The Bold and the Dominant

  He loves me. They love me. It’s going to be all right.

  She repeated the litany in her head, wanting so desperately for it to be true.

  Raine caught his face in her hands, stilling his invasion as she held his gaze and lost herself in his dark, compelling eyes.

  Tension tightened his face. His expression turned somber. “Nothing matters more to me than you, Raine.”

  She tried to treasure the moment, but she still felt his disquiet churning the air between them.

  God, why did he keep downplaying whatever was going on when she could plainly see how much it worried him? But questioning him again would get her nowhere.

  “How long can you stay?” she asked instead.

  “Never long enough to get my fill of you. Reach back and grab the headboard.”

  Yes. Please…

  Raine needed him—his time, his affection, his passion—so she didn’t hesitate.

  Her breath caught when he pushed up and hovered, staring down at her. He pinned her hips, spread her wide with his big body, and slid his velvety-hard erection along her opening, back and forth, nudging her aching clit. Raine tried to wriggle under him. Needing more contact, more of him.

  “Please, Liam. Please. Fill me. I want you inside me.”

  “Not yet. Patience.”

  “But—” Her cunt clenched hard as he ramped up the friction on her bundle of nerves, his unswerving stare drilling down into her. She trembled. Beyond being wet and ready, she needed to feel close to him. To bond with him completely.

  “I said not yet. Hold on tight, Raine. Don’t move and don’t come until I tell you.”

  He looked every inch the Dominant he was. She realized he needed more than a sweet tumble from her. He craved control of this situation, likely because he couldn’t control whatever troubled him. And because he needed to own her.

  “Yes, Sir,” she breathed, giving him what he sought and giving herself over.

  He bent his head to her breast, drew her nipple between his lips, and held the erect tip between his teeth before sucking it into the heat of his mouth. The delicious pull reached down to her pussy, like an invisible cord.

  Liam plucked at her precisely and perfectly, in exactly the way he knew would make her melt in need and want to beg him for more pleasure. Then he gave her other nipple the same treatment, not stopping until she whimpered for more.

  God, she loved it when he did that. Raine grabbed at him, plunging desperate fingers into his hair and rolling her hips, silently pleading.

  “I told you, don’t move. Grab the headboard now.”

  As she complied, he gave a shove of his lean hips and spread her thighs farther. Then he sat up enough to push her legs back, exposing her completely. He stared at her slick opening, making her wait for him, as he fondled the bud of her clit.

  He worked her patiently, his free hand sliding up her body to pluck at her nipples again as he circled her needy button with his fingers until her breath hitched, until she felt a flush suffuse her, until the electric thrum of her heartbeat roared in her ears.

  “You’re close.” It wasn’t a question; he knew.

  “Yes.” She writhed under him.

  “Spread your legs wider. Plant your feet on the mattress.”

  Raine did it eagerly, ready to welcome him deep inside her. Less than eight hours ago, he’d made her scream out in pleasure. The way she needed him now, it felt as if she’d been waiting a decade. His impatience to tear open the condom and roll the latex over the head and down the smooth, thick shaft said he felt the same.

  “We’re getting you on some damn birth control tomorrow,” he grumbled.

  She loved the idea of having Liam and Hammer spontaneously, of feeling them bare and intimate inside her. “I can’t wait.”

  “You’ll take all of me, love,” he growled before guiding himself to her drenched pussy. Without pause, he thrust deep.

  Raine gripped the rungs of the headboard with all her strength. Her back arched, and she tossed her head with a wail, feeling every delectable inch of him slide home.

  Liam didn’t give her a second to catch her breath as he withdrew, then slammed back inside her. Raine shrieked as rapture drizzled like warm syrup through her veins. He held her captive, so completely open to him all she could do was feel each stroke stripping her of composure bit by bit.

  He braced himself over her body, staring down at her with those burning eyes again, his jaw tight, his breath sawing in and out of his chest. His hips pistoned as he slammed inside her with a dizzying rhythm. Every stroke drove her higher. She felt desperate for the end yet wished it would never come.

  Liam clutched her, plowing hard, fast. Repeatedly. He gripped her hips, his lips crashing over hers as if he would starve without her. Every touch dripped with a desperation that swept Raine up and along with him, rushing toward the terrible beauty of a stunning demise. He’d told her she couldn’t move, couldn’t climax until he gave her permission, but she trembled with the urge to thrust against his onslaught and release headlong into the bright agony he gave her.

