A glance back showed Liam clutching Raine in his arms and heading for his private room. The vengeful part of him wanted to throw the son of a bitch out and ban him from Shadows…but what if he persuaded Raine to leave with him? What if Liam took her back to New York, played more head games with her, and she found herself alone? What if she needed him and he wasn’t there for her… Hammer swallowed. He couldn’t take that risk. Seeing them together would gut his insides every fucking day, but he’d do it, just to keep her close and safe.

That still left him between a fucking rock and a hard place, but now he could add a brick wall to that. Goddamnit, he hated not having palatable options. Bitterness iced his veins.

He turned and stalked back toward Liam. He should let it go. He should…but he couldn’t.

Hammer grabbed Liam’s arm, refusing to look down at Raine curled in his embrace. “You motherfucker. I hope you’re happy. You’ve been duped by a pair of big blue eyes and a great rack.” He shoved a superior smile on his face even when he didn’t feel it. “In about three days, you’ll realize that she played you to get back at me. She’ll have your balls tied up in knots. And when you go to ease them by shoving your cock into her sweet cunt, don’t fool yourself into believing that she’ll be thinking about anyone but me.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, Hammer pivoted away from the pair. He didn’t feel any better. In fact, he felt far fucking worse. What if Raine didn’t think of him at all? What if she didn’t love him as much as he adored her? God, then he’d be both pathetic and a fucking joke.

Then again…what if tonight had been a ploy? It wasn’t like Liam to latch onto a woman this quickly, but it was like him to concoct some little plot to make him let go of his hangups. What if Liam and Raine had schemed together to crack the hard shell around him? What if they were plotting even now their next step to make him fall?

He shot a glare toward all the club members with their curious, pitying glances, then stormed through the dungeon, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Seething, he made his way to the security room. Punching in the code, Hammer swung the door open so quickly, the employee manning the numerous rows of monitors jumped, then shot him a nervous stare.

“Out!” he ordered.

Without a word, the computer geek dashed out of the room. The door slammed behind him.

Hammer took a deep breath, then sat at the control desk. Adjusting the dials, he zoned in on Liam’s room. Enlarging the image from the security camera, as well as raising the volume of the audio, he could see and hear Liam and Raine’s conversation as if he were there.

Leaning forward in his chair, Hammer glued his eyes to the screen as Liam ministered to Raine tenderly in silence. As she lay across his bed, he soothed her well-used rosette with a cloth as he kissed her back and shoulders. Raine moaned a contented little sigh.

Hammer forced himself to watch, hope still flickering in his chest. It burned in painful contrast to his dread. The thoughts kept spinning in his head. What if…? What if…? What if…?

“You were beautiful, lass.” Liam showered her in praise. “The way you let go… I know that was difficult for you, and that giving yourself to pleasure after Beck’s pain can’t have been easy. But you trusted me, and I’m honored.”

“I did.” She rolled over and blinked up at Liam with those big eyes that always seemed to melt him, and Hammer’s gut clenched. “I do.”

“You’re mine now, and mine alone. Do you understand?” Liam gripped her chin gently.

Hammer held his breath.

“Yes.” She licked her lips. “Sir.”

Liam smiled down at her with tenderness. Hammer’s heart exploded. So much for the hope that they’d cooked up a ruse to reel him in. Right now, the way they were looking at one another, he might as well not even exist.

His old friend might be a motherfucking bastard, but Hammer knew himself to be a fool. He’d let Raine slip through his fingers. Seeing the seeds of worship in her eyes, hearing her address someone else as her Sir…it was too painful to watch.

Before he could turn off all the security equipment, Liam urged Raine flat on her back. She curled her arms around his neck, and that blasted Irishman put his hands on her. Raine peered up at Liam, so focused, looking at him almost as if he was a goddamn god.

Hammer’s stomach twisted. He should fucking leave now. Voluntarily watching his former best friend caress Raine’s soft skin made him masochistic. Hell, now Liam dropped a soft kiss on her pillowy lips and thumbed her nipple slowly through that sexy-as-fuck baby-doll nightie, back and forth.

Raine gave Liam a shy, almost secretive smile. “Thank you for making tonight incredible. I was afraid at first, then I realized you were there. I knew you wouldn’t let anything bad happen, so I did what you said. I relaxed and I let go.” She sighed. “And it was everything I could have wanted.”

Hammer gripped the counter tightly until his knuckles turned white, until his fingers went numb.

Liam palmed her breast again, looking down into her eyes like an indulgent lover. “It was beautiful.”

Fuck, that should have been him. It should be him now. But it couldn’t be, and Hammer knew all the fucking reasons why.

Still…he could hardly believe that Liam had swooped in and stolen Raine from him in less than two days with his fucking head games. But Hammer knew he hadn’t given her what she needed, and Liam would.

A bitter pill. It clawed his throat raw as he swallowed it down.

“We’ll be good together, you and I, lass. Just keep giving me all you can.”

She nodded solemnly. “I will. I want to. To really submit for the first time was amazing. I’d tried to imagine it so many times, but actually doing it? It both eased me and sent me soaring. I don’t know how to explain.”

“You’re doing fine. Keep talking. Tell me how the crowd made you feel?”

“I didn’t notice them. I was focused on you, like you said. They just fell away for me.”

“You did perfect. And what about Hammer?”

He saw her body stiffen at the question, the way she diverted her gaze from Liam. Hammer turned up the volume again and leaned in once more.

“I’m...torn.” She drew in a trembling breath. “You want me to be honest, right?” At Liam’s nod, she frowned. “I’m so angry at him. I mean, Beck? And Hammer did nothing to stop it. I don’t understand. I thought he cared at least a little. He’s taken care of me so diligently for years. But tonight…he seemed like a stranger. Even so, I’m realizing that my feelings for him aren’t like a switch I can turn off at will, but I’ll keep trying.”

