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His words were a silken slide down a razor blade, delivered so softly. But it cut her heart wide open.
He picked up his clothes and silently began to dress. Raine sat up and watched, pressing her lips together in mute horror and trying to hold onto her tears. There was no sense arguing with him when he was right.
Once he’d zipped his pants, Liam looked down at her with such profound sadness. “Hear me well. Half of you is no longer an option, Raine. I’ll have all or nothing. I won’t make you take the test before Thanksgiving. That gives you almost three days to prepare yourself for the result. But if you haven’t started by Friday, you will be going to the doctor. I’ll be taking you.”
Liam resisted the urge to slam the door between him and Raine. As he eased out, he released a ragged breath. Thankfully, he didn’t see Hammer. But Liam had few doubts that his old mate had been listening to his entire exchange with Raine through the wall. The fuckwit probably itched to insist again that she was more challenge than he could master.
Unfortunately, Liam’s problems didn’t end there. His cock stood as hard as a ship’s stern and twice as swollen. His balls ached so badly he couldn’t walk straight, let alone think. As he adjusted himself, he considered finding an empty room and some privacy. Of course, he’d ten times rather have drowned in Raine, helpless and tethered to his bed. The ferocious need to own her all the way to her pretty toes twisted him inside. But no matter which way he took her or how often, Raine never truly surrendered.
Maybe he’d finally reached her today. At least she’d been more honest. But did that mean anything? Raine was like a damn jigsaw puzzle. The tactic that revealed a part of her today wouldn’t work tomorrow. Just after he’d collared her, he’d whisked her up to his lodge and chipped away at her defenses until she’d exposed her soft side. Now that he’d breached her again, he feared she would only hide once more.
Liam resisted the urge to punch the wall. Where the hell did he go from here? He couldn’t give up. If he ever solved her, the heart he uncovered would be big and beautiful. And his.
If that day never came… Hell, he didn’t want to think about that.
In his pocket, his phone buzzed. Liam grabbed it and scanned the screen, smiling at the name of his friend and fellow Dominant back home.
“Hello, Seth.” Liam ducked into an empty room down the hall. “Enjoying the snow in New York?”
The other man scoffed. “You’ll be enjoying it soon yourself, so don’t gloat too much.”
“I’m not coming.”
“You won’t be home for Thanksgiving?” No mistaking the surprise in Seth’s voice.
“Afraid not. I made other plans, but they fell through. Now it’s too late to get a flight, so…”
“You mean I’ll have to fist this turkey all alone?”
Liam rolled his eyes. “You’re a sick bastard, you know that?”
“And proud of it. So why are you staying in L.A. for the holiday?”
“Well, for one, I don’t want to freeze my balls off,” Liam teased.
“It might be cold as fuck here, but at least I don’t have to worry about the state falling into the ocean.”
“True.” Liam leaned against the wall and rubbed a thumb and forefinger at his gritty eyes. “Look, I know I said I’d come back for the week, but circumstances have changed. There’s this woman…”
“Tell me more.”
“She’s a beauty and a spitfire, Seth. You’ll like her, assuming I can ever figure out how to persuade her to come home with me.”
“It’s that serious? You haven’t spent more than fifteen minutes of ‘quality time’ with anyone since Gwyneth, but it sounds like you have more than a hard-on for this girl. What’d she do, put you under some kind of spell with her voodoo pussy?”
Liam laughed for the first time all day. “Something like that.”
“Aww, don’t worry. You’re always cool, collected, and smart. You’ll figure out how to sweep her off her feet. If not, you know some awesome knots. Just tie her up and carry her away.” Seth chuckled. “What about Hammer? When we talked last month, you said he wasn’t himself. Did you figure out what’s up with him?”
“Well, funny that. His problem is the same as mine. Raine. She’s the girl I told you Hammer took in years ago, remember? He’s in love with her. The fucked up part is that she’s in love with him, too.” Liam sighed. “And now, she’s wearing my collar, but there’s a good chance she’s knocked up with Hammer’s bairn.”
“Whoa! What the… It sounds like a fucking soap opera.”
Liam grunted. “It feels like a fucking soap opera.”
“How the hell did all that happen?”
“For years, Hammer refused to admit how he felt about her. But he wouldn’t allow any other man near her. I tried to help them both, but—”
