Raine dug her nails deep into the padded table as she screamed again. Thrusting and grunting powerfully, he rode the waves of her delirium to a blissful, shuddering end. Everything and everyone fell away except Raine as he poured himself into her, wishing he could mark her with his seed instead of the condom he filled.
Slowly recovering from the earth-shattering climax, he saw Raine blink, breathe…then close her eyes with a little smile. He kissed her shoulder and wrapped his arm more tightly around her. Mine!
Hammer’s stare in the mirror scorched him. Liam glanced up and tensed. He refused to allow Raine to shoulder Hammer’s rage or guilt herself.
“Eyes on me,” he whispered roughly as he withdrew from her body and uncuffed her. “You’re so gorgeous. You pleased me so much. I’ve got you...”
She sagged against the bench, and Liam stripped off his condom and tossed it in the nearby bin before he zipped his trousers, patently ignoring Hammer. Instead, he picked up her baby-doll and eased her into the garment, then back into his arms. The crowd melted away as he swung her up against his chest, gratified when she clung to him, burying her face in his neck.
“That’s a love. Let me get you back to my room where I can take care of you.”
As she nodded tiredly and kissed his jaw, he smiled in triumph. Already she sought him for comfort and put herself in his care. He’d known she’d bloom under affection.
Then a wave of anger and pain emanated from the man he’d called friend for a decade. It reached inside his chest, yanked and twisted. Gouged deep. Liam did his best to ignore it. Hammer had made his choice. Liam would rather have saved the girl than lost them both.
And now he was wondering if he’d somehow lost his heart in the process.
He studied Raine as he walked from the room, his eyes softening on her sheer beauty. She was his…at least for now. But she’d warned him where her heart was. When he’d been scheming to win her solely to prod at Hammer’s possessive streak, that hadn’t mattered. Now? He grimaced. Raine was like smoke, seemingly so real when captured in his arms and searing his lungs. She stole his very breath. Yet something about her was elusive. Only time would tell how this played out, but right now, he refused to let go. And he’d not give her up without a fight.
Fuck me running.
Hammer couldn’t believe his best friend—no, his ex-best friend—had the balls to trick Raine into a training collar. Not only that, but he’d claimed her virgin ass in the middle of the goddamn dungeon, right before his eyes. The cold-hearted fucker. Liam knew how he felt about the girl, even if he hadn’t admitted it in so many words. And the Irish prick had still taken Raine from him.
That knife in his back would leave a deep, bloody wound for a long time.
Even as he’d watched Liam sink deep into Raine’s backside, Hammer’s own cock had engorged. Fuck, she’d looked beautiful in her submissive surrender—everything he’d imagined she would be once she finally started to trust and let go. But in his fantasies, she’d always come undone under his hand, by his cock. Tonight, he had to face the reality that she’d given herself and her power to Liam. And just how the hell had the asshole managed to coax her so quickly? Like he did everyone else—he’d fucked with her head.
So now Hammer could no longer chide or punish, praise or stroke the beautiful girl without crossing a terrible line. Jealousy sludged through him like ugly black tar, hardening his veins, darkening his mood.
He turned away from the padded bench on which he witnessed Liam give Raine such sexual splendor. It didn’t matter what the fuck he looked at. He saw her anyway. Her phantom cries rung in Hammer’s ears. The memories sucker punched him.
God, would he ever be able to look at this part of the dungeon again without wanting to kill that fucking O’Neill bastard?
Worse, Hammer couldn’t deny that while Liam had heaped pleasure on Raine, thoughts of how incredible it would feel to have his cock buried deep in her little cunt while Liam squeezed in and out of her tight backside crept through his brain. It wouldn’t have been the first time they’d shared a woman.
But no. That was impossible. The risk of damaging Raine—of losing her forever—was too high. All it would take was once. The moment he started pounding his cock into her tight, hungry body, he wouldn’t stop.
He refused to risk another colossal fuckup like Juliet’s.
A glance back showed Liam clutching Raine in his arms and heading for his private room. The vengeful part of him wanted to throw the son of a bitch out and ban him from Shadows…but what if he persuaded Raine to leave with him? What if Liam took her back to New York, played more head games with her, and she found herself alone? What if she needed him and he wasn’t there for her… Hammer swallowed. He couldn’t take that risk. Seeing them together would gut his insides every fucking day, but he’d do it, just to keep her close and safe.