God, her words hurt more than anything. She was going to try to put him out of her heart. Yes, it was better for her. And yes, he wanted her to be happy. But he would be alone again, just like he’d been for the last eight long fucking years.

Hammer reached up toward the screen and traced his fingers over the image of Raine’s cheek. His eyes stung, and he blinked quickly to stave off unmanly tears. “I’m so sorry. If I’d known what Beck planned to do… He’ll pay. Trust me. But go ahead and hate me, precious. It will be so much better for you.”

Regrets were like assholes; everyone had one. Hammer wished again that he could be what Raine needed, but he’d only break her in two.

Liam brushed away the baby-doll from her body, then tore off his trousers and grabbed a condom from the nightstand. Hammer knew by the gentle way Liam covered her what was coming next and he didn’t have the fortitude to sit and watch his ex-best friend make love to the woman who’d grown to become his everything. He muted the audio and killed the video feed from Liam’s room. Closing his eyes once again, he drew in a deep breath, then unleashed a primal scream of rage until his throat burned. Until he realized his machinations had backfired in his face and he could do nothing to take it back now.

Resigned and furious, he stalked out of the room to find Beck.

Tearing back through the dungeon, Hammer stared straight ahead, ignoring everyone in his path. But he felt the eyes of the club members on him, boring into him, silently wondering how he had lost control of that scene. He looked through them, not about to give anyone the benefit of seeing him care.

Down the corridor to the private rooms, he opened the door to his office, expecting to see Beck waiting. Instead, he found the room empty. His blood pressure spiked. Goddamnit.

Stomping down the hall again with long, heavy strides, Hammer heard the prick’s deep baritone instructing a submissive to strip. He didn’t bother knocking on the door, just barged in. Beck spun around as Hammer’s stare zeroed in on a startled sub kneeling at the sadist’s feet.

“You! Get your clothes on and get the fuck out,” he snarled to the scared woman. Then he turned his attention back to Beck. “You. Stay put.”

The little blonde looked between the two men. With a sigh, Beck gestured her out the door, and she scrambled away.

“Do we have a problem, Hammer? Whatever it is, couldn’t it wait until I got my dick wet?”

“Getting your dick wet should be the least of your concerns, you son of a bitch! What happened to our plan? You were supposed to be on my side. Why the hell did you deviate? Don’t tell me you didn’t understand when I told you not to mark or hurt Raine. You hid that paddle with your body so I couldn’t see what you were holding until it was too late. After seven years, I know a lot of your secrets. I also know you’re not stupid. What the fuck were you doing?”

Beck shrugged. The smirk on his lips pissed Hammer off even more. “Oops.”

What the fuck kind of answer was that? Launching toward Beck, Hammer wrapped his hand around the Dom’s beefy throat and squeezed. “You think that’s funny? I don’t find it the least bit amusing, motherfucker. You did exactly what I told you not to do. So now, you get to deal with me!”

“Don’t take your frustration out on me. You should have taken care of the princess yourself and you know it. It was your punishment to hand down, yet you dragged me into it. The bigger question is, why didn’t you save her from me, instead of that Irish ass? I gave you every opportunity to be a hero, and you let O’Neill steal your thunder. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Hammer didn’t owe Beck any sort of answer. “Right now, what’s wrong with me is you.”

“Raine is just another sub, man. No different from any of the others around here, right?” Into Hammer’s telling silence, Beck’s lips curled up. “C’mon. Admit that, for you, she’s not. You’re crazy if you think nobody knows you’ve got a serious thing for that girl. You treat her like her cunt is made of gol—”

Beck didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Hammer’s fist snapped out and plowed him in the jaw. Then he landed another blow to Beck’s chin. “You don’t get to talk about any part of her body, fucker!”

Beck’s powerful right hook caught him off guard, but Hammer welcomed the pain. After watching Liam fuck Raine, he felt hollow, like the life had been sucked right out of him. The red-hot fire boiling beneath his jaw was proof that he wasn’t completely dead.

With his hand still cinched around Beck’s throat, he slammed the bastard up against the wall and drove his knee into the man’s balls. The air left Beck’s lungs in a deeply satisfying rush. Then Hammer unleashed a blistering round of blows to his mouth, nose, and jaw.

With an angry growl, Beck finally shoved Hammer back, then charged at him, blood bubbling from his nostrils. Not about to let up, Hammer drove his fist into the man’s stomach.

“Holy fuck!” Beck coughed and sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so pissed. So I slapped her thighs. Big deal! It’s not like she didn’t deserve it.” Beck landed another blow to Hammer’s jaw and kept on growling out the tough love. “Does she scare you so much you can’t even slap her ass to keep her in line? You’re afraid to touch her, aren’t you?”

“Not another word. I came to you for a simple favor, and you fucked everything up. Because you terrified her so much, she’s paired off with Liam now and is convinced that I’m a monster who plotted to have her beaten way beyond her pain threshold.” He clocked Beck in the jaw again, then shook the sting out of his knuckles. “Thanks so much, pal.”

Beck took a step back and narrowed his eyes at Hammer. “You can hit me with your purse all night long, but I’m nobody’s bitch, Hammer.”

His patronizing smile fueled Hammer’s anger all the more. “Fuck you. You hurt her because you could, and that’s not acceptable around here.”

He punched a fist into Beck’s kidney. The big Dom wrapped him up, and they tumbled to the floor. He felt Beck’s determination as he began to unleash an equally violent wrath. Both men rolled on the concrete, taking turns punching, each striving to gain the upper hand until Hammer found himself pinned beneath Beck’s muscular legs. The sadist leaned over his face, blood and sweat dripping from his brow.