by Jamie Begley
She put up her chin, determined to face the conceited man who thought he had proven his point. Well, she was about to shove his point up his butt and show him the bedroom door.
Lily opened the bathroom door, having the wind taken out of her sails by seeing him already in bed with the light out.
She walked barefoot to the side he was on. “I want you to leave. I’m not sleeping with you anymore. There’s nothing wrong with your bedroom, so go sleep down there.”
“Lily, get in the bed and go to sleep. You’re mad because you lost our first fight, but it’s over.” His patronizing tone set her nerves on edge.
She tugged at his arm. “I am not sleeping with you.”
“That did it, Lily. You’re going to learn your next lesson in how to behave with me.” As Shade flipped the covers from the bed, Lily took a step back, expecting him to storm from the room.
I really have to learn to stop underestimating him, she thought seconds later.
He sat up on the side of the bed, and before she could get away, he flipped her over his knees. Lily screamed in surprise, but she wasn’t frightened.
His hand smacked down on her butt, her thin gown and underwear no protection against the pain of the swat.
“Don’t you dare!”
Another smack on her bottom showed that he did. Another and another rained down on her flaming bottom.
“Stop it!”
Another hard smack.
Lily thought quickly. “Blueberries!”
“Don’t you dare use your safe word to get out of a punishment,” Shade snapped.
Another hard smack and she quit struggling and lay quietly across his lap.
Thwack.
“I’m sorry!” Lily wailed.
The spanking stopped immediately, and she was flipped up and set down hard on her stinging bottom on his lap.
His hand grasped her face, making her look up at him. “Don’t think you can order me out of your bed when you get mad at me.” Shade’s voice was coldly furious.
“Okay!” Lily yelled.
Lily found herself flipped back over his thighs, receiving two more punishing smacks.
“I’m sorry.” This time her voice was tearfully remorseful. She was again sat upright on her stinging bottom, staring into his cold face.
“Apologize to me correctly.”
Lily was confused. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m sorry, Sir.”
Lily’s face turned mutinous. She wasn’t about to give him that title of respect. Shade began to flip her again and Lily hastily changed her mind. “I’m sorry, Sir.”
“I give you a lot of leeway, Lily—more than I have ever given any woman—but I’m also not going to let you twist me around your finger like you did Charles.”
Lily opened her mouth.
“I advise you to go to bed before you say something else that makes me angry. You’ll learn what I’ll allow you to do and what I won’t. It’ll just take a little time.”
Lily thought her temper would explode again at his bossy attitude, but due to the fact that her butt was already stinging, she would wait until tomorrow to prove he wasn’t going to treat her like the other women.
Shade released her and Lily crawled into the bed, not looking at him, afraid her angry expression would give her away.
Shade lay back down, pulling the covers over both of them.
She punched the pillow under her head, wishing it was him. It took several minutes before her temper cooled enough that she remembered she had experienced her first orgasm.
“Are you crying?” Shade asked, rolling closer, his hand going to her butt, rubbing the flesh that was no longer hurting; however, she wasn’t about to tell him that.
“No.”
“All right, why aren’t you crying?”
Lily shrugged in the darkness.
A loud sigh of frustration filled the room. “Lily…”
“It was the first time I…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish.
Lily felt his laughter against her back. Insulted, she started to climb out of bed, but his arm circled her waist, preventing her from getting out of bed.
“Go to sleep, Lily. I promise it won’t be the last.”
* * *
Orders were coming in at so fast a rate that many of the members were working overtime, trying to get them out in time. Lily felt guilty taking off Wednesday to work at the church store, but Shade told her to go. He even drove her into town, telling her to call when she was finished and he would pick her up.
“Do not leave, even to go to the diner to pick up a drink.”
“I won’t,” Lily promised, going inside, but she was unable to resist a final look at him riding off the lot on his bike.
Rachel was already hard at work once Lily got inside. The woman was amazing in what she had gotten accomplished.
“I can’t take all the credit. I called Willa on Saturday when you couldn’t make it. She worked a couple of hours until Pastor Dean showed up. I can’t understand why she doesn’t like him.”
“Oh, I think she likes him,” Lily said.
“You think so?”
Lily nodded her head. “It would be hard having a crush on your minister, don’t you imagine?”
“Especially Pastor Dean. Every single woman in the city, whether she goes to this church or not, is chasing after him.”
“Ouch, I know how that feels,” Lily admitted—for the first time—out loud to herself and someone else, her feelings for Shade.
“Shade?” Rachel asked, stacking the dishes someone had donated, putting them on a shelf next to the rest.
“He’s not exactly the type of man I pictured myself with.”
“A biker?”
“No, not that, either,” Lily said ruefully. “I meant someone who doesn’t take part in church regularly. It’s a big part of my life. Razer goes to church frequently with Beth. He takes the time because it’s important to her.”
“You don’t feel Shade would do the same for you?”
“Shade in church? No, I don’t see him sitting in church every Sunday like Viper and Razer.” Lily packed another stack of dishes to the shelf.
