The Betrayal by Shayla Black

With less than an hour to go before this travesty was set to begin, Liam prowled into the bar, looking for Beck. Hammer had avoided him all afternoon, knowing Liam would do his best to talk him out of this public humiliation. It was meant to strip Raine of her considerable pride, and Liam understood. But tearing the lass down wasn’t the way to correct her. And if his friend wasn’t going to listen, maybe Liam could convince Beck to see reason. Raine certainly didn’t deserve what the sadist would dish out in Hammer’s name, and unless Liam missed his guess by a mile, Raine wouldn’t like it, either. He’d held and reassured the girl enough all morning to know that the last thing she needed was more pain.

And with every moment he’d cradled her in his arms and slid her soft skin over his own, he’d only wanted her more.

Seated at the long, sleek bar, Beck nursed a glass of whiskey in one big hand. A coiled whip dangled from his hip. Instantly, Liam saw a vision of Raine’s blood trailing down her fair skin, pooling in the small of her back, in the crooks of her knees, just like that of the masochist Beck had worked to oblivion last weekend. Every protective instinct came off its leash. Even if Beck was skilled enough never to scar his subs, Liam would not have Raine’s perfect, milky skin cut even once—and he didn’t want to think too hard about why he felt so insistent.

Beck turned and watched his approach with a welcoming smile. At Liam’s glare, the sadist’s expression turned puzzled.

He didn’t give Beck the opportunity to say a word, just growled at the man in barely controlled rage. “Don’t be thinking you’ll mark wee Raine. I’ll be there watching you like a hawk. If you make her bleed, I’ll take your fucking whip and shove it up your ass!”

Beck raised a brow at him, eyes glittering. “Who flipped your bitch switch? First of all, Hammer already talked to me about what I’m allowed to do to the princess. And second, it’s none of your business. She’s been under Hammer’s protection for years. His choice, his punishment. My pleasure. Piss off.”

Liam leaned in, pointing his finger directly in the other man’s face. “I mean it, Beck. Don’t mark her, or you’ll answer to me.”

Now that he’d gotten that off his chest, Liam tapped the counter. The bartender set a shot of whiskey before him. Liam slammed it back, needing it to calm his nerves. He tried to think of any other way he could spare Raine this degradation, but his options were limited. He couldn’t help her unless she chose to help herself.

Beck lifted the whip from his hip and arched the long leather single tail above his head, splitting the air with a sharp crack. Looking over his shoulder, he smirked at Liam. “Don’t worry. The marks from this little beauty won’t last long. She can handle it. She might even like it. And if she doesn’t...” He shrugged. “Well, that’s why it’s punishment.”

Liam charged Beck, fury boiling his blood. “If she so much as breaks a fucking fingernail while she’s with you, I’ll break your goddamn face.”

Beck looked somewhere between annoyed and amused. “Okay, so the whip is out. How about a nice, thick leather paddle? It won’t break her skin, but the bruise it will leave. . . Hmm, yeah.” His grin turned to a leer. “That deep purple hue on her lily white ass will make your dick hard.”

Liam knew a hundred ways to get off, but bruising a pretty sub wasn’t one that tripped his trigger.

“Listen to me. Not your whip. Not your fucking paddle, or any other cutting, bruising, intense pain giving, sharp-knotted flogger you have touches her skin. I don’t give a flying fuck what you and Hammer have cooked up. I’m telling you, I don’t want her marked, period.”

“So basically, you just want me to kick back and have a manicure?” Beck threw up his hands. “Maybe I should just flog her with cotton balls. No, wait! You probably think that would be too damn brutal.” The sadist grinned slyly. “I guess I could beat her with my tongue.”

Liam saw red. Vaguely, he realized that Raine was tying him up in knots—like Hammer—but that didn’t stop him from wanting to protect her. “Your tongue best be kept to yourself, along with your pecker, if you’ve a mind to keep them attached. You’ve been warned.”

Beck yawned. “Go bark at Hammer. Believe me, I’d rather get this over with, so I can find a real sub who will—”

“Fuck you, Beck. Raine is a real sub.”

“Yeah? When has she ever submitted to anything or anyone?”

This morning, and it had been delicious. Her soft sighs. Her tentative, trembling trust. Bloody hell, he got hard just thinking about it. He was walking a dangerous line with Hammer’s girl…

Beck was deliberately baiting him. Raine was none of the man’s business, and this pissing contest was getting them nowhere. Riling up the sadist just before he meted out the lass’s sentence completely defeated the purpose of trying to spare her.

“Just remember what I’ve said.”

As he pushed away from the bar and headed for the stairs, Beck laughed. “Christ, this is funny. You and Hammer have both got a boner for the princess.”

Fuck the wanker for being right.

Gnashing his teeth, Liam ignored Beck and stomped back to Raine’s room.

If she’d only agree to his training, then she’d be under his protection. But she wanted and needed time to make a decision. Maybe she sensed that she shouldn’t take his offer at face value. Maybe she feared what opening up her soul to him—or any man—would mean. It was that trust problem Hammer had warned him about. And it chafed. Ordinarily he’d be happy to let her weigh the pros and cons and come to a sensible conclusion. But Beck could very quickly get out of hand, and with Hammer not in his right mind where Raine was concerned, Liam had no option but to convince her to reconsider.

