Shade's Fall (30 page)

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.

Shade and the other men had spent the afternoon working in the basement. They had packed out the burnt furniture and workout equipment. The cleanup had been completed and new drywall painted. All that was left was to replace the destroyed items and get new carpeting.

At dinner, the women decided that Evie and Ember would go into town tomorrow and replace the furniture; Viper had already ordered the workout equipment.

Lily ate, listening to everyone making plans. Going into the kitchen afterward, she stood at the counter as Rider and Train argued over the size of the television that would replace the one downstairs. She had never understood the need for men to have such large televisions.

Jewell caught her amused gaze, correctly deciphering its cause. “It’s like their dicks, they think bigger is always better.” Lily had taken a drink of water and almost choked on the snide comment.

When Train and Rider went to the couch off the kitchen, continuing the argument, Shade and Viper joined them as the women congregated in the kitchen.

“I think bigger is better, too,” Bliss said, grinning while stacking the dishes in the sink.

Beth came to stand next to Lily at the counter. Beth’s phone gave out a tiny ping and she reached into her pocket, pulling it out. Lily looked over when Beth started laughing.

“Sex Piston and Stud eloped this morning. They’re on their way to spend their honeymoon on Knox and Diamond’s island.”

The whole group of women were happy for the couple. No one was surprised that Sex Piston had eloped. That woman would have a hard time being romantic and giving vows of love in front of a crowd.

“I would never elope. I want a big summer wedding with all the bells and whistles. It will be so big that it would take two years to plan,” Raci said dreamily.

“I want a quiet wedding with a short dress and just a few guests,” Evie said, pouring herself some tea.

“I loved my wedding,” Beth said with a soft sigh.

“Me, too,” Winter added. “I loved having it in the backyard.”

“I’m not getting married. I’m having too much fun.” Stori grimaced at the other women’s dream filled expressions.

“What about you, Lily?” asked Jewell.

“Me?”

“Oh, Lord!” Beth shook her head at the other women, giving Lily an affectionate glance.

“What was that?” Winter asked, looking back and forth between the two sisters.

“Do not get Lily started on her fantasy wedding,” Beth warned.

The other women turned to look at an innocent Lily. The girl never spent a dime on herself if she could help it; they were having a hard time believing that she’d want something elaborate.

“Dream wedding?” Evie asked curiously.

“Lily is a hopeless romantic. She’s planned it since she was sixteen and saw a wedding on television.”

“There was a wedding in December and it was snowing just a little bit. They got married in the backyard of a tiny church. It was beautiful,” Lily breathed with dreams in her violet eyes for once.

“What kind of dress?” Evie egged her on.

“My mother’s. I have it packed away. It’s stunning with long sleeves made of lace, but they’re off the shoulder, and it has a long lace veil.”

“How do you know it would even fit?” Raci asked.

“Oh, it fits. I wanted to wear it, too, but I couldn’t get my big butt in it. It fit Lily perfectly,” Beth replied.

Lily playfully swatted her sister for telling she had tried on the dress.

“I would have thought you would have wanted a spring wedding,” Jewell said thoughtfully.

“No, I love winter. I love seeing snow on the ground, and when it’s snowing, I don’t think anything is more beautiful,” Lily breathed.

“I know of one thing,” Beth said softly to Lily, taking her sister’s hand. Lily was grateful when she changed the subject, turning to Evie. “I’ll go into town with you tomorrow and check on the carpet I ordered for the house. I want to move into the house next weekend if it’s delivered on time.”

The women agreed, eager for any reason to shop.

Beth didn’t release Lily’s hand. “Let’s go look at my house. You can tell me what you think.” Beth then tugged Lily out the door to the path.

They walked up the steps to the small porch and Beth opened the door, flicking on the lights.

Lily was amazed at how much the house suited Beth. It was much larger on the inside than the outside made it appear. It had a sizeable kitchen, and while she hadn’t wanted a large living room, she had extra space off the kitchen with a family area and a fireplace. It was a house that, even without carpet and furniture, was very homey.

