Shade

by Jamie Begley

  Shade walked toward his office, seeing Lily studying the board where orders were posted.

  He had spent Friday night with her instead of partying at the club, under the ruse of returning Beth’s fixed car and ordering food that couldn’t be delivered to the clubhouse. It had been the first step toward coming out from behind Razer’s shadow. Up until then, she had seen him as Razer’s best friend, whereas at the factory, she saw him as a boss. Friday night, however, he had wanted her to see him as a man.

  He wanted her to learn to talk to him without being afraid. He had used the lunches so she could get used to them being alone. Now, he wanted her to get used to him in her home. He had every intention of being there frequently.

  “I’ve been to Alaska,” Shade had commented.

  “You have?” Lily asked, staring at him in surprise. “Is it as beautiful as the pictures?”

  “Yes, but I was too busy freezing my ass off to appreciate it at the time.”

  Lily had laughed as he had wanted her to.

  He had flipped the pages of the book, describing the places he had been to in Alaska. They talked about his family, growing up with a dad in the military. Overall, the night had been comfortable, and after a while, Lily had seemed to relax and enjoy being around him, until she blacked out.

  It had scared Shade half to death, but then she recovered quickly, explaining it was just a headache and she had had one earlier that day, after catching him, Rider, and Bliss in the factory, though she hadn’t needed to say that. Shade ended up sleeping on her couch, leaving early the next morning before she woke and before Razer and Beth came home.

  Shade snapped out of the memory of Friday night when he saw Hardin come up behind Lily.

  “Going to save one for me?”

  She laughed, stepping to the side.

  “I might if you weren’t so slow,” she joked back. She never fucking joked around with him so naturally.

  Hardin took one of the orders off the board. “Why don’t you take one of the work stations next to mine, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  Shade didn’t give her time to reply. “Lily’s work station is the one I put her at; yours is going to be at the unemployment office if you don’t get busy.”

  Hardin hurried to his workstation at the sharp comment, while Lily gave him a reproachful look from her violet eyes.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Lily. He deserved it. Get to work,” Shade snapped before going to his office. He barely restrained himself from slamming the door, leaving it open to keep Lily in his sight. That was why he had assigned her that particular workstation; he had a clear view of it from his desk.

  Shade kept busy answering emails until Bliss came in carrying his and Lily’s lunch. She closed the door with her foot then set the tray down on his desk.

  “Can I get you anything else, Shade?” Bliss stared down at him with her fuck-me smile.

  He leaned back in his chair. Bliss was like a rapacious puppy which couldn’t understand why her master didn’t want to play.

  “Yes. When you get back to the clubhouse, tell Train he better play it cool when he’s in public with Kaley.”

  Bliss nodded. “Okay.”

  Shade stood up and Bliss went taut, her nipples showing under her thin shirt. He opened the door for her to leave while she hid her disappointment, giving him a smile as she left, waving at Lily.

  “Lily.”

  Lily set down the box she was working on, going to Shade’s office. Shade sighed to himself at seeing her determined stride and clenched hands. Here we go again. Shade was curious what her new excuse would be to get out of sharing lunch with him.

  She took the seat next to his desk as he closed the door and resumed his, handing her one of the trays with a grilled chicken salad. Lily ate her lunch quickly while he ate his more slowly to annoy her.

  “What’s the rush?” Shade asked.

  Lily finished chewing the bite in her mouth. “I think it’s better if I eat lunch with everyone else,” Lily delicately began.

  “No.” Shade took a bite of his own food while Lily sat stunned. It took her a second to recover from his denial.

  “But—”

  “Did you bring a change of clothes?” he asked, looking at her pink dress.

  Lily flushed as his eyes lingered on the tiny buttons at the front of her dress. “Yes.”

  Shade kept eating while Lily ate more slowly now, chewing her food thoughtfully.

  “Why didn’t you eat lunch at the diner yesterday?” Shade asked the question which had been bothering him since Beth had shown up after church at the diner without her.

  “I wasn’t hungry,” Lily snapped.

  Shade’s stern mouth twitched in amusement. “If you didn’t eat lunch in here, what would you do for lunch, Lily?”

  “I would eat lunch outside with the other workers.”

  “You don’t need to eat lunch with them. You would become too friendly with them, and they would start to take advantage.” Shade gave her the partial truth.

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it? They all are aware that your sister is married to one of the owners of the factory.”

  As Lily finished eating her salad in silence, Shade placed his plate back on the tray.

  “I would never use my connection to Razer.”

  “I think it’s better to not put you in that position. Is it so hard to keep me company for lunch?”

  “I don’t think you lack for company, Shade,” Lily teased him wryly as she got to her feet.

  “Really, what makes you say that?” His eyes bore into hers.

  She speculated, “I’m pretty sure that any of The Last Riders would join you for lunch, not to mention the other women who work here. Several of the women are interested in you. They ask me constantly if you’re seeing someone.”

  “Tell them to mind their own business,” Shade snapped, seeing no jealousy in her eyes.

  Lily laughed at his disgruntled expression.

