If she did this right, maybe she would finally know the joy of being Hammer’s. Really, truly understand what it meant to be taken and satisfied by the man she loved.

She eased into the bed beside him. The incredible slab of male occupied most of the mattress, but she didn’t let that deter her from curling against him and inhaling his scent. Musk, leather, sex, fresh cotton. Everything about him was so familiar, so sexy. Anticipation danced in her stomach as she trailed her fingers from the deep line between his rigid pecs, down his torso, watching his muscles bunch and flex with each touch. A curl of excitement pressed against her clit as she gently pushed his boxer briefs down to the tops of his thighs.

Her eyes widened. He was big, the head of his cock wide even while flaccid. His balls hung heavy. She wished she could see him better in the moonlight. But hopefully, they’d still be in bed long after the sun rose.

God, she’d dreamed for years of this…of him. She savored the moment, achingly aware of her pussy weeping.

Then, lowering her head, she licked her way up his shaft with the flat of her tongue, basking in the manly, salty taste of him, in the feel of his cock stiffening for her. In seconds, he was at full staff, and holy hell, he was a sight to behold. Thick, long, and ready, he would fill her needy body and then some. Raine shivered at the thought and closed her mouth around his cock, taking him all the way to the back of her throat with a groan.

As she sucked and laved her way up to the head, he arched his hips, slamming into her mouth. She engulfed him completely, and he cried out in agonized pleasure and wrapped his fingers in her hair, using his grip to thrust harder against her throat.

“Yeeessss. Deeper.”

Raine ached to take him there, so deep that he’d never want to leave. She stretched her lips to open completely for him.

“That’s it. Hmm…precious.”

When she glanced up, his eyes were still closed. Her heart quickened. Had he ever called anyone that but her? Not that she knew of. Was he thinking of her? Maybe, deep down, he wanted her, too.

With a whimper, Raine hollowed her cheeks as she sucked harder, moaning appreciatively at his masculine taste. Marveling as he stiffened even more between her lips, she closed her eyes and shivered when his grip in her hair turned rough, then he plowed into her mouth with another unrestrained thrust.

She opened her throat and breathed through her nose, as she’d heard other submissives describe a thousand times, licking the entire length of his shaft with her tongue, circling the head and teasing the sensitive underside. All the way down, a slow, thorough cradling of his cock until her lips pursed around the base. Then she bobbed back up even more slowly, working toward the crest once more.

This was where she belonged, serving him, pleasing him. He seemed pretty damn pleased, too. Yes, he might protest that she’d taken matters into her hands—and mouth—but he couldn’t deny how good this felt, not when his entire body tensed, his balls drew up, and his cock twitched on her tongue.

As she retreated and licked the head once more, she whispered, “Yes, Macen…”

He finally lifted his heavy lids, confusion evident in the shimmering moonlight. Then he zeroed in on her and recognition dawned. His eyes widened. He pulled harder on her hair, then slid deeper into her mouth as a moan tore from his chest. Raine clasped his shaft with her red-painted lips, lavishing all her attention on him, worshiping his cock as she looked up at him with her heart in her eyes.

Horror spread across his face.

“No, Raine!” He choked out between harsh breaths and shoved away from her as if he was on fire. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Christ!”

“I-I wanted to make you feel good. I was…” Showing you how I felt.

He leapt from the bed, his hard cock still glistening with her saliva as he yanked up his underwear and flipped on the lights. His eyes darkened like a thundercloud. “Why are you giving me head in the middle of the night? That’s not the sort of relationship we have.”

She looked at him hopefully, but felt exposed in her next-to-nothing lingerie. She found herself slinking under the covers to hide. “It could be.”

“No, Raine…precious.” His voice softened. “Never.”

Hammer’s gaze wasn’t unkind, but full of a shaming mixture of alarm and finality. It crushed her. And it pissed her off.

Raine shot him an accusing glare. “You liked it. You moaned. You called me ‘precious,’ like you always do. You fucked my mouth like you were desperate for me, even after you knew who I was. I’m here because I need to show you that I can please you as a woman. Just one chance.”

But Hammer was already shaking his head. His denial made tears stab her eyes. Raine tried desperately to shove them back. “Why not me? Why every other goddamn woman who steps foot in this club except me?”

“I won’t touch you, Raine. And I don’t owe you an explanation. Leave!” He pointed to the door. “Go to your room and go back to bed. We’ll forget this ever happened. Don’t step foot in here again without my permission.”

“I don’t want to forget!” She jumped from the bed and stared. His cock still bulged hard and angry beneath his boxer briefs. Longing melted her. “It looks like you want me, at least a little. I’m not tall like Marlie or as experienced, but I’m eager and I can learn. If my blow job technique isn’t good enough, then you can teach me. But I’ll love you like she never will. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Goddamnit, Raine! We’re not talking about this. Later, when you’ve got some fucking clothes on, I’ll determine a proper punishment for breaching my privacy and barging your way past boundaries you have no business crossing. Go!”

‎Every word stabbed her, and he didn’t seem to notice. Or care. “I’m not a child. I’d be so good to you. Why can’t you want me?”

“Stop trying my patience, and for fuck’s sake, Raine, stop topping from the goddamn bottom. Now go!”

Raine tried to hold back her tears. Topping from the bottom. Yeah, she could see how he’d think that. Maybe she needed a different tactic...

She scrambled to her knees, dropping her gaze, palms up on her thighs, doing her best to appear supplicating. “I’m sorry, Sir. Let me make it up to you and ease your discomfort. Let me serve you.” His big cock rested inches from her face, still hard and about to burst from his underwear. Her mouth watered as she craved another taste. “Please.”

