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Last night, he and Hammer had gotten Raine between them for the first time. He’d never felt such pleasure as he had sharing the woman he loved with his best friend. Finally, they’d managed to open her heart, and she’d unfurled so passionately between them. That nagging jealousy had plagued him again afterward, but he’d shoved it down. He and Macen balanced one another to be exactly what she needed. If they could just drown in Raine’s soft body again, love and protect her, he’d work through that issue.
But his ex-wife’s sudden appearance—only hours after they’d committed to Raine—put all that on hold. Bloody terrible timing… Liam wanted to howl at the injustice.
“Come on, man,” Hammer urged.
With a reluctant nod, Liam turned and followed him downstairs. Once they reached the kitchen, he sat at the table, trying to force a calm he didn’t feel.
Hammer prowled through the liquor cabinet in the adjacent living room, then held up a bottle. “Scotch?”
He’d love some liquid oblivion, but hadn’t that gotten him into trouble in the first place? “I’d better not. I need to keep my wits about me.”
“Especially if you’re going to tangle with that snake.” Hammer stashed the bottle and wandered back into the kitchen, pacing.
“Agreed.” Encroaching rage and panic threatened to overtake him, but he couldn’t succumb. “I’ll head down the mountain and handle this mess Gwyneth is trying to lay in my lap. I’ll be back by nightfall.”
“Are you crazy? If you leave to see your ex now, Raine will be devastated.”
“Why?” Liam reared back. “She knows that Gwyneth cheated on me and that I don’t love her.”
“In her head, yeah. But in her heart?” Hammer shook his head.
“If this baby is mine, it was conceived well before I met Raine. It’s not as though I strayed.”
“The baby won’t upset her. You leaving now to see Gwyneth will. Remember, you uncollared her five days ago. You did it for the right reasons, but it cut her to the bone. If Raine wakes up and you’re gone, what do you imagine she’ll think?”
Liam groaned. “That I mean to dump her again, this time for my ex and our ready-made family.”
“Yep, and all of her abandonment issues will resurface. Besides, I’d rather not leave you to deal with that bitch alone. I may have kept my distance these last few years, but we’re in this together. I won’t fail you again.”
Liam gave a little sigh of relief that Macen had his back once more. “That means a lot to me, but I don’t need you to hold my hand. Gwyneth is my ex-wife. My mess. I’ll clean it up. I don’t want it touching you or Raine.”
“There must be another solution besides you leaving. After we pried her open physically and emotionally last night, she’ll be vulnerable for days. Despite the shit ton of progress we made last night, a few hours of bliss isn’t enough for her to change the way she thinks. She’ll shut down. God knows how hard it will be to open her again.”
Bloody hell, Hammer was right.
He pinched the bridge of his nose to quell the developing ache behind his eyes. “I need to find out if that’s my kid.”
Macen scowled, looking downright ruthless. “Let me go to the club. I’ll sort Gwyneth out and get you an answer.”
“I don’t think that will work any better. If you leave now, what will Raine think of that?”
Hammer paused, then cursed. “That the conquest is over, and I’ve moved on to find another. Damn it.”
“Precisely. That’s why I want to sit her down and explain. I’ll reassure her that I mean to be back by tonight.”
“Explain what? We don’t have any facts except that your ex-wife is in town, she’s brought a kid, and she wants to see you.”
Liam rubbed a palm against his aching forehead. “We have to tell Raine something. Keeping her in the dark is asking for trouble. After two days of drilling the importance of honesty and communication into her head, we promised her the same. Surely you haven’t forgotten how she just handed us our balls because we weren’t walking the walk.”
“How could I?” He snorted. “I don’t want to be dishonest, but it’s our duty as her Doms to protect her. Gwyneth’s sudden appearance will incite Raine’s worst insecurities.”
“You’re right. I want to give her more credit. And give us some. But after only one night together—most of it having sex or sleeping—we haven’t established a solid foundation of trust yet.”
“Exactly. And I’ll be honest. If Gwyneth finds out about Raine, I’m worried your ex will do something devious. We know she’s capable.”
Was she ever… “If Gwyneth came to make a mess of my life, I wish she’d done it a month from now. Hell, even a week from now. By then, our relationship with Raine would be stronger. But Gwyneth has already lit the fuse on this bomb.”
