Shade

by Jamie Begley

  “I have to get back to the hospital.” Shade slid the phone back into his pocket. “You going to send Knox over there?” He nodded at Willa’s house where the two older girls were staring out the curtained windows.

  “No, they didn’t see anything. If they had, they would have said something.”

  “They didn’t do it. Whoever trashed mine and Razer’s bikes did this.”

  “I figured that out too late. I let my temper get away from me when I saw that word,” Lucky confessed.

  Shade could understand how it would have struck a sensitive cord in Lucky.

  “I’ll stop by in a day or two to apologize, since I don’t think she wants to hear anything I have to say right now.”

  “I don’t think that woman wants to ever see you again, much less hear anything you have to say.”

  “I won’t be getting a cupcake from her anytime soon; that’s for sure,” Lucky agreed glumly.

  “I’ve had Jenna’s pussy and Willa’s cupcakes. I know which one I would’ve chosen, but you were never the smartest brother in the club.”

  Chapter 92

  Lily sat on the couch, playing with John, while he worked on the laptop next to them.

  “Can you watch him while I go upstairs to get changed? He spit-up on me.”

  “Of course,” Shade said, closing the computer before taking John from her.

  “It always surprises me how easily you handle him,” Lily said, rising.

  “I helped with Penni,” Shade told her as she went up the steps.

  Shade bent his leg, placing it on the other one then laying his son on his lap. The baby’s blue eyes stared up at him as he sucked on his fist. Everyone who saw him remarked on how much he looked like Shade but he disagreed, seeing Lily in his cheeks and eyes. The blue was gradually fading, and a purple tint was beginning to appear. His son was going to have Lily’s eyes.

  Over the first two months of his son’s life, Shade had become adept at pretending around Lily that he felt all the fatherly feelings he was supposed to have. Instead, when he looked at him, he felt the same void he did with everyone except his wife. However, he had been successful at keeping everyone in the dark about Penni when she was a baby, so he saw no reason he couldn’t do the same with John.

  Lily came back downstairs, going into the kitchen and beginning to fix dinner.

  “I’m heading into town to go shopping with Beth tomorrow. One of our church members is ill, so we’re going to take some food and a few other things to her. It’s Cal’s mother.”

  Shade opened his mouth to protest but at her next words, it snapped closed.

  “She’s dying, so I’m going,” Lily stated in a tone of voice which said she was going whether he wanted her to or not. “Besides, Razer’s going with us, so we’ll be perfectly safe.”

  “You could have said that from the beginning.”

  “I could have, but then I wouldn’t have seen that look on your face,” Lily teased.

  Shade smiled wryly. Lily had become adept at teasing him. Motherhood suited her, giving her a confidence he had never seen in her before.

  She had also become even closer to Rachel, the two spending large amounts of time together since Rachel had moved into the clubhouse while Cash remodeled their fishing cabin into a home for the two of them.

  Lily had even gone to Mag’s house a couple of times. He had dropped her and John off then returned to pick them up when she called. No one would be crazy enough to attack Lily at that old bitch’s house.

  No trace had been found of Brooke, and her family hadn’t given Evie any information they could use. To top it off, Pastor Merrick seemed unworried by his wife’s absence when Knox had questioned him several times.

  “That fucker gives me the creeps. I don’t care if he’s a pastor or not,” Knox had told him.

  “He’s not concerned she’s missing?” Shade had asked sharply.

  Knox had shaken his head. “Said she goes on trips with her friends. Seems to think she’s laying on a beach somewhere, that the kid is with the grandmother. We’re checking it out. I’ve never seen a man deluding himself to the extent he is.”

  “That’s why Brooke picked him; he’s easily fooled and believes every word out of her lying mouth.”

  “If she goes for that type, why is she so hung up on you?” Knox had joked. Shade hadn’t thought it funny then, and he didn’t now. He should have taken care of Brooke after Evie’s attack.