When he knocked, she bade him to enter. He found her sitting quietly on the bed, waiting in a ruffled, black baby-doll nightie. The top two triangles were completely transparent as they hugged her heavy breasts and tight nipples. Just beneath her bust, the fabric turned silky. He couldn’t see through it, but it shimmered as it parted and played peekaboo with her navel. Beneath that, Liam caught a little scrap of silky black underwear. She rounded the seductive look with fuck-me stilettos that, despite her short stature, made her legs look a mile long.

Liam sucked in a breath. What had possessed her to wear that? She looked stunning and completely fuckable, but not at all ready for the sort of attention Beck had in mind. Christ! And, no doubt, she’d chosen that get-up to flaunt her every curve at Hammer. Raine’s expression looked surprisingly resigned, even calm, but already he could distinguish fidgeting and stuttered breathing that revealed her agitation. Liam cursed.

She drew her knees up to her chest, covering her breasts, and he wondered why she sought to show everything to Hammer…but hide from him.

Because she loved the stupid brute. And that bothered him more than it should.

“Did you find Beck?” She bit her lip. Something on his face must have given the answer away because she suddenly groaned. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. He didn’t want to hear a word you had to say.”

“Precisely, lass. Sorry.”

“That’s Beck.” She smiled. “It was sweet of you to try, but we should go. Don’t want to be late.”

“Hold up.” He grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “It doesn’t have to be this way. I could protect you if you wore my training collar. Agree, and this foolish business stops here and now. You’ll still be punished, but it’ll be by my hand.”

She hesitated, dropping her gaze, then sent him a soft stare. “In a way, it’s really tempting. But if I’m truly going to say yes to you, I want to do it for the right reasons, not because Beck scared me enough to hide behind you. And maybe I shouldn’t care what Hammer thinks, but six years of habits die hard. If I walked in wearing a training collar, he’d know I took it simply as an out. That would make me both a coward and the brat he accused me of being.”

“You’re nowhere near the brat everyone has convinced you that you are. And personally, as much as I’d enjoy color flushing your face and striping that perfect white ass, I’d rather it came from my hand.”

Suddenly, she lowered her legs, exposing her breasts again, and he forgot what else he’d meant to say. He stared at her loveliness and imagined his cock fully seated inside her snug little pussy. The erection he’d been enduring all day got harder.

Damn it all.Fucking her wasn’t the plan. He’d begun all this for Hammer...yet he could barely think of anything now but having Raine to himself. He’d better shut that down and get his head on straight.

“But if you’d rather face Hammer…” Liam pulled her upward. “Let’s get this over with.”

With a nod, she followed him into the corridor, around the corner, and into a public area of the dungeon. Word obviously traveled fast, because a crowd had gathered, and it seemed to him that every man in the place turned to look at Raine’s breasts. Beck lounged against a spanking bench, staring at her with a predatory leer that Liam wanted to punch off his face. Hammer stood nearby, body stiff, mood ugly. His stare drilled into Raine, bouncing between her big eyes and her nipples. The stupid bastard must be tempted by her. He’d have to be dead not to be.

Raine stood defiantly, without an ounce of submission in her “fuck you” expression. Liam would have smiled if not for the fact that she crossed her arms over her chest, fingertips squeezing her biceps tightly. Under her bluster, the wee thing was terrified.

As Hammer approached Raine, his eyes narrowed in silent warning. She glared back. Liam watched protectively, gut knotting with an overwhelming need to keep her safe.

“Lose the baby-doll and the attitude, precious. You’re here for a reason,” Hammer drawled.

“Let me see to her punishment,” Liam said quietly. “Beck looks like he’s going to enjoy this way too much.”

Hammer sent him a scathing glare. “Beck knows what I want.”

What was Hammer trying to accomplish? He wouldn’t take the girl as his own, yet with this stunt, he’d keep Raine at arm’s length while maintaining his hold over her.

Beck nodded with a dirty grin, his five o’clock shadow spreading over lean cheeks. “Oh, yeah. I know exactly what to do.”

That set Liam off. He grabbed Hammer by the arm and yanked him to the far side of the dungeon. “Stop this! You’re not punishing her for her behavior, but because she makes your cock ache and you’re too much of a pussy to take her.”

“Is that what you think?” Hammer hissed. “Did she neglect to tell you that she came into my room uninvited while I slept and wrapped her mouth around my dick?”

“She told me.”

Hammer’s jaw tightened. “And when I spanked her for crossing boundaries, she fought me. I denied her orgasm for three days, so she masturbated on my bed. As soon as I found her, she chose that moment to come.”

Liam hadn’t known that. “You hurt her feelings, mate. It’s no surprise she lashed back.”

“Instead of talking to me, she made a fucking mess on the floor that someone else had to clean up. I even gave Raine an easy out of this punishment. All she had to do was apologize, but the girl was too stubborn to do it. I don’t answer to you, mate, so get your hand off me.”

