Liam slid a palm up her back, under her hair, then cradled her neck. “I’m not giving up on this question, Raine. I want you to think about the fact that you’ll never be happy if you can’t share this pain and fear inside you. And you will never be able to truly bond with a Dom—or any other human being—until you do. Until then, you will always be alone.” He stroked her hair again. “You have so many wonderful gifts to share. I’d hate never to know them. It disappoints me to see you waste them.”

His soft condemnation was so fucking hard to take. The words lashed her like a whip cutting through flesh and opening her to the bone. Why didn’t he just punish her already? Paddle her bruised butt… But he’d explained that. He couldn’t force her to change, but he wouldn’t let her hide easily.

“Liam…” she began.

“Yes?”

Raine had nothing to say. She couldn’t make herself spill her past. Even thinking about it made her bleed. Shame. That she hadn’t been strong enough to stop it. That she hadn’t been smart enough to avoid it. And now she was left with the wound that just wouldn’t seem to scar over. Instead, it just kept infecting everything she touched.

“Nothing.”

He sighed, and she heard his disappointment. It hurt so damn much as he took hold of her arms and released her wrists. Her shoulders were a bit stiff, and she rolled them. Liam massaged them so tenderly. Oddly, the moment she got free of his cuffs, a part of her felt as if she was free falling inside, like some safety net had been taken from her. Without thought, she reached out for him.

He didn’t deny her touch…but he didn’t put the cuffs on her again.

“Climb up here on the bed and lay on your back. Arms wide, legs together.” He helped her onto the cushy mattress, and she sank immediately onto what felt like a fluffy towel over soft cotton blankets. “That’s it. Bring your knees up. Now relax them and let them fall open for me.”

So her pussy was exposed?

Still, she did it. He’d seen and touched it all. He wasn’t going to hurt her.

“Yes. Just like that.” He released her and stood, retreating and returning quickly. “I’ve fetched a tray of lavender, tea tree oil, and rosemary. The caretaker’s wife mixed it with pure olive oil and heated it for you. It will be a soothing medicinal balm. Don’t be alarmed as I pour it on you. Just relax. Keep yourself open for me, and not just your body, Raine. It’s your mind I speak of, too. This won’t be painful.”

With that, Liam began by massaging her methodically from head to toe, paying particular attention to her breasts, hips, and thighs—anywhere she was already bruised. He avoided her pussy, and unconsciously she rose to his traveling hands. But he didn’t touch her there. Instead, he drifted farther down, slowly lulling her into a blessed calm.

He drizzled the oil directly onto her skin now, over her breasts, then trailed it to her mound. “This will help with the healing. It’ll not alleviate the bruising, but it will soothe your skin. Does it feel warm and cool at the same time?”

She started to nod, then stopped herself. He didn’t want her to answer him that way, and it seemed a simple thing to give him the words he wanted when she’d denied him almost everything else.

“Yes, Sir.”

Raine sensed his sadness and wished like hell that she could see his face. No, that she could put her arms around him. The last thing she wanted to do after hurting Liam last night was make him even sadder now.

He stroked and caressed her breasts, massaging and kneading the tender flesh in concentric circles, drawing smoothly toward her areola, squeezing the nipple gently, again and again until she moaned.

Liam had found another of her weaknesses. Her nipples had always been sensitive, and his slow, slick touch with the oils was awakening her. As much sex as she’d had lately, everything south of her waist should be dormant, if not dead. But no. The warm oil spilled down her bare mons and over her sore folds, adding another layer of sensation.

And Raine couldn’t miss his hardening cock growing thick and heavy as he leaned against her. She was probably far too sore to actually have sex with him right now…but some part of her really wanted to be as close to him as two people could be.

Blindly, she reached up for him, felt her way from his wrist to his shoulder, then looped her arms around his neck. Her clumsy lips groped from his jaw to the corner of his mouth before she opened for his surprise onslaught. He dove into her mouth, seemingly willing to drown in her for a nearly perfect moment. She needed someone, and Liam was here with and for her. Raine clung tighter. Her rock. Her life preserver in an angry sea. Her someone to believe in?

A long moment of union later, he eased his lips from hers. “Raine, whatever’s hurting you, share it with me. Tell me what happened when you were a child. Let me comfort you.”

Raine couldn’t rip off this Band-Aid for him right now. She flinched and dropped back to the bed, tearing the blindfold away from her eyes.

She wished she hadn’t.

Such soft pity… God, it curdled her stomach.

“Don’t feel sorry for me. Don’t you dare!”

His eyes narrowed, and he moved so quickly, it stunned her, stole her breath.

Liam straddled her, his hands curling around her wrists, his big thighs pinning her hips to the bed. She kicked and shrieked until she realized that she wasn’t going to budge him and that she probably sounded like a willful child. She shut up and glared.

“Listen and listen well. You can’t tell me how to feel, any more than I can tell you. If pity was all I felt, I wouldn’t be trying this hard. You’ve got such fire in you. Are you really going to let something that happened years ago cripple your heart? Rob you of a satisfying future?”

He spoke the question in silky tones. It hurt all over. With his stare and his questions probing her, she felt so exposed. Vulnerable. She wanted to curl her knees to her chest, cross her arms protectively over her body, and keep everyone out.

Liam wasn’t about to let that happen.

She searched for a clever way to put him off or skirt the truth, but his invasive stare and her aching nipples handicapped her brain. Her body was every bit as confused as her head. She’d barely slept, didn’t know where she belonged or what to think.

Raine turned away. “I’m done. I’ll volunteer all day long that I hate mustard, love reading, and that I’m allergic to antibiotics. But don’t talk to me about my childhood again.” Damn it, why couldn’t she stop sobbing? “Please...”

