So did the sight of Raine.
She stood between Liam’s legs, her filmy white robe a beacon as it flowed away from her shoulders. Shadow outlined her bare breasts. Liam caressed her with familiarity and possession. Hammer’s body tightened. His primal directive to protect her mixed with his restless need to fuck her in every way known to man.
He’d made her doubt his love. Would she even welcome him now?
Propping himself on one elbow, he watched through the shrouded light as Raine relaxed every muscle for Liam and let out a purr. The ache in Macen’s head no longer registered because the throbbing between his legs had taken over.
God, she looked beautiful.
Mouth dry, he reached absently for the water on his nightstand and sipped, never taking his eyes from her.
“We’ll be needing more lotion soon,” Liam whispered as his hands glided over their woman’s breasts.
“Mmm. I’ll pick some up later today.”
“Good thinking. There’s bugger all left.”
“We can’t run out,” Raine moaned. “I look forward to this every morning.”
Hammer’s brows furrowed. He’d never partaken in this ritual, never even seen it. Their unmistakable closeness pinpricked him with jealousy.
Despite the months he’d been Raine’s lover, they had never shared this level of quiet intimacy.
That realization flattened him.
We’re both tired of living with a ghost…
For years, Macen’s idea of utopia had been him and Liam sharing the submissive of their dreams, working in tandem to watch her bloom. Raine was that woman. The life he’d always wanted was in his grasp. But if he didn’t get his head together, they might well leave him behind.
“Morning.” His scratchy voice disrupted the quiet in the room.
“I didn’t hear you come in last night.” Raine focused her wary gaze on him as she drew her robe shut and belted it at her waist.
Closing herself off to him.
Worry grabbed Hammer’s throat. “Sorry I didn’t respond to your text last night.”
“You’re busy. I know.”
He vaulted from the bed and scrambled toward her. God, he needed to hold her. Warily, she stepped back. She didn’t want him touching her, either?
Macen’s chest cleaved in two. “Talk to me, precious.”
She shrugged. “About what?”
He grasped for a topic that wouldn’t upset her. “What cream is Liam rubbing on you?”
“It’s just cocoa butter.”
Liam slipped a hand under her robe and stroked her thigh, glancing at Hammer. “I cover her breasts and belly with it each morning to keep her skin soft and help prevent stretch marks.”
Picking up the container on the mattress beside his friend, Hammer sniffed it, looking for any excuse to touch her. “I could help.”
She looked to Liam. The insecurity lurking in her face was a guilt-ridden punch in Macen’s gut.
“If you want to.”
“Of course I want to.” He gripped his hard shaft in hand, willing Raine to see his hunger. “Does this look like I don’t want you?”
She looked away. “Is the fact you’re hard supposed to make me feel special?”
Wrong approach. Hammer sat on the mattress beside Liam and covered his lap with the sheet. “Precious, I’m sorry I’ve been absent. I never meant to make you doubt my commitment.”
Other than her chin trembling, she remained still and silent, telling him without words he’d done precisely that.
He couldn’t stop himself from grabbing her hand and laying her palm over his beating heart. “Say it, Raine. Tell me I’ve been a bastard and that I’ve hurt you. Get it out.”
She wrenched away. “For the last two months, I’ve felt like I did the first six years I lived with you at Shadows. Invisible. Unworthy.” She shook her head. “I can’t do it anymore.”
Hammer’s heart stopped. “Raine, baby, you could never be either of those things. I’ve been preoccupied. I know. But I swear, nothing could ever make me stop loving you. Nothing.”
“I want to believe you…but I know you. Your appetites.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if to ward him off. “You’ve never been a man who goes without for long.”
She thought he had someone on the side?
“I haven’t touched another woman since you.” He lunged to his feet and gripped her face, willing her to believe him. “You’ve ruined me for anyone else.”
“Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear.” She tried to pull away.
This time, he refused to let her go. “You know me. I’d never bother to spoon-feed you bullshit to spare your feelings. I don’t like going without. You’re right about that. So my fist is getting a hell of a workout.”
Liam groaned. “Wrong thing to say, mate. I should just hand you a shit shovel.”
“Your fist?” Raine’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been waiting and ready and worried you’ve lost interest. And you would rather get off with your own hand?”
“Fuck, no. I’d always rather be with you.”
“Then why did you ignore my video? Why aren’t you here anymore? And when you are, it feels like I could be any woman. I’ll bet you gave Marlie more attention when you screwed her.”