damn it all. fucking her wasn't the plan. he'd begun all this for hammer...yet he could barely think of anything now but having raine to himself. he'd better shut that down and get his head on straight.

"but if you'd rather face hammer..." liam pulled her upward. "let's get this over with."

with a nod, she followed him into the corridor, around the corner, and into a public area of the dungeon. word obviously traveled fast, because a crowd had gathered, and it seemed to him that every man in the place turned to look at raine's breasts. beck lounged against a spanking bench, staring at her with a predatory leer that liam wanted to punch off his face. hammer stood nearby, body stiff, mood ugly. his stare drilled into raine, bouncing between her big eyes and her nipples. the stupid bastard must be tempted by her. he'd have to be dead not to be.

raine stood defiantly, without an ounce of submission in her "fuck you" expression. liam would have smiled if not for the fact that she crossed her arms over her chest, fingertips squeezing her biceps tightly. under her bluster, the wee thing was terrified.

as hammer approached raine, his eyes narrowed in silent warning. she glared back. liam watched protectively, gut knotting with an overwhelming need to keep her safe.

"lose the baby-doll and the attitude, precious. you're here for a reason," hammer drawled.

"let me see to her punishment," liam said quietly. "beck looks like he's going to enjoy this way too much."

hammer sent him a scathing glare. "beck knows what i want."

what was hammer trying to accomplish? he wouldn't take the girl as his own, yet with this stunt, he'd keep raine at arm's length while maintaining his hold over her.

beck nodded with a dirty grin, his five o'clock shadow spreading over lean cheeks. "oh, yeah. i know exactly what to do."

that set liam off. he grabbed hammer by the arm and yanked him to the far side of the dungeon. "stop this! you're not punishing her for her behavior, but because she makes your cock ache and you're too much of a pussy to take her."

"is that what you think?" hammer hissed. "did she neglect to tell you that she came into my room uninvited while i slept and wrapped her mouth around my dick?"

"she told me."

hammer's jaw tightened. "and when i spanked her for crossing boundaries, she fought me. i denied her orgasm for three days, so she masturbated on my bed. as soon as i found her, she chose that moment to come."

liam hadn't known that. "you hurt her feelings, mate. it's no surprise she lashed back."

"instead of talking to me, she made a fucking mess on the floor that someone else had to clean up. i even gave raine an easy out of this punishment. all she had to do was apologize, but the girl was too stubborn to do it. i don't answer to you, mate, so get your hand off me."

this confrontation was accomplishing nothing except getting hammer's back up. liam uncurled his fingers from the man's arm and strode back through the parting crowd to raine.

she stiffened, looking so brittle, it was a wonder she didn't shatter. "can we get this over with?"

"yeah." beck prodded, uncoiling the whip at his side and rolling it, the tattoos on his biceps bunching with movement. "is this fucking gabfest done?"

liam opened his mouth to warn beck off, but hammer cut in. "absolutely. do it." he stared raine down. "strip, girl. now! your safe word is 'lesson.'"

"oh, that's clever." she rolled her eyes.

"keep up the insolence. you'll get extra punishment." with a clenching of his jaw, hammer strode away and settled into a nearby chair. everyone around them fell utterly silent.

liam turned to raine, whispering in her ear. "i'm here, lass, and i'll not be leaving you."

at her tense nod, he plucked at the ribbon holding her baby-doll together and eased it off her shoulders. god, the sight of her bare skin and pretty nipples nearly made his knees weak. she turned her gaze to her own reflection in the mirrors surrounding the padded table, holding her head high, even as she shivered. so bonny and brave...and stubborn. he cupped her shoulders and brought her forward to face beck, who sidled closer with a burning stare that looked a bit too happy to promise anything but pain.

as liam released her, he glanced down the graceful line of her spine, to her pert backside, then reared back in surprise. she wore nothing beneath the nightie, except minuscule black boy shorts. emblazoned across her ass in bold print were the words fuck you very much.

"bloody hell!" was she trying to incite hammer to turn beck loose on her?

liam saw now exactly what the man had meant about the brat's claws coming out when she felt threatened.

raine peeked over her shoulder at him from beneath dark lashes, flashing him an anxious look. "um, that wasn't meant for you, liam. sorry."

normally, he wouldn't condone disrespect, but as far as he was concerned, hammer had earned it. he spun raine around so his friend could read her sassy message.

immediately, beck chuckled. half the crowd gasped. that only seemed to set hammer off more.

with a low growl, the dungeon owner narrowed his eyes. "that's going to cost you a few more, precious. beck, rip those damn panties off and begin."

"it'll be my pleasure. i'll make sure she pays." the sadist flashed a broad smile as his big steps ate up the floor. then he tore the panties from raine's ass with a loud rip and snaked his big hand around her arm, yanking her from liam. "up on the bench, brat. time for me to have some fun."

as raine swallowed and glared at hammer one last time, she positioned herself on the padded apparatus, head up and eyes forward in the mirror as she draped her slender body over the top and lifted her tender white ass in the air. liam would have appreciated the view more if he hadn't been so riled.

circling her, beck inspected her with a critical eye. letting loose a hearty laugh of satisfaction, he reached between her knees and shoved them apart. raine yelped. beck didn't pay her any mind, just locked her ankles in the cuffs.

