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“What’s the matter, princess? Is nudity a hard limit for you?” Beck challenged.
“No, Sir. I just…” Respect their instructions and give your obedience. Liam’s edict echoed in her head.
Neither man so much as parted their lips to explain their intent. They merely waited for her to comply.
Slowly, she rose and moved to the center of the room. Obviously, this exercise was meant to shove her off-balance. Again. She took a deep breath and focused. Hammer and Liam had devised this task, and Raine understood their intentions. Open up for the men you love. They’ve asked you to peel away the layers and allow yourself to be vulnerable.
After she unknotted the belt, she slipped the robe off her shoulders. Swallowing a lump of nerves, she eased it off. Nudity may not have been a hard limit for her, but without Hammer and Liam—her lifelines—she found it more than a little uncomfortable. But she pressed on.
Carefully folding the robe, she placed it on the floor, then gracefully sank to her knees. Palms resting upward on her spread thighs, she straightened her spine and thrust out her chest before bowing her head respectfully.
Beck lingered at the counter. She felt his assessing gaze. She heard the scrape of Seth’s chair again before he approached, the tips of his shoes visible as he stood in front of her.
Bending low, he cupped her chin and lifted her face to meet his gaze. “Don’t shy away, Raine. You’re a beautiful woman and you have nothing to fear from us. Think of me and Beck as your mentors, arbiters in case of dispute, and your chief cooks and bottle washers.”
Beck pulled away from the counter and handed Seth a piece of paper, which he promptly passed over to Raine.
“Read everything on the page aloud to us, princess,” Beck drawled, sidling up to the other man. “One by one.”
Raine stared at the handwriting, recognizing Hammer’s familiar scrawl. She scanned the page, blinking.
“Affirmations? Really?” She spit out the questions, recoiling as if they’d placed a sour pickle on her tongue. “Ugh.”
Beck just grinned. “Get busy.”
She exhaled something just shy of a scoff. They expected her to say this aloud? She shuddered at the thought. Focused on the paper fluttering in her hands, she ignored the meaning behind them.
“I will open myself up and share, not only my needs, but my emotions.” The phrase spilling from her lips sounded monotone, the sentiment hollow.
“Continue. A little more enthusiasm would be nice,” Beck chided.
“I will be totally honest at all times without fear of embarrassment or reprisal. Nor will I hold back for fear of hurting someone’s feelings.” Raine sighed and stared up at the two men eyeing her with critical gazes. “I get the value of communicating. You two made that really clear. So did they. But I’m not used to sharing every little thought that pops into my head.” She gave them an exasperated frown. “I’m really supposed to say, ‘Oh, I think I’ll wear a pink thong today? No wait, Sirs, can I wear the blue pair instead?’ Or, ‘When I brush my teeth, is it okay if I start with my molars first and work my way forward?’ And, ‘Should I eat the ice cream or the bran muffin?’ I mean, seriously?”
“That’s not what the affirmation means,” Seth barked, his brows creased in anger. “No wonder they always want to spank your ass.”
“What they’re asking is impossible. If I just blurt everything out, they’ll be hurt or pissed off all the time. I don’t mean to, but… Why is being sensitive to others suddenly bad?”
“They are grown men who can deal with their feelings, Raine,” Seth scolded. “That’s not your concern.”
“Totally honest,” Beck stressed. “If you’re truthful about your thoughts and emotions as you experience them and express them in the non-brattiest way possible, you shouldn’t have any problem.”
“What does that even mean? I’m not trying to be bratty, but—”
“Let me make this black and white for you.” Seth scowled at her. “You could have saved yourself a hell of a lot of pain if you’d simply leveled with Liam. Instead of avoiding him, you should have said, ‘Sir, my period is late. I’m scared. Talk to me. Hold me. What happens with us if I end up pregnant with Hammer’s baby?’”
His words gouged her deep. Guilt that she’d hidden nearly everything from Liam all but crushed her beneath its weight. Even more debilitating was the realization that she hadn’t trusted that he would stick by her side, despite the fact that he’d asked her to repeatedly.
A sob caught in her chest as she launched to her feet and spun away. How many times had he told her he loved her? How many ways had he tried to prove it? God, she’d been such a fool. Raine had spent so much time convincing herself that her slightest misstep would send Liam running for the door. She should have shared her fears and worries, but instead, she’d cut him off and severed the very artery that could have given their relationship life.
