With a wicked sneer, he winked. “You stupid bastard. You lost her to Liam because you were a pussy. Good luck trying to get some sleep tonight. I bet all you’ll be able to picture is Liam buried inside your little princess. I doubt you’ll be able to find a bottle deep enough to drown in.”
Hammer bucked Beck off him, then rolled to his feet, fury like a volcano inside him, primed to erupt. “You’re banned from the club for a week.”
“Again?” Beck chuckled, then stood and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from a low table against the wall. He unscrewed the cap and tossed it to the floor, then took a long gulp and hissed through the burn. He thrust the bottle toward Hammer.
“Yeah. Again, asswipe,” Hammer snarled as he took the bottle and swallowed a healthy swig.
“A week? That’ll work. I need a break, anyway. You do know that you hit like a bitch, right?”
“Yeah, that’s why your lip is bleeding and your eye is already turning black,” Hammer snarled. “You hurt her. I can forgive a lot of things, man, but it’s going to take a while for me to get over that.”
“You really need to work out your shit when it comes to her. She’s eating you up inside because she means something to you. Admit it, or one day you’re going to wake up and you won’t even recognize the man in the mirror.”
Hammer bristled, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is that your professional diagnosis?”
“You should have fucked the princess out of your system. Been done with her already.”
“Never going to happen.”
Hammer stormed away and headed to the liquor room. He grabbed a bottle of Patrón and stalked back to his office, slamming the door behind him. He ripped off his suit coat and tie, tossing them on the bed as he walked to the bathroom. As he rinsed the blood from his knuckles, he raised his head, catching his own reflection in the mirror above the sink. Blood oozed from a cut above his brow, but what startled him most were the haunted eyes staring back.
He splashed cold water on his face, then watched crimson swirl down the drain.
Hammer turned off the faucet. As he reached for a towel, the sounds of sex filtered through the walls. It was Raine’s tender moan of passion. Liam’s familiar Irish lilt coaxed, melding with hers. Frozen like a statue, he stood listening to the sounds of their lovemaking. It gnawed at his gut.
Swallowing down the scream boiling in his chest, Hammer marched from the bathroom. Uncapping the tequila, he tipped the bottle back, guzzling it like water. Even so, the moans resounded in his head, burning their way into his brain. Beck was right—there wasn’t a bottle deep enough for him to escape this pain.
Sitting at the foot of his bed, he thought he’d put enough distance between himself and the sounds of Liam and Raine’s ardor, but her sultry cries still bled through the walls. He covered his ears—anything to drown out the reality of another man giving Raine all the pleasures he ached to grant her himself.
All four walls seemed to close in around him and sweat sprinkled his forehead. He gulped more alcohol, then hung his head. The entire day had been a fucking Greek tragedy. All because he’d taken Marlie to bed. Didn’t Raine get that he would—and had—fucked almost every other woman in the club to keep himself from taking her to bed and ruining her life? Of course not. He’d never been honest with her. Hell, it was hard to be honest with himself. But right now, the real sounds of Raine screaming Liam’s name as she shattered for the backstabbing prick was more reality than he could take.
Sweat dripped from his face and down his back. Hammer stood and stripped off his shirt and threw it to the floor. He walked from the bedroom to his adjoining office, praying the walls would provide enough of a buffer to find some goddamn silence.
He sat at his desk and wrapped his thick fingers around his coffee mug, then peered inside. Clean as a whistle. Through all the tears, bullshit, and drama, Raine had still made sure his mug was clean.
With a terrible roar, he heaved the ceramic cup across the room, and as the sound of splintering shards hit the floor, he tipped back the bottle of Patrón and guzzled. When he came up for air, he flopped down on his buttery-soft leather couch and rested the bottle on his knee. Studying the clear liquid sloshing inside, he hoped it would at least dull the brutal pain slicing through him…but he wasn’t betting on it. Fuck Beck for being right.
Beside Raine, Liam snored softly in her ear. Spooned into his chest, his arm curled around her waist, his warmth surrounded her, protected her. She closed her eyes. He made letting go so easy. That tender voice… The caress of his eyes… He might still be something of a stranger—what did she know about his past, his goals, his life—but with him, she found it unsettlingly comfortable to let her guard down and believe him. Trust him. It was exhilarating…and scary as hell.
She snuggled up to him, astounded by the turn their relationship had taken so quickly. But tonight, he’d shown that he would be there for her, just as he’d promised. That he would care for and protect her. He’d broken his long-standing friendship with Hammer to defend her when he barely knew her.
Why?
Raine didn’t know, and the question unsettled her. Liam had claimed her tonight, once publicly and gently, showing everyone his tender dominance. Then he’d brought her to his bedroom and...what? More than fucked her—and more than once. His every touch and look had been rife with some meaning.
Raine had never really had a man make love to her, but she imagined it would feel a lot like what Liam had done. Thorough. Gentle. Consuming. If he’d wanted to reach deep into her, he had succeeded. He’d ripped through her protective walls and totally exposed her soul. In the aftermath, she was finding it hard to fortify herself with those barriers again. Besides being sexy and caring, Liam had been there for her in a way very few ever had.
Why?
She didn’t know. And damn, the day had rushed over her like a flash flood, and she hadn’t found high ground fast enough to take cover.
For so long, her ever-present desire for a fierce protector had burned inside her. But so did her craving for a firm Master. Hammer had been the former for the past six years, sometimes shielding her too much. She knew he could be the latter, if he wished. But she couldn’t make him love her. Maybe he did, on some level. Maybe that would explain why he’d tried so hard to keep her from leaving Shadows when they’d fought. Maybe that was his guilt talking. Or maybe just another one of his games to control her.
It didn’t really matter anymore. Hammer had given her to Beck to punish, rather than touch her himself. And if he wanted to believe that she’d tricked Liam into caring, then screw him. She was done. She belonged to Liam now.
Raine thrust aside the memory of Hammer’s decimated face just before Liam carried her from the room. Her heart clutched. Despite everything, she was stupid enough to love him still. Sadly, some part of her probably always would.
But what about Liam? If he was everything he seemed to be, he deserved a woman who could submit her entire being to him, heart and soul.
God, she could think in this endless circle all night long.