This confrontation was accomplishing nothing except getting Hammer’s back up. Liam uncurled his fingers from the man’s arm and strode back through the parting crowd to Raine.

She stiffened, looking so brittle, it was a wonder she didn’t shatter. “Can we get this over with?”

“Yeah.” Beck prodded, uncoiling the whip at his side and rolling it, the tattoos on his biceps bunching with movement. “Is this fucking gabfest done?”

Liam opened his mouth to warn Beck off, but Hammer cut in. “Absolutely. Do it.” He stared Raine down. “Strip, girl. Now! Your safe word is ‘lesson.’”

“Oh, that’s clever.” She rolled her eyes.

“Keep up the insolence. You’ll get extra punishment.” With a clenching of his jaw, Hammer strode away and settled into a nearby chair. Everyone around them fell utterly silent.

Liam turned to Raine, whispering in her ear. “I’m here, lass, and I’ll not be leaving you.”

At her tense nod, he plucked at the ribbon holding her baby-doll together and eased it off her shoulders. God, the sight of her bare skin and pretty nipples nearly made his knees weak. She turned her gaze to her own reflection in the mirrors surrounding the padded table, holding her head high, even as she shivered. So bonny and brave…and stubborn. He cupped her shoulders and brought her forward to face Beck, who sidled closer with a burning stare that looked a bit too happy to promise anything but pain.

As Liam released her, he glanced down the graceful line of her spine, to her pert backside, then reared back in surprise. She wore nothing beneath the nightie, except minuscule black boy shorts. Emblazoned across her ass in bold print were the words Fuck You Very Much.

“Bloody hell!” Was she trying to incite Hammer to turn Beck loose on her?

Liam saw now exactly what the man had meant about the brat’s claws coming out when she felt threatened.

Raine peeked over her shoulder at him from beneath dark lashes, flashing him an anxious look. “Um, that wasn’t meant for you, Liam. Sorry.”

Normally, he wouldn’t condone disrespect, but as far as he was concerned, Hammer had earned it. He spun Raine around so his friend could read her sassy message.

Immediately, Beck chuckled. Half the crowd gasped. That only seemed to set Hammer off more.

With a low growl, the dungeon owner narrowed his eyes. “That’s going to cost you a few more, precious. Beck, rip those damn panties off and begin.”

“It’ll be my pleasure. I’ll make sure she pays.” The sadist flashed a broad smile as his big steps ate up the floor. Then he tore the panties from Raine’s ass with a loud rip and snaked his big hand around her arm, yanking her from Liam. “Up on the bench, brat. Time for me to have some fun.”

As Raine swallowed and glared at Hammer one last time, she positioned herself on the padded apparatus, head up and eyes forward in the mirror as she draped her slender body over the top and lifted her tender white ass in the air. Liam would have appreciated the view more if he hadn’t been so riled.

Circling her, Beck inspected her with a critical eye. Letting loose a hearty laugh of satisfaction, he reached between her knees and shoved them apart. Raine yelped. Beck didn’t pay her any mind, just locked her ankles in the cuffs.

“Remember what I said to you,” Liam growled in Beck’s face as the man sauntered past and restrained her wrists.

Beck snorted as he ripped off his tank to reveal his wide, muscled chest. The idea of him unleashing all his strength on wee Raine made Liam insane. She hadn’t been without blame in the spat with Hammer, but she didn’t deserve the kind of beating Beck would give her.

The sadist raised a mocking brow. “Before I start, you want to make sure she can tug her wrists out of those cuffs so she can reach back and cover her ass? We wouldn’t want her butt to sting or anything.”

Bloody wanker!His hands were tied unless Raine safeworded out or said yes to his proposition. Given the lift of her chin, he didn’t think for a moment that she’d tell Hammer she’d learned her “lesson.” She’d rather saw her own head off. Nor did she seem ready to commit to his training collar. Liam cursed under his breath. All he could do was scrutinize the restraints to ensure they weren’t too tight.

Beck grabbed his damn whip and cracked it sharply in the air. Raine gasped, stiffened. Her big blue eyes went wide with fear. The goddamn sadist grinned, and Liam had to force himself to stand down when he would have gleefully knocked Beck on his ass. But Raine needed him now more than he needed to unleash his anger.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered in her ear. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

She sent him a shaky nod and a grateful expression. To everyone else, she’d shown defiant anger. But on some level, she trusted him—and him alone—with her vulnerability. She was trying. It was enough for the moment.

“Get on with it,” Hammer snapped at Beck, drilling a cold, hard stare Liam’s way. “I‘ve told you what to do. Now fucking do it!”

“On it.” Beck dropped the whip, and it slithered to the ground. Liam didn’t have time for relief before Beck raised his beefy hand in the air, then dropped a menacing whisper in Raine’s ear. “Count, princess. I want to hear you loud and clear.”

The words had barely passed his lips before he brought his hand down. Obviously, Beck had decided to skip the warm-up. Instead, he began with a brutal blow across her left cheek.

