“Lily, go on up to the house,” Shade said calmly, his arm leaving her waist.
She took a step forward, going up the path with Jewell and Raci beside her.
“What set her off so bad?” Lily asked the other women.
“They told her she’s not allowed to come to the clubhouse anymore. She broke the rules when she told her sister about the votes.”
Lily went in the doorway to the basement while the other two continued on to the kitchen door.
Lily headed to Shade’s room to get changed into her workout clothes, though she wasn’t really in the mood to work out. Winter had given her an extra pair of black leggings and a new t-shirt to wear so she didn’t have to keep washing the other one every day.
Her mind was still on the closed office door and Kaley’s words, trying to drive them out of her mind.
She went back to the gym and began stretching, not saying anything when Shade came in, telling her he would get changed and be back.
She felt like pounding something.
When Shade returned, she got into position. They always did a set of maneuvers, switching it up occasionally when she became bored. Shade made one of his practiced moves, and Lily responded with more force than usual, almost managing to knee him in his privates.
“You’re getting better. You almost got them that time,” Shade complimented her. Lily gritted her teeth. He never really expected her to succeed in getting the better of him.
Lily circled the mat. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Shade lifted his brow at her assertion. This time, when he came for her, Lily responded unexpectedly, using both of her fists to hit him between the shoulder blades when she wiggled away from his hold.
“What the hell?”
“I’m supposed to pretend you’re attacking me, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but I want you to learn to stop an attacker, not piss them off.”
“As long as it works and I get away, that’s all that counts,” Lily said smugly.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Lily kept facing him, not letting him have her back like she usually did. She was tired of playing someone about to be attacked. She wanted to see him coming at her.
“Did Kaley go home?”
Shade had started moving toward her, but his momentum stopped at her words. “Yes.”
“Do a lot of women try to join?”
“Yes.” Shade was beginning to get the message that she was the one who was pissed, giving her a wary look.
“I bet that’s fun for the men. Don’t the women members resent the new members?” Lily couldn’t believe she was discussing this with him.
“No. Why are you interested?” Shade asked, taking his move against her. This time her foot shot out and she managed to nail him in the stomach. The unfortunate part was it probably hurt her more than it hurt him. His stomach was rock hard; however, she did force him to catch his breath. Lily walked around the mat gloating.
“You’re getting slow, Shade,” Lily said, bouncing from foot to foot. “And no, I’m not interested. You and the other men can have all the women in Treepoint that want to join your club. I won’t be one of them. I plan to find me a man who can appreciate one woman.”
“That’s a joke.”
“What do you mean by that?” Lily stopped bouncing.
“That you would ever let a man touch you. Tell me, how do you intend to catch a cowboy or any man when you have no intention of giving them anything? I bet Charles’s balls are blue around you, but I’m sure he finds one of his daddy’s waitresses to relieve him.”
“That’s not true. Charles is a gentleman.”
“He likes his cock sucked as much as any man,” Shade taunted.
“You’re disgusting!” Lily screamed at him, turning to leave the mat.
“What’s the matter, Lily? What really set off this little temper tantrum of yours?”
Lily didn’t reply as Shade blocked her path.
“Move.”
“Make me. I’m already shocked as shit you haven’t run to your corner like a scared little girl.”
“You’re a mean person. I hate you.” Lily slammed her hands out, shoving his chest, trying to make him move out of her way.
Lily felt her feet swept out from under her, though, and then she fell to her back on the mat.
Darn, just once she wanted to best the man. Just once, she wanted to wipe the self-satisfied smirk from his face. Her anger boiled. Lily had never lost her temper to the extent Shade could raise out of her, and she didn’t know how to deal with the anger boiling through her veins. She was a God-fearing woman, dammit, and Shade made her want to strangle him with her bare hands.
“You lose. Again.” Shade looked down at her in triumph.
He always told her to react like he was a stranger, so she did. Without thinking about the consequences of her actions, her hand reached up and viciously grabbed his balls, squeezing them in a vice.