The Brink (Unbroken Raine Falling 3)

Liam frowned. He’d thought her critique of George had been rather harsh—until now. What sort of daft prick would leave his child with Gwyneth? “And? You thought—just in case seducing me didn’t work—that while they were vacationing, you’d use their own son to try to screw them out of a billion pounds?”

“Really, Liam…that’s unfair.”

He growled a curse. “Sounds pretty accurate to me.”

“Being responsible for Kyle every day and night has been so difficult. Do you know how impossible it is to get any sleep with a baby? And now that he’s so terribly ill…” She started sobbing again. “Oh, it’s awful. I look a fright. I can’t remember the last shower I had in peace. My nerves are shattered. I don’t know why anyone would want to breed.” She shuddered.

Liam had never been more ecstatic that he hadn’t gotten Gwyneth pregnant.

“What should I do? He’s seriously ill. What if the worst happens?” she sobbed.

“You’ll have to live with the consequences of your actions.” Something she’d had almost no experience with. “Why are you confessing all this to me now?”

“I’ve been out of my mind with worry. I can’t deal with the stress. You can usually fix any situation, so I hoped if I told you everything, you’d help me. I don’t know where else to turn…” She dissolved into tears once more.

Liam shook his head. “The doctors will give Kyle all the help he needs. But you’re beyond help. I can’t believe what you’ve done.”

“It started out innocently,” she protested. “Once Kitty and George set sail, I found myself in New York. I just wanted to see you again. I tried the apartment. When I couldn’t reach you there, I lowered myself to visit that terrible club Seth belongs to. Of course, you weren’t there, either.”

“And someone there told you where to find me?” So much for member confidentiality. A head needed to roll for that.

“It wasn’t her fault. When I appeared with Kyle at that…place, everyone assumed Kyle was yours.” She winced, staring at him with green eyes, begging for forgiveness. “I just carried the assumption along. Then everything snowballed, and I found myself having to come up with even bigger explanations—”

“Lies.” He corrected.

She frowned. “Not…completely factual statements, I’ll admit.”

“Fucked-up fabrications meant to disrupt my life.”

She sighed. “Don’t be a martyr…”

He glowered at her furiously, not trusting himself to speak—or not to throttle her. “Anything else, Gwyneth?”

“That’s it.” She dabbed at the tears rolling prettily down her cheeks. “Can’t you see how I’m suffering? Help me.”

Gwyneth never had been good at focusing on anyone but herself.

“What about your sister? Does Kitty even know her son is sick?”

She stood and resumed pacing, wringing her hands again. “I rang Kitty before you arrived. Their ship docks in Galveston early in the morning. They’ve already scheduled a flight from nearby Houston that lands at LAX shortly after noon. Thank God. I’m too exhausted to keep up this pretense. And you’ve become so surly.”

Liam felt a ridiculous amount of relief at her statement. But one thing still bothered him. “Why the hell didn’t you just ask me for help? That’s what a normal person would have done.”

She gaped at him. “You were so angry about my little fling with the trainer. He was pretty, and he didn’t mean anything to me. But for some reason, you were quite put out. Why would I believe you’d help me, especially since I needed you to marry me again?”

At least Gwyneth had figured out that he wanted nothing more to do with her. Since she usually couldn’t fathom a man not being madly in love with her, that was progress for his ex-wife.

“We’ll never know now, will we?”

Silence filled her head. Raine felt the press of lips to her forehead, a caress of her shoulder. She drifted on a cloud of warmth, surrounded by an odd peace. Nothing cluttered her mind. It was a nice change. She breathed, feeling too lethargic to do more.

“Are you with me, precious?”

Hammer. She recognized his voice, his term of endearment. He trailed kisses down her neck. Raine was aware of him, but sensation didn’t quite penetrate her haze. She should probably answer him, but when she tried, she only managed the softest moan.

“Come back to me now,” he coaxed. “Open your eyes. Look at me.”

Raine didn’t want to. She enjoyed the peaceful void. Almost nothing penetrated her quiet except his affection. But under that cajoling note, insistence laced his voice. Something inside Raine didn’t want to disappoint him.

Slowly, she became more aware of her surroundings: soft sheets on her tender backside, a warm quilt tucked all around her, Hammer’s bare torso pressed against hers as he leaned over her.

“Raine… You looked beautiful submitting to me. Everyone in the club now knows you belong to Liam and me, and you did us so proud. Let me know you can hear me.”