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Hammer and Raine didn’t appear to be working in the dungeon, but the thumping rhythmic beat of the music filled his ears. The primal screams and moans of both pleasure and pain surged a renewed vigor through his veins. The thick scent of heated bodies and sexual arousal swarmed his senses, so heady he could almost taste it.
Seth sat curled up on one of the oversized couches, giving aftercare to a pretty redheaded sub whom he’d wrapped in a blanket within the circle of his arms. The second he caught sight of Liam, he kissed the sub’s forehead and sent her on her way.
As Liam crossed the floor, he heard some of the chatter around the cavernous room. Only a few words filtered through. Members talked excitedly about how intense the scene earlier had been. But as he passed, those conversations ceased abruptly. Some Doms simply stared. Jesus, had the rumor mill found out about Gwyneth and his “son”?
When Liam reached Seth, he nodded to his buddy from New York. “I see you’re adapting to Los Angeles well.”
“I won’t lie. The girls are pretty, and the weather is damn nice.”
Liam half expected Seth to rib him about his entertaining, soap-opera life again, but the man didn’t. “Glad to hear it. You seen Raine and Hammer?”
Seth paused, and all of Liam’s instincts flared. “They scened earlier in the dungeon.”
Just the two of them. Liam heard Seth’s unspoken message. Something between anxiety and annoyance prickled at him. But Hammer was Raine’s Dom, too. He’d sometimes need or want her. At least that’s what his reasonable side told him.
The other side flamed hot with a blinding streak of jealousy.
“And?” he managed to ask.
Another pause, this one longer. “It was…intense.”
Liam didn’t particularly like the sound of that. “Meaning?”
“Raine flew hard and fast. I think she must have needed it.”
After the day she’d endured, likely so. The evasions and the lies, his ex-wife and the baby, their row… All of that would combine to set her off-balance. She would have wanted someone to take that away from her, even if only temporarily, and to center her.
But damn it, his day had been far fucking worse. Every bloody event had blindsided him. He’d managed to brace himself through one train wreck after another—none of them of his creation. Had either Hammer or Raine thought for a moment that he might need the opportunity to control something today?
“You look pissed off,” Seth observed. “But you’ve always agreed that Raine’s needs come first. I’m sure she can’t wait to be with you again. Don’t be jealous.”
That felt like telling him not to breathe, and he battled with himself. If Hammer had been gone and Raine had needed Liam’s support, Dominance, or affection, Hammer would absolutely have insisted Liam give her whatever she required—no questions asked.
Why, then, Liam wondered, was he feeling betrayed? He turned to his friend. “I didn’t ask your opinion about what I should think.”
Seth held up his hands to ward off any argument. “Just telling you how I see it.”
He didn’t care. Instead, he fought for calm. “When did Hammer and Raine finish?”
“A little over an hour ago, I think.”
So plenty of time for Hammer to have taken complete advantage of Raine. No, given her aftercare. She’d probably needed that, too. “Where did they go?”
“To his room.” Seth looked reluctant to make that admission. He scooted to the edge of the sofa and looked Liam in the face. “I know you didn’t ask me, but seriously, you’ve got to deal with this. You’re trying to play cool, but I can see it’s eating you up. You two share her. Equal time, equal surrender.”
True, and if Liam felt as if he’d received the same affection and devotion from Raine that Hammer did, maybe he’d be all right with the fact that his best mate had done god knew what to his girl when his back had been turned.
Liam nodded, not trusting himself to say much more. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Seth grabbed his arm. “Don’t go in there half-cocked. You’re exhausted, and you’ve had a lot on your mind. Take a drink. Unwind. Remember what’s important.”
The man wasn’t wrong about his exhaustion, Liam mused. Maybe he needed to take a step back and clear his head. The last thing he wanted now was another drama, especially one he created.
With a hesitant nod, Liam allowed Seth to nudge him toward the bar.
“What’ll it be, mate? Single malt, right?” Nick, the bartender, stood before him with a cheery fucking smile Liam just couldn’t bring himself to match.
“Aye, straight up.”
“I’ll take a water,” Seth added.
The minute Nick placed the tumbler in front of him, Liam lifted it. His hands shook as he tossed the liquor back. The burn seared its way down his throat yet did nothing to thaw the ice freezing his chest.