Beth led her down a hallway into the four bedrooms. The master bedroom had its own private bath and Lily could see that Beth and Razer would be very happy there.

“It’s beautiful, Beth. You and Razer have built a home to be proud of.”

“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Lily, I’m sorry I haven’t let you see it before now. I was so afraid about you finding out about the club that I didn’t show you so I could protect you.”

Lily nodded, still a little hurt, but she understood. Beth had wanted to avoid hurting her. Besides, Lily was aware she hadn’t taken it well when she
had
found out.

“You should have put a shower in like Shade has in his bedroom,” Lily said, staring at her sister’s small shower.

“I haven’t seen it,” Beth said curiously.

“It’s the bomb. Of course, it’s too late now with all your tile-work laid, but his should be in a magazine.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” Lily enthused.

They walked back to the clubhouse where the women members were still in the kitchen; the men were drinking beer and relaxing in front of the television after working on the basement all day.

“I’ll be right back,” Beth said, going down to the basement.

Razer gave Lily a curious look. She shrugged back, giving him an innocent expression. She knew what was going to happen. That shower was freaking awesome.

Winter’s cell phone went off with a text message. A look of surprise crossed her face before she put it back in her pocket and went downstairs. This time, it was Viper giving her a questioning glance. Lily shrugged again, taking a few nuts out of the bowl sitting on the counter. It didn’t take long. Both Razer and Viper’s cell phones went off next with text messages. Reading the messages, both men went down to the basement with grim looks on their faces.

“What’s going on?” Evie asked.

“I told Beth about Shade’s shower,” Lily confessed.

“Uh-oh,” Evie moaned. “Do you know how long it took for her to pick out that tile?”

Lily shook her head. “I told her it was too late.”

“What’s going on?” Shade asked, coming up behind her.

“She told Beth about your shower and then Beth told Winter. Winter’s wanted to redo the bathroom in Viper’s room. Want to bet he’s going to be shelling out some cold hard cash?” Evie answered.

Shade looked down at her and Lily couldn’t resist giving him a mischievous smile.

“You’re not causing trouble, are you?” His arm went around her shoulder.

“Can I help it if that shower is a work of art?” Lily said jokingly.

Winter and Beth came back upstairs with determined expressions on their faces. The men, on the other hand, sent accusing looks toward Lily who tried to hide her laughter. She didn’t want to speculate how much it would cost to put in a shower like that.

“I can’t blame them. That shower has given me many pleasurable moments,” Jewell joked.

“Me, too. That rainfall showerhead is gold-plated,” Evie agreed “Shade designed it himself when he moved to the basement after Beth moved into the club.”

“I love the music that plays to the beat of the water,” Dawn shuddered.

Lily stiffened at the second comment, and by Dawn’s comment, Lily pulled away; all her amusement had died.

“It’s getting late. If I’m going to work tomorrow, I need to get some sleep,” Lily excused herself. “Night everyone.” She left the room to mumbled goodnights and went upstairs.

Opening the bedroom door, she saw the new clothes she had purchased. Going through the bags, she picked out one of the least-expensive skirts and blouses, a pair of jeans and another top. Both outfits would do her until she could return the others and had the money credited to Shade’s account. She would get enough money out of her checking account to pay him back for the two outfits she was keeping and the pretty plum dress she had worn today.

Lily was hanging the outfits she was planning on keeping in the closet when Shade walked into the bedroom. “What are you doing?”

“Hanging up my new clothes,” Lily replied, stepping back from the closet and closing the door.

“Why didn’t you hang up the rest?” Shade asked, eyeing the numerous bags still on the floor.

“Because I’m not keeping them.” Lily turned away from him, going to the dresser to brush her hair.

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t afford them.”

“I paid for them.”

“Exactly.
You
paid for them, I didn’t.”

Shade’s mouth tightened. “If you’re angry, that’s fine, but you’re keeping the clothes.”

