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“How did you know?” she asked.
“I’m not blind,” Liam said. “Why?”
Raine took her time answering. A fist of anticipation gripped Hammer’s stomach and squeezed hard as she collected her thoughts and focused on Liam again.
“I’d taken care of him for so long, I didn’t know how not to. And, no offense…” She glanced at Hammer before redirecting back to Liam. “He’s pretty helpless in the kitchen. As long as I was cooking for us, it didn’t make sense to not make a little extra and leave it warm for him. The thought of him going hungry or eating takeout all the time bothered me. Ditto with the cleaning.”
“Thank you for being honest.” Liam grabbed a length of rope and attached her to the table again, this time binding her upper arms.
“Did that make you mad?” she asked, apprehension evident in her voice. “Because I never wanted to upset you. It wasn’t meant to.”
“What upsets me is that you did things for Hammer behind my back.” Liam tightened the binding. “You didn’t trust me enough to be honest.”
Raine nodded like she understood completely. “Somewhere during our last trip here, I become so attached to you that I was afraid to say anything that might drive you away. Me caring for Hammer wasn’t indicative of any disrespect or disloyalty to you. I just didn’t know how to say it.”
Liam peered down at her, his face tightening as if he repressed a hundred different thoughts. As if he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let go. “You just did, love.”
“And thank you for not letting me starve,” Hammer added, fastening his own rope around her opposite arm. “Focus on the silk, precious. Each is a line of trust between us. Feel it on your skin, in your blood, deep down.”
“I do,” she murmured as he tightened the knot.
Hammer couldn’t miss the arousal in her voice, and fuck, it turned him on.
“When did you first start thinking of Liam as something more than my friend?”
Raine’s eyes went wide. She pressed her lips together, then cut her gaze over to Liam. Hammer didn’t have to guess that she wasn’t keen on this question.
He tugged on the rope across her biceps. “Trust.”
Nodding, she blew out a breath. “When you first introduced us, I, um…thought he was very attractive. He asked a lot of probing questions during our first few conversations. He asked me about you. Then he asked me about me. I didn’t say much in either case. But I knew he was watching me a lot. I couldn’t figure out why exactly.” She let out a breath, then grasped for her fortitude. “The morning I broke the cup at your doorstep, the morning Marlie stepped from your room—”
“She was a mistake,” Hammer cut her off.
That made Raine smile. “She was a ‘see you next Tuesday.’”
“Excuse me?” Liam frowned, clearly confused.
“A cunt,” Hammer supplied. “C. U. Next… You get it.”
Liam burst out laughing. “That she was. Very clever, love.”
The new lightness in the room seemed to give her some confidence. “Anyway, Liam came to see me in the kitchen that morning and offered to train me. At first, I thought he just felt sorry for me. Then he kissed me. Then I knew he wanted me.”
Hammer flashed Liam a shocked glare, then with a grimace, he forced himself back on track. Water under the bridge. Ancient history. Not important right now—even if he wanted to give his old pal a piece of his mind.
As she watched him, uncertainty passed over her face. “Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
“No, precious. You did well.” He wound another length of rope through the fastening in the table, then draped it over her shoulders.
Liam took the end and joined it on his side, pinning her down more. “Very honest, just as we asked for.”
Raine looked visibly relieved. “I’m trying.”
“We know,” Liam soothed. “Tell me why you think I uncollared you.”
“Well…I know you weren’t happy that I didn’t tell you about the migraine,” she began.
“Not happy at all.” Liam raised a brow. “But do you really think that’s why?”
“I didn’t say that,” she defended. “I knew it didn’t help, but…I guess I did a lot of things. I didn’t always tell you what was in my head.” Her gaze skittered away. “My only defense is that I’d never really had more than a one-sided relationship. I didn’t know how to believe you when you said you’d be there or that you cared.”
Hammer winced. Her words stung. Honesty was brutal, but he couldn’t hide from the truth. He’d kept her at arm’s length for years. From the moment she’d begun to blossom under his roof, he’d been scared fucking shitless at how much he cared. He’d wanted to protect her more than he had any other woman. At first, he’d told himself it was because she’d been so damn young and vulnerable. Then Hammer thought his feelings had grown because he was determined to save her, since he hadn’t saved Juliet. Finally, he realized that he’d simply fallen for Raine.