“No, Raine. You don’t get to call the shots here. My training. My rules. You’ve had it tough. I understand that. I also know the last few days have been...extreme. But I promised I’d split you open like a ripe peach. At some point, you’ll know that I always keep my promises. You also need to learn to behave properly for a Dominant. All this arguing isn’t showing me your desire to please or convincing me that you want to share a part of your soul.”

“I do…” She blinked back his way. “I just…can’t we work up to the worst? I’ve barely thought about my past in years. We’ve only been speaking for a handful of days, and now you want in the deepest recesses of my soul, a place where I thought I’d only show Hammer. But the man I’ve loved all these years doesn’t think I’m good enough. Eventually you won’t, either. Can’t I just keep my goddamn secrets until you get bored?”

“No.” His answer came back like the crack of a whip. “You’ll watch your language, too. If I have to warn you again, once your ass is healed up, I’ll make sure you won’t be sitting pretty for a week at least. And you’ll never bore me. Never,” he growled emphatically. “You don’t believe me yet, but I won’t let up until you do.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he put a finger over her lips. “Not another word. I’m bloody tired of arguing. You must be sleepy. Let’s see if anything looks better after a nap.”

“I don’t want to sleep.” Ugh, didn’t she sound like a spoiled toddler? She had to shut up.

“Well, I do. Indulge me. I intend to nap cuddled up beside you.”

He unwrapped the towel from around his waist and wiped the sheen of oil from her body, then padded toward the bathroom in absolutely nothing. The view of his backside walking away from her was…wow. Firm, narrow, not the least bit flat and…yeah, wow. He dropped the towel on the counter and headed back toward her.

The view from the front nearly had her eyes popping out. Even flaccid, he was large. Muscular thighs dusted with dark hair framed heavy testicles. An intriguing trail of hair climbed up to his navel. The chest above was lean and rippling with muscle. And his broad shoulders… She licked her suddenly dry lips.

Liam shook his head and gave her a wicked grin. “I see what you’re wanting. None of that now.”

The words came out of his mouth, but his cock said otherwise, rising quickly until it looked big and ready and demanding. She eyed him hungrily, remembering all the ecstasy of his gentle claiming in the dungeon, then his softly fierce loving in his room afterward. She didn’t want Hammer any less than before…but she definitely wanted Liam more.

Raine didn’t understand how she could have feelings for two such different men. And she probably wasn’t going to figure it out in the next five minutes.

As she sighed, he slid between the covers and took her with him beneath the sheets, nestling her at his side. His erection lay against her hip, but he didn’t make any move beyond kissing her lips softly. “Close your eyes. Breathe deep. Stop worrying for now. We’ll solve everything later.”

She did as he bid, her heavy lids sliding shut. She focused on his breathing, the comfort and warmth of his arms around her, and clearing her mind. With Liam’s body protectively against hers, she could almost pretend that all was well.

Peace began to carry her away. She felt weightless, floated in a carefree bliss.

“That’s a good lass,” he murmured. “Someday, you’ll tell me your secrets, every one. And after, I promise I’ll still be here.”

She slept like a child, deeply, finally letting go of all the trauma and fears. The pain and anxiety left her face and body at last as she let sleep take her. He watched her. Wasn’t it ironic that, despite everything, he’d gone from using her to “fix” Hammer…to coveting her as his own? He gently stroked her skin and drew her closer. She looked all mother-of-pearl and satin soft. Her hair, a dark raven’s wing, curled over her shoulders and shrouded her breasts.

A delicate pink nipple peeked through, and the memory of her under him, her breasts pressed against him, made Liam ache to lay claim to her once more, without Hammer watching, hovering, and jealous. He shoved the thought aside. Despite what tomorrow might bring, right here and now she was in his bed and lying in his arms.

But if he didn’t get up now, he’d likely shove his aching cock into her. And he’d hurt her.

So he reluctantly eased from the bed, used the bathroom, and returned. He picked up a book and settled into the corner armchair where he could watch Raine. He tried to read, but spent far more time staring at her.

Until his phone chirped softly.

He jumped up, finding the device in his pants pocket. He silenced it, checking to make sure the chime hadn’t disturbed her. He need not have worried. The lass was exhausted and hadn’t moved one muscle since drifting off.

Turning his attention to the phone again, he saw a slew of messages from Hammer. Each revealed the man’s mood. First, wildly angry and accusing, spewing fury. That gave way to stern demands, then a foolish attempt to negotiate. Finally, an obviously drunken Hammer who’d forgotten how to spell had begged him to bring Raine home.

Not bloody likely.

He set the phone aside, jaw clenched, texts unanswered.

With a sweep of his gaze, he studied Raine’s battered body. Every visible mark on her ate at him. He couldn’t yet answer Hammer without losing his temper. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to.

Picking up the book again, he read a bit more, despite the phone’s soft vibrating buzz over and over on the table beside him. Liam ignored it and watched over Raine.

The sun finally set. As the dinner hour approached, he made his way to the kitchen, fixed a cup of sweet, hot tea, and brought it to her.

Setting it by the bed, he roused her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Time to wake. You all but died on me, you slept so heavy. How are you feeling?”

Raine rolled over, looking disoriented and bleary-eyed. Her limbs hung heavy, moved slow. She rubbed at her eyes, clearly fighting to keep them open. “Tired.”

“Here, then. Stretch a moment and let this tea cool, then take a wee sip. It’ll help wake you up, then we’ll see about going downstairs and finding some food.”

She watched him through the shadows as she rose up on her elbows. He heard her stomach growl.