“We’re done here. Holly can replace the sofa for me Monday. Thanks, everyone. It would have taken several days for us straighten this mess out,” Diamond said gratefully.
“No problem. We’re glad we could help,” Winter said with a smile.
She, Lily, and Beth stood.
“I’m sorry about the cuts, Lily,” Diamond apologized.
“I shouldn’t have overreacted; it was just a few scratches. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Lily shook off her apology with a smile.
Beth took her hand, leading her out of the office while Razer and Shade followed.
“I left my SUV at the diner,” Beth said as they stepped outside.
“You two stay here with Razer. Give me your keys, and I’ll go get it.” Shade held his hand out for the keys.
“I can walk,” Lily protested but snapped her mouth closed at his cold glance, taking a step closer to Beth.
Beth handed the keys to Shade.
“You can walk with Shade and get your bike, Razer. I’ll stay here with Lily until Shade brings my car.”
Razer and Shade both shook their heads.
“An office in this building was just broken into a few hours ago, and they haven’t been caught; it’s not safe to leave you alone. I’ll be right back.” Shade strode away, taking deep breaths, easily identifying Lily’s perfume in the air.
Being confined in the small space for hours had gotten to him. He had seen her darting, fearful glances whenever any of the brothers had come too close, especially him. He had hoped, with the few times she had been around him, she would begin to feel safe. Instead, he was seeing the same fear in her eyes as when she had first seen him at the lake. She just managed to hide it better.
He opened the door to Beth’s vehicle and climbed in. Then he put it in reverse to pull out, and as he did, he saw a blue ribbon which must have fallen out of Lily’s hair. He straightened the wheels and put the car in drive before his hand went to the seat, picking up the silky ribbon and touching it to the side of his face. He wished it was her fingers on him, instead. He slid the ribbon into his jean’s pocket before pulling out onto the road, driving to Diamond’s office where he stopped the SUV in front of them, getting out to hold the passenger door open for Lily as she said her goodbyes to Razer.
Beth kissed her husband before getting behind the steering wheel.
Lily hesitated before climbing in, giving him a shy smile. “Thanks, Shade. I’m sorry I was such a baby.”
Shade had to swallow the lump in his throat, glad his sunglasses hid his eyes. He managed a brief nod before closing the door. As he stepped back, Razer came to stand next to him.
“Do you ever wish you hadn’t seen her that day?” Razer asked softly.
The first day he had seen Lily was the first day he had actually felt alive. Before then, he had merely existed; there were no highs or lows, no thinking about her constantly—if she was all right or if she was ever going to care about him. All the emotional bullshit he had suffered through would never have happened. Her purple eyes, smile, and gentle beauty filled his mind.
“Not once.”
Chapter 31
Shade watched Viper and Winter’s ceremony as far away from Lily as he could sit. There was only so much he could stand before he reached his breaking point.
He had called in all the IOU’s he had earned playing poker and from the betting pool he had started on whether Knox’s squirrel had lived or died. They had used Evie to get Knox drunk off his ass then questioned him. The squirrel had survived, and Shade had made a bundle of cash, giving the money to Viper to give to Winter with the idea of redecorating the club room so Lily wouldn’t be smacked in the face with their lifestyle when she entered the first time.
He made sure he was one of the last in line after the wedding. He even sat at another table and was carrying his dirty plate to the sink with every intention of passing the table where Lily sat, without even looking her way.
Evie and Bliss were getting up from the table, excusing themselves to wash dishes as Diamond and Lily started to rise to go help.
“Let them take care of it; it’s their punishment.” Knox stopped Diamond with a hand on her arm.
“Punishment?” Diamond questioned.
Lily’s eyes widened at Knox’s words.
“They screwed up an order that went out last week. The kitchen is the punishment they drew.”
“You punish them when they make a simple mistake?” Lily questioned.
“It wasn’t a simple mistake; a customer was kept waiting for the supplies they needed. They gave us a bad review and took their order somewhere else,” Shade said, pausing by their table.
“Then write them up,” Lily snapped back. “But punishing them like children is ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Shade said. “Do you think a written paper telling them they made a mistake is as effective as making them wash all the dishes and clean the kitchen for a week?”
“For a week?” Lily asked. “They should report you to OSHA.”
Shade’s lips twisted into a smile. “It was handled as a club punishment, which is different than what we would have done if they had been one of the hired employees.”
