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Raine sank even smaller into her chair. “All of that.”
“What had you planned to say to me the next morning?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t…” Think. Yes, he’d gathered that much. “Before we…” she sighed and looked down, guilt pouring from her. “I said no. I objected more than once. I told him that I belonged to you.”
Liam froze. That was more consideration than he expected. But he wanted to make certain there’d been absolutely no misunderstanding. “So he forced you?”
“No.”
Raine squeezed her eyes tightly shut, as if wishing she could escape. He gave her points for not lying to him.
“I didn’t stand my ground as I should have.”
Because she’d wanted Hammer so damn badly. Liam wished he could say otherwise, but it rankled.
“I won’t ask if you feel guilty. I see that you do. Instead, I’ll ask you to remember this feeling, so we don’t cross this bridge again. I can be a patient man, but not always a forgiving one.”
“Yes, Sir.” She took a bracing breath and worked up the courage to meet his gaze. “In your shoes, I’d be furious, devastated. I would have run and done my best to disappear forever.”
“Where I couldn’t hurt you again.” It wasn’t a question; he was beginning to understand her well enough to know the answer.
“Yeah.” She sent him a shaky nod. “But you…you’ve confronted this head on and actually listened to my side of the story…such as it is.” Her question hung unspoken. Why?
And there was his clever girl again. She wanted to know why he’d chosen to give up on his wife, but would fight for her. In some ways, Liam wasn’t sure himself. Maybe because he didn’t want her to go the way of Gwyneth. Or because he didn’t want to fail again. And yes, because she meant more to him than she should.
“I have my reasons,” he said cryptically for now.
She nodded, as if accepting his vague answer. “Can I ask how long you’ve been divorced?”
He sat back in his chair. “Officially, just over a year. We were separated for nearly a year before that.”
She hesitated, seeming to grapple with her next question. “Why didn’t you tell me about all of this sooner?” She frowned. “And why are you telling me now?”
“Answer me this first: What difference would it have made? I doubt it would have changed a damned thing. You’d heard the rumors I was divorced. I didn’t know how much Hammer might have told you.” He shrugged. “What we can do now is communicate. I volunteered to share something of myself with you, Raine. But your way is to brush me aside at every turn. Quid pro quo.”
She sucked in a breath and looked down, mired in more guilt. “It’s not my intent to brush you aside. It’s just...my mom didn’t stay around to hear what I had to say. My dad never wanted to hear it. Hammer...” She swallowed. “He couldn’t handle it. I assume that when most people ask, they’re just being polite, but they don’t really care. So I save us all the trouble.” She shrugged. “You’re the first person I actually believe wants to hear it. Problem is, I’ve kept it to myself for so long, I don’t know how to say it.”
Liam watched as she rose, rounded the table, then knelt beside his chair and grabbed his hands. “I swear, I didn’t do it to hurt you. It was thoughtless. And selfish. After wanting someone so badly for so long, I didn’t try hard enough to say no. Hammer kept telling me that he wasn’t good for me. I’m starting to think maybe he was right.” She squeezed his fingers and looked at him with earnest blue eyes. “I’m probably not going to be very good at telling you how I feel. But if you really want to hear it, I’ll try.”
She took a deep breath, and he realized that, for her, it was a big concession. And a big clue that she was willing to put some effort into their relationship, as Gwyneth hadn’t been.
“Raine...”
Pushing the dishes back, he lifted her on the table in front of him. “Lean back, lass. You’ve earned a reward, and I’ve a mind to give it to you.”
He lifted her legs, cradled them gently over each of his broad shoulders, then stroked his palm across her belly softly. She sighed as he kissed his way from her knees up to her inner thighs, paying tender attention to every purple mark Hammer had thoughtlessly left behind.
“Bloody hell, woman, you smell so good, like sin, so hot and feminine, utterly irresistible. I would taste you, Raine. Give you pleasure. Just relax and let me hear your cries.”
Soon, she melted like butter beneath his warm tongue. He teased her clit and stroked her sweet, ripe nipples. As she undulated, her essence burst across his taste buds, overloading his brain with her flavor. And sealed her fate as his.
