And with every moment he’d cradled her in his arms and slid her soft skin over his own, he’d only wanted her more.
Seated at the long, sleek bar, Beck nursed a glass of whiskey in one big hand. A coiled whip dangled from his hip. Instantly, Liam saw a vision of Raine’s blood trailing down her fair skin, pooling in the small of her back, in the crooks of her knees, just like that of the masochist Beck had worked to oblivion last weekend. Every protective instinct came off its leash. Even if Beck was skilled enough never to scar his subs, Liam would not have Raine’s perfect, milky skin cut even once—and he didn’t want to think too hard about why he felt so insistent.
Beck turned and watched his approach with a welcoming smile. At Liam’s glare, the sadist’s expression turned puzzled.
He didn’t give Beck the opportunity to say a word, just growled at the man in barely controlled rage. “Don’t be thinking you’ll mark wee Raine. I’ll be there watching you like a hawk. If you make her bleed, I’ll take your fucking whip and shove it up your ass!”
Beck raised a brow at him, eyes glittering. “Who flipped your bitch switch? First of all, Hammer already talked to me about what I’m allowed to do to the princess. And second, it’s none of your business. She’s been under Hammer’s protection for years. His choice, his punishment. My pleasure. Piss off.”
Liam leaned in, pointing his finger directly in the other man’s face. “I mean it, Beck. Don’t mark her, or you’ll answer to me.”
Now that he’d gotten that off his chest, Liam tapped the counter. The bartender set a shot of whiskey before him. Liam slammed it back, needing it to calm his nerves. He tried to think of any other way he could spare Raine this degradation, but his options were limited. He couldn’t help her unless she chose to help herself.
Beck lifted the whip from his hip and arched the long leather single tail above his head, splitting the air with a sharp crack. Looking over his shoulder, he smirked at Liam. “Don’t worry. The marks from this little beauty won’t last long. She can handle it. She might even like it. And if she doesn’t...” He shrugged. “Well, that’s why it’s punishment.”
Liam charged Beck, fury boiling his blood. “If she so much as breaks a fucking fingernail while she’s with you, I’ll break your goddamn face.”
Beck looked somewhere between annoyed and amused. “Okay, so the whip is out. How about a nice, thick leather paddle? It won’t break her skin, but the bruise it will leave. . . Hmm, yeah.” His grin turned to a leer. “That deep purple hue on her lily white ass will make your dick hard.”
Liam knew a hundred ways to get off, but bruising a pretty sub wasn’t one that tripped his trigger.
“Listen to me. Not your whip. Not your fucking paddle, or any other cutting, bruising, intense pain giving, sharp-knotted flogger you have touches her skin. I don’t give a flying fuck what you and Hammer have cooked up. I’m telling you, I don’t want her marked, period.”
“So basically, you just want me to kick back and have a manicure?” Beck threw up his hands. “Maybe I should just flog her with cotton balls. No, wait! You probably think that would be too damn brutal.” The sadist grinned slyly. “I guess I could beat her with my tongue.”
Liam saw red. Vaguely, he realized that Raine was tying him up in knots—like Hammer—but that didn’t stop him from wanting to protect her. “Your tongue best be kept to yourself, along with your pecker, if you’ve a mind to keep them attached. You’ve been warned.”
Beck yawned. “Go bark at Hammer. Believe me, I’d rather get this over with, so I can find a real sub who will—”
“Fuck you, Beck. Raine is a real sub.”
“Yeah? When has she ever submitted to anything or anyone?”
This morning, and it had been delicious. Her soft sighs. Her tentative, trembling trust. Bloody hell, he got hard just thinking about it. He was walking a dangerous line with Hammer’s girl…
Beck was deliberately baiting him. Raine was none of the man’s business, and this pissing contest was getting them nowhere. Riling up the sadist just before he meted out the lass’s sentence completely defeated the purpose of trying to spare her.
“Just remember what I’ve said.”
As he pushed away from the bar and headed for the stairs, Beck laughed. “Christ, this is funny. You and Hammer have both got a boner for the princess.”
Fuck the wanker for being right.
Gnashing his teeth, Liam ignored Beck and stomped back to Raine’s room.
If she’d only agree to his training, then she’d be under his protection. But she wanted and needed time to make a decision. Maybe she sensed that she shouldn’t take his offer at face value. Maybe she feared what opening up her soul to him—or any man—would mean. It was that trust problem Hammer had warned him about. And it chafed. Ordinarily he’d be happy to let her weigh the pros and cons and come to a sensible conclusion. But Beck could very quickly get out of hand, and with Hammer not in his right mind where Raine was concerned, Liam had no option but to convince her to reconsider.