“You have lost your mind if you think I’m going to stand still and let you spank me.”
“You won’t be standing; your ass will be turned over my knee.”
“Sure, Shade. Anything you say, Shade,” Lily said mockingly, too angry to be scared.
Today was only Wednesday. She planned to be long gone before Friday rolled around. In the meantime, let him count as high as he wants to; his hand isn’t going anywhere near my butt again, Lily thought confidently.
*
“Can’t you go any faster?” Georgia complained.
The day hadn’t started off the best; she was tired and grumpy from sleeping in the corner and her mind was coming up empty with alternative places to stay. Leave it to Georgia to catch her distraction.
“Yes. I’m sorry I’m taking so long.” Lily really wanted to say something unkind, yet she bit back the response. Shade’s bad manners were rubbing off on her. She was afraid because she hadn’t even been back a full day and Lily wanted to snap back at the woman.
During break, she had called Charles to find he had left town again. She thought about calling Miranda, but she had a small child and Lily didn’t really want to endanger them. Besides that, she had a feeling she was still angry with her.
She had one other option and she wanted to talk to Beth before she did. She could stay with Penni; she was sure. It would solve all their problems by getting her out of Kentucky until they could find out who was watching and trying to hurt her. It would be a win-win situation.
The day ended without further comment from Georgia, and Lily walked with Shade back to his room.
Their workout session and dinner were spent with Lily saying as little as possible to the man. She was disappointed to see that Beth didn’t show up again that night, and Winter also was a no-show with a PTA meeting. She was stuck with Shade, who didn’t seem to mind her silent treatment.
After dinner, she thought he would go into the main room, and she was about to excuse herself when he surprised her.
“I need to check on some work going on at my house. Do you want to come with me?” he asked.
“Sure.” Lily walked out the back door with him into the huge backyard.
Beth had told her one of the reasons Viper’s brother, Gavin, had wanted this property was because of the amount of land. Shade’s house was being built behind Beth and Razer’s. It was nestled up higher than the main house and Beth’s with a wraparound porch and a main path, which led to each of them before it divided: one side leading to Beth’s and the other to Shade’s.
Shade opened the door, coming into what seemed to be the living room and dining room combo. It was an open-concept house where you could see through the whole downstairs. The walls were all dry-walled and the subfloors had been laid.
Shade walked into the kitchen where none of the cabinets or anything had been placed. There was a small, fold-up table and two metal chairs sitting in the room with several books lying on top.
Shade looked around the room, moving from one area to the other.
Lily looked at him curiously. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to figure out where I want the island to go and which wall for the appliances.”
“Start with where you want the sink, which is obviously by the window.” She pointed toward said window.
“Why by the window?”
“So you can look out while you do the dishes,” Lily explained.
“What about the stove?”
Lily looked around the room and pointed to the wall on the right. “That way you can keep an eye on the room while you’re cooking; the other wall you would have your back to the room.
“That’s true, but the exhaust fan would break the line of sight.”
Lily agreed, temporarily forgetting she was angry at him.
Shade finally decided to place it against the wall Lily had pointed out.
He sat down at the table, going through floor samples, which Lily helped him narrow down to hardwood then the type of wood. Next he picked out cabinets, but when Lily made a face, he turned over several more pages until she found one she thought would suit the style of the house.
“I’m surprised. I thought you would try to talk me into a country-looking kitchen, but you’re guiding me into a more modern look.”
Lily smiled. “I’m surprised you know the difference. I like the modern look for the clean lines and angles.”
“I do, too.” Shade closed the books. “That’s enough for today. It will take a couple of weeks to get it done then I can pick out the fixtures for the bathrooms.”
“Make sure you have one put in like you do now. Your shower is amazing.”
“I like it, too, but I was thinking of going a little bigger here.”
“How much bigger do you need? It’s already big enough for several people.” It dawned on Lily as soon as the words were out of her mouth that he had probably shared his shower many times with the women members. Lily closed the book she was looking at with a snap, getting to her feet without looking at him.