Raine’s head snapped up as she jolted and hissed. Then she glared at Hammer in the mirror. Her stubborn pride kept her from admitting aloud that Beck’s spanking hurt like hell, but her pinched mouth and tense glower said it anyway.

“I told you to count,” Beck growled.

Turning to look at the sadist, she glared. “Are you too busy being Hammer’s bitch to remember what comes after one?”

“You’ll pay for that, brat,” Beck thundered at her as he threw his hand back in the air, aiming brutally for her ass again, landing an even harder blow on her right cheek.

Liam watched her bite her lip to hold in a cry. She dug her teeth in so hard, he wasn’t surprised when it started to bleed.

Storming over to Beck, Liam grabbed his wrist. “You should never touch a sub in anger.”

The other man yanked away, rolling his broad shoulders. “You think I don’t know that?”

“Then act like you do.” Liam went to Raine and leaned down to brush his lips over her ear. “Enough. You’ve made your displeasure known. Don’t bait the bear anymore. Take your punishment, then it will all be over. I know you’re mad at Hammer, but try to remember that he’s the man who kept you safe all these years. If you—”

“This is my punishment of a sub under my protection. Back the fuck off,” Hammer snarled at him, leaping from his chair and striding across the room. When he reached Raine, he gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Girl, you either accept this punishment without another mocking outburst, or I swear I’ll throw Liam out and unleash Beck to do whatever he wants on your ass. Playtime is over, and I’m out of patience. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Sir.” Her tone was more insolent than obedient.

Things had gotten out of hand far too quickly. Liam could either sit back while Beck beat the shit out of her or he could try coming up with a plan B. Hammer wasn’t going to stop this. It didn’t take a bloody rocket scientist to see that Raine was never going to yield her submission through pain. Boundaries would help her feel safe, yes. But she needed affection to blossom.

More than anyone, Hammer should understand that. If his friend didn’t want to hear the truth, then he could go fuck himself.

Reaching Hammer was a long shot, but Liam had to try again.

“We both know she’ll learn nothing from this punishment except to hate you,” he whispered in Hammer’s ear. “You’ve spent years protecting her, and now you’re going to scare the bloody shit out of her? Surely you can see she needs a different direction. I know you want me to shut up, but the sub’s needs come first. Think about hers.”

Hammer’s eyes turned molten. His face flushed with anger. “If you question me again during this punishment, I’ll ban you from the club.” He gestured to Beck. “Continue.”

Liam swallowed his incredulity as Hammer returned to his throne. Rage followed. He’d expected that Hammer wouldn’t appreciate his interference, but they were friends. The man who had all but given him the shirt off his back once or twice had threatened to throw him out. Liam wondered if he knew the man at all anymore.

Shoving aside his confusion, he focused on Raine. Riling up both the executioner and the Dungeon Master wouldn’t help her. He dragged in a shuddering breath, trying to find some calm. Fuck, what a balls up! Seeing Raine so apprehensive made his Dominant heart growl with the need to protect. He had to start thinking with his head or he’d leave her vulnerable.

The girl clung to her bloody stubborn pride. Hammer hadn’t left her with much else, so she wouldn’t cede it without a battle. Earning her trust and teaching her to curb her temper would be a full-time job.

And god help Beck if he didn’t stop behaving like a barmy fuck. The sadist obviously enjoyed the power of toying with everyone. Personally, Liam didn’t know why Hammer let the man in the club, much less seemed to like him. Whatever the reason, Beck bore watching.

So did Hammer. The man’s famous cool-under-pressure façade seemed to be crumbling under…what? Frustration? Guilt? Longing? Probably a potent cocktail of all three—not that Hammer would admit it.

Beck smiled smugly, and Liam did his best not to bristle. Instead, he focused on the eerie quiet around them. The dungeon lacked the usual sounds of paddles, whips, sighs, and moans. Even the music seemed muted. It felt as if time had stopped, and every eye was on them.

The crowd held their collective breath with bated anticipation, eyes glued to the drama. Crossing his arms over his chest, Liam forced himself to stand and watch, determined to see this through for Raine, no matter what.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Beck reach into his toy bag and withdraw something oblong and red that looked like a colorful paddle. Liam started forward, but he wasn’t fast enough. Beck crossed his arm over his body, then brought the paddle down with a quick whoosh in a backhanded swat.

Someone in the crowd gasped. The legs of Hammer’s chair scraped the floor as he leapt to his feet and shouted just as Beck whacked the back of Raine’s thighs.

The telltale whiff of rubber assaulted him. Then agony erupted across her face, as if Beck had split her very flesh open down to the bone. Her wee body jolted as she stiffened every muscle and screamed. And screamed. And screamed some more, even when she’d run out of air and her mouth hung open in horrific silence. Her face looked shocked and wounded, eyes wide with distress.

Furious, Liam twisted around to Beck. The man’s expression gleamed with satisfaction—almost pride. His smug grin widened again when Raine hung her head and sobbed, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“What the hell are you doing?” Hammer snarled at Beck, his face blazing with rage.

