Stark naked, she marched for his bedroom door.

“It’s not a goddamn lie!” he bellowed. “Go ask Liam. He was there. He knows exactly what went down. He was fucking her, too, for christ’s sake. Yes, precious, that’s right. I shared my wife with him. And it ended in disaster. I won’t fucking do that to you.”

Gasping, she stepped back from him in horror. “Wife?” Oh dear god, she’d fucked a married man? Raine didn’t have many boundaries, but that was one she held sacred. She never stole another woman’s man. “You asshole! Why didn’t you tell me you’re married? I would have never... And where the hell has she been all this time?”

God, she was going to be sick. Raine grabbed the comforter from Hammer’s bed and used it to cover herself as she backed toward the door.

He ripped it away from her body.

“My late wife. She’s dead because she couldn’t handle life with me.” His stare seared her flesh. “And if you think you can, then you have to start understanding now that when we’re alone, you won’t be allowed even this.” He tossed the cover back on the bed. “But if you think you’re ready to be my slave, precious, then get on your knees. Or get the fuck out!”

Her head spun. His wife. His slave. Dead...how? How did not handling Macen’s demands lead to a grave? She stared, struggling to comprehend. Hell, she’d never known—even remotely suspected—that he’d ever been married, much less lost a wife. And Liam had been there, sharing her?

“What’s it going to be?” he asked. “I’m not a patient man when it comes to sex with my slave. Open your mouth. Finger your clit and get yourself wet so I can fuck my pussy again. For your dithering, you won’t get an orgasm. I’ll probably want your ass again, too. Hell, we may not see daylight for a week. Now hurry up!”

“You’re trying to be a vile asshole,” she accused. She’d never seen him be this wretched to anyone. This wasn’t him.

“Nope, I’m finally being myself. You’ve got five seconds to decide. Either kneel and stick out your tongue or get the fuck out.”

She’d suffered abuse as a child when she’d been powerless to stop it. As a woman, she understood finally that she didn’t have to stay in any situation that made her feel less than valued. She’d had enough therapy to know she was worth more. Even if he was telling the truth, the relationship he described sounded like a one-sided nightmare. She’d never be happy like that.

“You’re a selfish son of a bitch, Hammer. Go suck your own cock.”

Head held high, she whirled to the door and yanked it open, feeling Hammer’s heavy stare all over her.

Raine stormed out into a wall that shouldn’t be there. She looked up—right into Liam’s face. His blue robe draped over his bare shoulder. His stare raked her up and down, coldly furious, as he catalogued every bruise, scratch, and love bite. Her heart plummeted to her stomach. Guilt strangled her throat.

Oh, Liam… All he’d tried to do was save her. And as she always did, she’d ruined everything.

She tried to dart past him and run to her room. Instead, he grabbed her arm, then shot Hammer a glare full of rage and loathing. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 9

Liam led Raine to his room beside Hammer’s, rage still pinging inside him. She’d spent the night fucking Hammer, damn it. He tamped the anger down, compartmentalizing it for later, and shut the door behind them with a quiet click.

He looked at her standing naked in the middle of his room, lost, her shoulders curled self-consciously as she wrapped her arms around her middle. Fuck, bruises and marks covered her everywhere. What the hell had Hammer done, tried to fuck her to death? He’d rarely seen so many marks on a sub. Damn if he didn’t want to punch his “friend.”

Later. Now had to be about processing this logically, figuring out what the fuck had happened, and deciding what to do next.

Because the bruises she wore weren’t marks of tender passion at the hands of the man she loved, but were brands from a bastard who’d meant to betray him by marking her as his possession. Message received loud and clear, Hammer.

Liam fully intended to mark her, too, but his would be deeper than the flesh. And he knew exactly how to do it.

He approached her and draped the robe over her shoulders. “You have ten minutes to wash Hammer’s stench from your body and be dressed to leave.”

Raine looked like she wanted to shed guilty tears, but she held them back. “I’ll just go. You don’t have to—”

“I don’t recommend arguing with me just now. Shower and dress.” A muscle twitched near his eye as he shoved down more anger.

She swallowed and dropped her gaze. But she finally nodded. If she wanted to know where they were going, she didn’t ask.

“And be quick about it.”

With guarded posture, Raine obeyed. The wild tangle of her dark, silky hair was the last thing he saw before the bathroom door closed. He heard the water come on. She stepped in a moment later, interrupting the spray. Sobs followed.

Fuck if that didn’t piss him off all over again.

But he had other things to do besides stand about and listen to her cry her heart out for another man. At the end of the day, he’d wanted to believe she was different. Didn’t that make him a fucking idiot?

Exiting his room, Liam backtracked down the hall and shoved the door open to Hammer’s domain. The man just stared like a statue, unmoving. He wore the same shell-shocked expression as Raine.

Everything he’d believed about Hammer, everything that had happened past and present, converged to just this moment as the silence beat heavily.

What the fuck had happened? That’s what he’d like to know. He’d awakened to an empty bed hours ago and heard Hammer and Raine fucking like bloody rabbits. It was what they’d both wanted. What he’d originally sought for them. From the cries of Raine’s ecstasy and Hammer’s roars of passion, Liam had assumed they were happy together. That he was out, and Hammer was in like Flynn. And her betrayal had hurt far more than it should for a woman he’d taken to bed once or twice. Everything about it had poked his most miserable insecurities.

But Hammer knew that.

After listening to them fuck half the night, hearing Raine scream Hammer’s name, Liam had packed, fully intending to walk away from the pair of them. Let them bloody well tear one another apart.

