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He loved her.
“You did so good today,” Liam said. “Your promise to stay and work things out means the world.” He pulled back enough to search her eyes. “I’m going to hold you to it, love.”
She smiled softly. “After seeing how quickly you tracked me down, I believe you. But I’m here now. I’m staying. I feel like…we’ve all walked through fire. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. But today, it felt really wonderful to just say what I thought and for you to be okay with it. Everything I said today was honest.” She stared deep, conveying the truth of her words. “Everything.”
Liam kissed her softly. “Oh, Raine. I love you, too.”
After a soft press of lips, she turned his way, and Hammer’s heart stopped at the love in her eyes. No coyness. No anger. No hiding. It was just…there.
Hammer didn’t even try to stop himself from grabbing her and covering her lips with a frantic kiss. And he didn’t hold back an ounce of his burning love. Now wasn’t the time to tell her, but he damn well intended to before they left this mountain.
At the moment, he settled for wrapping his arms around her. Liam did the same. No one said anything for a long moment. The silence conveyed everything they’d accomplished—and didn’t speak a word about what came next, as if the hush of now was sacred.
“Did I pass the test?” She grinned at them.
Liam’s grip tightened. “You did. Let our arms hold you to us every bit as securely as our ropes. We’ve got you.”
And Hammer didn’t intend to let go. He wanted to inhale her, meld her against him. He wanted to own her. He’d almost had the chance. If his timing had been different, if she’d been fertile that night… Not that he wanted to force her into becoming his, but would she have fought it that hard? Or would she have been happy? Honestly, he didn’t know.
And he was desperate to.
Hammer gripped her face and brought her gaze to his, searching her eyes. “Raine, you were crying on Thanksgiving day. Because you were relieved you weren’t pregnant? Or disappointed because you wanted to be?”
Liam felt her body stiffen against him as his gut churned. What would Raine say? He could pretend it didn’t matter, that it was all history now and best left there if he—they—intended to move forward. But Hammer wasn’t going to rest until he got answers.
“Tell you what,” Liam suggested. “Let’s settle you in your bed where it’s warm and comfortable, then finish the conversation there.”
“No.” Hammer shook his head. “Liam, I’ve waited. A few days ago, I thought I’d never see her again. This is the time for honesty. Let her answer first.”
Then Hammer turned back to Raine, pinning her with a stare that demanded the unvarnished truth.
“I…” She sighed, bringing her hands up to cling to Hammer’s wrists as he held her face. “Oh, what does it matter now, Macen? I wasn’t pregnant, just late.”
“You know damn well it matters. I need your honesty. I need an answer,” he demanded, even as she tried to break his hold and hide. “Don’t hide from me. It’s another form of running away.”
Liam gritted his teeth, but Raine couldn’t be allowed to retreat—even if he didn’t want to hear the truth. “Answer him, Raine.”
Wrapped around her side, he felt her trembling, heard her hitch in a sobbing breath. Liam opened his mouth to calm her and defuse the tension.
“What do you want to hear, Macen? That I was devastated not to be pregnant? That I wanted to be the mother of your child? That something inside me had entertained the impractical hope that maybe I would carry the life you’d created inside me and have a part of you always?” Slow tears slid down her cheeks.
Hammer gripped her tighter. They locked stares. His eyes looked as glassy, as haunted, as hers.
“Goddamn it, I want the truth,” Macen insisted.
“Fine,” she wailed, her back straightening. “Of course I was disappointed. I love you. I’ve wanted you for so long that I don’t remember what it feels like not to want you.”
Each word hacked at Liam’s heart like a knife, slicing him to pieces. Fuck. You wanted honesty. You got it. Enjoy that bitter pill.
Raine swiped at her tears and bowed her head, dropping her voice to a whisper Liam had to lean in to hear. “But I wasn’t pregnant, so it’s all moot now. It would have been an impossible situation, anyway. Not carrying your child in my womb meant I could have a life with Liam, and…” She drew in a shaking breath. “And in the end, I was happier about that. Oh god, I’m sorry, Macen.”
Her face crumbled as she reached blindly for Hammer. He gathered her close and held her, rocking her gently.