A growl tore from his chest. He wrapped his hand around her arm and yanked her to her feet. He didn’t once look at her as he dragged her to the door, opened it, and shoved her out of his room. “Stop pushing me! It’s never going to happen. Get that straight, girl.”

He slammed the door in her face and locked it, sliding the deadbolt in place.

Blinking at it with horror and desolation, Raine choked on a sob, then sank to the floor and covered her face with her hands. She’d offered him everything with an open heart, and he’d brutally refused her. Apparently, he wanted the Marlies of the world, with their fake boobs and even faker intentions. Hammer excelled at fucking with a woman’s head, not at treasuring her heart. Yet she’d hoped that his concern and caretaking for her translated into more. He didn’t love her; he pitied her. And she’d humiliated herself in the most cringe-worthy way by throwing herself at him.

Fine. So she would leave, start over. Yes, she loved it here. The people, the energy, the genuine concern the employees shared for each other—it was home. Shadows was the only place she’d ever felt safe. She had nowhere else to go, and Liam had offered her a reason to stay, along with most everything she’d ever wanted. But Liam wasn’t Hammer. In fact, she barely knew him. How the hell could she devote herself to another man?

On the other hand, how could accepting Liam’s offer make her hurt worse than she already did? Maybe she should grab what happiness she could and accept that she’d never have what she truly wanted. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time. And if watching her with another man bothered Hammer at all, well…even better.

Hammer didn’t take a deep breath until he’d locked the door with Raine on the other side. Knowing her, she’d storm away to lick her wounds. Then somehow, he’d have to repair them—but not until he’d gotten this fucking clutch of lust under control.

Furious and frustrated, he rammed his fist against the solid wood until his knuckles bled. If he’d allowed Raine to stay one second longer, he would have grabbed her, slammed her to the bed, and fucked her into next week—no question. As it was, he could barely stop himself from opening the door now, then dragging her back and beneath him.

The vision of her sinful mouth wrapped around his cock was burned into his retinas.

“Motherfucker!” He closed his eyes and curled his fist tighter, trying to shake the pain from his knuckles. They throbbed almost as much as his dick. Because of her. Damn it, and he still had to see her every day. Watch her smile, see the flash of her eyes, fucking smell her. He wouldn’t be able to resist her if he didn’t take care of this throbbing need now.

With a savage curse, he snagged a tube of lube from a nearby shelf and squirted a healthy dollop into his hand. Then he wrapped his fist around his aching cock and stroked it in rapid, graceless jerks. Visions of Raine sucking him into the mind-bending heat of her mouth were unraveling him. Damn the little minx! She’d stripped him of every shred of self-control and reduced him to jacking off, desperate for the girl he couldn’t touch.

He pumped into his fist frantically.

At first, he’d been dreaming of Raine laying in a field of fresh cut grass, her raven mane thick and silky, draped over his stomach as she worshiped his cock. When he’d awakened, reality had been so much better. She’d tongued an enticing trail over the distended, throbbing veins of his shaft and taken nearly every thick, hard inch down her throat.

And fuck, then… Raine on her knees, offering herself to him to use in every rough, dirty, possessive way he could think of. A fiery streak of lightning slammed down his spine.

He panted her name as his body quivered, and his cock jerked in his grip. Stroking faster, harder, his head swam with desire so thick he thought he’d choke. Hammer chased pleasure, his elbow banging the door with every pull on his dick until he exploded with dizzying force and a hoarse groan. “Raine!”

Stream after stream jettisoned from his shaft, splattering onto the tile floor. He panted, gasping for breath. The immediate need for orgasm faded. But his yearning for her remained.

Then a feminine growl of fury broke the silence.

“Oh my…are you kidding me? You’re masturbating!”

Hammer froze. Raine. Shit! She’d been listening outside his door? After the callous way he’d rejected her, it seemed unfathomable that she hadn’t run to the safety of her room. But no, she’d stayed and heard every wretched moment of his self-pleasure, even the way he’d shouted her name so desperately as he came.

“How dare you, you bastard!”

The pain in her voice sliced him in two. Hammer slumped against the door, hanging his head with a sigh. What the fuck should he do now? What kind of bullshit excuse could he possibly give her?

Stepping over the mess he’d made on the floor, he donned a pair of trousers and hastily fastened them, trying to force his sluggish brain to come up with some halfway believable excuse.

Before he could, a crash and a clatter resounded in the dungeon. What the…?

Muttering a curse, he yanked the door open and raced down the hall. As he rounded the corner, he watched Raine reach into the bins of new and freshly sterilized toys, then throw them to the ground. They scattered everywhere, bouncing, breaking apart, and sliding across the decorative concrete.

Hammer tried to swallow back his shock as Raine heaved boxes of condoms and tubes of lube through the air like a rookie pitcher. Then she whirled on him with blue eyes blazing like a beacon through the shadowed room. He’d seen her angry before, but never, ever like this.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

“Fuck you!” she hurled at him. “No, never mind. Fuck yourself. You’d obviously rather do that than fuck me.”

He swallowed down her barb and narrowed his eyes at her. “What do you think you’re doing, besides throwing one hell of a fit?”

In her hand, she gripped a huge purple dildo. “Enjoy shoving this silicone dick into your little fuck toy Marlie’s plastic pussy.”

She raised the toy and heaved it at him, and Hammer barely jolted from his stunned silence fast enough to duck as the heavy torpedo sailed over his head.

His ire rising, he pointed to the floor in front of him. “Get over here, girl. Now!”

“Piss off. You had your chance.”

Arching a brow at her rebellion, he watched her face tighten as anger rippled through her bristling form.

“Raine…” he warned.