  Just when she felt too close, he eased back, totally in control, and dangled her over a chasm of yearning so deep she couldn’t stop herself from begging.

  “Please, Sir. Liam…” she panted. “Oh…please? Please!”

  “Hold fast. Not yet.”

  She mewled, clenching the slats harder, her body bucking, searching, needy. She loved this man—and everything he did to her. “I’m falling. Oh, god, Liam. I’m falling and I can’t—”

  “No,” he barked. “You’ll stay with me now. Wait for it.”

  Raine felt like a powder keg ready to explode. She could feel each ridge and every inch of him sliding against her flesh as he cleaved rhythmically inside her pussy. The friction burned her. She gasped. Every stroke sent his hard chest rasping over the tender flesh of her breasts.

  She cried out once, then again, as he buried himself deeper still, gripping her hips and tilting her up for his pleasure. The powerful muscles of his shoulders, hips, and thighs bunched with effort. Pheromones surrounded them, and the animalistic hunger in his eyes consumed her. Everything about this moment—about this man—ignited her. Pleasure gripped her, squeezing out the need for everything but the agonizing release Liam held just out of her reach. When it came, she didn’t know how she’d survive.

  “Fuck, Raine. Come for me. Now!” he roared as he surged up again and thrust his hand into her hair, forcing her to stare into his eyes.

  Lightning caught her blood on fire. The conflagration gathered, burned, centering right where they joined. Then he pushed her over the edge with his next stroke, and she shattered, flinging herself headlong into the abyss and screaming his name.

  But she wasn’t alone. Never again because Liam was right there with her as he emptied himself of seed, worry, anger, pain. In return, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, giving him all her love.

  Their bodies pressed together beneath a sheen of sweat as the sounds of their ragged breathing hung in the room. Bliss filled Raine’s every pore. The haze of rapture left her languid and limp.

  “I needed that, love,” he admitted between harsh sighs.

  I know. “I did, too.”

  “Oh, Raine…” Liam leaned in to kiss her gently.

  The muffled ring of his cell phone from his pants puddled on the floor sent him cursing and scrambling across the bed, shattering their enchantment.

  As Liam silenced his phone and shoved it away again, Hammer surged into the bedroom. The fact that he’d burst into the room didn’t startle her. His furious glare did. He darted a gaze between her naked body and Liam disposing of his condom and donning his pants. The rolling waves of tension pouring off Hammer as he sucked in a rough breath seized her with anxiety.

  “Looks like you two had fun,” he drawled.

  She swallowed a lump in her throat. “We did.”

  It felt awkward admitting that to one lover when she’d just been busy with th
e other. Had she and Liam done something wrong? The three of them hadn’t had any time to establish do’s and don’ts. Hell, they’d only committed to trying to make this ménage work last night. Prior to that, they’d coupled off for sex—and jealousy had constantly brewed.

  If she stopped to think about it, it made sense that each would demand some one-on-one time with her. Both men had sworn that if she shared her affection equally, nothing would ruin their relationship.

  After this morning in the car, and now seeing Hammer’s face, she had doubts.

  She frowned, searching for the right words.

  Hammer sat beside her on the bed, brow quirked. “Problem, precious?”

  She swallowed her questions. No sense in borrowing more trouble. They had enough. “No.”

  Except… It dawned on Raine that Liam hadn’t truly answered any of her questions before he’d taken her to the heavens.

  Raine glanced between the two men. They shared some look, a silent communication she would probably never understand. After years with Hammer, she’d developed a sixth sense when it came to his moods. Something was wrong. He’d been upset since before they’d left the lodge. Now he was seething. And he didn’t want her to know.

  She’d had more than enough of their subterfuge. But Raine refused to sit on her hands and wait. She needed to figure out what they were hiding.

  Liam eased onto the bed again and rolled beside her to cup her breast.

  Raine watched Hammer as Liam thumbed her nipple. Macen didn’t give any outward hint that Liam’s touch bothered him. Instead, he threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked as she stared into Hammer’s stark face. “You’re…tense.”

  A faint flash of surprise skittered through his eyes—or maybe it was guilt.

  “Just dealing with crap around the club,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I didn’t leave my frustrations at the door and should have. Did you get a little rest?”

  “Something I need to help with?” Raine ignored his question.

  “I asked if you got some rest,” Hammer pressed her with a look of censure.

  Now, they were both being evasive.

  “I did. What is—”

  “If Hammer needed your help, he’d be sending you out the door to tend to some task or another,” Liam said in a soft, steely tone that warned her not to refute him.