Looking at Raine’s ravaged body and her mournful face…his anger had spiked. He shouldn’t feel sorry for her, but goddamn it, he couldn’t help it. She’d been hurt enough.

Raine had gotten under his skin. Caring about her hadn’t been part of his plan. How the bloody hell had it backfired so quickly? Despite Hammer’s mocking reproach, she’d already become more than a pair of blue eyes and a great rack to him. Far more.

Hammer had hit him where it hurt most. By god, he intended to do the same.

Cold fury curled like a wild thing inside him, itching for release, as he stared at Hammer. He forced it down, delivering every word with control. “I remember Juliet being marked now and then, but nothing like what you’ve done to Raine. Your own wife couldn’t handle it. How do you think the girl will cope? You used her with a ruthless selfishness, but I shouldn’t be surprised. You have the audacity to think you love her? Like you ‘loved’ Juliet?”

Again, Liam clenched his fists at the thought of all the bruises, of her pain as she’d tried to walk back to his room. Of the betrayal Hammer had dealt him, doubly vile because the man knew how it would push his buttons.

Hammer seethed, rage in his haunted eyes. “I do love her. God help me, even more than Juliet. Not that I owe you an explanation.”

Liam sneered. “Not that I believe you. Take a look at your wretched mug in the mirror. You’re a pathetic motherfucker who destroys women to make himself feel big. You’re not fit to call yourself a Dominant, let alone her Dominant.”

“I told you yesterday that I wasn’t good for her, but you wouldn’t listen.” The man lunged in his face. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You’re not my life coach. You’re not God. You sure as hell aren’t my friend.”

“I could say the same to you.”

Hammer’s eyes turned to ice. “You thought this up, didn’t you? Of course. How fucking like you. You ‘collared’ her to trick me into claiming her. And now you’re pissed that it almost worked? Asshole,” he hissed. “I’ve seen you play people for years. I just never imagined you’d do it to me.”

“Fuck you! I tried to help. You could have taken Raine as your own any time before last night, but you chose not to. Now I agree with your reasons. You aren’t good for her, but you conveniently forgot that, didn’t you?” Liam accused. “You waited until Raine became mine to fuck her. For the pleasure of cuckolding me? Were you trying to crawl under my skin? You broke the Dominant code of conduct. Don’t you ever think of touching Raine again. I’ll be taking her and going now. And after the way you’ve treated us both, I’d best not be hearing a word from you.”

“Don’t you dare preach to me about the code of conduct. The honor of your training collar means shit! Only you would collar a sub with ulterior motives. Stellar job, asshole. Don’t deceive yourself; you’re going to fuck up her head.” Hammer shook his head in disgust. “Oh, and you’re not taking her anywhere, motherfucker!”

“Watch me.” Liam raised a brow, then turned and walked away. He left the door open in his wake as he headed back to his own room. And to Raine.

She sat on the bed with a towel still wrapped around her, staring at her feet. Her eyes were red. At least she smelled of soap now rather than the animal who’d used her sorely.

He shut the door. Seething, he made his way to his dresser, yanking out a fresh robe. He helped Raine to her feet and gently removed the towel. Wrapping her in the robe, he picked her up and grabbed his suitcase, then carried them both from the room, past a gaping Hammer, and out of the dungeon. He didn’t stop until he’d reached the car, tossed the case in the boot, and secured her in the seat beside him. Only then did she turn to him.

Her big blue eyes filled with tears, and Liam gripped the steering wheel as he peeled away from Shadows. A glance in the rearview mirror showed Hammer panting in the door, looking all but ready to run after them. Well, after her.

Liam reached behind Raine’s seat and extended his middle finger in the air. Hammer wouldn’t miss it through the back window.

She was oblivious to the drama taking place behind her. She dropped her gaze to her clenched hands folded in her lap. Her delicate profile was taut and so fucking sad...

He gritted his teeth. She’d chosen to fuck Hammer without giving her supposed Sir so much as a heave-ho first. But if his former mate had treated the girl carelessly before he’d taken her to bed, he’d treated her far more wretchedly afterward. Liam didn’t need to be a mind reader to see Raine was breaking.

“I’m sorry,” she said so softly he could barely hear. “I know it’s not much. I don’t have a good explanation, except that I was stupid. Impulsive. And I thought it was love.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “I’ll answer whatever questions you have. I owe you that. Then you can take me back and wash your hands of me. I’m going to leave Shadows. I have an old friend who might be in Vegas. I’ll find her, and I’m sure she’ll take me in…help me find a job.”

How long would she be homeless in the meantime? The very thought filled him with anxiety he probably shouldn’t feel. He clenched his jaw.

“Never mind.” Her face closed up even more. “I’m sure you don’t care.”

She paused, and he sensed that she worked up the courage to look at him again. When she did, the pain on her face stabbed him. Liam cursed under his breath.

“For what it’s worth, I really appreciate everything you tried to do,” she whispered. “I wish I could have deserved you more.”

Some logical part of him thought he should be happy at how bloody the girl was beating herself, but it only burned anger through his veins. And made him want to take her in his arms more. For now, he’d use it to his advantage.

“I’m not so sure I’ll be taking you back there, Raine. Whether you meant it or not at the time, you gave me your commitment to be my submissive.” He felt her gaze again, but this time he stared straight ahead, paying attention to the traffic. “You and Hammer both seem to have had no compunction whatsoever about letting that wee fact slip your minds. But now you will submit to me. Have no doubt that you will learn well what it means to be mine. That’s what you owe me.”

“Why would you want… I did everything wrong, just like I always do. I would have thought you’d want to sever the collaring and tell me to go to hell.”