Shade nearly dropped his beer at that answer. Lily belonged to the same church her sister and Winter did. Who in the hell waited for marriage to fuck? Nobody waited. They might pretend to wait, but they fucked. Everyone fucks, Shade tried to convince himself.
As the women burst out laughing, only Viper’s glare at the brothers prevented them from joining in.
“What about the last months you were together?” Stori asked.
“I thought he was gay.”
Viper choked on his beer and started to jump off the couch, but Knox and Shade held him down. The women turned at the sounds of the scuffle.
“What happened?” Winter asked.
“I think the other team got the ball,” Evie said, laughing.
“Oh, then I was at a football game and saw you guys walk by, and I realized he wasn’t gay,” Winter went on explaining.
“How did that make you realize he wasn’t gay?” Bliss asked.
“I saw him look at you. No man who is gay looks at a woman’s ass like that.”
The whole table got quiet, and Shade watched Viper’s face pale at Winter’s words.
“That’s when I realized he just saw me as a friend.”
“Ouch,” Shade muttered. Viper didn’t appreciate his snide remark and elbowed him in the ribs.
“Damn.” Jewell’s voice let the brothers know the women didn’t appreciate the way Winter had been used to gather information on her relative.
“Back to tomorrow’s party. I am sure I am a big girl, and if I see anything I can’t handle, I can get Viper to take me to my room.”
“I am sure that won’t be a problem. Uh, maybe you should stay away from Rider and Knox tomorrow night, to be on the safe side.”
Knox and Rider both looked disappointed at Beth’s advice.
“Why? Do they drink too much?” Winter’s innocent question had Viper smiling.
The woman was good for Viper. Shade hadn’t seen him smile so much since before Gavin had disappeared.
Shade saw Viper looking over his shoulder to where Winter sat rubbing her back. He rose from the couch. “Time for bed.” He said taking Winter into his arms, carrying her out of the room.
Silence filled the room as the swinging door closed behind them.
“I can’t believe she thought Viper wasn’t fucking her because she’s a Christian,” Jewell muttered.
“I can’t believe she thought he was gay,” Evie said.
“There are still women out there who are innocent,” Beth said, taking up for her friend. “Winter is one, and my sister is another.”
Shade disagreed. Those shadows in Lily’s eyes didn’t come from being innocent; they came from seeing too much.
Shaking off his thoughts of Lily, he thought Winter had to have known Viper wasn’t interested in her sexually. That was why she had made up so many excuses. Women saw only what they wanted to see. Shade was counting on it.
Chapter 17
Shade lifted the whip, letting the tip touch the tip of the pink nipple with a slight sting as his cell phone started to ring on his nightstand. Ignoring the woman chained to his bedroom wall, whimpering in frustration, he answered the call.
“Yes?”
“I need a favor.” Shade could barely hear Viper’s low voice.
“Already giving you two.” Shade’s eyes went back to Natasha, who was wiggling her ass against the mat hung on the wall, then switched to where Ember was tied to his bed.
“I told you I would pay you back. Conner leave?”
“About an hour ago. He thinks he’s going to be a Last Rider.”
“He wouldn’t live through the initiation.”
“I don’t know; kind of liking the benefits of having him around.”
As Natasha’s hand on her thigh started to inch toward her pussy, Shade pulled the whip back then snapped it forward so it almost moved in slow motion, striking the back of her hand. She slid it back down to rest on her thigh.
“Shade? You there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. What’s wrong with your voice?”
“Winter’s sleeping, and I don’t want to wake her.”
“So, what’s the favor?”
“I need you to guard the stairs and make sure Winter doesn’t try to escape.”
“I take it Winter didn’t enjoy her first party.”
“Oh, she enjoyed it, too much. She’s going to try to bolt, but I want her to stay right where she is. That’s where you come in.”
“I’ll do it, but it’s going to cost you.”
“What do you want?”
“For two favors, I was willing to settle for a week off. For three, I want your marker.”
“I don’t give out markers,” Viper refused. “Pick something else.”
“You gave Beth your marker,” Shade reminded him.
“That was different. I thought Dad was responsible for Lily’s accident.”
“So, Winter’s staying here isn’t as important?” Silence from the other end of the call had Shade pushing the boundaries of what his president would allow. “Get Rider to do it.”
“He’s drunk off his ass.”
“Get one of the prospects to do it.”
“They’re young enough that Winter will intimidate them into helping her.”
“Where’s the rest of the brothers?”
“They all decided to take a midnight run.”