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She tossed her head back. Tears streamed down her face—and she was laughing hysterically. “You poor man… Try to do a favor for a friend, and you wind up roped for life.” She leaned in and hooked a hand behind his head. “I guess you need to spend the next fifty years making it up to me. And I need to spend the next fifty years making you glad you did.”
She laid her lips over his, and he sank into her mouth, so fucking glad—and relieved—that she felt secure enough in their love to understand.
“What am I supposed to do for the next fifty years?” Hammer groused. “Watch?”
“Prove you love us just as much.” She beamed at him. “Get in here and kiss me.”
Liam had left thirty minutes ago to take his parents to the airport. The house seemed quiet, and surprisingly, Hammer missed the scent of Bryn’s steeping tea. But their absence gave them back some much-needed privacy. He couldn’t wait to exercise it.
As afternoon sun slanted through the windows, he leaned against the counter, admiring Raine’s fluid movements as she finished the remaining dishes from last night’s party and started a few sandwiches for their lunch. Pushing away from the surface, he turned her into his arms, gripping her supple hip and feeling her flesh give and mold around his fingers.
“Macen?”
He sent her a lazy grin with a hint of mock apology. “I just can’t seem to resist.”
And he didn’t want to. He’d taken Raine in that hot August night so many years ago to save her, but Liam was right. She’d been the one to save him. With her help, Hammer had laid his ghosts to rest. They hadn’t been the spirits of those he’d wronged, like Juliet, but simply a strangling guilt, thick with self-loathing and fear. They’d held him hostage for so many wasted years because he’d allowed it. He’d denied himself Raine’s comfort and touch, steering clear of her because she tested his self-control in ways that terrified him. Never again. Now that he’d shed the specters of his past, Hammer committed himself completely to forging a deeper bond with the two people who owned his heart. Now that he had Raine and Liam at his side, he’d found peace, contentment, and an unconditional love he’d never known existed.
Macen felt like a new man because he was one.
Caressing her baby bump, he slid her shirt up and teased her breast through her delicate bra with a swipe of his thumb over her nipple. When it drew up hard beneath his touch, Hammer smiled and lifted her flesh from its lacy cup, dipping his head to close his mouth around the erect bud and draw her deep. When Raine’s little gasp, followed by her throaty, feminine moan, filled the air, his pride wasn’t the only thing that swelled.
“Mmm…” Raine fell limp in his arms as the butter knife she’d been holding clattered to the floor. “I can’t think when you do that to me.”
“That’s why I do it, precious.” He claimed her mouth, feasting on her sweet softness, falling under her spell.
“Bloody hell, I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes,” Liam mockingly chided as he sauntered in from the garage.
“I tried to start lunch,” Raine protested breathlessly as Hammer tugged at her lobe with his teeth and teased her nipple with his thumb again.
To his relief, Liam joined in, pressing his mouth against Raine’s neck. “Who cares about bloody food? Watching you two eat at each other is far more tempting.”
Raine wriggled and gently nudged at them, managing a bit of distance. “You’ll care very much about ‘bloody food’ when your stomach is rumbling in an hour or two. Your parents at the airport all right?”
Liam gave a long-suffering sigh that Hammer related to. “Of course. They’re fine.”
“Let me finish making you two sandwiches. And, oh, let’s figure out where we’re taking the birthday boy for dinner. Then…anything goes,” she promised with a smile.
“That sounds promising. Any particular restaurant you’ve had a yen for?” Liam asked.
Hammer arched a brow. “First, you two threw me an amazing surprise party last night. That’s plenty.” Then he turned to Raine with a warning. “Second, did I give you permission to end our kiss?”
He pinched her nipples with just enough force to remind her who was in charge. Hammer felt his Dominance expand as Raine sucked in a sharp gasp.
“Maybe we should forego dinner and spend some time in the dungeon.” He slid Liam a questioning glance. “What do you think?”
“I’m always in favor of that, but it’s not every day you turn thirty-five, Macen. And after the upheaval we’ve been through, I think a private celebration—just the three of us—would be perfect. We can always torment her afterward.”
“Please?” Raine sent him an imploring gaze.
How could he say no? They’d been through the wringer because he’d chosen to waste his years with meaningless whores like Marlie instead of giving into his need for Raine. For that, Karma had come back around, chewing him up and nearly spitting him out.
