“If Hammer needed your help, he’d be sending you out the door to tend to some task or another,” Liam said in a soft, steely tone that warned her not to refute him.
“I would.” Hammer nodded. “You deserve a day off. There’s nothing so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow.”
If that’s true for me, why isn’t it true for you?
“Why don’t you go start the shower for us, Raine?” Hammer suggested.
“I had one before breakfast.”
“But not with me.” Hammer dropped his gaze to her naked flesh. His nostrils flared, drawing in the scent of sex lingering in the air. Liam might be done with her for now, but Hammer hadn’t even started.
She swallowed and darted a gaze to Liam. His unreadable face didn’t tell her if Hammer’s demand bothered him.
“All right.”
Before she could climb out of bed, Liam skimmed a soft thumb over her cheek, then kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips. “Thank you, love. I enjoyed my time with you. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I can’t wait.” God, she hoped she got some answers then. They were driving her batty.
Hammer pulled her into his arms, onto his lap, and held her tight against his chest. His hold felt almost desperate, too.
Then he claimed her lips. As she surrendered to his potent kiss, Raine wished the three of them could have stayed at the lodge, far from the stress that now consumed the men she loved. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with the fears and uncertainty eating her alive.
Bittersweet moments later, Hammer helped her up and gave her butt a playful swat. “I’ll be in to join you in a minute.”
Raine felt their eyes on her as she made her way toward the bathroom. A strange foreboding filled her. Intuition told her that life as she knew it was about to change.
As Raine walked away, Liam rolled out of bed and shrugged into his shirt. She’d shut the bathroom door, but he waited until he heard the stream of the shower pounding tile before he turned to Hammer.
“Raine is waiting on you, and the baby is awake, so we don’t have much time. Tell me what happened with Gwyneth. You look like you’re ready to stroke out, mate.”
“Why the fuck did you say ‘I do’ to that vile whore?”
“I was listening to my cock then, not so much my head.”
Hammer scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Based on what you told me, the woman I just saw wasn’t the same teary, contrite one who begged you to parent with her. She tried to tell me she’d changed. When that didn’t work, she pleaded with me to end the friction between us and start over so I’d help her get you back.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Liam moaned. “She’s a head case.”
“And when that didn’t work, she basically told me Raine would be my next Juliet, that you’d get tired of my sloppy seconds one day, and I’d never find a woman who loved me.”
Liam clenched his jaw. “I’m ready to kill the bitch myself. She is still alive, isn’t she?”
“Yes, which wasn’t my first choice.”
“Bollocks. So I need to watch my back?”
“And your front, too. I was her only potential ally, but by the end of our conversation, she’d burned every bridge with me. Now she has no other option but to bring her A game with you.”
“She can try, but I won’t be playing by her rules,” Liam spat, but he still tasted her bitterness on his tongue. “I can’t believe she had the nerve to toss Juliet in your face like that.”
“Oh, I can,” Hammer snarled. “Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for whatever reason—which I seriously doubt has a fucking thing to do with that baby—Gwyneth is beyond determined to get you back.”
Liam clenched his jaw. “Don’t worry. I’m right beside you with Raine, mate.”
Hammer nodded, then darted a gaze toward the bathroom. Anger continued to roll off his frame, and Liam couldn’t help but worry if Macen would sate some of his frustration with Raine.
“Pack up Gwyneth’s shit and get her the fuck of out here.” Hammer sounded viciously mad. “Please.”
Liam had rarely heard such distress in Macen’s voice. Clearly, the fear of losing the closeness they’d just begun developing with Raine was consuming Hammer, too.
“I will. Take care of Raine.”
Christ, he wanted to tell Hammer to treat her gently, to be kind and loving, and to keep the beast inside him at bay.
“I’ll occupy her in the bedroom until I get the all-clear from you.” Hammer clapped him on the shoulder, then eased into the bathroom and quickly stripped off his clothes.
Liam had to dig deep and trust that the man would keep his emotions in check with their girl. He inched toward the open portal and watched the muted shadows of naked skin moving beyond the glass doors. He held his breath, expecting Hammer to shove Raine against the wall and claim her in a fierce rush. Instead, Macen simply wrapped his arms around the woman they loved and clutched her beneath the spray of water as if nothing else mattered.