  John wiggled in the bassinet as they ate a quiet dinner. After they had loaded the dishwasher, Shade packed him upstairs and played with him on the bed as Lily showered.

  She blow-dried her hair before lying down next to him on the bed. Then she lowered her gown and picked John up. He rooted for a brief second before latching on to his mother’s nipple.

  Shade laughed at Lily’s wince, rising off the bed. “I’m going to take my shower,” he said.

  Going to the bathroom, he stepped into the shower and turned the water on cold. He hadn’t touched Lily since before she had delivered the baby; as a result, his cock was nearly bursting after watching her nurse their child. The doctor had given them the go-ahead to have sex again, but Shade felt Lily wasn’t ready.

  Neither of them had brought up the details she had found out about him; therefore, Shade felt he should let Lily take the lead. She deserved to have time to think things through before they came back to the level of intimacy they’d had before. It couldn’t have been easy finding out you were married to a monster the same day you gave birth to his child.

  Shade managed to get his raging hard-on under control. When he went back into the bedroom, Lily wasn’t there. For a second, Shade’s heart stopped until he heard her singing from the next room.

  She sang to John every night when she put him to sleep, not that he would sleep long. He awoke every three hours like clockwork.

  Shade was watching television with Lily sleeping next to him when he heard John waking. Shade quietly got out of the bed without disturbing her as he went to the nursery.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, little man, but it’s just me.”

  Shade changed his diaper and laid him back down before going downstairs to make him a bottle.

  Lily had diligently pumped her milk, telling him it was so he would be able to give John the occasional bottle. She believed it would help them bond.

  Shade went back upstairs, lifting his wailing son into his arms then sitting down in the rocking chair with him. Shade placed the bottle in his mouth and watched him suck the milk down.

  Lily was wrong; he felt no different than when he had given a bottle to Penni or one of Razer’s kids.

  His son’s eyes drooped as he sucked.

  “Twinkle, twinkle little star…” Shade sang.

  His son’s blue eyes opened, tearing up before jerking his mouth away. Then he began to scream.

  “I think you scared him.” Lily giggled, walking forward.

  Shade gratefully relinquished his wailing infant. “I scare everyone.”

  “Not me,” Lily said, taking his place in the rocking chair. “At least, not as much anymore,” she clarified at his raised brow.

  “I’ll do some work while you show up my singing talents,” he teased, watching the two of them together until he made himself leave. The look on her face when she stared at their child always captivated him. It was like she was holding a miracle in her hands.

  Shade was working on his laptop when Lily came to bed. He shut it before turning off the light. Lily rolled toward him, laying her head on his chest and her arm over his stomach.

  Shade gave a brief laugh as he twirled a tendril of her hair around his finger.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I was just remembering, when we first started sleeping together, I was the one who held you, but now you’re the one who holds me.”

  Lily started to rise. “I didn’t—”

  “Stay,” Shade said, pressing down on her back until she lay relaxed against him again.r />
  “Shade, I don’t believe those reports.”

  “Lily…” He wasn’t going to let her believe another lie about him, and he wasn’t about to go back to the last year of fearing she would find out the truth. Her finding out had been a relief in a sense, taking the weight of fear away.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t care about The Last Riders. I won’t believe it. Don’t tell me you don’t care about Penni, Beth, or our child, either.” Lily’s voice trembled. “I won’t believe you. Not everyone loves the same way. You just show and feel it differently from the rest of us.”

  “I buy that I’m different,” Shade agreed as Lily began kissing his chest, moving down toward his stomach.

  “You are.” Lily leaned over him, slipping the sheet down from his hips and baring his hardening cock. Her hand gently explored him, her tongue licking the tip before she placed only the head into her mouth.

  Shade groaned. “Lily … If you’re going to suck my cock, suck all of it.” His hand went down to her head, his fingers threading through her hair.

