“You do,” Beck reassured. “I know you doubt that from time to time, but deep down, you know it’s true.”
Seth crouched down in front of her again. “Raine, look at me.”
He waited silently until she mustered the courage to raise her head and show him her uncertainty, her insecurities.
He smiled. “I know this is hard, but we’re proud you got the words out. Next time, convince us that you’re not just reciting these words, but that you believe them.”
It sounded as much fun as being waterboarded, but she knew they only meant to help. “I’ll do my best, Sir.”
“That’s all we’re asking. Now, tell us why you’re having trouble accepting that statement as fact.”
“My father convinced me I wasn’t good enough.” She shrugged self-consciously. “If you hear it enough, you believe it. Liam told me that it was time for my head to start listening to my heart.”
“I think Liam is a very wise man. And he loves you very much. You should listen to him.” Seth smiled gently.
“They’re ready for you upstairs, princess.” Beck extended his hand to her. “Slip your robe back on and they’ll meet you on the landing.”
Raine let Beck help her to her feet. “Thank you, Sirs, for helping me sort everything out.”
Seth watched as she wrapped the sash around her waist, then he took over, tying it into a loose knot. “Think long and hard about your affirmations while you do your task today. They’ll help.”
And with that, Seth placed a sweet kiss on her forehead before he shooed her out of the kitchen.
At the top of the stairs, Hammer tapped his foot impatiently, watching Raine ascend. The little red robe swished around her thighs, cinched her waist, caressed her hard nipples. He squeezed the length of silk rope in his hand. Beside him, anticipation rolled off Liam.
Today wouldn’t be easy, but if it went well, it would be satisfying as fuck.
As she drew closer, her gaze bounced between them, her expression looking a little shaken—definitely more nervous than she had before breakfast—but determined.
Liam took her elbow and led her between them, down the hall, to the playroom. Once inside, Hammer shut the door, watching Raine. She stared at the padded table they’d outfitted in the middle of the room, again lit only by the array of candles, and drew in an audible breath.
“Something wrong, love?” Liam asked.
She seemed to gather herself, then shook her head. “No, Sir. I’m a bit uneasy. I’m not sure what to expect or what to do. But I guess you’ll tell me, right? Should I be on my knees or on that?”
When she pointed to the bondage bed, Hammer stepped in front of her and looped a finger under her belt. “We appreciate such a complete answer. But I want you to focus on me for a moment. Keep what you learned yesterday in mind. Communication will be critical. Today’s task is about honesty.”
Raine blanched. “I know it’s important, but sometimes the truth hurts people. I try to avoid upsetting anyone.”
“There’s a difference between saying something gently and lying. No one wants to be lied to, Raine,” Hammer pointed out. “Didn’t you have an affirmation about that earlier this morning?”
“Since you wrote them, you know I did, Sir. Seth pointed out that I can’t be responsible for how others feel, but I just don’t know how to look someone in the eye and upset them.”
His gaze softened. “Seth is right. Your responsibility is to communicate the truth, not to worry about how it affects us.”
He let that sink in and waited until acceptance flitted across her face. “I’ll do my best, Sir.”
Liam took her hand. “Talk to us throughout this exercise and do what we tell you. All will be well.”
“Let’s begin.” Hammer brushed a soft kiss over her lips, then slipped the knot around her waist free.
Liam moved behind her and took the robe from her slender shoulders. He hung it from the doorknob, then together, they led her to the side of the raised table.
“Climb up, precious.”
Casting a quick glance between the two of them again, she braced her palms on the padded surface. With his hands gripping her hips, Liam helped her up. Hammer waited on the other side, wrapping his arms around her torso to steady her.
Once they laid her supine, he and Liam both bound her wrists with cuffs built into the sides of the table. “These restraints aren’t to hold you down, but to hold you open for us. We’re going to ask you questions. Each time you answer honestly, we’ll place a new fastening around you.”
“We won’t be binding you to the table, love,” Liam added. “We’ll be binding you to us.”
Her gaze flipped over to Liam. “Do you mean that?”
“With all our hearts,” Hammer promised.
Liam smoothed the hair from her forehead. “Don’t you feel it?”
“Believing is really hard for me, but I’m trying, I swear.”
Not the answer he wanted to hear, but Hammer understood and accepted it—for now.
He finished tying off the first restraint. Under his hands, Raine trembled, but resolution filled her face.
“We see that and we’re proud. Today will be more difficult, Raine,” Hammer warned. “Yesterday showed the value of good communication. Honesty is a big part of that. I haven’t always been honest with you, and I’m changing that. You have to do the same.” Her silence made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He refused to make the same mistake twice. “Raine?”
She hesitated for a suspended moment, apprehension flashing in her eyes, but there was no point in moving on unless she committed to the rules and the process. “Yes, Sir. I understand.”
Liam gave a visible sigh of relief. “We have faith in you, Raine. Now put your faith in us.”
They had to get on with the task. Hammer knew giving her time to worry would only let her doubts sneak in.
“I trust you more than I trust myself,” she admitted.
Hammer rocked back on his heels. His heart jumped to his throat. He and Liam exchanged a glance. He saw his own shock reflected back in his friend’s dark eyes.
“Follow your instincts. We’ll help you through,” Liam vowed, then pressed a lingering kiss against her mouth.
As soon as Liam pulled back, Hammer kissed her, too, a slow brush of lips. He nudged them apart, tasted her for a sweet moment, then pulled away.
