by Jamie Begley
Lily went to Shade’s room, getting a fresh pair of flannel pajamas before she went into the bathroom to get changed. She was tired. Tonight she wanted to sleep in the bed, yet she knew she was incapable of climbing into the bed with Shade.
Lily opened the door to see Shade was taking off his shoes. He had already removed his t-shirt and his jeans were unsnapped.
He got up from the side of the bed and then went inside the bathroom, closing the door.
Lily stood in the middle of the floor for several seconds. She couldn’t do it, going instead for the corner.
When Shade came out of the bathroom, she thought she saw a flash of disappointment before his face became impassive. He got into the bed, turning out the lamp.
Lily stood there several moments before she sat down on the floor. Her mind was thinking she was already stiff from working out and sleeping on the floor was going to hurt her even more. She had to find another place to stay.
As she sat there thinking, several things occurred to her. She had walked across the floor barefoot, and while the carpeting was thick throughout, where she was sitting was extremely padded. She put her hand down and noticed it was thicker. There was extra padding underneath the carpet where she was sitting. The room itself was very warm, which she liked; she wasn’t cold and didn’t need a blanket to keep warm.
She was staring at him sleeping on the bed when it dawned on her that she could see him clearly. Her head then turned in the direction of the bathroom. He had left the door open and the light on.
Chapter 16
Lily filled the last order of the day, aware of Georgia’s eyes on her. Lily wanted to turn around and stick her tongue out at her. Feeling childish, she packed the items back to the table and began sorting them.
Jewell was on her way out, finished with her last box, when she stopped by Lily’s table. “That woman is Jonesing for you.”
“She doesn’t like me,” Lily agreed.
“No shit,” Jewell mocked, throwing a glare at Georgia.
Lily almost laughed but didn’t think it would help the situation, and it would increase Georgia’s hostility toward her.
“I must rub her the wrong way. I don’t think I’ve done anything to make her dislike me.”
“I’ll tell you why she doesn’t like you in one word. Jealousy.”
“Georgia is not jealous of me,” Lily said wryly.
“Oh, yes she is. She’s hung up on Shade. She made friends with me just to get closer to him.” Jewell shrugged. “I’m a sucker for a pretty face and a rocking body.”
Lily studied the sultry body that always had one of The Last Riders close.
“I assumed—I mean… never mind,” Lily trailed off, embarrassed.
“That I’m into dudes? I’m into anyone who makes me feel good,” Jewell replied, not in the least bit embarrassed. “I like sex. I really like sex.”
Lily couldn’t help but like the woman who had showed her where everything was when she had first started working at the factory.
“I keep hoping she’ll ease up,” Lily admitted.
“Georgia isn’t going to take a personality pill one day and become a nice person. You have to stand your ground. She can’t fire you, so tell her to fuck off.”
“I can’t be disrespectful. She’s everyone’s supervisor.”
“She’s a worker. Whichever of the club’s members is over the factory is the boss. That’s what counts. You have to learn to take up for yourself, Lily. That’s why none of us has said anything to her. This is your first real job, and everyone wants you to learn to handle this situation without one of us stepping in and fixing it for you. You have to stop being such a sweet person all the time. A little bit of being a bitch wouldn’t hurt.” Jewell advised.
Lily had mixed emotions. She understood what Jewell was saying. She was trying to tell her to stop being a wimp. She didn’t want to get in Georgia’s face, though. She always avoided confrontations. She hated confrontations.
She didn’t like that part of herself. She had to get past that fear or she was never going to stop the panic attacks that had plagued her throughout her life.
“I’ll try.”
“Cool. If you need any help, let me know. I always enjoy a good fight.”
“All right,” Lily said, getting back to work.
“Finished?” Raci asked Jewell.
“Almost. I just need to give this paperwork to Shade.” Jewell left, taking the paperwork to Shade’s office, leaving the door open.
Lily continued packing the order, listening to Raci describe a movie she had watched the previous evening. She saw Jewell sitting on the corner of Shade’s desk, talking while leaning toward him. The expression on her face was very explicit. When her hand glided up his arm, Lily tore her gaze away, concentrating on Raci’s words.
“Are you going to come to your first party tonight?” Raci asked eagerly.
“What?” Lily asked in shock.
Raci shrugged her shoulder. “Well, since it’s not a secret anymore, and you’ve been at the house all week, I just assumed you would be at the party tonight. I have an outfit you could borrow, but you have to promise to give it back.”
“No, thanks. I’m not going to the party.” She might have been upstairs several times during mealtimes and during the evenings when most of the members mainly had done nothing more than drink a few drinks, yet none had become drunk. Several of the members had even gone upstairs together, leaving no doubt what was about to happen, but Lily was sure their Friday party wouldn’t be so restrained.
Raci grinned infectiously. “I remember the first time Beth and Winter came to our parties. They were shell-shocked. Don’t worry; once you’ve seen it and get over the newness of seeing everyone, it’s hot. It’s my favorite day of the week, but I enjoy the rest of the week, too.”
Raci was open and nice and she liked to keep everyone happy. She would constantly jump in and volunteer when the orders backed up. During the week, Lily had also noticed the men around her a lot.