Exactly what Liam wanted to know. His hand curled into a brutal fist, and he charged toward Beck. Suddenly, Hammer’s attention snapped Liam’s way, and a warning scowl dominated his face. Fuck, if he did anything to Beck, Hammer might really throw him out. Didn’t his friend fucking see that Beck was abusing the girl?

Rushing back to Raine, Liam grabbed her face. A glance down into her eyes—so blue, wide open, and terrified—kicked him in the gut. Silently, she pleaded for help as the tears kept running. He wanted to take her in his arms.

“You’ve got a safeword. Use it,” he demanded.

“Won’t let them win.” She gritted her teeth, holding herself together by pure will.

The whoosh filled the room again as Beck lifted the paddle. Raine gasped and grabbed the table, obviously bracing for another brutal blow. Liam glared at Hammer incredulously. The air stopped. He wondered if his old friend would really let this continue.

The Hammer he’d known once upon a time, never. But this one was miserable and tormented. Liam didn’t know where this man’s head was at all.

“Then say yes to me.” He bent to Raine and stared into her eyes, willing her to understand and accept. “Say yes, and all of this stops.”

“What?” Beck barked. “The only thing the princess gets to say is, ‘thank you, Sir. May I have another?’ And I’ve got plenty more where that came from.”

Raine’s eyes darted from Liam to Beck’s reflection in the mirror.

She flinched and breathed, “Yes.”

Relief and a dizzying thrill flooded Liam’s veins.

“Put that goddamn paddle down now,” Hammer barked at Beck. “Rubber? Are you out of your fucking mind? She’s not a pain slut.”

“Don’t be a pussy,” Beck sneered, fingering the rubber paddle, clearly eager to bring it down on Raine’s tender flesh again. “A few good whacks will pull the starch right out of her bitchy attitude and make her pliant as a kitten.”

Liam couldn’t disagree more, and neither man seemed to have heard what she’d said.

“If you hit her with that again, I’m going to chain your ass to a cross and beat you with it myself,” Hammer threatened.

“Louder,” Liam demanded. “Let everyone hear you.”

“Yes!”

Raine wailed out the word, but it was finally enough.

Suddenly, Hammer whipped his stare to her. His narrow-eyed glare fell back on Liam. “What did she say ‘yes’ to?”

Right now, Liam didn’t owe Hammer a goddamn word, not where Raine was concerned. Nor did he have time. Only Raine herself mattered. He shook off Hammer’s questions and knelt to her wrists, prying them out of the cuffs one at a time before he jumped to the restraints around her ankles. A glance at the backs of her thighs proved an angry bruise was already forming where Beck had struck her.

Worry and fury hit him in equal measure, but he buried both for Raine, wrenched her ankle cuffs off, and pulled her into his arms. He cradled her, limp and sobbing, against his chest.

“What the fuck are you doing? Give her to me.” Hammer strode toward him, arms outstretched to take Raine away. “I decide when the scene ends.”

“Not anymore,” he growled. “Raine just accepted my training collar. She is now my submissive. So it’s my scene, and I’ve decided this bloody farce is over.” He pointed at Beck. “Get the fuck out of here. Now!”

Disbelief fell across Hammer’s face. It quickly turned to cold rage, shadowing the sockets under his eyes, emphasizing his icy stare. A fury Liam had never seen in all the years they’d been friends blared there. “You planned this, you son of a bitch!”

“I did what I needed to keep you from hurting her more.”

Hammer ripped his biting gaze away and settled on Raine. Stark pain consumed his expression. “Precious…”

The devastation in Hammer’s voice as he called out to Raine would haunt him, but he refused to worry about that now. He shoved aside what might have been if Hammer had just listened. Would have, could have, and should have been. Waste of fucking time...

As far as Liam was concerned, the only one who had set Hammer up for a fall was the man himself, the minute the stupid fuck had allowed a sadist like Beck anywhere near the woman he supposedly loved.

Raine lifted her head to stare at Hammer. Betrayal and hurt filled her eyes, then she hid from her mentor, burying her face in Liam’s chest once more. He cradled her head.

“She was so precious to you that you let a sick wanker like Beck abuse her,” Liam sneered. “No more.”

He’d never meant for this to happen, but he’d been forced to choose between the man he’d thought was his friend—whom he didn’t seem to know anymore—and the girl who needed him. The woman who was making him feel alive again.

He hugged Raine in his arms, tight to his chest, and turned away from his old pal.

In the glass, he caught sight of Hammer, shock and denial spilling all over his face. Then he grabbed Beck by the arm with a feral growl and yanked the big tattooed sadist away. “I told you to scare her a bit, not to hurt her, you stupid fucker. Go wait in my office.”

A million thoughts careened through Liam’s mind. Even if Beck had taken the punishment farther than Hammer intended, his friend had still allowed the sick bastard in the same room with a naked Raine. She’d suffered a terrible blow—and not just physically.

Giving Raine his full attention once more, Liam soothed and petted her, calming her tears and gentling her with his voice. With his touch. “There now, lass. Your punishment is done, but I need you to stay brave a bit longer. I’m determined to claim you as a Master should. And I intend to see it done properly, here and now. So no one has any doubts.” Her startled gaze bounced up to his face, and she glanced at the crowd. “Do you understand me?”

