“Until you slipped up, she didn’t have any sexuality! Are you a hundred percent sure that she and Zak...” Hammer couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence.
“Well, I caught them leaving a private room together. Zak was zipping his pants, and Raine looked shell-shocked.”
The mental image from those words pelted Hammer’s brain. He didn’t want to believe it. “That doesn’t mean they had sex.”
Beck gritted his teeth as if digging for patience. “I confronted Zak later. He admitted they had. I reminded him that Raine is totally off-limits. His exact reply was, ‘I guess she didn’t want to be Hammer’s little virgin anymore.’”
Instant, violent fury shot through Macen. He suppressed the urge to ram his fist into a wall—barely. If Raine had meant to punish him for not accepting her subtle sexual invitations, it had fucking worked.
“So…” Beck went on. “When I found Raine crying in the kitchen, I figured the asshole wasn’t lying.”
“Crying?” Bile rose in the back of Hammer’s throat as another possibility occurred to him. “Did he force her?”
“Would I have let him live? Look, as much as I loathe that cocksucker, I don’t think he’s a rapist.”
“But you don’t know that.”
“C’mon… Think about it. Zak likes the chase. Seduction is a game for him.”
True. So that son of a bitch had used his forked, silver tongue to talk Raine out of her panties. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Why do you seem surprised? He’s been working Raine for months. And he gave her the one thing she craved—the one thing you’ve refused to: a man’s desire. In your absence, he finally had the chance to wear her down.”
Hammer wanted to rip the door off its hinges, race to the dungeon, and wipe the floor with Zak. No, he hadn’t expected Raine to stay a virgin forever…but damn it, he’d ached to be her first—more than he wanted to admit.
Now he’d never have that chance, though that was probably for the best. He was the last man she should ever give her innocence to.
Hammer frowned. “Did you talk to her about it?”
“Every time she sees me, she backs up ten feet, so no.”
“Which means you don’t know anything for sure?”
“Dude… They fucked. Accept it.”
He glared at Beck, a heartbeat from tearing everything in his office apart with his bare hands, the man included.
His friend’s voice softened. “Sorry. You’ve had your balls in a twist for months. You want her, and she sure as hell hasn’t hidden how much she wants you. Why didn’t you man up once she turned legal? What did you think would happen if you kept treating your woman like a child?”
Hammer had sworn to himself that he’d gladly release Raine to the man who put her on a pedestal and made her his queen. Someday. Years in the future. At the very least, he’d expected her to bestow her virginity on someone who would value the gift, not a player who treated women like a trophy in a competitive sport.
He rounded his desk, dropped into his chair, and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Where is that weasel-dicked son of a bitch?”
“You can’t go out there and confront him.”
“The fuck I can’t. This is my club. He broke my number one rule.”
“I meant that Raine probably needs you more than Zak needs his ass kicked. I think she’s beating herself up.”
“But that rat fucking bastard seduced her when he knew damn well—” Hammer bit back the rest. “Zak is a dead man.”
“And if you’re locked up in prison, how are you going to protect Raine from the next guy who seduces her out of her panties?” Beck pointed out. “Look, the damage is done. All you can do now is tear up his contract and escort him off the property. But don’t go out there half-cocked, because I’m not posting your bail for murder.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“But someone needed to remind you, and I drew the short straw today. Ever heard the phrase don’t shoot the messenger?”
Beck was right.
Hammer sighed. “Thanks for having the balls to tell me what happened.”
“Sorry, man. I know it hurts.” Beck clapped him on the back in sympathy. “So what will you do to Raine?”
Hammer’s scowl deepened. “Do to her?”
“You know, are you finally going to change things between you? Or are you going to keep setting her on a shelf like some goddamn doll?”
“She can’t handle me.”
“So you’re not even going to try? You’re just going to keep wasting your time with all the other subs? Everyone, even Raine, knows what you do with them. Hammer away at ’em, right? If you’re this pissed off about another man laying his hands on your precious, but you’re not willing to take a hard look at your choices, I can’t help you.”
“I didn’t ask you to, so fuck off.”
Beck shook his head as if he’d tried, but Hammer was hopeless.