  Opening the door, she glanced back. “I can’t do that, Shade. I wouldn’t presume on my relationship with you to speak for you.” She closed the door before he could say anything else. The seductive witch had actually managed to one-up him.

  Shade leaned back in his chair, smiling.

  * * *

  Shade stood when he saw Hardin go out the metal door. Lily had left for break a few minutes before, and it didn’t take any of the skills he had acquired in the military to figure out what the man was after.

  He went outside, seeing Hardin had made his move and was talking to Lily as Shade strolled to where Rider was working on his bike.

  “What’s up?” Rider asked, picking up a wrench.

  “Nothing,” he said, watching the expressions cross Lily’s face. She has no problem talking to Hardin, Shade thought sarcastically.

  Rider laughed, shaking his head. “I’ll never understand you, Shade. You have every woman in town wanting to fuck you, and most of the women in the clubhouse would rather be in your bed than anyone else’s. But you’re working a job you fucking hate just to even be near her. I wouldn’t put that much effort into buying a bike, much less a woman,” Rider bragged.

  “That’s why your bike is broken down all the time,” Shade told him as Georgia walked up to Hardin and Lily.

  The floor supervisor was a bitch. Rider had promoted the single mother when he had been managing the factory, and Shade had to put up with the evil bitch because of Rider’s bad decision.

  He waited until break was over before going into his office. It wasn’t long before Georgia came in after briefly knocking, placing her clipboard on his desk.

  “We’re going to need an extra truck today. We have too many orders.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Shade replied, not looking up from his computer.

  “I overheard Hardin asking Lily out.”

  Shade took his eyes off the computer. The bitch seemed absolutely giddy about spreading gossip.

 
“Why would I care who my employees see in their free time?”

  “I just thought … It seemed like you were interested in Lily.” She became wary when Shade’s expression darkened.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to deal with tattletales, Georgia. I don’t feel the need to encourage gossip, either. Mind your own business, or I’ll transfer you back to the production line to keep you busy.”

  “Yes, sir.” The woman hastened out of his office.

  He picked up his cell phone as soon as her ass was out.

  “What do you need?” Viper hissed.

  Shade smiled. He had seen Winter’s car pull in the parking lot. It was Viper’s birthday, and his doting wife was probably at that moment giving Viper his present. From the moans he heard in the background, he had interrupted one or both of them coming.

  “I need to hire a new driver.”

  “We hired one a week ago. We don’t need to hire a new driver; just have them make another trip.”

  “That doesn’t work for me. I like to stay on schedule. Besides, we don’t have to hire a new employee; I have the perfect person in mind, and he already works for us. We’ll just increase how much he gets paid.”

  “No, I want to stay on budget.”

  Shade grinned evilly. “I have Winter’s IOU from last night. I’m thinking of cashing it in because Bliss likes that new purse Winter’s been packing.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Shade didn’t know if Viper had just come or if he was insulting him. “Go ahead. Do what you want, but I want that IOU at dinner tonight.”

  “Will do. Oh, and Viper, I have a brand new paddle that hasn’t been broken in yet if you want to borrow it.”

  “Fuck off.”

  Shade waited until the end of the day before calling Hardin into his office.

  “In your employment application, you stated you have your CDL license. That true?”

  “Yes, but I also said I was tired of driving. I drove a coal truck and—”

  “Is the license still current?”

  “Yes, bu—”

  “Good. We need another driver, and Viper doesn’t want to hire a new one. You can start tomorrow.”

  Hardin placed a hand on his desk, leaning toward him. “I don’t want to drive a truck,” he said angrily.

  “Then I’ll have to fire you so I can hire someone who does. It’s your decision.” Shade shrugged.

  “It’s not my decision, or I wouldn’t have to drive a fucking truck.”

  Shade remained silent.

  “Fine, I’ll drive the truck. I have child support payments to make, and I’m two months behind. I can’t afford to be late on another payment, or my ex will take me to court.”

  “I’m glad that’s settled.” Shade went back to work on his computer. “Make sure you stay away from Lily while you’re loading the trucks, or I’ll call your ex and tell her about the extra cash you’re making helping Razer build his house.”

  As Hardin’s face turned a ruddy red and his hands clenched by his side, Shade stood up, coming around his desk. “Are we going to have a problem?”

  Shade pinned him with a deadly look. The slimy fucker wasn’t going to slide into home plate with Lily after he had waited years for her. Shade didn’t believe Lily would be attracted to Hardin, but he wasn’t going to take a chance. Shade had seen too many killed in the service by not being careful.

  “No, I don’t have a problem. I’m sure I’ll enjoy my new job,” Hardin said, jerking the door open.

  “Is everything all right?” Shade heard Lily ask Hardin.

  He didn’t speak to her, merely walked past her to leave the building at the same time Shade came out of his office.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked Shade instead.

  “Everything is fine,” Shade said, losing interest with the man when he walked out the door.

  “Why was Hardin upset?”

  “That’s none of your business.” When Lily would have said something else, Shade forestalled her. “But I’ll tell you, anyway. I gave him a promotion. We need another driver, so he’s going to be working on the trucks from now on.”

