There was a robe on the back of the door that Lily put on over her gown before opening the door. She had been expecting the room to be empty; instead Shade was already in bed.
Lily climbed in bed, relieved. She had thought he would remain sleeping in the basement. She pulled the covers over her, giving him a smile.
“What was that for?”
Confused her brow furrowed. “What?”
Shade turned off the bedside lamp. The bathroom light was on with the door left half-open. “That smile you just gave me.”
“I don’t know. I was just happy you were here. I thought you might be sleeping in your room.”
Shade rose on his side. His serious face cast in the shadows of the bedroom. “Lily, the only bed you’ll be in is the one I’m sleeping in.” His finger traced down the fragile line of her cheekbone.
He bent down, kissing her lips. When Lily parted her lips, his tongue entered her mouth, searching its depths. Her tongue timidly touched his, and at her response, he sucked her tongue into his mouth, sliding his own against hers, tempting her to explore the warmth of his mouth.
When her arms slipped around his shoulders, Shade raised his head, breaking off the kiss.
“When I kiss you, it’s like touching perfection.” Shade placed soft kisses on her neck.
Lily’s arms dropped to her side. “I’m not perfect,” she replied, turning her face away.
“You’re perfect for me,” Shade corrected her.
“Shade…” Lily began hesitantly.
“Not tonight, Lily. Tonight, I want to hold you in my arms, knowing that you’re taking one breath after another. That when I wake in the morning, your beautiful face will be on the pillow next to mine, and tomorrow night, when I go to bed, you’ll be by my side again. Day after day, night after night.” Shade’s vow expressed how seriously he had taken almost losing her.
Lily’s lips smiled against his throat. “What about when I snore?”
“Angels don’t snore.”
*
Church was packed the next day; the closer to the holidays, the more the parishioners made the effort to attend. Lily kept her head down, sitting next to Beth and Razer, only talking when one of them spoke to her. As soon as the service ended, Lily got up from the pew.
“I’ll meet you outside.” Before they could say anything, Lily left the church before even Pastor Dean could make it to the door.
Lily was the first one in the diner after church. She already was looking over the menu when Shade, Ryder and Cash came through the door.
“What are you doing over here by yourself?” Shade asked, taking a seat next to her.
“I left church a few minutes early,” Lily said, staring at the menu.
“Why?”
“I didn’t want to stand in line today. Does it matter? Everything’s fine.” Lily raised the menu higher, ignoring his questioning gaze.
Beth and the others came in from church, asking her the same questions.
“What happened?” Beth asked.
Lily shrugged, avoiding the question by placing her order. They had just been served their food when Pastor Dean came in the restaurant with Rachel and her family, taking a table across the restaurant.
After lunch, Lily was ready to leave. She didn’t want to linger like she usually did. She turned to Shade who was still drinking his coffee.
“Ready?” Her fingers were tearing the paper napkin to shreds. She wadded the mess up, placing the pieces on her plate before handing it to the waitress.
“Sure.” Shade got up from the table, laying the money for both of them down.
“Are you coming to the house?” Lily asked Beth who nodded her head.
“I’ll see you there.”
Lily fled the restaurant, not waiting for Shade, missing the worried glance Beth gave Shade and his shrug.
“What’s the hurry?” Shade asked when he caught up with her outside.
“I need to get some work done on my college classes today.”
Shade got on the bike and Lily climbed on behind him, her arms circling his waist. The drive home didn’t take long. The weather was already turning cooler and the sun was as cloudy as her mood.
She didn’t want to sit and talk while everyone was giving her looks like she was going to break any minute. Her memories were back. She wasn’t going to hide from them any longer, but neither did she want to talk about them. Lily hoped, given time, something new would occur and her episode would fade from memory, and they would forget she had been a basket case.
She was determined to become stronger, both physically and emotionally. Every day she would work on it until she was as strong as Beth, Winter or anyone else other than herself. Her dream goal was really to be as strong as Sex Piston, but she didn’t want to set an unrealistic goal for herself.
Once they got back, Lily spent the rest of the day doing her coursework on the computer, finally pressing submit when she finished.