“Can I ask you a question, Raci?” Lily hesitated. Raci nodded. “Do you have a room to yourself or do you share others’?”
“I have a room to myself now since Knox moved out. Why?”
“I know this is an imposition, but would you mind if I shared?”
“You’re giving up Shade’s bed? Are you crazy? He’s the only member who doesn’t let anyone sleep with him. Ever. Do you know how many women have tried to spend the night with him?”
“Um, no. Shh… everyone will hear you.”
Raci didn’t lower her big mouth. “A lot, including me. He might fuck you all night, but no one sleeps beside him. Damn.” Raci shook her head, staring at her in disbelief.
“I don’t mind you sharing my room. It’ll be fun. Of course, Train and Rider will love it. One of them always spends the night; they love to show off.”
“Never mind. I’ll stick to Shade.”
When Raci looked disappointed, Lily drew the conclusion that the men weren’t the only ones who liked to show off. Lily looked toward Shade’s office; the door was now closed. Lily began to become agitated and wasn’t sure why. Her hand went to her wrist, snapping the band before she went back to taping the package closed.
Raci was describing the new outfit she had purchased for tonight. “I broke down and bought a few new clothes. The women are notorious for swiping the best ones. They steal them out of the laundry baskets.” Her eyes traveled down Lily’s cream dress. “Of course, you don’t have to worry about your clothes,” she finished lamely.
Lily realized her taste in clothes had just been insulted. She looked down at herself. She had intended to purchase more clothes. The next time she went into town she would, but she doubted they would be any that they would consider borrowing.
Her eyes went back to Shade’s office door to see it opening and both of them coming out. Both of them seemed in a good mood, which was rare for Shade. Lily’s teeth clenched.
She began cle
aning her workstation with jerky movements.
“Ready?” Shade asked, coming to her side and touching her arm. Lily jerked away from his touch.
“Yes.” Lily turned to the door, ignoring his inquiring blue gaze. Opening the door, she blinked briefly as her eyes became adjusted to the light, her temper simmering without cause.
She went to the path which led to the house where Train and Kaley were arguing, making no attempt to lower their voices.
“Please, Train, talk to them.” Her voice was pleading against his stony face.
Lily felt sorry for her when she heard Train’s negative reply.
She had to pass Kaley on the way to the path, and Kaley’s reaction at seeing her wasn’t pleasant.
“This is all your fault,” she said hatefully.
“Excuse me?” Lily asked, coming to a stop.
“Shut up, Kaley. It’s not Lily’s fault you didn’t keep your mouth shut,” Train said.
“No one would have cared if she hadn’t been nosing in, like my sister.”
“Miranda was worried about you,” Lily protested.
“Miranda was just jealous. I was getting plenty of sex and she wasn’t.”
Her harsh words had Lily taking a step back, coming into contact with Shade. As his arm slipped around her waist, Lily tried to move away, but he held her still.
“That’s not true,” Lily tried to reason with the angry woman.
“It is true. Neither one of you would know how to have sex other than lying on your back and spreading your legs. And I doubt if you would even lower yourself enough to do that, Lily.” She nodded her head at Shade. “He’s fucking wasted on you, but he’ll get tired of your shit, and when he does, he’ll go back to fucking anything with a cunt.”
“Lily, go on up to the house,” Shade said calmly, his arm leaving her waist.
She took a step forward, going up the path with Jewell and Raci beside her.
“What set her off so bad?” Lily asked the other women.
“They told her she’s not allowed to come to the clubhouse anymore. She broke the rules when she told her sister about the votes.”
Lily went in the doorway to the basement while the other two continued on to the kitchen door.
Lily headed to Shade’s room to get changed into her workout clothes, though she wasn’t really in the mood to work out. Winter had given her an extra pair of black leggings and a new t-shirt to wear so she didn’t have to keep washing the other one every day.
Her mind was still on the closed office door and Kaley’s words, trying to drive them out of her mind.
She went back to the gym and began stretching, not saying anything when Shade came in, telling her he would get changed and be back.
She felt like pounding something.
When Shade returned, she got into position. They always did a set of maneuvers, switching it up occasionally when she became bored. Shade made one of his practiced moves, and Lily responded with more force than usual, almost managing to knee him in his privates.
“You’re getting better. You almost got them that time,” Shade complimented her. Lily gritted her teeth. He never really expected her to succeed in getting the better of him.
Lily circled the mat. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Shade lifted his brow at her assertion. This time, when he came for her, Lily responded unexpectedly, using both of her fists to hit him between the shoulder blades when she wiggled away from his hold.
“What the hell?”
“I’m supposed to pretend you’re attacking me, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but I want you to learn to stop an attacker, not piss them off.”
“As long as it works and I get away, that’s all that counts,” Lily said smugly.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Lily kept facing him, not letting him have her back like she usually did. She was tired of playing someone about to be attacked. She wanted to see him coming at her.
“Did Kaley go home?”
Shade had started moving toward her, but his momentum stopped at her words. “Yes.”
“Do a lot of women try to join?”
