yanked up his underwear and flipped on the lights. His eyes darkened like a thundercloud. “Why are you giving me head in the middle of the night? That’s not the sort of relationship we have.”
She looked at him hopefully, but felt exposed in her next-to-nothing lingerie. She found herself slinking under the covers to hide. “It could be.”
“No, Raine…precious.” His voice softened. “Never.”
Hammer’s gaze wasn’t unkind, but full of a shaming mixture of alarm and finality. It crushed her. And it pissed her off.
Raine shot him an accusing glare. “You liked it. You moaned. You called me ‘precious,’ like you always do. You fucked my mouth like you were desperate for me, even after you knew who I was. I’m here because I need to show you that I can please you as a woman. Just one chance.”
But Hammer was already shaking his head. His denial made tears stab her eyes. Raine tried desperately to shove them back. “Why not me? Why every other goddamn woman who steps foot in this club except me?”
“I won’t touch you, Raine. And I don’t owe you an explanation. Leave!” He pointed to the door. “Go to your room and go back to bed. We’ll forget this ever happened. Don’t step foot in here again without my permission.”
“I don’t want to forget!” She jumped from the bed and stared. His cock still bulged hard and angry beneath his boxer briefs. Longing melted her. “It looks like you want me, at least a little. I’m not tall like Marlie or as experienced, but I’m eager and I can learn. If my blow job technique isn’t good enough, then you can teach me. But I’ll love you like she never will. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“Goddamnit, Raine! We’re not talking about this. Later, when you’ve got some fucking clothes on, I’ll determine a proper punishment for breaching my privacy and barging your way past boundaries you have no business crossing. Go!”
?Every word stabbed her, and he didn’t seem to notice. Or care. “I’m not a child. I’d be so good to you. Why can’t you want me?”
“Stop trying my patience, and for fuck’s sake, Raine, stop topping from the goddamn bottom. Now go!”
Raine tried to hold back her tears. Topping from the bottom. Yeah, she could see how he’d think that. Maybe she needed a different tactic...
She scrambled to her knees, dropping her gaze, palms up on her thighs, doing her best to appear supplicating. “I’m sorry, Sir. Let me make it up to you and ease your discomfort. Let me serve you.” His big cock rested inches from her face, still hard and about to burst from his underwear. Her mouth watered as she craved another taste. “Please.”
A growl tore from his chest. He wrapped his hand around her arm and yanked her to her feet. He didn’t once look at her as he dragged her to the door, opened it, and shoved her out of his room. “Stop pushing me! It’s never going to happen. Get that straight, girl.”
He slammed the door in her face and locked it, sliding the deadbolt in place.
Blinking at it with horror and desolation, Raine choked on a sob, then sank to the floor and covered her face with her hands. She’d offered him everything with an open heart, and he’d brutally refused her. Apparently, he wanted the Marlies of the world, with their fake boobs and even faker intentions. Hammer excelled at fucking with a woman’s head, not at treasuring her heart. Yet she’d hoped that his concern and caretaking for her translated into more. He didn’t love her; he pitied her. And she’d humiliated herself in the most cringe-worthy way by throwing herself at him.
Fine. So she would leave, start over. Yes, she loved it here. The people, the energy, the genuine concern the employees shared for each other—it was home. Shadows was the only place she’d ever felt safe. She had nowhere else to go, and Liam had offered her a reason to stay, along with most everything she’d ever wanted. But Liam wasn’t Hammer. In fact, she barely knew him. How the hell could she devote herself to another man?