"remember what i said to you," liam growled in beck's face as the man sauntered past and restrained her wrists.

beck snorted as he ripped off his tank to reveal his wide, muscled chest. the idea of him unleashing all his strength on wee raine made liam insane. she hadn't been without blame in the spat with hammer, but she didn't deserve the kind of beating beck would give her.

the sadist raised a mocking brow. "before i start, you want to make sure she can tug her wrists out of those cuffs so she can reach back and cover her ass? we wouldn't want her butt to sting or anything."

bloody wanker! his hands were tied unless raine safeworded out or said yes to his proposition. given the lift of her chin, he didn't think for a moment that she'd tell hammer she'd learned her "lesson." she'd rather saw her own head off. nor did she seem ready to commit to his training collar. liam cursed under his breath. all he could do was scrutinize the restraints to ensure they weren't too tight.

beck grabbed his damn whip and cracked it sharply in the air. raine gasped, stiffened. her big blue eyes went wide with fear. the goddamn sadist grinned, and liam had to force himself to stand down when he would have gleefully knocked beck on his ass. but raine needed him now more than he needed to unleash his anger.

"don't worry," he whispered in her ear. "i won't let him hurt you."

she sent him a shaky nod and a grateful expression. to everyone else, she'd shown defiant anger. but on some level, she trusted him-and him alone-with her vulnerability. she was trying. it was enough for the moment.

"get on with it," hammer snapped at beck, drilling a cold, hard stare liam's way. "i've told you what to do. now fucking do it!"

"on it." beck dropped the whip, and it slithered to the ground. liam didn't have time for relief before beck raised his beefy hand in the air, then dropped a menacing whisper in raine's ear. "count, princess. i want to hear you loud and clear."

the words had barely passed his lips before he brought his hand down. obviously, beck had decided to skip the warm-up. instead, he began with a brutal blow across her left cheek.

raine's head snapped up as she jolted and hissed. then she glared at hammer in the mirror. her stubborn pride kept her from admitting aloud that beck's spanking hurt like hell, but her pinched mouth and tense glower said it anyway.

"i told you to count," beck growled.

turning to look at the sadist, she glared. "are you too busy being hammer's bitch to remember what comes after one?"

"you'll pay for that, brat," beck thundered at her as he threw his hand back in the air, aiming brutally for her ass again, landing an even harder blow on her right cheek.

liam watched her bite her lip to hold in a cry. she dug her teeth in so hard, he wasn't surprised when it started to bleed.

storming over to beck, liam grabbed his wrist. "you should never touch a sub in anger."

the other man yanked away, rolling his broad shoulders. "you think i don't know that?"

"then act like you do." liam went to raine and leaned down to brush his lips over her ear. "enough. you've made your displeasure known. don't bait the bear anymore. take your punishment, then it will all be over. i know you're mad at hammer, but try to remember that he's the man who kept you safe all these years. if you-"

"this is my punishment of a sub under my protection. back the fuck off," hammer snarled at him, leaping from his chair and striding across the room. when he reached raine, he gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "girl, you either accept this punishment without another mocking outburst, or i swear i'll throw liam out and unleash beck to do whatever he wants on your ass. playtime is over, and i'm out of patience. do you understand me?"

"yes, sir." her tone was more insolent than obedient.

things had gotten out of hand far too quickly. liam could either sit back while beck beat the shit out of her or he could try coming up with a plan b. hammer wasn't going to stop this. it didn't take a bloody rocket scientist to see that raine was never going to yield her submission through pain. boundaries would help her feel safe, yes. but she needed affection to blossom.

more than anyone, hammer should understand that. if his friend didn't want to hear the truth, then he could go fuck himself.

reaching hammer was a long shot, but liam had to try again.

"we both know she'll learn nothing from this punishment except to hate you," he whispered in hammer's ear. "you've spent years protecting her, and now you're going to scare the bloody shit out of her? surely you can see she needs a different direction. i know you want me to shut up, but the sub's needs come first. think about hers."

hammer's eyes turned molten. his face flushed with anger. "if you question me again during this punishment, i'll ban you from the club." he gestured to beck. "continue."

liam swallowed his incredulity as hammer returned to his throne. rage followed. he'd expected that hammer wouldn't appreciate his interference, but they were friends. the man who had all but given him the shirt off his back once or twice had threatened to throw him out. liam wondered if he knew the man at all anymore.

shoving aside his confusion, he focused on raine. riling up both the executioner and the dungeon master wouldn't help her. he dragged in a shuddering breath, trying to find some calm. fuck, what a balls up! seeing raine so apprehensive made his dominant heart growl with the need to protect. he had to start thinking with his head or he'd leave her vulnerable.

the girl clung to her bloody stubborn pride. hammer hadn't left her with much else, so she wouldn't cede it without a battle. earning her trust and teaching her to curb her temper would be a full-time job.

and god help beck if he didn't stop behaving like a barmy fuck. the sadist obviously enjoyed the power of toying with everyone. personally, liam didn't know why hammer let the man in the club, much less seemed to like him. whatever the reason, beck bore watching.

so did hammer. the man's famous cool-under-pressure facade seemed to be crumbling under...what? frustration? guilt? longing? probably a potent cocktail of all three-not that hammer would admit it.

beck smiled smugly, and liam did his best not to bristle. instead, he focused on the eerie quiet around them. the dungeon lacked the usual sounds of paddles, whips, sighs, and moans. even the music seemed muted. it felt as if time had stopped, and every eye was on them.

the crowd held their collective breath with bated anticipation, eyes glued to the drama. crossing his arms over his chest, liam forced himself to stand and watch, determined to see this through for raine, no matter what.