“Try me, Bliss,” Shade snarled. “The brothers would miss your pussy, but not enough to fight me to keep it.” Bliss paled. “See that woman standing there washing dishes?” Shade nodded at Lily doing dishes with Jewell until Nickel took over for her.
Lily left, telling them goodnight, and again, Shade waited until she was out of hearing. “Lily would never intentionally hurt another soul—she’s incapable of it—while you didn’t give a fuck who you were hurting with your behavior.”
Shade stood up, picking up his dirty dishes. “Now ask me why I care about her and not you,” he said sarcastically, leaving the table to take his dishes to the sink.
Shade heard Lily in the bathroom blow-drying her hair when he walked into the bedroom. He was removing his T-shirt, having already taken his boots off, when she came out of the bathroom.
Lily started to go to the corner.
“Bed, Lily.”
“But—”
“You agreed when you chose your punishment last night,” Shade reminded her.
“I thought that was just for last night,” she protested.
“No. Go to bed. I’m going to take a shower.” He didn’t want to argue with her tonight.
The storm was getting closer—he had listened to the warnings before coming downstairs—and he wanted her asleep before the worst of it hit Treepoint.
He showered then changed before going back to the bedroom to see Lily was already asleep. He turned off the bedside lamp, leaving the bathroom light on, then laid down next to her, propping his back against the headboard.
Shade reached into the nightstand drawer, pulling out his tablet. He was in the middle of the fourth game, shooting zombies, when the bathroom light began to blink. Shade turned off his tablet, moving closer to Lily’s side.
The light blinked again, but that time, it didn’t come back on. He unconsciously held his breath, hoping Lily slept through the blackout, but the lights hadn’t been out a minute before she jerked straight up in the bed, screaming in terror.
“Lily.” Shade spoke calmly to her in the darkness, giving her his voice to cling to in the pitch black. “The power went off. The generator will kick on in a minute. Just take a deep breath with me and let’s count.”
She couldn’t concentrate enough to count.
“Lily! Concentrate. Count with me. One … two … three…”
Lily finally calmed down enough to join him. “Four … five...”
Shade kept reassuring her that the generator would cut on and she was safe as she continued to count through sobbing breaths until the lights flickered briefly then came on. Then she turned to him, laying her head on his shoulder and crying in relief.
“I have you, sweetheart. Shh … I have you,” Shade promised, his voice thick.
While he soothed and rocked her in his arms, holding her tightly, Lily’s arms circled his neck. She burrowed closer to him, searching for comfort, which he gave her without hesitation.
Fine tremors shook her body while his firm hand stroked her back as he continued to rock her, repeating over and over soothingly that it was only a storm.
After she gradually relaxed, exhausted, lying limply against him and falling back asleep, Shade pulled her closer, rubbing her cheek with his.
“I’ve got you, Lily. Nothing’s ever going to hurt you again. I swear.”
Chapter 54
“Here you go.” Shade placed his laptop on the desk in front of Lily. She wanted to get started on the class assignments she had missed the previous week.
Giving her privacy, he worked out so she could be alone and concentrate.
Afterward, she didn’t even raise her head from the computer when he passed through the bedroom to take a shower. When he got out, he pulled on a pair of jeans, going barefoot and shirtless.
She was frowning at her assignment when he reentered the bedroom.
“Hungry?”
“A little, but I want to finish this.”
“Go ahead and finish. I’ll bring you a plate.”
“Sounds good, thanks,” Lily said absently.
Shade left the room to go upstairs where several members were in the kitchen, sitting around and talking after dinner. Shade made himself and Lily a plate of food, seeing Winter stacking the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
“What did you get in trouble for this time?” Shade asked.
Winter looked at him with a dejected air. “I wouldn’t quit bugging the members to buy computers, so Viper made me pull the punishment when Rider told on me. He has over twenty motorcycles, and he got mad at me when I suggested he should donate a computer for every bike. The freaking tightwad!”
Shade looked over his shoulder at Rider sitting at the table with his arms crossed over his chest. The brother was sensitive over his bikes. He was notorious for being a cheapskate over everything other than the motorcycles he bought. Winter had been lucky to have pried open his wallet as much as she had.
Shade set the tray of food down to get drinks. He was walking by Winter when he came to a stop.
“Order the computers you need. I’ll cut you a check in the morning.”