  Lily looked out the window as Hardin sped out of the parking lot. “He doesn’t seem to be very happy about his promotion.”

  “I’m sure he’s not,” he said grimly. “Are you ready?”

  Lily nodded, following him outside.

  “I need to get my clothes.”

  Shade waited by the steps as she grabbed her small travel bag out of the backseat of her car.

  “Where are we going to work out?” Lily asked as she came to stand by him.

  “In the gym in the basement.” Shade walked up the path. The concrete path had taken them a couple of months to lay and led around the house to the backdoor, making it easier for Winter to walk up instead of using all the steps.

  Instead of going in through the kitchen door, Shade opened another door at the side of the house which had been added when the path had been made. He wanted Lily to be able to come and go from the basement without going upstairs. That way, Lily couldn’t see anything he didn’t want her to, and The Last Riders could still have their freedom while Lily was downstairs. Shade and Razer had both told Beth when they had agreed for her to work in the factory that the upstairs was off-limits.

  She looked around curiously, and Shade saw what she was seeing: a large room with exercise equipment, the pole Rider and Train had installed for the women to give shows to the brothers, a large couch placed against one wall, and a flat-screen television.

  “You can get changed back here.” Shade walked across the room, opening the door which led to a hallway. “That room has the hot tub.” Shade pointed to the door on the left. “That’s the restroom where you can get changed. The door at the end is my room. I’ll wait for you in the gym.”

  Shade left her standing in the hallway, going to his room to change into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Then he stood outside the bathroom door to wait for Lily.

  When she opened the door, his mouth almost dropped open at what she was wearing. She had changed into sweat pants and an oversized sweatshirt he thought was big enough to fit Knox. Lily had gathered her dark hair into a tight ponytail, which highlighted her high cheekbones and violet eyes, making her beauty stand out among other women. Her outfit, though, was horrible. Shade wanted to rip it into shreds.

  “What kind of workout clothes are those?” he asked without waiting for an answer, striding to the mats he had laid down before going to work that day.

  “It’s what I always wear,” she said.

  “Then you need to get some different ones. Those won’t do.” Shade motioned for her to stand on the mat.

  As Lily came to stand in front of him, her eyes flitted nervously over his body, lingering on his tattoos.

  His cock stirred under his shorts as he distracted her, having her warm up by stretching, which he also did. Then Shade showed her how to kick out at him, which he blocked over and over again.

  “Come on, Lily; you can do better than this.”

  Lily repeated the move, striking out with her foot several times.

  “That’s enough,” he said when she stopped to catch her breath. “At least you’re in good shape physically, but you need to do some weight training.”

  “I agree. Thanks, Shade.”

  “When we’re in here, you call me Sir.” He stared deep into her eyes, determined to lay the ground rules from the beginning.

  “Okay.”

  She picked up her bag to leave, and then Shade held the door open for her before walking with her to her car.

  “Bye, Shade.”

  “Later.” Shade closed the car door and watched as she pulled out of the parking lot.

  He was always watching her leave, but he was beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. One day in the future, he would give her a reason to stay.

  Chapter 41

  “Anything wrong?” Shade asked.

  She had been pickin
g at her lunch for ten minutes.

  Lily shook her head, picking at her hamburger and fries. “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” Lily said glumly.

  Shade’s lips twisted. “You’re very emotional, aren’t you?”

  Lily stiffened in her seat. “I’m sorry if I can’t be emotionless like you. I get a little upset when people run like the plague when I approach them.”

  “Who’s running?” he questioned, barely able to hide his amusement.

  “The other workers. If I try to talk to them, they ignore me and move away.”

  “I’m sure you’re exaggerating,” Shade said, eating his own food with a hearty appetite. He was glad the men who worked in the factory had understood his silent message of getting rid of Hardin for getting too friendly with his woman.

  “I’m not exaggerating. I asked Gaige if he knew where the pocket flares were, and you would have thought I had asked for condoms. I asked Trent to help me find a packet of seeds, and he walked off while I was still talking to him. And, in case you didn’t know, Georgia is a reincarnated Attila the Hun.”

  Shade burst out laughing and saw Lily’s hurt feelings disappear a little. His breath caught when he saw a hint of attraction for him on her face. Then, curiously, her eyes went blank and her hand went to her wrist, snapping the red rubber band.

  “Why did you do that?” He knew why yet wanted to see if she did or if she would tell him.

  Lily handed him her partially untouched plate, preparing to get to her feet.

  “Sit down.”

  His hard voice had her bottom immediately returning to her seat, her eyes going to her hands on her lap.

  “Eyes to me, Lily,” Shade ordered firmly.

  Lily’s eyes reluctantly returned to his.

  “Answer my question. Why did you snap the rubber band?” he gently probed.

  “I don’t know. It’s just a habit. Sometimes I do it without knowing why,” Lily said softly.

  “I see. I only give instructions once, Lily. The next time you snap that rubber band around me, you better be able to explain why. Do you understand me?” Shade stared directly into her eyes.