It wasn’t strictly necessary, but he didn’t trust Hammer not to hurt Raine anymore. Even if the man rushed in to claim her now, Liam didn’t have any faith in Macen after today. As far as he was concerned, Hammer best learn that Liam was in charge of the girl now. Yes, he wanted to fuck her, which still made him feel vaguely guilty, but with this act, he’d give Hammer a vivid picture of the new reality—Raine was off limits.

She looked bewildered and anxious, unsure. He gave her a moment to digest, comprehend. He watched as the light dawned. Finally, she nodded. Sheer will emanated from her. Fuck, her determination amazed him.

She didn’t once look Hammer’s way as the man walked back in the room, alone now, clenching and unclenching his fists.

Liam helped her to her feet, making sure she had two steady legs beneath her. He didn’t release her until she sent him a sure nod. “I’m fine, Sir.”

He cocked a little smile at her. He wasn’t usually much for protocol, but he appreciated her effort, especially in front of the others. “Then back on the bench.”

At his words, she allowed him to help her onto the padded contraption. As he gave her a gentle push between her shoulder blades, she bent over the bench. Her show of trust warmed him, and he was determined to make this good for her.

The angry red stripe across her thighs, mottling into a terrible purple, made him murderous, but now wasn’t the time to let his fury loose.

Crouching behind her, Liam urged her legs apart and cuffed her ankles again. She tensed, understandable given how helpless she’d been against Beck’s wrath.

“Shh. Give yourself over to me. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Then he gently kissed each thigh where she’d been abused by the rubber strap, ignoring Hammer’s stare that all but singed the skin off his back. Liam dismissed him even as another part of him wanted to plant his fist in the bastard’s face and scream that he deserved every bit of what was about to happen.

As he moved up and reached for her wrists, her soft voice curled in his ear. “You know how long it’s been since...” Her anxious glance willed him to understand. “And I’ve never...” She drew in a shuddering breath. “Will it hurt?”

He’d be the first Master to claim her, and that made him swell with pride—and even more potent desire. Hell, what a boon. Liam was mightily glad she hadn’t let some other potentially inept fucker have this part of her.

“No. There now. Close your eyes. Pretend it’s just you and me here. Take a deep breath and give me your worries. Will you do that for me?” He petted her hair gently. “Yes, that’s it. Just like that. Now open yourself, Raine, and trust that by the time my cock is buried in your ass, you’ll be feeling nothing but pleasure. I’ll awaken a more submissive side of you and give you something you’ve never felt.”

Liam ripped off his shirt and concentrated completely on claiming Raine as his own. He had to fuck not just her body, but her mind, too. She had to surrender her will in front of all these people and open herself completely to him.

As he wound behind her again, he gently stroked her thighs to soothe her with one hand. With the other, he signaled to a watching slave for ice and a towel. Within moments, he pressed the cooling terrycloth to her. It wouldn’t stop the bruising, but it might numb the area enough so he could take her mind and body elsewhere.

A tall order for the troubled woman, but he had the desire and patience. This was his first act as her Dom, and he would not fail her.

Minutes later, Liam set the towel aside, and Raine stiffened.

“Shh, lass. Breathe in and out. Like that, yes,” he crooned. “Relax for me.”

And she listened, the starch left her body by degrees. Liam breathed across her skin, then followed with a languid brush of his fingers. He caressed his way up her hips, her back, over her tense shoulders, all the way to her neck, until she warmed for him. He worshipped her body, getting lost in her softness, her heady feminine scent. Her perfection.

By the time he delved between her thighs, Raine was gasping her readiness. He trailed his fingers along her bare slit. So wet. The scent of her arousal slammed his brain and his cock with equal force. Liam eased a finger inside her and groaned as her swollen, silky pussy squeezed him. Fuck, she was going to feel so good enveloping his cock, so small and tight. He couldn’t wait.

But first things first.

Liam bent and rimmed her little virgin rosette with his tongue. She gasped, trying to squeeze her cheeks together to keep him out. Clearly, she wasn’t accustomed to anyone touching her there. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he’d make damn certain she both got used to it and loved it.

Dragging his lips over the fleshy part of her backside, he lapped his way up her body to murmur in her ear. “Don’t forget to relax for me. Let yourself feel. Sink into the sensations. They’ll be new, but I promise, they’ll be ones you come to crave.”

At her shaky nod, he slid down her body back to her small, untried hole and pried her open. He laved and circled around her sensitive flesh until her breath caught, until she flushed, until her body tensed and she was grabbing the edges of the table again, this time not anticipating pain, but bracing for pleasure. Then he added to it, his questing fingers seeking out the swollen bundle of nerves at the top of her weeping cunt.

With a soft little cry that made his cock harder, Raine undulated as she sank into the slow, insistent rhythm he set. She was nearly ready to take everything he intended to give her. Then all this pale, silky skin...his. This virgin ass...his. All her will and fire and need...his.

