Lily couldn’t focus, standing numbly.
Shade took her arm, leading her to the corner of the room. “Stand there until you’re ready to continue.” Shade left her.
Without another word, he began to lift weights, ignoring her. Lily tried to get her mind away from the darkness, her hand going to her wrist.
“No, Lily.” Lily was becoming frustrated. Her mind left the darkness and she focused on her anger toward Shade while he worked out with the weights as if she wasn’t in the room.
Lily finally managed to get herself together, her breath leaving her in a shuddering sigh. When her breathing slowed and her mind cleared, she started to take a step out of the corner.
“Don’t come out of the corner until you’re ready to try the move again.”
Lily thought that she would get dressed and go home. Obviously, Shade had other plans. She stayed in the corner, debating it over and over.
She couldn’t stand for him to touch her so intimately. The feel of his body against hers was more than she could take. Her mind in turmoil, she started tracing imaginary designs on the wall, trying to distract herself.
“Hands to your sides, stand up straight.” Lily corrected her posture, hating him, not knowing why she was obeying his demands. Her stubbornness kicked in and Lily eventually decided to simply outwait him. Surely, he would get tired of this and release her.
She was wrong, though. He went to the treadmill and started running. The man was a machine. She didn’t even know men could have that much stamina.
As Lily began getting hungry and her legs were getting tired, she took a step forward out of the corner.
“Go to the mat.” Shade got off the treadmill, keeping her waiting as he took off his shirt, using it to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
He was covered in tattoos. There wasn’t an inch that hadn’t been touched. His lean frame was highlighted by the myriad of tattoos. They gave him a menacing appearance that only fueled Lily’s fear of him.
She looked away as he approached the mat.
“Eyes to me. Are you ready?”
Lily nodded her head, just wanting to get it over with so she could escape.
As soon as he was in position, she attacked, trying to take him by surprise. This time, when he caught her knee and pulled her off balance, before her mind could spaz out again, Shade gave her instructions to keep her balance and her foot from being swept out from under her. Unfortunately, it involved using his shoulders as a way to balance herself. Her hands gripping his hard flesh sought to drive her away from reality again, but Shade’s hands on her hips showed her how to push off from him.
“Good. That’s enough for the day.” He removed his hands from her body.
“Thank God,” Lily muttered.
“What did you say?” Shade questioned.
“Nothing. Sir.”
“You can go get changed.”
“Thanks. Sir.” This time her tone was a little sarcastic; his ordering her around was getting old, fast.
“Would you like a lesson I give when I believe someone is being disrespectful?” Shade snapped.
“No, Sir.” Lily rushed to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She knew the most important lesson in self-defense was knowing when to run.
Chapter 7
Vida waited impatiently as she sat on the couch, watching Sawyer pace the floor while twisting a lock of her hair.
She tensed, getting to her feet when the door opened and Colton, Ice, Max and Jackal entered the hotel suite. They were in Louisville, Kentucky, staying in a hotel while Kaden was set to perform a concert there tonight with Mouth2Mouth.
Vida ran into Colton’s arms the minute she saw him. “Did you see her?” Vida looked up at her husband with watery eyes.
The door opened and closed again. Vida knew it was Kaden coming into the room; sure Colton would have called him when they were back in town. Kaden had stayed as long as he could before he had gone to the arena for a sound check.
“I saw her,” Colton answered his wife’s question.
Vida couldn’t help it; she started crying, knowing from the sounds next to her that Sawyer wasn’t able to contain her emotions any better.
“Vida, you’re breaking my heart, please stop,” Colton said, holding on to her shaking body.
“I’m sorry.” Vida managed to get herself back under control.
Colton sat down on the couch, pulling Vida down next to him.
“Was she okay?” Sawyer asked, sitting on Kaden’s lap when he sat down on a chair.
“She was fine,” he assured her.
“We want to see her, Colton,” Vida and Sawyer both spoke together.
“You two are going to have to wait. Digger’s trial comes up in two months. Once he’s sentenced and sent to prison, it will be safer for you two to approach her. But it’s not going to be easy, Vida.” Colton put the brakes on their possible reunion.