“Now you’re getting angry because you realize I have been treating you like my sub,” Shade mocked. “There are several different kinds of Masters, Lily. I don’t need contracts or whips unless I feel it’s what the sub needs. I guide you into finding your own personal fulfillment while I also find mine. That’s what makes a good Dom/sub relationship.”
“Lily.” Both of them looked up to see King standing next to their table. Her father bent down to kiss her on the check. “How was lunch?” King asked, his eyes going to Lily’s still full plate.
“It was good, but I’m not very hungry. I need to get back to work.” Lily started to rise from the table.
“Just a minute. King, will you ask the waitress to bring the check? Tell her to add a piece of Willa’s cake to go. Lily can’t have her cake and eat it right now, so I’ll save it for her for later.”
Lily’s eyes sparkled at his play of words.
He paid the bill and took the cake when King handed it to him before escorting Lily outside to the truck. Lily climbed in, sitting with her arms crossed in front of her breasts.
Shade sat down behind the wheel, his wife’s stubborn silence amusing him. She had been jealous when she had believed he had differentiated his relationship with the women at the clubhouse and her. However, now that she knew he had been treating her the same, merely with a different method, she wasn’t any happier.
When he pulled up in front of the church store, Lily climbed out, ignoring the hand held out to her. He placed it on the truck door, blocking her from moving away.
“Enjoy the rest of the day at work. Tonight, you can tell me which pattern you want me to put on that pretty little ass of yours.” He dropped his hand, moving away, and Lily slammed the truck door.
“I won’t be home until late. Beth and Razer are going out, and I offered to babysit,” Lily said smugly before rushing into the church store.
Shade stared at the store, debating going after her. Eventually, he got back inside the truck, not wanting to give Brooke the satisfaction of hearing an argument between him and Lily. Lily also needed time away from him to think.
Driving back to the clubhouse, he didn’t regret responding to Lily’s questions the way he had. When she had said she wasn’t special to him, it had cut through him like a knife. She was challenging his feelings for her, feeling as though he was holding a part of himself back, and he couldn’t fault her instincts when she was right.
*
“This is ridiculous. Rachel is going to know this is a set-up,” Beth snapped from the backseat.
“Not if you two are there, she won’t,” Shade replied, looking at his quiet wife in the rearview mirror.
The wives were all furious at their husbands for going along with Cash’s plan. He had asked them to come to show Rachel she could fit in. When the women didn’t feel it was right to trick Rachel and had denied Cash’s request, he had gone to Viper. Then Viper had reined the women in, making it part of their punishment for not telling Cash where Rachel had been when she had disappeared.
Lily looked away from him, turning to look out the window. She had jumped into the backseat with her sister when Beth had angrily climbed back there, but she had been the only one to agree when Cash had asked them to go.
It had surprised Shade, but when he had asked her why she had avoided the question, leaving the room. She was doing a lot of that lately. Shade’s lips tightened. Lily still remained an enigma to him in some ways.
Shade parked the truck beside the motorcycles, jumping out to help Lily before she could open her door. She hesitated before placing her hands on his shoulders as he lifted her down to the ground. Shade closed the truck door and was about to move away when he looked down to see tears in her anxious eyes.
“I’m sorry I’ve been such a brat.”
Shade motioned for Razer and Beth to go on without them as he pressed Lily back against the side of the truck. His hand cupped her check, rubbing his thumb against the soft flesh.
“Angel, I love you.”
“I love you, too. I just want to make you as happy as I am. Instead, I created a rift between us.”
“No, there isn’t. I’m not going to let anything come between us. I understand it’s your first relationship, Lily. I rushed you into marriage then into having my child.”
“Shade, you didn’t rush me—”
“I could have waited until you had dated a few more men, lived a little more on your own, but I didn’t. I couldn’t watch you dealing with your past anymore. Truthfully, it wouldn’t have made a difference, anyway. I couldn’t live without you in my life anymore, and I wouldn’t have been able to watch you become involved with another man when I knew I was the one for you.”
Lily gave a low laugh. “You’re very confident of yourself.”
Shade shook his head. “I’ve never been overly confident of you, Lily.” Shade let her see his vulnerability for a brief second before closing down again and stepping back to hold out his hand.
“You ready to welcome Rachel into the club?”
“Let’s do this.” Lily grinned, taking his hand.