  “I would.” Hammer nodded. “You deserve a day off. There’s nothing so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow.”

  If that’s true for me, why isn’t it true for you?

  “Why don’t you go start the shower for us, Raine?” Hammer suggested.

  “I had one before breakfast.”

  “But not with me.” Hammer dropped his gaze to her naked flesh. His nostrils flared, drawing in the scent of sex lingering in the air. Liam might be done with her for now, but Hammer hadn’t even started.

  She swallowed and darted a gaze to Liam. His unreadable face didn’t tell her if Hammer’s demand bothered him.

  “All right.”

  Before she could climb out of bed, Liam skimmed a soft thumb over her cheek, then kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips. “Thank you, love. I enjoyed my time with you. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “I can’t wait.” God, she hoped she got some answers then. They were driving her batty.

  Hammer pulled her into his arms, onto his lap, and held her tight against his chest. His hold felt almost desperate, too.

  Then he claimed her lips. As she surrendered to his potent kiss, Raine wished the three of them could have stayed at the lodge, far from the stress that now consumed the men she loved. Then she wouldn’t have to deal with the fears and uncertainty eating her alive.

  Bittersweet moments later, Hammer helped her up and gave her butt a playful swat. “I’ll be in to join you in a minute.”

  Raine felt their eyes on her as she made her way toward the bathroom. A strange foreboding filled her. Intuition told her that life as she knew it was about to change.

  * * *

  As Raine walked away, Liam rolled out of bed and shrugged into his shirt. She’d shut the bathroom door, but he waited until he heard the stream of the shower pounding tile before he turned to Hammer.

  “Raine is waiting on you, and the baby is awake, so we don’t have much time. Tell me what happened with Gwyneth. You look like you’re ready to stroke out, mate.”

  “Why the fuck did you say ‘I do’ to that vile whore?”

  “I was listening to my cock then, not so much my head.”

  Hammer scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Based on what you told me, the woman I just saw wasn’t the same teary, contrite one who begged you to parent with her. She tried to tell me she’d changed. When that didn’t work, she pleaded with me to end the friction between us and start over so I’d help her get you back.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Liam moaned. “She’s a head case.”

  “And when that didn’t work, she basically told me Raine would be my next Juliet, that you’d get tired of my sloppy seconds one day, and I’d never find a woman who loved me.”

  Liam clenched his jaw. “I’m ready to kill the bitch myself. She is still alive, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, which wasn’t my first choice.”

  “Bollocks. So I need to watch my back?”

  “And your front, too. I was her only potential ally, but by the end of our conversation, she’d burned every bridge with me. Now she has no other option but to bring her A game with you.”

  “She can try, but I won’t be playing by her rules,” Liam spat, but he still tasted her bitterness on his tongue. “I can’t believe she had the nerve to toss Juliet in your face like that.”

  “Oh, I can,” Hammer snarled. “Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for whatever reason—which I seriously doubt has a fucking thing to do with that baby—Gwyneth is beyond determined to get you back.”

  Liam clenched his jaw. “Don’t worry. I’m right beside you with Raine, mate.”

  Hammer nodded, then darted a gaze toward the bathroom. Anger continued to roll off his frame, and Liam couldn’t help but worry if Macen would sate some of his frustration with Raine.

  “Pack up Gwyneth’s shit and get her the fuck of out here.” Hammer sounded viciously mad. “Please.”

  Liam had rarely heard such distress in Macen’s voice. Clearly, the fear of losing the closeness they’d just begun developing with Raine was consuming Hammer, too.

  “I will. Take care of Raine.”

  Christ, he wanted to tell Hammer to treat her gently, to be kind and loving, and to keep the beast inside him at bay.

  “I’ll occupy her in the bedroom until I get the all-clear from you.” Hammer clapped him on the shoulder, then eased into the bathroom and quickly stripped off his clothes.

  Liam had to dig deep and trust that the man would keep his emotions in check with their girl. He inched toward the open portal and watched the muted shadows of naked skin moving beyond the glass doors. He held his breath, expecting Hammer to shove Raine against the wall and claim her in a fierce rush. Instead, Macen simply wrapped his arms around the woman they loved and clutched her beneath the spray of water as if nothing else mattered.

  With a sigh, Liam turned, stepped into his shoes, then left the room.

  As he left Hammer’s bedroom and passed through the man’s office, he tried to savor the bliss he’d found while lost inside Raine. He’d sought solace for his worries and found it wrapped in her arms, along with a sense of balance, home…love.