Chapter 1 Early November Raine Kendall knew it was going to be a terrible day when she managed to have her heart broken before noon. Up and ready for work an hour early, she strode down the hall and lingered outside the boss’s office, juggling a mug of steaming coffee in one hand and a plate with her fresh-baked apple muffins in the other. Macen Hammerman, the owner and Alpha Dom of the private BDSM club, Shadows, wasn’t roaming the dungeon with a devilish smile, barking orders at her, or staring into her soul with those intense hazel eyes. His door was closed. She paced. Should she knock and see if he’d awakened yet or wait until he appeared? Raine gnawed her lip in indecision. Then the door opened. Her head snapped up, a warm smile in place. But it wasn’t Hammer who emerged. Instead, a woman stood there, looking like everything Raine wasn’t: tall, blonde, willowy. And totally satisfied. The smile curling her swollen lips belonged to a woman contented by a string of multiple orgasms given by a very capable partner. Like Hammer. Besides his surname and the fact that his word was law around here, Raine had heard the other subs had given him that nickname for a reason. “You’re blocking the door,” Marlie said with an annoyed huff. Raine scrambled back as the