“The plan we discussed last week…” Liam swallowed tightly. “I don’t know if I’ve ever done anything more difficult.”

“You told me then that she’s crumbling. If she doesn’t get what she needs, what then?”

Liam raked a hand through his hair. “I know, you bastard. Shut up.”

“You came to me for help—twice. We came up with this plan together.”

“I told you then it was fucking terrible. It could all blow up in my face.”

“It could. But if you do nothing, it will. Unless you’re not sure Raine is worth the effort and sacrifice?”

Liam didn’t hesitate. “She is.”

“Then do what you know you’ve got to. I’m here if you need anything, but you have to keep it together and focus on the needs of your submissive.”

“You’re bloody good at nagging,” he groused.

Seth chuckled. “Do you want me to come out there and help you keep your head screwed on straight?”

It would be damn nice to have someone in his corner. “If you can, I’d be grateful.”

“I’m on my way, Faultline U.S.A.”

Liam let out half a laugh. “Thanks, Seth.”

“You’re welcome. Now fuck off and leave a man in peace. I’ll let you know when I land in L.A.”

After a somber trip back to Shadows, Liam sat at the foot of his bed, watching Raine sleep as he gathered his fortitude. She looked so damn beautiful—peaceful—in his bed.

The serenity on her face wasn’t real.

The lass would never be whole if he didn’t follow through with his plan. And he would never be whole without her. Dread nearly crushed him. But Seth was right; he had to put his fears aside and help her. The worst part was knowing that it wouldn’t matter how gently he proceeded, the impact could be vicious.

Fuck.

His heart twisting, Liam reached out for Raine, stroking the luscious leg she’d thrust out from the covers, reveling in her soft skin. It was his…at least for the moment—just like she was.

How had the girl branded his soul so quickly? Raine was everything he’d never known he sought. Parts vulnerable, funny, tart, giving. Mysterious. Clever. She oozed sex. The Dom in him wanted to own her. The man in him wanted to conquer her. Liam shook his head. Hell, he sounded like a knuckle-dragging ape.

What he should be pondering was the ways in which he could imprint himself on Raine in return. He’d told her he loved her a hundred times. She’d never returned the sentiment. Liam felt sure it was, at least in part, because she didn’t believe him. How could he make her understand his devotion before their conversation? How could he make her believe his love?

“Raine, wake up.” He caressed his way up her body, then scooted closer, bending to smooth the dark locks back from her sleep-soft face, willing himself not to get lost in her.

God, he wanted to make love to her again. It had been eleven days, but it felt like forever.

Her dark lashes fluttered open to reveal her sleepy blue eyes, her expression welcoming as her lips curled up in a little smile. “Morning, Liam...”

She sat up and snuggled into his arms. He embraced her, savoring her closeness while he could, breathing her in, tangling his fingers in her silky hair, nuzzling her smooth cheek.

“Raine,” he whispered finally. “I need to talk to you.”

“Hmm.” She purred into his neck, her breasts soft against his chest. “It’s so early. Come cuddle with me again. You’re so warm, and I’m happy when you’re next to me.”

In typical Raine fashion, she stalled any discussion that might result in him peeling away her layers and exposing her vulnerabilities. She kissed her way up his neck, across his jaw, angling toward his mouth, enticing him. Liam gritted his teeth.

“Not now. I’ll give you ten minutes to use the bathroom and ready yourself. Then I want you back here, flat on the sheet, hands above your head, with your thighs spread wide and that gorgeous pussy open. And I want your full attention. Understood?”

Her eyes opened wider at his low demand. “Yes, Sir.”

Sparks ignited down his spine. “Best get a wriggle on, then. The clock starts now.”

Raine sent him a kittenish smile as she rose and disappeared into the bathroom. When he heard the soft snick of the door closing, Liam prepared the space with everything he might need, methodically setting items in their place. He slid into that heady Domspace he always enjoyed with Raine. Not since their time at the lodge had he felt so in control of himself and their scene. He’d allowed too many distractions to derail him since then, but now, thanks to his conversations with Seth, he felt focused, steady.

He just hoped like hell that Raine understood the message his actions meant to convey.

Moments later, she emerged from behind the closed door, hair and teeth brushed, face scrubbed and glowing, collar on. She wore nothing else, and that was precisely the way he liked her. His cock stood tall.

As she surveyed the room and saw everything he’d set out, a smile of anticipation lifted her lips. That, he expected. But the hope in her blue eyes surprised him.

“I’ve missed you. The last few weeks have been so...” She stopped herself, just when she might have said something important, and caressed his face with a soft, clinging stare. “I’m glad you’re here and that you want me.”

Her voice said that she’d been worried by the possibility that he hadn’t after their Thanksgiving row, but she didn’t verbalize it. That frustrated Liam. “No matter what you think, I’ve always wanted you, Raine. From the very first minute I laid eyes on you.”

She smiled, and he swore he could see her heart in her eyes. Something far deeper than desire lay there. Why wouldn’t she just bloody tell him?

Liam caressed the silky hair at her crown, then cupped her cheek. “I’ve tried to voice how I feel about you. I’m still not sure you actually understand how strong my feelings have become, but now isn’t the time for talking. Open yourself to me and let me show you.”

“I’m not very good at telling you my feelings.” She brushed a kiss across his lips. “But I’ll do my best to show you, too.”

Then she lowered herself to the bed, legs parted, arms over her head, just as he’d requested. It was a sight to behold. Her rosy nipples cresting plump breasts, the long, lean line of her torso leading down to sleek thighs, and the strip of dark hair above her otherwise bare folds made him ache and sweat.

