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“I—” Her mouth hung open, but she said nothing else.
Raine sucked in harsh breaths. She paled.
“Be brave.”
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she sobbed and tried to roll from the bed.
As he grabbed her arm to stay her, agony gutted Liam. Weariness and crushing regret dashed the satisfaction spiraling through him just moments ago. He felt hollow. Destroyed. He gripped her tightly, willing her to look at him. Her whole body trembled. He felt her yearning, damn it. But she wouldn’t face him.
Maybe he wanted more than she was capable of giving. Maybe he wasn’t enough for her. He swallowed. Maybe she just didn’t love him enough.
“Wait,” he rasped.
The truth was, she was too afraid to tell him how she felt. Because of her father? No, she’d had no trouble telling Hammer. But his old pal had shoved her love back in her face over and over, bruising her ego. Breaking her heart? Yeah, probably.
His hopes of saving her dissolved. He’d been kidding himself that he could. It seemed he was years too late for that.
How ironic that he’d taken up with Raine to build her confidence a bit and prod Hammer with jealousy. But Macen was having the last laugh. Liam knew he’d never be the same.
With a heavy sigh, he lifted a finger and tilted her chin. The collar at her throat looked so lovely in the light. His heart clutched as he brought her mouth to his for a soft kiss.
As he brushed her lips with his own, he reached behind her neck and slipped the latch on the collar. The precious metal with its dangling ruby was warm from her skin. The catch fell open, and the piece slid into his waiting hand.
She froze—her kiss, her stare, her breath. Raine pulled back slowly, then looked at the collar in his palm, blinking with shock and confusion. Questions clouded her eyes. Anxiety tightened her face. He dragged in a sawing draught of air. He fucking hated hurting her.
“What are you doing?”
He set the collar on the nightstand. “I told you we needed to talk, Raine.”
She tried to jerk away. “You used me before you decided to tell me to kiss off.”
He held tight, not letting her move an inch. “I made love to you, hoping you’d understand. But you don’t.” He sighed. “So I’m going to explain myself, and I want you to listen carefully. For this to work, I need you to communicate—”
“If this is about the migraine, I swear that I wasn’t keeping it from you on purpose. I just had so much else on my mind that I forgot to mention it.”
“If you were thinking of me at all, you’d automatically share something like that with me. It would be second nature. You want my affection. You want my sexual domination. You don’t want to do the work necessary to truly submit. Hell, to have a real relationship.”
“That’s not true.” Her blue eyes pleaded, frantic. “I’m working on it. I’m not perfect, but I’m—”
“Still hiding big chunks of your heart and soul to yourself. You’re not ready to be collared.”
“That’s not fair!”
“What’s not fair is that I’m your Dom in name only. I won’t fight you if you don’t want to give yourself freely. Only you can decide how important I am to you—if at all. But I can’t keep submitting to you while I try to give you what I know you need. I’m not oblivious to your fears, but you either trust me and love me…or you don’t. I’m done trying to pry everything out of you, only to discover you’ve not been bloody honest. I get half-truths and subtle lies designed to make me feel better. Is it because you think I’m too stupid to understand or too weak to handle them?”
Horror crossed Raine’s face. “Neither! I told you before; I just don’t want to upset or trouble you.”
“Or have to risk my wrath, admit you’ve fucked up, and truly give yourself to me. I know the game, Raine. I’ve seen it played many times. And I won’t play it with you anymore. I want you back…but not until you learn to communicate. Be honest with me. Trust me. And surrender your control to me. I see the real you, no matter how much you try to hide. And I still want you, still love you. I always will.”
“You’re punishing me for Thanksgiving day,” she accused, her voice thickening with emotion.
“This isn’t any sort of discipline. But I’ve finally got your attention, lass. The pickles I fed you back at the lodge to coax you to open up just weren’t working anymore.”
That seemed like a lifetime ago.
Tears filled her eyes, and she struggled from his embrace again, this time with all her might.
Still, he held strong. “Stop.”
“You’re leaving me,” she accused.