Intently watching her, he reached into Beck’s bag of tricks under the bench and found a new tube of lube. He squeezed some onto his fingers, massaging and pressing lightly at the puckered rosette of her ass. She tensed again. Liam shushed her, giving her his calm so she could surrender and let him take over. Fear hovered under her surface. Yet he also saw anticipation growing in her eyes. They heated and softened, like the entrance he stroked. Her cheeks flushed. The little sounds in the back of her throat told him that she was ready. No other penetration could make her feel quite so submissive, so owned. He wanted to be the one who gave her that experience.

Liam looked at her with a fierce stare, barely managing to hold back his urgency as he savored the control she slowly surrendered to him. He intended to nurture and strengthen the new connection between them, starting here and now. He’d do whatever necessary to allow her trust to grow so she would seek him out for all of her needs. That he expected her to. He hadn’t wanted anyone like this in years, maybe ever, and he was determined to make her crave him.

Somehow, she’d become important—like warmth and food and air. Liam didn’t understand it and he didn’t want to rationalize it. He just couldn’t deny how deeply he wanted her. Even if her need for him was only physical for now…well, one step at a time.

As she cried out again, Liam knew the time to claim her had come. This was his chance to make her see him, feel the promise of what could be. He had no intention of wasting it.

He slid a finger inside her ass, waited until she pushed back, tentatively seeking. Then he gave her more, easing in another with teasing strokes. She groaned, her eyes still pinned to him in the mirror, glazed in a smoky blue. And he watched her, listened to her roughening breaths, waited for her to relax upon his fingers. Finally, she did, sweetly giving him more of her trust.

Attempting to stretch her sinfully narrow opening, his cock wept, hungry to replace his fingers. The need inside him started to snarl and growl. He dragged in air and forced himself to be gentle.

“Breathe. There’s a good lass. Trust that I won’t hurt you. I feel your need growing. Give it all to me. I promise you, I will indeed put that fire out. Then I’ll stoke it again.”

She gasped, mewled, skin sheening under the lights, eyes closed. So sensual…

Removing his fingers, he gathered more lube, generously slathering her slightly expanded opening. “Just a little more. You’re ready.” Inserting his fingers again, he spread the digits wide, gliding his knuckles back and forth against her thinning rim.

Attuned to her every nuance, from her soft whimpers to the way her eyes fluttered open and closed as she desperately tried to focus on him, Liam exercised every ounce of his patience. Pleasure played across her face with abandon, thrilling him. Very soon, he’d fill her wee, lush body to the brim with exquisite need and drive her to orgasm under his command.

“That’s it. You’ve got my cock bursting at the seams, desperate I am to be inside you,” he whispered for her ears only as she breathed out her pleasure, her muscles rippling and clenching around his fingers. “There… Stay with me, Raine. We’ll do this together. Let me help you touch the stars.”

Plucking a condom out of his pocket, he tore into his zipper, then slid his trousers down. With his teeth, he tore into the foil package and slid it over his turgid shaft, biting back a groan. Dripping more lube onto his cock, he stroked the slick gel over it, coating the latex completely.

“Look at me. Focus on me now and me alone. Don’t look away. I want to see your eyes as I fill you. I intend to watch you come for me.”

Her eyes widened, but still contained a dreamlike blue haze. Removing his fingers, he wrapped his fist around his throbbing shaft as he set the crest against her readied opening. So small, so delicate everywhere. Pulling her cheeks wider still, fighting every god-given instinct to plunge balls deep, he sucked in a stuttering breath and eased the bulbous tip inside, as far as her tight band of muscle allowed.

Suddenly, she gasped. Apprehension filled her eyes when he met them in the mirror. Desire lurked there, too. “Shh...there now. Don’t fight me, lovely. Take a deep breath. As you release it, push back and let me in. Let me turn it into the most glorious pleasure you’ve ever felt. Can you do that for me?”

Liam paused as he waited for her answer. Reaching beneath her, he stroked her clit again. The moment throbbed. He itched with the need to press in and drive into her welcoming softness and be burned alive. He resisted and watched her in the mirror. A movement in the glass caught his eye. Hammer.

The hot, fierce eyes that glared at him promised retribution. Another problem for another time. Raine needed him now.

Lowering his gaze to her once more, he teased her clit with another light stroke as he sank a bit deeper inside. Finally, she relaxed, pushed back to him. And he slipped past her tight ring of muscle and began to fall into her.

Oh, fuck.The burn, the grip, the perfection of her flesh…Liam couldn’t hold in a groan as he pushed into her, little by little. Filled her. Melded with her, not stopping until his balls rested against her weeping cunt, until every inch of his cock filled her blistering ass. Her hiss turned to a sigh as he claimed her.

He gave her the briefest moment of respite, then he began to thrust in slow, friction-filled strokes. The sweet burn soon had her trembling on his cock and wailing for relief. Biting back a curse, and fighting the urgency gathering in his balls, he gritted his teeth and focused on Raine.

She welcomed him as he plunged into her over and over again, trying to burn himself into her soul. She came alive, grew wild. With every sensation he drew forth, she melted and gave up more control to him. He felt the fragile connection he forged all the way to her glorious soul.