“My mother went to church three days a week. Other than her children, it was the most important aspect of her life. The day we buried her, Lily, it was the most beautiful day I had ever seen. The sky and the mountains looked like they could be a picture on a calendar. I think it was God welcoming her home.” Lily turned as Rachel recounted that day. “My father, on the other hand, had a little bit of the devil in him.” Her voice turned rueful.
Lily laughed. That was putting it mildly. Rachel’s father had been the meanest man in the county before he had died. He sold pot to anyone, anywhere, outsmarted the law on numerous occasions, and bragged about it. His three sons were determined to follow in his footsteps.
“My mother would beg him to go to church with her, but he would just laugh and say life was for living, not spending time in church praying about dying. It was just as pretty the day my dad died. I think God was looking forward to some payback.”
Lily laughed so hard she almost broke the cups she picked up while Rachel laughed with her. After their laughter died down, they both got back to work; they were getting closer to the store being ready to open.
At lunch, Rachel went across the street to the diner, bringing back burgers and fries, which they demolished. As they were getting up from the table, Lily reached out and touched Rachel’s hand.
“I want to thank you for what you did.”
Rachel’s own hand covered hers. “If you want to talk, I’m always here for you.”
“I know you are. You’ve been a good friend to me. I remember everything now,” she continued, turning away from Rachel’s compassionate gaze. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t know if I ever will, but at least now I’m not hiding from the memories.”
“Don’t lock them away again, Lily. Sooner or later, you need to talk to someone.”
<
br /> “I will, eventually. Just not today.” Lily smiled, repeating Rachel’s own words.
“Not today,” Rachel said. “I can agree to that.” She raised her face to the sun.
“What are you doing?” Lily asked, stunned by the serene peace on Rachel’s face.
“I was saying a prayer, Lily.”
“What about?” Lily got up from the table in the backyard of the church, ready to go back to work inside.
“That God gives us the strength to face that basement again.” Rachel smiled at her. Lily turned to go into the basement, missing the words she spoke beneath her breath. “And to grant you the peace you deserve.”
* * *
Pastor Dean came down just as they were finishing for the day.
“Shade called and said he was still tied up at the factory. I offered to give you a ride home.”
“That’s all right; Rachel can give me a ride. She won’t mind and I need to make a stop on the way.” Lily sent Rachel a pleading glance.
“That’s right. I can take care of it and make sure she gets home safe,” Rachel agreed, giving Lily a questioning glance.
“I don’t know. I told Shade that I would.” Pastor Dean seemed uncertain.
Lily kept organizing the boxes, keeping her face averted from Pastor Dean.
“We need to take care of some girl things,” Rachel confided, earning Lily’s gratitude.
Pastor Dean kept his eyes on Lily, yet she refused to look at him. Her fingers whitened on the box she was holding.
“That will be fine then. I’ll see you two Saturday”
Lily let out a sigh of relief when Pastor Dean left.
“What was that about?” Rachel asked.
“I need to make a stop at my house on the way home. I didn’t want to inconvenience Pastor Dean. Do you mind?”
“No.”
“Thanks.” The women finished for the day, shutting and locking the door behind them.
Rachel drove Lily to her house where Lily went inside while Rachel sat in the car. Lily hastily gathered her toiletries and her favorite pajamas. She then rushed back outside, not wanting to keep Rachel waiting any longer than necessary.
The ride to The Last Riders’ house was spent with Rachel talking about Logan’s adventures since his moving in with them. They were laughing when she described Logan showing his dad his new pet kitten when it had actually been a baby skunk he had found in the bushes.
Their laughter died when they pulled into the lot and found Shade waiting.
Chapter 27
Shade opened the car door as soon as the vehicle stopped, taking the bag out of Lily’s hand.
“Thanks, Rachel,” Shade said. Before the stunned woman could say anything, Shade shut the car door, ushering Lily up the steps to the house and straight to the bedroom they were sharing, shutting and locking the door behind them.
“What’s the matter with you?” Lily asked at his pushy behavior.
“Didn’t Dean tell you I asked him to give you a ride home?”
“Yes, but—”
“But what? Someone almost killed you the other day! I asked Dean to bring you home because I knew he would be able to handle anything that could happen. If I had wanted you to ride with Rachel, I would have called Rachel.”
Lily twisted her hands together as he continued in his rant.
“Not only did you not come straight here, you went by your house and Rachel sat in the car. Someone could have been waiting and killed you inside the house and Rachel wouldn’t even have known.”
“I didn’t think,” Lily confessed.
“You sure as fuck didn’t. What was so important? Beth and Razer could have picked it up for you.”
“I wanted to get a few of my things,” Lily told him.
“I asked you days ago if there was anything you wanted. What was it?”
Lily felt stupid. “Shampoo.”
“Shampoo?! You got to be fucking kidding me!” His raised voice was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“What?” Shade opened the door to see Beth’s white face.
“Is there a problem? Maybe I—” Beth was cut off.
