Her face closed up instantly, and Liam tamped down his frustration. He had to reach this girl if he was going to use her to help Hammer. And damn it, Raine was one unfulfilled need after another. It simply wasn’t in his Dom DNA to let her suffer like this.
“Tell me.” He drew closer, sat on the edge of the bed beside her. As she turned her face up to him, he cupped her cheek in his hand. Even in her sorrow and heartache, her delicate features drew him in.
She stiffened, swallowed. Bloody hell, if Hammer was going to be jealous, Liam knew she couldn’t be wary of his touch. He had to fix that quickly…and forget how much he liked putting his hands on her.
“It’s all right,” he assured her. “You’ve had a rough morning. You need to get this off your chest.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to trouble yourself. This morning just proved that I need to grow up. I’m sorry. I should probably apologize to Hammer, too, once I get my pride out of the way. But talking about it is pointless. I just don’t belong here anymore.”
With a heavy sigh, she rose from the bed. His stare fell on her soft curves, and Liam was suddenly aware of how little she wore. As she leaned down to him, she cupped his shoulder—and the tempting valley of her cleavage drew his gaze. To his shock, she brushed a kiss across his cheek. He had to fight the urge to touch her. “Some sub will be very lucky to have you. I’m kind of sorry it won’t be me. But thanks for your offer.”
He tried to stay calm, think, tread carefully.
“Now don’t leave yet. Sit and tell me what happened.” He’d give her a more direct command if he must, but he didn’t want to come across as the enemy, so he kept his voice coaxing—for now.
She hesitated, then plopped down on the bed, looking somewhere between embarrassed and miserable. “I thought that before I could really consider your offer, I had to see if there was any chance that Hammer could...” She stopped, sighed. “But there isn’t. I went to his room dressed in a lot less and tried to seduce him. Even when I had my mouth on his—” She looked away with a grimace, and Liam had a vivid mental picture of what she’d done to get Hammer’s attention. “He still turned me down. It hurt. We fought. I lost my temper. It got ugly.” She shrugged. “Here we are.”
A smile pulled at his lips. “No doubt you startled the hell out of him. Awakening to the soft, wet heat of a woman’s mouth wrapped around one’s John Thomas is generally something to appreciate. I’d say you surprised him, and he reacted poorly. Surely you’d not hold that against him.”
She jumped to her feet. “I should have known you’d take your pal’s side. I surprised Hammer, all right. And I aroused him. But he didn’t want to deal with me, so he tossed me out of the room and jacked off. He had the nerve to shout my name when...well, you get it. You’ll probably say it’s his Dom’s right or whatever, but I got so mad, I saw a red haze. I went to the dungeon and threw everything I could find on the floor. Okay, so it was stupid. But from that, Hammer decided that I needed a spanking. And to stick his fingers up my—” She shook her head. “He’s not dictating to me when I can have an orgasm, and I made that clear.”
Raine was like an angry wee bird, feathers bristling as she emphasized her words, her hands waving and breasts heaving. She was glorious.
He gave her a genuine smile, picturing only too well the scene she described.
She rolled her eyes. “And you think it’s funny. Fuck, I am so leaving.”
When she marched for the door, Liam leapt up, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back against him. He surrounded her completely, stroking her back lazily to offset his unyielding hold.
“There now, lass. Christ, I’ll bet the orgasm he gave himself was an empty regret compared to one he’d much rather have had between your lips.”
She snorted. “No. I’m like a sister to him. He doesn’t want me. He never will, and I don’t think I can stay and watch him with women like Marlie anymore.” She fidgeted in his grasp. “Can you let me go?”
Not a chance in hell, and if she thought Hammer truly wanted anyone but her, then someone had to pull back the man’s curtain and show her the truth. Words wouldn’t do it, but actions… Hammer in a jealous rage ought to convince her.
“You can’t really want to leave home and all you know?” he said softly. “My offer still stands. Hammer hasn’t done a good job teaching you or making you feel valued as a woman. So let me do that. Aren’t you even a little curious to see what you might gain?”