The sound of a baby wailing from inside the condo stunned Raine. Why would Liam’s ex-wife be in Beck’s condo with a baby?
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” The woman rolled her eyes. “Never mind. Might as well come in now and get started.”
She flung the door open wide and whirled around toward the bedroom. Her pert backside looked red and freshly branded. The word slut had been imprinted temporarily onto her cheek with some sort of impression paddle.
As if suddenly self-conscious, Gwyneth grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and began picking up all the implements of BDSM play scattered around the room. A dildo. Restraints with Velcro cuffs.
Stunned mute, Raine blinked and shuffled in. The sight only grew more disturbing. Clover clamps lay on the coffee table. The slut paddle sat on the nearby sofa. Gwyneth scooped those up, too, as the baby howled in the background.
Beck was a sadist, and this was his place. Gwyneth was his houseguest…except he was in surgery. The woman looked freshly flushed, and Liam had just exited the building, looking quite satisfied. Beck hadn’t known the woman long enough to have fathered a baby with her. But Liam had.
Oh, god. She was going to be sick.
Gwyneth disappeared into the bedroom. Raine barely managed to unload the fruit bouquet on the countertop dividing the living room and kitchen. The other woman had since belted a robe around her scantily clad figure and picked up the baby. Dark curls and dark eyes. Raine could so easily see them as having come from Liam.
Had he decided to return to his ex-wife, the mother of his child? Had his lovemaking earlier today been a bittersweet good-bye? Did he and Hammer intend to sit her down tonight over dinner and tell her that Liam had a son and intended to take up with this bitch again?
“Why are you just standing there?” Gwyneth huffed. “You can start in the bedroom.”
No way could Raine go back there. She desperately wanted to know if she’d find any more evidence of her passion with Liam. On the other hand, hadn’t she gotten enough of an eyeful already? Seeing firsthand that he’d scened with her was bad enough, but to find out he’d taken the woman to bed and thrust inside her—
Raine swallowed the thought—and the resulting bile—as the day’s events rushed back at her. Liam had been eager to leave the lodge this morning. To rush back to Gwyneth? Well, of course. Why wouldn’t he want a woman who’d given birth to his child and still looked like a supermodel? He’d refused to touch her in the car. Maybe she’d mistaken his anger for indifference. Liam hadn’t explained his mood. Obviously, Hammer had lied that the issue revolved around his business because he’d been temporarily covering for his old friend. Liam had fucked her as a kiss-off, and Hammer had been pissed about that. They’d spoken afterward, once Macen had told her to start the shower. Raine hadn’t heard more than a hum of their conversation, but they’d exchanged fast, furious dialogue. Then Liam had disappeared.
Apparently to spend some “quality” time with his ex-wife.
The hurt cleaved Raine’s chest, devastating her. Pain overwhelmed her until she couldn’t breathe. Every second seemed to last a thousand years as she watched Gwyneth pat the baby and stare at her impatiently.
It wasn’t this woman’s fault that Liam wanted her more. But after Gwyneth had cheated on him, Raine would have thought Liam would steer clear.
Looking at the stunning vixen, Raine knew why he hadn’t.
“Get moving,” Gwyneth demanded.
“I’m not the maid,” she muttered finally.
“Who the devil are you, then?” Gwyneth cocked her head to the side and sidled closer, seeming to examine her with sharp green eyes. “Raine?”
She lifted her head and glared back. So Liam had mentioned her. Raine didn’t know if she was happy that she’d been worth his acknowledgment or pissed off that the man she thought she loved had spoken about his last lover to his once-ex-and-again-current squeeze.
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” Raine breathed.
“You must. You came to see me.” The woman narrowed her eyes, shooting her another scrutinizing stare. “Did you see Liam as you arrived? What did he tell you about us?”
Us? Raine’s stomach rolled again.
“Nothing.” He hadn’t even stopped to look at her. Raine had imagined that he simply hadn’t heard her…but maybe he just hadn’t wanted to bother.
Finally, a smile curled Gwyneth’s lips. “He must have been in a hurry. He’s so excited to begin our lives together again, this time with his son. This is Kyle.”
Gwyneth grasped the baby’s wrist and moved it to simulate the baby waving.
Hearing the woman confirm all her worst fears had Raine backing up a step.
Pity crossed the other woman’s face. “Really, Raine. What did you think was going to happen? You’re cute, and I’m sure you have a great personality, but Liam needs more than you can give him. Did you imagine that he preferred you over me, especially when that meant taking Hammer’s sloppy seconds?”