“No, Beth, I don’t need your help. Lily and I are having a discussion. You can see her at dinner.”
“But—”
When Shade opened the door wider, Lily was relieved; she thought he was going to let her in, but her hope was dashed immediately.
“Razer!” His shout could have raised the roof.
Seconds later, Lily heard footsteps running up the steps and saw Razer in the hallway.
“What’s going on?” Razer asked, seeing his wife’s pale face and Lily standing in the middle of the bedroom.
“Your wife is interrupting a discussion I’m having with Lily. Out of respect, I’m letting you handle your woman, but she needs to understand that when Lily and I are arguing, she needs to back the fuck off.”
“Razer, he was yelling at her,” Beth defended herself.
“I’m not that crazy-as-fuck father of yours. I am not going to hurt her, but I am going to spank her because she took an unnecessary risk.”
Beth gasped. “Are you listening to him, Razer? He is not going to spank my sister. She’s a grown woman.”
“Yes, she is, and it’s time you realized that. Razer and I are brothers, and you and Lily are going to be sharing this house and our lives together for a long time, so we need to set some boundaries. One is that, when our door is closed and we’re arguing, you mind your own business. She can cry on your shoulder later, but you do not interrupt me again. I keep my nose out of your shit; you need to keep your nose out of mine.”
Razer put his arm around Beth. “He’s right, Beth. Deep down you know he’s right. I would be pissed as hell if Lily or Shade came knocking at our door when I was giving you hell.” Beth looked up at Razer.
Lily felt terrible for being responsible for bringing about this heated confrontation. “It was my fault,” Lily admitted. “I asked Rachel to drive me home after Shade had already asked Pastor Dean. Then I stopped at our house.”
“Lily, it’s not safe there for you.” Beth’s worried face gazed back at her from the doorway.
“I wasn’t thinking about that. I wanted my shampoo.”
“Your shampoo?” At Beth’s dumbfounded expression, Lily felt like an idiot.
“I didn’t want my hair to smell like Jewell’s, Bliss’s or Evie’s. I wanted it to smell like mine.”
Beth’s eyes flew angrily to Shade, her mouth snapping open.
“We’re leaving,” Razer said in amusement. “I’ll handle her. Your door is off-limits when you’re pissed. Got it. Later, brother.” He turned a red-faced Beth away from the door, closing it behind them.
“I will never understand you, will I?” Shade said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“How would you like it if I doused you in Charles’s cologne? If every time you breathed in, you smelled like him?” Lily saw Shade wince at her words as she drove her point home.
She was instantly proud of herself. She didn’t need Beth’s protection; she could handle him on her own. She was quickly learning his weaknesses.
She took a step forward, sliding her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Shade’s arms tightened, drawing her nearer. “Next time, will you at least call me and tell me there’s been a change in plans? I almost had a heart attack when the silent alarm went off and I saw you on the camera.”
“I will. I’m sorry, Shade.” Lily looked up at him, smiling in apology.
“Let’s go eat dinner. You can sit there and gloat while Beth throws me dirty looks,” he said in resignation.
* * *
The Last Riders were exhausted by the time the week before Thanksgiving arrived. They had been busy with the factory since there had been several natural disasters and they had all pulled overtime to fill orders that would benefit hundreds of su
ffering victims.
Lily could tell by the sense of excitement in the air that it was Friday. The last few Fridays, everyone had been too tired to do anything other than drag themselves to bed, but now the orders were finally caught up, everyone wanted to blow off some steam. Lily resigned herself to spending the night in her room after dinner.
Bliss and Raci practically ran out of the factory after their shift, and Evie wasn’t far behind. Only Jewell, Lily and Georgia remained. Shade and Rider had left to go into town, saying only that they needed to pick up some refreshments for the brothers.
“That’s it.” Jewell taped down the box she was working on.
“Finished?” Lily asked, finishing up her own package.
“Yes. I didn’t think this day would ever end. If Cash hadn’t taken the edge off at lunch time, I wouldn’t have made it to quitting time.”
Lily blushed, hoping the woman wouldn’t go into detail about how exactly Cash had taken the edge off. The woman talked about sex incessantly and had long since lost her reserve about discussing it in front of her. Lily always managed to turn her thoughts away, but every now and then, a comment would get by her, sending Lily’s own imagination running wild.
Shade hadn’t touched her since the first night they had switched bedrooms and Lily was both relieved and frustrated. She was watching him incessantly now; how he sat, how he walked. She had even woken early a few times and had lain there, watching him sleep.
She pushed her dark hair out of her eyes. Her body was feeling things she had never felt before. Last evening, they had lain on the couch watching television together when an unusual feeling had built inside of her until she had gotten up and gone to bed, only to feel him behind her in minutes. She was sleepy now because she had tossed and turned most of the night, not knowing how to relieve the building ache in her belly.
“Ready?” Jewell asked, looking at her curiously.
“Yes.” Lily gathered herself, setting the package into the cart.
Georgia came out of the office. “You two go ahead. I’ll lock up.”