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Chapter 1

Early November

Raine Kendall kneas going to be a terrible day when she ed to have her heart broken before noon

Up and ready for work an hour early, she strode down the hall and lingered outside the boss’s office, juggling acoffee in one hand and a plate with her fresh-baked apple muffins in the other Macen Hammerman, the owner and Alpha Doeon with a devilish s into her soul with those intense hazel eyes His door was closed

She paced Should she knock and see if he’d awakened yet or wait until he appeared? Raine gnawed her lip in indecision

Then the door opened Her head snapped up, a wared Instead, a wo Raine wasn’t: tall, blonde, y And totally satisfied The sed to a woiven by a very capable partner Like Hammer Besides his surname and the fact that his as law around here, Raine had heard the other subs had given him that nickname for a reason

“You’re blocking the door,” Marlie said with an annoyed huff

Raine scra and sauntered closer, wearing a gorgeous pair of Pradas that er When had she started spending the night?

Behind Marlie, Haed face flushed He’d thrown his dress shirt over one brawny ar as he zipped his pants His salt-and-pepper hair was h it repeatedly His lips were red as well Raine had no doubt he’d kissed the other woman with a hard passion that hadloose, his lean, muscled body fluid Relaxed Sated

As Haaze locked with his He stiffened Regret flashed over his face before he quickly banked it

Pain made her chest iers to clatter at his feet Jealousy stabbed her, along with a betrayal she had no right to feel The cherry on top of the whole shit sundae was the pity in his eyes

Hale day of the entire six years she’d lived and worked at Shadows He never would be But she wanted him to be Desperately

Raine couldn’t look at hiy re the rated, much like the mess she now cleaned

Throat tight, she sed Why didn’t the damn floor open up and s her whole? Why did she keep hu herself over this man? He’d shown her in every way possible that he didn’t want her He was probably wondering if he was going to have to learn Greek or Klingon to make her understand

“Cluirl ” Marlie rolled her eyes as she stepped over Raine and out of Haeon’s corridor

“Marlie,” Ha for a proper subize to Raine this instant ”

His stern voice never failed toit directed at the other woman crushed her even more

Marlie murmured a breathy, “Yes, lover I mean, Sir Sorry about that, Rai-Rai ”

Raine almost retched on the bitch’s thousand dollar crystal-studded stilettos Instead, she looked up to see the leggy blonde blow an air kiss at Haain and focused on cleaning up

What did Haure, a perfect tanning-booth glow, and blonde tresses that spiraled artlessly toward her pert ass Raine blew back a strand of her straight raven hair, stared at her pale hands with their short, capable nails, and wanted to cry

Haet you a towel, precious ”

“Thank you ” Her voice sounded fragile, like glass about to shatter

He paused briefly before turning away to his private bathrooone, she choked back a sob, but couldn’t stop a scalding tear fro down her cheek and onto the floor

God, how pitiful was she? He’d never love her She had to pull it together before she er fool of herself While she was at it, she also had to face a few facts Haer to serve his every whim He was hardly a monk; she knew Marlie wasn’t the first wolow Sadly, she wouldn’t be the last

But Raine had never been so close to Ha, so disheveled and sexual and

She had to get out of here

He returned with a towel and bent to help her Gathering up the pieces of the shattered coffeehe was too busy helping her to notice her tears

“Sorry I’m so clumsy ”

“You’re not clumsy Accidents happen ” He mopped at the mess with the towel

Accident? They both knew it hadn’t been But he just had to be kind, didn’t he? He couldn’t be a coive her an easy way to hate him

“I’ll take this to the kitchen and throw it away ”

“Stay,” he commanded “Give me the china, precious I’ll take care of it ”

Raine hesitated How badly she wanted to heed that powerful voice But Hammer was her boss, not her Dom He didn’t want her devotion

On shaking legs, she stood “I’ve got it ”