  “If you love me, how can you not love all the different pieces of me? John, Beth, Razer, and everyone else in that clubhouse have a piece of my heart. You may own the largest part of me, but you’ll have to share it with the rest of the people I give my love to.

  “You don’t have to love them as much as I do. Say, for example, if you can’t find it in that heart of yours to love Bliss”—her mouth glided over his cock, going down on him farther before sliding back to the crest—“or Jewell”—down her mouth went again, that time taking him deeper before going back up again—“or Stori”—Shade groaned when she took his cock to the back of her throat before repeating the move again—“or Ember, I’m cool with that.”

  Shade’s laugh was cut off abruptly when his wife’s teeth grazed the sensitive underside of his cock. His hips arched when Lily’s mouth came down on him as she quit teasing him and began to suck on him the why he liked.

  “I’m going to come,” Shade warned.

  Lily lifted her head, rising to her knees on the bed and placing her legs on each side of his hips while she bunched her gown up to her waist.

  Shade stared at her bare pussy as she poised herself over his cock. Watching her slide herself down onto his cock was the most erotic thing he had ever witnessed. He watched her reaction carefully to make sure she wasn’t hurting herself, and the only thing he saw was ecstasy as it filled her expression when she began to move up and down.

  Shade reached up, sliding down the straps of her gown until the top was bunched at her waist, leaving her breasts bare as she fucked herself on his cock. He started to thrust up into her, but she stopped with her pussy flush against his pelvis.

  “If you move, I’ll stop,” Lily threatened with mock seriousness, repeating the words he had often told her when they were having sex.

  Shade nodded, bringing his knees up so she could lean back against his thighs as he let her have her way. Thankfully, she began moving again.

  “I love having your dick in me. Have I told you that before?” Her breasts swung as she fucked him while she licked her bottom lip. “I do, almost as much as I love sucking your dick.”

  “Woman, I don’t know how much longer I can take you talking dirty to me while you’re fucking yourself on my dick.”

  “Then you’re going to love this.” She leaned down, pressing her nipples into his chest, her teeth nipping his ear. “Fuck me.”

  His hands went to her hair and jerking her head forward so her mouth met his, he devoured the warm recesses, dueling with her tongue for control. Then he flipped her until she was lying on her back, his cock plunging to the hilt as her thighs gripped his hips, pulling him to her tighter.

  “I want to get a tattoo.”

  “You’re telling me that when I’m fucking you?” Shade took a nipple into his mouth, biting down.

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Lily’s nails dug into his shoulders as she came.

  “Angel, with me, being bad is always a good thing.” The thought of his mark on her nearly drove him insane.

  He plunged his cock inside of her, pounding her hard enough to shake the lamp on the bedside table. His mouth went to the curve of her breast, sucking on her flesh as he gave her the release he had been holding back for the last two months.

  He shuddered as the last of his climax played out. Then, when he was able, he rolled off his wife to give her breathing room and began brushing the hair back from her face.

  “I’m going to have to talk dirty to you more often.”

  “Just make sure we’re alone when you do, or you’re going to be embarrassed.”

  Lily’s expression turned serious. “I made myself a promise when I was in the hospital with John. If I was strong enough to go through giving birth, I’m strong enough to handle anything. I’m never going to forget your face when I walked down that path.” Lily buried her face in his neck. “I should have trusted that you could handle Brooke. I’ll never forgive myself for that. She’s insane, Shade. She truly is.”

  “I’m not going to argue with that assessment.”

  “Every time you walk out that door, I’m afraid you won’t be back. I should have told you in the truck what she said to me. I hate myself for that and walking away from you, and the members all hate me now because of it, too.” Lily’s bottom lip trembled.

  Shade tugged her face upward. “Don’t you dare say that. It was my fault. I should have told you the whole truth about my past. Actually, it’s a relief that we don’t have any more secrets between us.”

  Lily lowered her eyes. “No more secrets,” she agreed. “And I’m going to become strong and capable like Rachel and Killyama.”