“What would you have done to a hired employee? Make them mop the floors for a month?” Lily asked with fight in her eyes.
“No, we would have fired their asses,” Shade answered.
Shade could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.
“Do you have to take punishments like that?” she asked her sister.
When Beth didn’t answer immediately, Lily drew taut beside her sister.
“Then you don’t need to belong to the club anymore,” Lily declared.
“She’s Razer’s; she belongs to him and the club,” Shade said bluntly.
Lily stared at her sister, wanting her to deny their ownership.
“We’ll talk about this later, Lily,” Beth said, taking Lily’s hand. “But I love Razer and you do, too, and you know it. The Last Riders are a big part of his life; he considers them family. I did know he was in a motorcycle club when I fell in love with him, and it’s not like it’s an overly harsh punishment. The worst thing that could happen is dish-pan hands.”
Lily gave her sister a rueful smile. “I’m sorry I overreacted. I just couldn’t stand the thought of you taking any punishment for any reason.” The women shared a private moment. “Besides, it’s your life, and I know for a fact you’re very happy.”
“Yes, I am.” Beth smiled.
Shade once again started to walk on until Lily’s next words stopped him dead in his tracks.
“We need to go to Arizona. They have cowboys, Diamond,” Lily said to her mischievously.
He almost tripped spinning back around so quickly.
“Cowboys?” Diamond asked, not understanding the abrupt subject change.
“I’m going to marry a cowboy. They’re gentlemen, kind, and protect their women,” Lily said with authority.
“They do?”
Lily nodded.
Shade gritted his teeth. The only man who was going to be in her life was him. Cowboy? Fuck, he could outshoot any of those mother fuckers.
Beth laughed at her sister’s idea of a perfect husband. “Our father wouldn’t let us watch television. The only shows he would take us to every now and then were cowboy movies. Lily has been infatuated with them ever since,” Beth explained.
Shade’s hands itched to show her exactly what a real man could give her instead of those dreams she had built around cowboys. He was about to ask her how far she had gone with the imaginary cowboy of her dreams when Winter came up behind him.
“Shade, Razer is waiting on you.”
Shade leaned over Lily, reaching for Diamond’s empty plate. “You think cowboys don’t know how to punish their women, Lily? They have whips and spurs they use on their horses.”
A terrified look came over Lily’s face, and her hand went to the wrist with the red rubber band. Shade’s hand covered
the wrist before Lily could touch it, his chest brushing her shoulder. He had bent low enough that his breath whispered over her neck.
“I’ll take that to the kitchen for you, Diamond. At least when I punish someone, I don’t leave a mark,” he said suggestively, rising with Diamond’s plate in his hand before leaving the quiet group behind.
“That wasn’t nice.” Evie smiled as she came up behind him, setting the dishes in the sink.
“I’m not a nice guy.”
“Yes, Shade, you are.” Evie shook her head when he would have spoken. “No one else was there when I needed them. I don’t know what kind of shape I would be in today without your help. You helped me keep my sanity in a time I didn’t want to hold on to it. It meant more to you than it did me. So, yeah, you’re a nice guy. You’re much better than a cowboy; you’re a knight in shining armor.”
“I wouldn’t take it that far.” Shade snorted. “This knight’s armor was tarnished long ago.”
Evie looked toward Lily. “Sometimes, all it takes is someone to care enough to polish it and make it shine.”
Shade shook his head at her romanticism. He was no knight; he was what nightmares were made of, with a fascination for a woman who didn’t need another monster in her life.
He went outside to the backyard where the brothers and women were dancing. Shade walked to a tree, leaning against it as he watched Lily come outside and take a seat. Razer and Beth went to the dance floor while Lily watched them with a wistful look.
Shade left his spot to move to the dance floor where Jewell and Bliss were dancing together. He began dancing with them until Jewell eventually began dancing with Train. Shade didn’t trust himself to dance with her; however, he wanted Lily’s eyes on him as she looked at the dance floor.
A few of the brothers began to feel uncomfortable that Lily was the only one not dancing; even Razer was glancing her way frequently. Shade gave him a warning look. Brother-in-law or not, Shade didn’t want to see her dance with anyone except him. He knew he was being a selfish bastard, but he had agreed to give Lily time to graduate college. Of course, that didn’t mean he had to stand back and watch her have fun with another man.
When Knox and Diamond stood up to dance, Knox walked to the dance floor while Diamond snatched Lily’s hand with hers, saying something to her.