Hammer cringed at her name. “Actually, I already gave them up.”
“Did that plastic whore give you a disease I don’t know about?” Liam sent him a sideways glance.
“No.” Hammer scoffed. “I haven’t scened with anyone in weeks. I haven’t fucked anyone since Raine. I don’t want to.”
That took Liam totally aback. Hammer loved sex, and he’d never imagined his friend would give it up, even temporarily.
“That’s bloody near a month, mate—a record for you. Your balls must be blue.”
“Yep, and my hand is damn tired of getting a workout. But no one else is Raine.”
As much as Liam wanted to, he couldn’t argue with that.
Hammer cocked his head and sent him a questioning glance. “Are we agreeing to do this? For her?”
Liam hated it, but saw almost no way around it. “I think it makes sense, but…” He scrubbed at his face. “Making it work is going to be…complicated.”
Because one topic could turn this truce back into a war.
Raine wasn’t his anymore—at least not technically. That meant Hammer was free to say or do anything to her, as long as she consented. Macen had already vowed to get her into bed the moment he could. Liam had few illusions. Raine loved the man. If she said “no” to him, it wouldn’t be for long.
“You mean, figuring out who gets to fuck her will be complicated,” Hammer drawled.
“Yes.” Liam spit the word. “But hell, after her speech today, maybe she won’t want either of us.”
“Don’t kid yourself, O’Neill. If she cares about us both, she’s going to want us. Maybe together…maybe apart. If she needs us, how can we refuse?”
Liam bit his tongue hard enough to taste copper as he fought to dial down a sudden red rage. The memories of Raine’s scent in his nose and her cries in his ears as he sank into the hot, soft depths of her body clawed need through him. But Hammer was right. If they wanted Raine to grow and be happy, they both had to do the right thing for her, even if it bloody killed them.
“All right,” he managed to choke out the words.
They stared at one another for a month of Sundays before Hammer cocked a brow at him and finally broke the silence. “Anything else?”
“To be clear, once we’re in a session, we have to be dedicated to it.”
“Yep. Whatever it takes.”
“No arguing.”
Hammer nodded. “No bullshit.”
“No putting your pride first.”
“No doing the same with your jealousy.”
Hell, Liam wanted to punch Hammer, but what was the point when he was right? “Fine. We present a united front to Raine. Whatever’s happened prior doesn’t make a damn bit of difference once we enter a room and begin to work with her. If we disagree, we do it calmly, rationally, and out of her earshot. Raine comes first.”
Hammer nodded. “We’ll make it work. We have to.”
“If we don’t want to leave her growth to someone else, yes. We come at her together. Strong. Focused.”
“Willing and able to give her what she needs—no matter what that is. United in coaxing her into giving us what we need.”
“Agreed.” Liam hoped to hold Raine again, happier and more whole—and eventually all his. But after this conversation, he wasn’t so sure. If Hammer helped shape her today, where did that leave their tomorrow?
Hammer held out his hand. “I’m in.”
Liam could do nothing but shake it.
As much as the man inside Hammer disliked this idea, the Dom in him saw the logic. He’d utterly failed Raine for years. He couldn’t put his guilt above her needs and fail her again—even if sharing her with Liam would chafe him raw.
Getting his wife between him and his best friend used to make Hammer’s dick as hard as steel. The power of their bodies claiming her as one and driving her to screaming orgasms and exhaustion had been the headiest rush he’d ever experienced. Maybe he and Liam had too much animosity between them now for that. But any chance to fuck Raine again was a chance Hammer intended to take.
Still, one concern kept gnawing away at him.
“I’m not sure Raine understands how much work is ahead of her.”
Liam shrugged. “I’m not sure, either. I want to reach her more than I want to breathe. But neither of us can force her to grow faster than she’s ready to.”
“If she hasn’t thought this through and isn’t serious, we’ll find out real fast. But she’s strong enough.”
“And stubborn enough, that’s for damn sure.”
“That she is.” Hammer chuckled. “We’ll need to praise her for every speck of progress. Once she tastes success, we’ll have to hope it motivates her to keep growing.”
“She’ll need more than praise,” Liam said. “She’ll need reassurance, too.”
“Naturally.” Hammer nodded. “But the one thing in our favor is that she aches to please. We’ve both seen it.”
“Her submission can be bloody amazing. But she can shut it down so quickly, you get damn near dizzy.”