The Break (Unbroken Raine Falling 2)

“And you want me to find him?”

“Yes. He’s waiting in the kitchen.”

That made Raine’s heart stutter again. Lord, if Hammer was cooking, she hoped he was preparing dry cereal. Anything more complicated could be catastrophic. Absently, she kissed Liam, then darted out of the room, almost dreading what she’d find. Hammer had proven he could set the kitchen on fire.

As she scurried down the hall, Raine felt a tingle roll through her and glanced back to see Liam watching, his seductive stare promising more than a kiss—soon.

As she rounded the doorway to the kitchen, Hammer stood at the stove, cursing as he hissed and shook a splatter of hot bacon grease from his hand. Raine bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

Remembering the last time he’d attempted to cook, her thoughts wandered years back, to the third morning she’d awakened at Shadows. The scream of a smoke alarm had sent her racing down the hall, panicked that the entire building was going up in flames. What she’d found instead was the sharply perceptive man who had taken her in. He fanned a dish towel at the shrieking alarm. Flames flickered behind the glass window of the oven as more noxious smoke rolled from its door.

With a gasp, Raine had raced around the room, turning off the oven and searching numerous cabinets until she found a box of baking soda. Yanking the door open, she dumped the powder over the flames, snuffing out the fire from the frosting-laden Danishes he’d tried to broil.

Hammer, despite seeming so tall and intimidating, had given her a smile of pride. “Thank you, precious.”

She hadn’t known why at the time, but her heart had soared and her stomach had flipped over completely.

Her heart nearly melted in from her chest now as she watched him attempt to cook for her again. Raine hoped that meant he was on the road to forgiving her. She sure hadn’t thought he would be last night when he’d refused to speak to her. Hammer cutting her cold would be like losing a limb. This morning, she still wasn’t exactly sure where she stood. They weren’t strictly friends. But they weren’t exactly lovers, either. Like Liam, he wanted to help her. That had to mean something.

She wondered if he knew that Liam had pulled her naked into his lap minutes ago and kissed her. Or if he’d care. Would Hammer kiss her, too? Do more? Or had the only way he and Liam been able to stop arguing and make her this offer was to take sex off the table?

Damn, she should have asked what boundaries they’d set for themselves before she’d agreed to let them guide her. But she intended to ask as soon as she had them alone again.

Easing toward the stove, she placed her hand over his and reached for the fork in his grasp, looking up into his face. For recognition. For approval. Would he push her away or welcome her?

“Do you want me to take over?” she asked softly.

“It would be safer for us all. Here.” He handed her the fork with a grin.

Instantly, that set her at ease. She took over at the stove with a wistful smile. “Remember the last time you tried to set the place on fire?”

“I might take that for sass, precious.”

But he wouldn’t, and his teasing tone made that obvious. She chuckled as she nudged his shoulder to move him away from her stove. “I’ve got this. Grab yourself a cup of coffee and relax.”

Skewing up one side of his mouth, Hammer lifted the coffeepot from the counter. “Um…”

He tipped the pot over, revealing that it was empty, and sent her a hopeful smile, thrusting it toward her.

She giggled. “You’re so helpless.”

Shaking her head, she stepped around him and filled the pot. She could feel his eyes watching her every move.

“Not at everything,” Hammer refuted in a rough drawl. “But you know that.”

Raine remembered. Every moment of the night she’d spent in his bed was seared in her memory.

“Like barking out orders and growling?” she teased to match his mood.

Suddenly, his smile disappeared. Hammer’s commanding Dom face took its place.

Uh-oh. Fun time is over.

“I have one question for you,” he said.

Raine held her breath anxiously. “Yes?”

“Are you absolutely sure this is what you want to do?”

Despite her earlier reservations, she’d never been more serious about anything in her life. The past was where it belonged, behind her. The present was winding itself before her, albeit on a unexpected path. The future…who knew? But she refused to give up on tomorrow simply because it scared her.

She lifted her chin with conviction. “Positive.”

“I hope you mean that.” Hammer’s stare held hers hostage for a long, silent moment.

Then his attention drifted toward the coffeepot, and he sighed.

So big and bad…until he had no coffee. She grinned. “It will be ready soon. Patience.”