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With a wicked sneer, he winked "You stupid bastard You lost her to Liaet soht I bet all you’ll be able to picture is Liam buried inside your little princess I doubt you’ll be able to find a bottle deep enough to drown in"

Hammer bucked Beck off him, then rolled to his feet, fury like a volcano inside him, primed to erupt "You’re banned froain?" Beck chuckled, then stood and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s froainst the wall He unscrewed the cap and tossed it to the floor, then took a long gulp and hissed through the burn He thrust the bottle toward Haain, asswipe," Ham

"A week? That’ll work I need a break, anyway You do know that you hit like a bitch, right?"

"Yeah, that’s why your lip is bleeding and your eye is already turning black," Has, et over that"

"You really need to work out your shit when it co you up inside because sheto wake up and you won’t even recognize thehis arnosis?"

"You should have fucked the princess out of your syste to happen"

Harabbed a bottle of Patrón and stalked back to his office, sla the door behind hi them on the bed as he walked to the bathroom As he rinsed the blood fro his own reflection in the mirror above the sink Blood oozed from a cut above his brow, but what startled hi back

He splashed cold water on his face, then watched crimson swirl down the drain

Hammer turned off the faucet As he reached for a towel, the sounds of sex filtered through the walls It was Raine’s tenderwith hers Frozen like a statue, he stood listening to the sounds of their love down the screa in his chest, Ha the tequila, he tipped the bottle back, guzzling it like water Even so, thetheir way into his brain Beck was right--there wasn’t a bottle deep enough for hi at the foot of his bed, he thought he’d put enough distance between himself and the sounds of Liah the walls He covered his ears--anything to drown out the reality of another rant her himself

All four walls seemed to close in around hiulpedhis head The entire day had been a fucking Greek tragedy All because he’d taken Marlie to bed Didn’t Raine get that he would--and had--fucked al her to bed and ruining her life? Of course not He’d never been honest with her Hell, it was hard to be honest with hi Lia prick was more reality than he could take

Sweat dripped from his face and down his back Hammer stood and stripped off his shirt and threw it to the floor He walked fro the walls would provide enough of a buffer to find sooddamn silence

He sat at his desk and wrapped his thick fingers around his coffee h all the tears, bullshit, and dra was clean

With a terrible roar, he heaved the cera shards hit the floor, he tipped back the bottle of Patrón and guzzled When he came up for air, he flopped down on his buttery-soft leather couch and rested the bottle on his knee Studying the clear liquid sloshing inside, he hoped it would at least dull the brutal pain slicing through hiht

Beside Raine, Liam snored softly in her ear Spooned into his chest, his arm curled around her waist, his warmth surrounded her, protected her She closed her eyes He o so easy That tender voice… The caress of his eyes… He er--what did she know about his past, his goals, his life--but with hiuard down and believe hi…and scary as hell

She snuggled up to him, astounded by the turn their relationship had taken so quickly But tonight, he’d shown that he would be there for her, just as he’d promised That he would care for and protect her He’d broken his long-standing friendship with Hammer to defend her when he barely knew her

Why?

Raine didn’t know, and the question unsettled her Lia everyone his tender doht her to his bedroom andwhat? More than fucked her--and more than once His every touch and look had been rife with so

Raine had never really had a ined it would feel a lot like what Lia If he’d wanted to reach deep into her, he had succeeded He’d ripped through her protective walls and totally exposed her soul In the after it hard to fortify herself with those barriers again Besides being sexy and caring, Liam had been there for her in a way very few ever had

Why?

She didn’t know And damn, the day had rushed over her like a flash flood, and she hadn’t found high ground fast enough to take cover

For so long, her ever-present desire for a fierce protector had burned inside her But so did her craving for a firm Master Hammer had been the for her too much She knew he could be the latter, if he wished But she couldn’t make him love her Maybe he did, on some level Maybe that would explain why he’d tried so hard to keep her frouilt talking Or ames to control her

It didn’t really iven her to Beck to punish, rather than touch her himself And if he wanted to believe that she’d tricked Liaed to Liam now

Raine thrust aside the memory of Hammer’s decimated face just before Liam carried her fro, she was stupid enough to love him still Sadly, some part of her probably alould

But what about Lia he seemed to be, he deserved a wo to him, heart and soul

God, she could think in this endless circle all night long

Raine rolled over and looked at the clock 3:30 AM Did Hammer know or care where she was? Did itsuddenly splintered the night It sounded like it had co to beat faster The club was closed, and all guests should be long gone So what the hell was that sound?

She was still analyzing it in her head when so heavy clattered to the floor fro over the stained concrete above