  Shade rolled his eyes, recalling how she had been unsuccessfully channeling Sex Piston the previous year. “Let’s not get carried away. Killyama might be more than I can handle.”

  “Aww, you could handle Killyama,” Lily bragged confidently.

  Shade shook his head in disagreement, thinking his wife had entirely too much faith in him. “Angel, I’m man enough to admit that I’m not up for that job.”

  Chapter 93

  “You ready?” Beth asked as she and Razer waited patiently for Lily to grab her purse and jacket.

  “Yes, thanks again, Fat Louise. I really appreciate you babysitting.”

  Fat Louise was holding John as he sucked on his pacifier.

  “No problem. I’m going to enjoy taking care of him.”

  “I’ll be right outside in the yard. The men and I are going to tie some things down before the storm hits tonight,” Shade told her, walking outside with the others as they left.

  “Damn.” A strong wind struck them as they walked down the pathway.

  “Make sure you don’t stay in town long. You should wait until tomorrow—”

  “We’ll be fine, Shade,” Beth said. “It will be good for Lily to get out and get some fresh air.”

  “She’ll get plenty of that today,” Shade said sarcastically, watching a hard breeze blow the women’s hair into their faces.

  Lily reached up, giving him a brief kiss before getting inside Beth’s car. “We’ll be fine. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  “You better be. If you get caught out in this storm, I’ll be pissed. The forecasters are predicting tornadoes a couple of towns away.”

  “I won’t let them stay long,” Razer promised, setting the Crockpot on the floorboard of the backseat before climbing behind the steering wheel. “We’re going to stop and pick the twins up at Evie’s after they visit Cal’s mother. I don’t want them out in the storm any more than you do. The clubhouse has a basement; Evie and King’s house doesn’t.”

  “Bye. Love you.” Lily blew him a kiss as they pulled out.

  Shade would have reached out and caught it, but he knew an amused Train and Rider would never let him live it down.

  “Get to work,” Shade snapped. “Where’s the rope? We have to get all this shit tied down
before the storm hits, or that gazebo everyone loves fucking in will be torn apart.”

  Shade and Rider went to the backyard to secure the gazebo.

  “Think the picnic tables will be okay?” Rider asked.

  Shade reached out, easily lifting a corner of it into the air. “We should tie it down to be careful. I’d rather be irritated tomorrow having to untie all this than have it blow down the hillside into the road and cause someone to wreck.”

  They placed a couple of stakes and tied it down as Train gathered the trashcans, placing them in the shed which held the lawnmower. It took them over an hour to secure everything. When they finished, Rider went inside to grab them some beers.

  Shade frowned down at his watch. The sky was beginning to darken, and the wind was getting stronger.

  “Son of a bitch. This is going to be a nasty storm,” Train commented.

  Lily, Beth, and Razer should be back any minute. If they weren’t back soon, he would call. He surveyed the yard critically for anything they had missed. His house was against the hillside, but he had reinforced it against mudslides before he had begun building it. The huge trees were swaying. Although he had taken down a couple of them, there was one he knew he should have taken down. However, the tree cutter he had hired had assured him that, if it fell, it wouldn’t touch the house.

  A vicious wind struck just then, nearly knocking them off their feet.

  “The winds are getting stronger. I’m going to call Fat Louise and get her to—” Shade’s words ended in horror as both he and Rider began running toward his house. Train came outside, dropping the beer and yelling to the brothers inside for help.

  The tree cutter had been right; the tree hadn’t fallen on his house directly, but a massive branch had broken loose from the trunk, landing on the back of the house and causing it to crumble like a foot on a tin can.

  Shade was unaware of the sounds coming from his chest as he began to dig in the debris, looking for his child.

  Viper tried to pull him back. “Let us, brother.”

  Shade jerked away, his hands a bloody mess as he dug through glass and broken wood. He had volunteered for several natural disasters, digging family members out for terrified relatives, never dreaming that one day he would be doing the same for a member of his own family.