Lily’s thighs pressed together, and Shade’s cock thickened when he felt that needy movement against his hip.
“Shade…” Bliss moaned, lifting her hips and pumping them, riding Rider’s fingers, her juices easily visible to Shade and Lily.
“Let her come, Rider.”
Rider’s fingers stroked even faster, and Bliss raised her hips before plunging herself down on his hand. Her small scream had Lily jumping up from the couch, tearing her body away from his.
“Run, Lily. It’s not going to change the fact that you’re mine. And the next time a woman moans my name, it will be you,” Shade promised without sympathy.
He winced when he heard the bedroom door slamming shut.
Bliss stood up unsteadily, and Rider held her hand until she quit shaking.
“You want me to take care of that for you?” Bliss asked, nodding at the bulge in his jeans.
“No.” Shade finished his beer, throwing it across the room into the trash can. It made a loud thud when it landed inside.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out four slips of paper, handing one to Bliss and three to Rider.
“You can give Raci and Cash their IOUs for me.”
Rider looked at him curiously. “You didn’t have to give us the IOUs for something we would have done for free.”
“Would you have stopped at only finger-fucking Bliss if I hadn’t offered the IOU?”
“No,” Rider admitted. “If I didn’t know how you like holding those fucking slips over our heads, I don’t think I would have. I would have definitely fucked Bliss when I saw Lily press her legs together.” He laughed.
“You like to show off.” Shade shook his head at the brother. “One day, that’s going to get you in trouble,” he warned.
“I’m not afraid of trouble. I’m more afraid of not finding enough.” He laughed.
“I didn’t think Cash was going to stop for a minute.” Bliss giggled.
“Cash would have stopped. He knew I would rip his dick off if he pulled it out. I wanted to get Lily horny, not give her a panic attack.”
“She ever tell you why—” Rider began to ask.
“No.”
“Message received, brother.” Rider looped his arm around Bliss’s shoulder. “Want to go to my room and you can finish what Shade wouldn’t let me have down here?”
Bliss nodded, her eyes on Shade. “Unless you want us to stay? Lily left.”
“No, thanks. The only other show I plan to watch tonight is on that television on the wall.” Shade stood. Going to the cabinet over the dryer and opening it, he took out a full whiskey bottle.
* * *
“How’s Georgia doing?” Rider asked as they waited for the few remaining employees to leave.
“Better. Razer managed to scare her better than Viper and I did. After she insulted Beth at church, she’s trying to be more careful with what comes out of her mouth. Unfortunately, Lily’s right; Georgia’s not a nice person. She’s a fucking bitch,” Shade said.
“I know Lily didn’t call Georgia a fucking bitch.” They both laughed yet stopped when they saw Lily running down the path from the clubhouse.
She was barefoot, wearing sweats and a T-shirt. Shade recognized she was having a panic attack instantly. He started toward her as she ran to him. He barely had time to hold out his arms before she was throwing herself into them, clutching him tightly and shaking. She tried to burrow into him as tightly as she could, her black hair surrounding them.
“What’s wrong?” He held her to him tightly, giving her the security she needed.
“I don’t know,” Lily cried.
“Couldn’t you get hold of Beth?” he asked.
“What? I didn’t try,” she said, trembling harder.
“You didn’t try to call Beth? You came to me first?” Shade’s hand smoothed her tumbled hair away from her face.
Lily nodded against his shoulder, whimpering. “My head hurts,” she moaned.
Shade lifted her into his arms, handing Rider the clipboard he had been holding. He then carried her back to the house, closing the door she had left open in her terror. In the bedroom, he sat down with her on the bed and Lily curled into the safety of his arms, laying her head on his shoulder.
“I think I’m losing my mind,” Lily confessed.
“No, you’re not.” Shade rubbed the back of her neck, easing the tension from her shoulders. “Lily, your attacks are coming less, but they’re becoming stronger. I think your mind is trying to tell you that you’re strong enough to remember.”
Shade didn’t believe what she had seen the previous night had triggered this panic attack. Her attacks were usually immediate, not delayed, so something else had triggered it. She had proven she was getting strong, managing to keep the darkness from taking her long enough to find him. A few months before, she would have been paralyzed with fear.
Lily jerked upright, her hands going to the sides of her head.
Shade’s hands went to her wrists. “Look at me, Lily.”
Her violet eyes lifted to his.
“Look at me,” Shade repeated.
She stared at him mutely while he held her gaze with sheer will, wanting her to see he was with her. There, in the room, together. Forever.
“What’s in here can’t hurt you anymore.” Shade tapped the side of her head. “The world around you”—his hand circled the air around her body—“I’ve got that.” He brought his hands back to hers, holding them in his. “No one will ever hurt you again,” he promised in a steely voice.
It was a promise he intended
to keep for a lifetime.
Chapter 56
Lily was brushing her hair out in the bedroom when Shade walked in. She had woken up the morning after her panic attack without remembering what had triggered it, or she had deliberately forgotten. Shade didn’t know which; he doubted she did, either. The rest of the week had passed as if it had never happened.
She twirled her skirt around her legs, showing off her outfit. Her black hair was long and loose, and she had several chunky necklaces on.
“You look great. What are you supposed to be?”
“A gypsy.”
“How is it any different than what you usually wear? You should have at least been adventuresome enough to raise the hemline above your ankles,” Shade said, taking a change of clothes out of a drawer.
Shade saw Lily looked down at herself.
He walked to her, cupping her cheek. “You look gorgeous. Who got it for you?”
“Beth,” Lily said, twirling away.
Shade looked at her dress closely. “Remind me to thank her.”
He was going to have a long talk with Beth to thank her for buying Lily the gypsy costume for the Halloween party. The dress had a shimmering fabric which was practically see-through when the light hit it.
“Why?”
Shade merely shook his head, going into the bathroom. “Never mind. I won’t be long.” If he told her what he could see, she would take it off. He wasn’t about to deny himself a glimpse of that ass.
Shade took a quick shower then changed before going into the main room of the basement and taking a seat on one side of the couch.
Several club members were already there. Beth was sitting on Razer’s lap next to Evie on the couch, eating snacks. Viper and Winter were dancing among others who had toned down their usually more suggestive grinding.
“How was Georgia this week?” Beth asked Lily, putting her arm around Razer’s shoulder.
“Fine.”
“Lily, would you mind getting me a beer?” Shade requested. “The new prototype came back today with suggested changes from the manufacturer,” he told Razer.
“Figures. What do they want done now? It better not change the cost of production.”