“No. I. Am. Not! I’m taking them back.” Lily went to the chair, picking up the nightgown and robe before going to the shower, barely managing not to slam the door behind her.

She was angry that she even cared how many women had been in his darned shower.

She washed her hair, picking out a different shampoo than she had the last time. The fragrance was vaguely familiar to her; then it dawned on her that she had smelled the scent on Ember’s hair when she had sat next to her at dinner. She rinsed her hair off and realized there were so many shampoos because all the women had used the bathroom.

Lily pressed her forehead against the shower wall, remembering Shade’s own well-stocked bathroom closet. She had been a fool for not realizing it sooner, that the women were in his bedroom enough to keep a regular stock of shampoo in his shower.

She slowly stepped out and dried off. She would have rewashed her hair, but she didn’t know whose shampoo was whose. She was going to the store tomorrow when she got off to buy her own toiletries and return all the clothes at one time.

When she went out into the bedroom, Shade was sitting at the desk, going through his email. Lily saw the empty store bags sitting on the chair. She lifted one of the bags and the tags fell to the floor.

She stormed angrily to the closet, opening the door and seeing all the clothes hanging up. The shoe boxes were even neatly stacked on the floor underneath the hanging clothes.

“I can’t believe you did this! I told you I was taking the clothes back.”

“And I told you that you weren’t,” Shade replied coldly.

Lily stood with her hands on her hips. She would just keep the clothes and give him the money for them. At least she could take the shoes back. They were the most expensive items and there were no tags that he could remove that would keep her from returning them.

Lily bent down, opening one of the boxes and staring in shock at what he had done. One of the shoes was missing. Going down on her knees, she opened each of the boxes and saw each one contained only a single shoe.

She rose to her feet, holding one tennis shoe in her hand. “Where are the other shoes?”

“I’ve put them away. When you want to wear a particular pair, I’ll get you the match.”

“I’m not keeping the shoes.”

“Doesn’t look like you have much choice, does it?” Lily could hear the satisfaction in his voice.

“You think you have it all figured out. Fine, I’ll keep them and the clothes, too. In fact, I’ll share them with all the women in the house. They all share clothes. They’ll love the shoes.”

Shade had the audacity to laugh. “They wouldn’t be seen dead in those clothes.”

Lily had a temper-flare, believing he was shoving her face into the fact that there was no comparison between her and the other women.

“That’s fine then.” Lily did an about-face. “I’ll give you the money for everything. I don’t want to share anything with them, either. Not their clothes, not their shampoo, and certainly not you.” With that, she threw the tennis shoe at his stunned face and he barely dodged it. He probably hadn’t believed she would actually throw the shoe at him until it had almost hit him in his face.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, proud of herself, wishing she had the other one to throw at him, too. “Do you mind getting me the match?” Lily unwisely mocked him.

Shade got up from the chair, his face impassive. “That robe belongs to Bliss. She didn’t need it because she doesn’t wear it.”

Lily shrieked in anger, jerking the robe off before she threw it at him. He grabbed it, tossing it to the chair.

“The nightgown belongs to Raci. She sleeps in the nude, so she lent it to you.”

Lily wasn’t so far gone that she was about to tear the gown off. Instead, she went back to the closet, getting one of the new pajama sets she had bought. Jerking it off the hanger, she turned back around and ran into Shade’s chest, who had come up behind her while she was going through the closet.

“I thought you didn’t want them?” This time he was mocking her.

“I don’t, jerk-face, but I have to wear something.”

“I don’t see why.” His hands went to her hips, clenching the material of the gown in his hands, bunching it up until it came up to her calves.

Lily released her last remnants of temper and used one of the moves that had worked for her in the past. She raised her knee.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Shade moved his thigh, blocking her knee and then throwing her off-balance so her body fell against his.

She became determined to take that smug look off his face. Using another move that had worked successfully before, she reached out, resolving to crush his nuts and make him useless to any woman.