Shade (The Last Riders 6)

“I doubt that.”

“Don’t,” Rachel replied firmly. Walking back to her dog, she reached down and petted its head. “She’s not the only one who has to confront something inside of themselves,” she said before leaving.

A chill ran down Shade’s spine as he watched her go.

He went back inside, tossing the bag of reefer to Rider. The party was in full swing. Bliss was bent over the back of the couch as Cash fucked her from behind while Rider watched. Shade didn’t have time to stay and watch, nor could he. It had been four months since he had fucked a woman; as a result, he couldn’t watch them then workout with Lily without making his hard-on noticeable.

He was an expert at controlling his body, but it was getting beyond his capabilities to keep from showing his desire for her, especially since she persisted in treating him like a fucking friend. He could see the attraction for him in her eyes, but her mind refused to acknowledge what her body was telling her.

He went back downstairs, firmly closing the door to keep the loud noises of Bliss’s climax from filtering down. He was glad he had put the music on when he had begun stretching out when he saw Lily on the mat, warming up.

“Sorry, there was something I needed to take care of.”

“No problem,” Lily said, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “What are we going to work on today? Do you want me to try to knee you again?” Her eager face was lit up with excitement.

“You seem anxious to take my dick out of commission,” Shade said wryly. He wanted to get off, and she wanted to pound his dick into the matt.

As Lily laughed, her eyes twinkling, he smiled back. It was worth the pain his dick was giving him to see her so happy. Well, almost, Shade admitted truthfully to himself.

He had painstakingly been painting a picture with Lily building her trust in him, and he wasn’t going to stop until he had a masterpiece.

“We’re going to work on something different today,” he said, moving her closer to the wall at the end of the mat. “I want you to try to get out of a specific type of hold. For instance, if you’re getting into your car and someone comes up behind you.”

Lily nodded, her eyes watching him curiously.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Turn around.”

Lily did as told and Shade moved closer to her, pressing his body against her back. Lily’s hand automatically went to the wall to keep herself from being pressed against it, leaving her helpless. He felt the second she began to panic, but forced himself to wait for her next instinctive move.

One of her arms left the wall, going back to try to push him away, but his hand caught her wrist, bringing it backward to her lower back. Her other hand automatically went back but it was also captured, leaving her defenseless and pressed flat against the wall.

With his lower body flush against her butt, her breathing escalated and she went limp. Shade stepped back, and Lily began to slide down the wall without his weight holding her in place.

Shade had hoped she would have been able to tolerate the hold for a few seconds longer. Any time he took a step forward with her, he took two steps backward. He had to find a way to make her take more steps forward, or she would stay in the same place forever.

Once Shade took her arm, leading her to the corner and leaving her there to stand alone, she stood, gasping for breath, her hands going to her head and clutching her hair.

“Hands to your side. Stand up straight. Lily, by now you should know how I want you to stand.”

She corrected her posture, her shoulders straightening as her hands obediently went to her side. Her submissive nature clung to his dominant voice for direction.

He took a drink from his bottled water before he went to the weights and began working out while ignoring her, giving her the time and space to analyze her feelings. He watched as her expressive face showed her resentment at being thrown into turmoil.

“Lose the attitude, Lily, or my hand is going to be on that bouncy butt.” Shade was sitting on the weight bench with the weight paused in an upward position as he took in her look of shocked horror. “I didn’t say I would beat you, Lily. But I will smack that ass if you don’t behave.” His blue eyes stared into her violet ones.

Lily gasped, turning her head toward the wall and breaking eye contact with him.

“Eyes forward,” Shade said, continuing his arm curls.

Lily’s eyes returned to him.

“I shouldn’t have reached back,” she said after a few moments.

“No,” Shade answered. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out her mistake, and she had recovered much faster than he had anticipated.

Lily took a step forward.

“Are you ready to go back to the mat?”

“Yes,” Lily said determinedly.

“Turn around.”

She met his gaze briefly then followed his directions. That time, when Shade grabbed her, pushing her against the wall, she braced herself with her arms.

“What do I do next?” Lily’s voice trembled when he pressed his body against hers.

He talked to her firmly, giving her directions in a voice she could hold on to instead of the threatening darkness. She did exactly as he told her and while her movements were too timid, her initial terror had eased.

Shade released her. “Enough?”

“Yes.” Lily turned around to face him then slid along the wall away from him.

“We’ll work on that until you get it right. You need to learn how to defend yourself when someone comes up behind you. Men who attack women are confident that you’ll panic, that you’ll be too startled to be able to defend yourself.”

“I’ll work on it until I get it right.”

“I know you will. You’re learning fast. I’m proud of you,” Shade complimented.

“Thank you, Sir.” Lily reached out and hugged him. “I really appreciate all your help.”

Shade had to use all his willpower not to drag her back when she pulled away.

“I’ll get changed.” She walked away with a spring in her step.

Shade nearly ran his hand over her ass as she passed him.

He was waiting for her next to the basement door which led outside when he got a text from Viper saying the Ohio brothers were asking about him. He sent a text back that Lily was about to leave, and then he would be up. When she came back within minutes, her eyes traveled up the steps to the closed door.

“It sounds like a football game is going on up there,” she remarked.

“Several of the brothers from Ohio are down for the weekend,” Shade answered, holding the door open for her, anxious for her to be gone. It was only a matter of time before some of the brothers came downstairs.

“Oh.”

Shade was walking her out the door whe

n his cell phone rang.

“Is she gone yet? The brothers are getting anxious, and the women want to play with the stripper pole,” Viper’s voice came over the line.

“Give me five. I need a shower and to get changed.”

“You go ahead,” Lily told him.

“You sure?”

“My car is just around the corner,” Lily said dolefully.

“All right. I’ll see you later,” Shade replied, going back inside.

“Bye.”

He closed the door behind him when he saw her turn the corner which led to the parking lot. Then he went into his shower as he heard footsteps running down the steps from the kitchen. Viper must have given the all-clear for the members to come downstairs.

Shade stepped under the shower just long enough to rinse the sweat off, barely drying off before tugging on clean clothes. He opened his bedroom door, going down the hall.

Evie and Rider came out wet from the room with the hot tub. Evie wasn’t wearing a top, and her shorts had been left unbuttoned while Rider was wearing jeans.

“We were going to have some beer while we were in the hot tub, but someone must have taken the last one from the mini-fridge and didn’t restock.”

“I could send some down for you,” Shade offered as he continued upstairs, following behind Evie and Rider.

“Don’t bother. I forgot condoms, too, so I need to run upstairs to my room for more,” Rider said.

“You shouldn’t have used them all on Bliss,” Shade joked.

“I have more.” Rider tried to pinch Evie’s ass as she went up the stairs first.

Evie opened the door to the kitchen and Shade saw her hesitate, but he merely thought the door was blocked with all the members and the brothers from Ohio. When Rider stopped, however, Shade knew something was wrong. Rider moved, and then Shade took the final step, entering the kitchen and coming face to face with something he had tried to keep from happening.

Lily was standing in the kitchen, her face a pale, tortured mask. His own face froze at her expression. He didn’t have to be told what she had seen. The members’ faces showed that Lily had seen it all. Her whimpers alone were ripping his heart to sheds.

Beth was in the doorway which led to the clubroom. She took a step forward at the same time he did, but Lily backed away from them. They both tried to speak at the same time, yet her whimpers of pain rose in volume, preventing her from hearing their words. Lily then ran from the kitchen and out the backdoor.