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Blindly, she reached up for him, felt her way from his wrist to his shoulder, then looped her arms around his neck. Her clumsy lips groped from his jaw to the corner of his mouth before she opened for his surprise onslaught. He dove into her mouth, seemingly willing to drown in her for a nearly perfect moment. She needed someone, and Liam was here with and for her. Raine clung tighter. Her rock. Her life preserver in an angry sea. Her someone to believe in?
A long moment of union later, he eased his lips from hers. “Raine, whatever’s hurting you, share it with me. Tell me what happened when you were a child. Let me comfort you.”
Raine couldn’t rip off this Band-Aid for him right now. She flinched and dropped back to the bed, tearing the blindfold away from her eyes.
She wished she hadn’t.
Such soft pity… God, it curdled her stomach.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. Don’t you dare!”
His eyes narrowed, and he moved so quickly, it stunned her, stole her breath.
Liam straddled her, his hands curling around her wrists, his big thighs pinning her hips to the bed. She kicked and shrieked until she realized that she wasn’t going to budge him and that she probably sounded like a willful child. She shut up and glared.
“Listen and listen well. You can’t tell me how to feel, any more than I can tell you. If pity was all I felt, I wouldn’t be trying this hard. You’ve got such fire in you. Are you really going to let something that happened years ago cripple your heart? Rob you of a satisfying future?”
He spoke the question in silky tones. It hurt all over. With his stare and his questions probing her, she felt so exposed. Vulnerable. She wanted to curl her knees to her chest, cross her arms protectively over her body, and keep everyone out.
Liam wasn’t about to let that happen.
She searched for a clever way to put him off or skirt the truth, but his invasive stare and her aching nipples handicapped her brain. Her body was every bit as confused as her head. She’d barely slept, didn’t know where she belonged or what to think.
Raine turned away. “I’m done. I’ll volunteer all day long that I hate mustard, love reading, and that I’m allergic to antibiotics. But don’t talk to me about my childhood again.” Damn it, why couldn’t she stop sobbing? “Please...”
“No, Raine. You don’t get to call the shots here. My training. My rules. You’ve had it tough. I understand that. I also know the last few days have been...extreme. But I promised I’d split you open like a ripe peach. At some point, you’ll know that I always keep my promises. You also need to learn to behave properly for a Dominant. All this arguing isn’t showing me your desire to please or convincing me that you want to share a part of your soul.”
“I do…” She blinked back his way. “I just…can’t we work up to the worst? I’ve barely thought about my past in years. We’ve only been speaking for a handful of days, and now you want in the deepest recesses of my soul, a place where I thought I’d only show Hammer. But the man I’ve loved all these years doesn’t think I’m good enough. Eventually you won’t, either. Can’t I just keep my goddamn secrets until you get bored?”
“No.” His answer came back like the crack of a whip. “You’ll watch your language, too. If I have to warn you again, once your ass is healed up, I’ll make sure you won’t be sitting pretty for a week at least. And you’ll never bore me. Never,” he growled emphatically. “You don’t believe me yet, but I won’t let up until you do.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he put a finger over her lips. “Not another word. I’m bloody tired of arguing. You must be sleepy. Let’s see if anything looks better after a nap.”
“I don’t want to sleep.” Ugh, didn’t she sound like a spoiled toddler? She had to shut up.
“Well, I do. Indulge me. I intend to nap cuddled up beside you.”
He unwrapped the towel from around his waist and wiped the sheen of oil from her body, then padded toward the bathroom in absolutely nothing. The view of his backside walking away from her was…wow. Firm, narrow, not the least bit flat and…yeah, wow. He dropped the towel on the counter and headed back toward her.
The view from the front nearly had her eyes popping out. Even flaccid, he was large. Muscular thighs dusted with dark hair framed heavy testicles. An intriguing trail of hair climbed up to his navel. The chest above was lean and rippling with muscle. And his broad shoulders… She licked her suddenly dry lips.