She looked at them with her heart in her eyes.
It was time to begin.
Liam leaned over the table again, hovering directly over Raine’s face. “Tell me, when you were collared to me, did you continue to cook and clean for Hammer after I told you not to?”
“Can I get in trouble for my answers?” She bit her lip.
Vixen. Hammer didn’t know whether to shake his head or laugh.
“Only if you’re bratty or dishonest,” he quipped.
With a chuckle, Liam caressed her arm. “If you’re honest, you’ll earn nothing but praise. Answer my question.”
Her eyes slid shut and she winced. “Then, yes. I did.”
“Why?” Liam prodded.
She cracked an eye and looked Hammer’s way. She’d never once told him that his dinner was in the oven or that she’d changed his sheets. Just like he’d never openly thanked her. Instead, he’d had the oil changed in her car and left squares of her favorite chocolates where only she would find them. It had been their secret.
“How did you know?” she asked.
“I’m not blind,” Liam said. “Why?”
Raine took her time answering. A fist of anticipation gripped Hammer’s stomach and squeezed hard as she collected her thoughts and focused on Liam again.
“I’d taken care of him for so long, I didn’t know how not to. And, no offense…” She glanced at Hammer before redirecting back to Liam. “He’s pretty helpless in the kitchen. As long as I was cooking for us, it didn’t make sense to not make a little extra and leave it warm for him. The thought of him going hungry or eating takeout all the time bothered me. Ditto with the cleaning.”
“Thank you for being honest.” Liam grabbed a length of rope and attached her to the table again, this time binding her upper arms.
“Did that make you mad?” she asked, apprehension evident in her voice. “Because I never wanted to upset you. It wasn’t meant to.”
“What upsets me is that you did things for Hammer behind my back.” Liam tightened the binding. “You didn’t trust me enough to be honest.”
Raine nodded like she understood completely. “Somewhere during our last trip here, I become so attached to you that I was afraid to say anything that might drive you away. Me caring for Hammer wasn’t indicative of any disrespect or disloyalty to you. I just didn’t know how to say it.”
Liam peered down at her, his face tightening as if he repressed a hundred different thoughts. As if he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let go. “You just did, love.”
“And thank you for not letting me starve,” Hammer added, fastening his own rope around her opposite arm. “Focus on the silk, precious. Each is a line of trust between us. Feel it on your skin, in your blood, deep down.”
“I do,” she murmured as he tightened the knot.
Hammer couldn’t miss the arousal in her voice, and fuck, it turned him on.
“When did you first start thinking of Liam as something more than my friend?”
Raine’s eyes went wide. She pressed her lips together, then cut her gaze over to Liam. Hammer didn’t have to guess that she wasn’t keen on this question.
He tugged on the rope across her biceps. “Trust.”
Nodding, she blew out a breath. “When you first introduced us, I, um…thought he was very attractive. He asked a lot of probing questions during our first few conversations. He asked me about you. Then he asked me about me. I didn’t say much in either case. But I knew he was watching me a lot. I couldn’t figure out why exactly.” She let out a breath, then grasped for her fortitude. “The morning I broke the cup at your doorstep, the morning Marlie stepped from your room—”
“She was a mistake,” Hammer cut her off.
That made Raine smile. “She was a ‘see you next Tuesday.’”
“Excuse me?” Liam frowned, clearly confused.
“A cunt,” Hammer supplied. “C. U. Next… You get it.”
Liam burst out laughing. “That she was. Very clever, love.”
The new lightness in the room seemed to give her some confidence. “Anyway, Liam came to see me in the kitchen that morning and offered to train me. At first, I thought he just felt sorry for me. Then he kissed me. Then I knew he wanted me.”
Hammer flashed Liam a shocked glare, then with a grimace, he forced himself back on track. Water under the bridge. Ancient history. Not important right now—even if he wanted to give his old pal a piece of his mind.
As she watched him, uncertainty passed over her face. “Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
“No, precious. You did well.” He wound another length of rope through the fastening in the table, then draped it over her shoulders.
Liam took the end and joined it on his side, pinning her down more. “Very honest, just as we asked for.”
Raine looked visibly relieved. “I’m trying.”
“We know,” Liam soothed. “Tell me why you think I uncollared you.”
“Well…I know you weren’t happy that I didn’t tell you about the migraine,” she began.
“Not happy at all.” Liam raised a brow. “But do you really think that’s why?”
“I didn’t say that,” she defended. “I knew it didn’t help, but…I guess I did a lot of things. I didn’t always tell you what was in my head.” Her gaze skittered away. “My only defense is that I’d never really had more than a one-sided relationship. I didn’t know how to believe you when you said you’d be there or that you cared.”
Hammer winced. Her words stung. Honesty was brutal, but he couldn’t hide from the truth. He’d kept her at arm’s length for years. From the moment she’d begun to blossom under his roof, he’d been scared fucking shitless at how much he cared. He’d wanted to protect her more than he had any other woman. At first, he’d told himself it was because she’d been so damn young and vulnerable. Then Hammer thought his feelings had grown because he was determined to save her, since he hadn’t saved Juliet. Finally, he realized that he’d simply fallen for Raine.
Funny how he hadn’t figured out that he loved her or that she alone could heal him until Liam had stolen her away.
“Did you or did you not actively avoid conversations you’d find uncomfortable?” Liam asked.
“I did.” She sent him a sad, penitent stare. “But I didn’t mean to shut you out.”