Brimming with thrill, he laid over her back, dragging his lips across the curve of neck. He raked his fingers through her drenched folds and over her hard clit.

“Now you’re mine, lass. Feel my cock stretching you, filling you. This is the cock that will grant your every pleasure,” he growled hungry and raspy in her ear. “Feel my hands on you. These are the hands that will mold you, stroke you, guide you through the journey you’ve been craving.”

Raine didn’t answer exactly. She tossed her head back, eyes a wild blue, and cried out.

Excellent. Gorgeous. Now to crawl in her head some more.“You’re so hot and tight, lovely. I could stay buried inside you ‘til the end of time and not get my fill.”

She moaned and rocked her hips, eager for more, her little whimpers driving him higher.

“Yes, that’s it. This is where I belong. Now that you’ve let me in, I’m going to consume you. Let the sensations set you ablaze. Take everything I give you.”

Watching as he stretched her more with every thrust, groaning with a pleasure he’d not felt in too long, he drove his cock deeper, filling her tight passage again and again.

As he pinched her clit between his fingers, she cried out, “Liam!”

That desperate plea, that longing in her voice, called to his Dominant soul. She’d screamed his name. Not Hammer’s, but...his! The man wasn’t even on her radar right now.

He wanted to cradle her close, protect her from heartache. So deep inside her, he longed for things he had no right to ask of her. But that wasn’t going to stop him. She’d trusted him, given him her power. He was going to use that. The conflagration threatened to consume them both with its intensity. And at this moment she was his to will, to own.

“Tell me how it feels.”

“It stings. Burns. I feel stretched so wide.” She hissed, then wriggled her hips, arching her back, forcing Liam to slide even deeper and moan as he greedily claimed the new space she’d granted. “Yes! It’s... I...” She clutched the table in a white-knuckled grip. He saw her soul as she met his gaze with pleading eyes, panic-stricken as her orgasm threatened to consume her. “Liam? Please.”

Every pulse, every squeeze, every tremor that rippled along the length of his cock was exquisite agony. She relinquished all control, and he reveled in his possession of her. His balls drew up hard, primed to erupt.

“I knew you would feel like this, lass. So tight. Fuck, so perfect. And the taste of your surrender is headier than anything I imagined,” he whispered against her ear. “Let yourself go and fly. Come now, Raine!”

As if they’d choreographed it, as if he’d timed it perfectly, she did. Her panting little cries filled the room as her body bucked, jerked. Then she screamed, and Liam soaked in her power as she soared with rapture. He gasped for breath and self-control as she shattered all around him, but orgasm barreled toward him like a freight train. He tensed, gritting his teeth, desperate to stay lost in the moment just a bit longer. He gloried in every pulse of her body, was captivated by each cry from her lips. He couldn’t look away from her blossoming under him, opening to him as if he was the sun.

At the thought, he fell head first into an exquisite abyss stronger than anything he could remember. The wonder of it—and her—nearly brought him to his knees as she continued to convulse, milking his cock with the blistering power of her pleasure.

Raine dug her nails deep into the padded table as she screamed again. Thrusting and grunting powerfully, he rode the waves of her delirium to a blissful, shuddering end. Everything and everyone fell away except Raine as he poured himself into her, wishing he could mark her with his seed instead of the condom he filled.

Slowly recovering from the earth-shattering climax, he saw Raine blink, breathe…then close her eyes with a little smile. He kissed her shoulder and wrapped his arm more tightly around her. Mine!

Hammer’s stare in the mirror scorched him. Liam glanced up and tensed. He refused to allow Raine to shoulder Hammer’s rage or guilt herself.

“Eyes on me,” he whispered roughly as he withdrew from her body and uncuffed her. “You’re so gorgeous. You pleased me so much. I’ve got you...”

She sagged against the bench, and Liam stripped off his condom and tossed it in the nearby bin before he zipped his trousers, patently ignoring Hammer. Instead, he picked up her baby-doll and eased her into the garment, then back into his arms. The crowd melted away as he swung her up against his chest, gratified when she clung to him, burying her face in his neck.

“That’s a love. Let me get you back to my room where I can take care of you.”

As she nodded tiredly and kissed his jaw, he smiled in triumph. Already she sought him for comfort and put herself in his care. He’d known she’d bloom under affection.

Then a wave of anger and pain emanated from the man he’d called friend for a decade. It reached inside his chest, yanked and twisted. Gouged deep. Liam did his best to ignore it. Hammer had made his choice. Liam would rather have saved the girl than lost them both.

And now he was wondering if he’d somehow lost his heart in the process.

He studied Raine as he walked from the room, his eyes softening on her sheer beauty. She was his…at least for now. But she’d warned him where her heart was. When he’d been scheming to win her solely to prod at Hammer’s possessive streak, that hadn’t mattered. Now? He grimaced. Raine was like smoke, seemingly so real when captured in his arms and searing his lungs. She stole his very breath. Yet something about her was elusive. Only time would tell how this played out, but right now, he refused to let go. And he’d not give her up without a fight.