“Yes.” Shade was beginning to get the message that she was the one who was pissed, giving her a wary look.
“I bet that’s fun for the men. Don’t the women members resent the new members?” Lily couldn’t believe she was discussing this with him.
“No. Why are you interested?” Shade asked, taking his move against her. This time her foot shot out and she managed to nail him in the stomach. The unfortunate part was it probably hurt her more than it hurt him. His stomach was rock hard; however, she did force him to catch his breath. Lily walked around the mat gloating.
“You’re getting slow, Shade,” Lily said, bouncing from foot to foot. “And no, I’m not interested. You and the other men can have all the women in Treepoint that want to join your club. I won’t be one of them. I plan to find me a man who can appreciate one woman.”
“That’s a joke.”
“What do you mean by that?” Lily stopped bouncing.
“That you would ever let a man touch you. Tell me, how do you intend to catch a cowboy or any man when you have no intention of giving them anything? I bet Charles’s balls are blue around you, but I’m sure he finds one of his daddy’s waitresses to relieve him.”
“That’s not true. Charles is a gentleman.”
“He likes his cock sucked as much as any man,” Shade taunted.
“You’re disgusting!” Lily screamed at him, turning to leave the mat.
“What’s the matter, Lily? What really set off this little temper tantrum of yours?”
Lily didn’t reply as Shade blocked her path.
“Move.”
“Make me. I’m already shocked as shit you haven’t run to your corner like a scared little girl.”
“You’re a mean person. I hate you.” Lily slammed her hands out, shoving his chest, trying to make him move out of her way.
Lily felt her feet swept out from under her, though, and then she fell to her back on the mat.
Darn, just once she wanted to best the man. Just once, she wanted to wipe the self-satisfied smirk from his face. Her anger boiled. Lily had never lost her temper to the extent Shade could raise out of her, and she didn’t know how to deal with the anger boiling through her veins. She was a God-fearing woman, dammit, and Shade made her want to strangle him with her bare hands.
“You lose. Again.” Shade looked down at her in triumph.
He always told her to react like he was a stranger, so she did. Without thinking about the consequences of her actions, her hand reached up and viciously grabbed his balls, squeezing them in a vice.
He fell to his knees as his hand went to his balls, trying to jerk her hand away. Her hand tightened even further as she rose up on her knees, squeezing harder. Her satisfied smile widened at his pain-filled expression.
“How’s this work for taking the attacker by surprise? Are you surprised? Don’t underestimate me. I don’t like it.” Her hand twisted his balls one last time before letting him go, getting to her feet.
“It’s un-cool to talk about Charles like that. It’s his private business, just like you and Jewell in your office. I don’t care who either of you fool around with,” she snapped.
Shade got to his feet and Lily came to her senses, realizing what she had done too late. She wasn’t stupid. When she saw the look of retribution on his face, she ran toward the steps and managed to make it up several before he caught her ankle in a hard grip. Lily kicked her other foot out, balancing her hands on the upper steps, nailing him in the jaw and making him release her foot. She managed to escape him, going up the last steps to sling the door open, running into the kitchen and slamming the door in his furious face.
Everyone in line for dinner turned to look at her running into the kitchen.
She came to a stop. She heard Shade slamming through the doorway as he came up behind her.
“Lily?” Beth’s voice had her turning to the table. She saw her sister, Razer, Winter and Viper looking at her in shock.
Well, hell.
Chapter 17
“Been working out?” Beth asked, her gaze going back and forth between Lily and Shade.
“Yes. I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.” She threw Shade a gloating look over her shoulder.
“That’s great. I was so worried about you after the diner, but I knew everyone would look out for you, and Mrs. Langley doesn’t have anyone. The doctor is going to release her in an hour. I’m going to spend the weekend with her, but I wanted to stop in to check on you.”
“I’m doing great. In fact, why don’t you stay here and I’ll stay with Mrs. Langley? No one will think to look for me there,” Lily devised quickly.
“Maybe when she’s better, but she needs skilled care after just having surgery.”
Darn. Every time she came up with an idea, they shot her down.
“I’m glad you showed up. I have another idea. Since we don’t know who was watching me, it makes sense for me to leave Kentucky. I can contact Penni and stay with her until the band she’s working for goes on tour.”
“I think that’s a great idea. I know you would be safe with Penni and I can understand that it’s not comfortable for you to stay here.” Her sister’s eyes went to Shade as he excused himself to go take a shower.
“I’ll call her after dinner then let you know her answer.”
“I can get Razer to drive you to the airport,” Beth said. Lily still felt the barrier of her own making between them, but she was so relieved at having her problem solved that she gave her a genuine smile for the first time in weeks.
Lily fixed herself a plate of food and then sat down at the table next to Beth.
“Any more panic attacks?” Beth questioned as they ate.
Lily had to stop and think. “No.” She hadn’t had one all week and she had infrequently felt the need to snap the rubber band against her wrist, as well. Shade might not be the nicest person she had ever known, but he did make her feel safe.
He came back upstairs from showering and changing and fixed himself something to eat while Beth kept telling her how good she looked.