As Liam hovered above her, he couldn’t look away. Sexually, everything between them had always been as hot as a live wire, urgent, connected. This was one place her submission shined. Raine gave him everything in bed. But sharing her whole body was a thousand times easier for her than sharing even a part of the woman beneath.

Unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off, he toed off his shoes, and sat on the chair opposite to strip off his socks. He still couldn’t take his eyes off her, all gracefully arranged and spread out before him. He growled in satisfaction as she spread her thighs even wider, displaying his cunt and his ass, both reserved for his pleasure alone. Sorrow and pride blended, beautiful and bittersweet.

He pushed the melancholy aside. By god, regardless of today’s outcome, she would feel him so deeply inside her—mind, body, and soul—that she’d forever hold a piece of him close.

He unfastened his belt and unzipped carefully over his straining erection. His cock already wept for her, throbbing to be enveloped in her silken heat. He forced himself to be patient.

Walking to the bed, he reached for the cuffs, securing her wrists and ankles. He heard the soft quiver of her indrawn breath, then watched her test his restraints.

“You’ll not be going anywhere until I say so. While you’re with and under me, I’m going to talk to you with my mouth, my hands, my body. I want you to listen and tell me what I’m saying to you. Be specific, Raine. I want to hear about the sensations, your level of intensity.” He leaned over her, knee pressed to the mattress between her legs, and delved into her eyes. “More important, find the words to tell me how my actions make you feel. Do that for me.”

“I’ll do my best to communicate.”

He leaned into her face, pinning her to the bed with a firm stare. “Your very best, Raine. Nothing less.”

Sudden apprehension rolled across her expression. She grasped his displeasure, lingering since Thanksgiving. She felt it. But she didn’t broach the subject. In fact, they hadn’t spoken at all about that day. He’d tried. The first time she’d lured him to silence with a blow job, and he cursed himself for letting her lead him astray. The second time, she’d suddenly remembered a task she’d neglected to finish to ready the dungeon for play that night. Liam had followed her, still talking…only to be stopped short when he spied Hammer and Beck already in the room. He hadn’t bothered trying to talk to Raine again.

Now he’d get her attention.

“I expect you’ll let me know how you’re feeling with the colors of the traffic lights. Do you remember?”

“Of course.”

“And tell me your safe word.”

“Paris.”

“Excellent.” He released a little slack in the chains attached to the cuffs at her ankles and bent her knees to make a cradle for him.

Wretchedly eager to feel her, Liam covered her body with his own—and forced himself to do nothing more than rub his cock along the wet, engorged lips of her sex. Raine whimpered and tried to wriggle her hips to align the head with her opening. Sliding inside her was so tempting. It would be so easy to simply let the pleasure take over. But so unfulfilling in the end.

Liam pulled back. “I told you to communicate what you want, not wiggle. Do I have to punish you before we start?”

“No.” She swallowed, hesitated. “I, um…like it when you touch me. I miss having you inside me. I want to feel you now.”

At her words, he barely managed not to snort. Raine had a bad habit of topping from the bottom that made his inner Dom roar to subdue her. “Eventually.”

He nipped at her ear, laving the lobe with wet kisses. As she moaned in appreciation, he reared back enough to cup the hot, silky weight of her breast in his hand, kneading it firmly all the way to the tip. Rolling and pinching her tight nipple, it swelled and lengthened between his fingers. He rolled beside her and nipped at the base of her throat, then suckled her nipple, even as he reached for a clamp.

She hissed as he slid the little alligator-toothed implement into place. She gasped sharply with the shock of pain and pleasure. He waited for her to speak. She didn’t.

Running his hand over her warm skin and reaching for her other breast, he pinched and laved its tip, then applied the twin clamp, reveling in the way she tensed, then exhaled out all her tension with a low moan.

“Raine?” he prompted.

“Green.”

“And? Use your words.”

“All the sensations in my body are centered around my nipples.”

“Do you like it?”

She gave him a shaky nod, inky strands of her hair brushing the tops of her pale breasts, flirting with the clamps. The sight of her flushed and aroused beneath him played hell with his self-control. He forced himself to rein in the urge not to fuck her.

“I love it. The pain is just enough to excite me. It sounds odd, but I feel so female and submissive when you bind me this way.”

“Not odd at all. It’s designed to.”

Liam tugged on the little chain between the clamps, loving her shaky little gasp. “How does it make you feel, knowing I’m giving you these sensations?”

Her lashes fluttered before she focused on him. “Desired.”

“Good. You are, love.”

On hands and knees, he settled himself over her, then brushed the hair from her eyes, waiting until she met his stare. “So beautiful. You’re not like any woman I’ve met.”

A wry smile played at her lush mouth. “You mean I’m more challenge than submissive.”

“You’re both. You’ve always intrigued me. How did I make you feel when we first met?” He cradled her breast, thumb caressing the inner curve.

“Intimidated,” she admitted. “You were polite to a fault. With a smile, you tried to set me at ease. But I realized you were assessing me and drawing conclusions.”

“I was studying the woman who had Hammer tied up in knots. How did the way we spoke make you feel?”

“Scrutinized.”

Liam shook his head, pointing to her chest. “In here.”

She took in a shaky breath. “Nervous. Dizzy. Watched. A little excited.”

“That’s good. You filled my head that day. Your face, your scent, your voice. You were like a tingling in my spine, surprising but not unwelcome.”

She lifted her face toward him, and Liam didn’t resist the need to kiss her. Rather than diving into her mouth and taking all he wanted, he teased her with a brush of lips, then lifted away. He did it again, lingering a little longer before he pulled back. But fuck, she lured and addicted him. He parted her lips and dove in for a long, exhilarating moment, moaning when she arched beneath him. Before he lost himself in Raine, he eased back, peppering her cheeks and neck with his kisses.