Shade

  “No problem,” Cash said, catching the keys in his hand. “You pissed at me for not pulling my weight, you should—”

  “I’m not pissed at you, Cash. Brother, I’m glad you’re back and doing well. It’s just I haven’t spent that much time with Lily lately, and with the baby due, I’d like to,” Shade admitted, telling the partial truth.

  With Brooke going back and forth from Georgia to Treepoint, his sense of foreboding told him she was up to something. The next one she took, he wanted to follow her and to do that, he needed Cash back at work. He had talked to Cash’s physical therapist, and she had told him she was getting ready to release him.

  “I’ll be there bright and early.”

  Shade nodded.

  “Shade?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why was Rachel at your house tonight? She’s never been there before.”

  “Lily called and told me she had lost the church store’s keys, and she was going to run into town and borrow Rachel’s. Since Rachel would be closing the store, and she’s still staying at Mag’s, I suggested Lily call her and see if she minded dropping them off to her.”

  “She saw me with Bliss in the gazebo.”

  Shade narrowed his eyes on Cash, studying his reaction. “Did it matter what she saw? She’s the wrong type of woman for you. Besides, you’d have to put up with her brothers,” Shade warned. “She’s the type of woman who would never fit in the clubhouse … unless…” He stopped, bending to pick up an empty condom wrapper which must have fallen out of Cash’s pocket before tossing it into the trashcan.

  “Unless?” Cash prompted.

  “Hmm…? Oh, unless she loved you. Then I think she would do anything for you. She’s a Porter, though, so remember that.”

  “What does her being a Porter have to do with anything?”

  “They’re hot-headed, hot-blooded, and they don’t give a shit what anyone in town thinks. Now that I think about it, I think she would fit in just fine. I might mention that to Rider, Lucky, or … Train. They’re always looking for new women to come to the parties.”

  Cash stiffened on the bed before shaking his head at him. “You’re a dick.”

  “Don’t tell Lily,” Shade joked, going out of the bedroom.

  “Believe me, brother; she already knows.”

  Chapter 85

  Shade came in the clubhouse around three in the morning to find the brothers sitting around, drinking beer. He studied the men’s bruises and beat-up faces.

  “Who in the fuck did you get in a fight with?” Shade snarled. He was already in a foul mood, and seeing the brothers had gotten into a fight without him had only added salt to the wound.

  Viper winced, taking a drink of his beer. “We went on a ride today so Cash could break in his new bike. Stopped for a drink in Jamestown, and the Freedom Riders were there. It was Rider’s fault.”

  Sitting with Bliss on his lap, Rider was shaking his head before Viper finished his sentence.

  Shade narrowed his eyes on Rider.

  “I was provoked,” Rider defended himself.

  “How?” Shade growled.

  “He asked me to scoot my chair over,” he said defensively. “Then the fucker threw the first punch.”

  Shade strode to the bar, taking a bottle of whiskey and pouring himself a glass. He had been gone for a couple of days, and this was what had happened. He took a long drink before setting his glass down on the counter.

  “Some good came out of it. Cash found a source who will call if she hears anything, and we got to beat the shit out of Scorpion and a few of his men,” Viper said.

  “I’m glad you had such a fucking good time,” he said, taking another drink. “Where the hell is Cash, by the way?”

  “We dropped him off at Mag’s,” Rider replied.

  “Your trip didn’t go well?” Lucky’s amused voice came from between Jewell’s tits where his face was buried.

  “No, it didn’t. Brooke stayed at her mother’s the whole time. She didn’t leave once. It was a completely wasted trip.” He poured himself more whiskey into the glass.

  “I wouldn’t say that. How was the convention?” That time, it was Viper’s amused voice which had spoken up while he tried not to smile.

  “How the hell do you think it was? A convention room with over a thousand doomsday preppers. I’m never doing one again. The swag was gone in an hour, I’ve got orders I don’t know how we’re going to fill, and I’m not going on a road trip with Nickel again.”

  “Where is he?” The brothers looked around, only then realizing the brother hadn’t come into the room with him.

  “I made him get out of the truck in town. I couldn’t take another five minutes with him. The brothers got the bladder of a pea and had to stop to take a piss every five minutes. I left when he went in the diner to use the restroom. One of you can go get his ass.”

  Rider stood up. “I’ll go get him.”

  Shade set his glass down yet picked the whiskey bottle up. “I’m going home to Lily. Don’t call me unless the clubhouse is on fire or one of you fuckers decides to get in another fight.”

  “Uh, Shade.” Viper stopped him with his hand on the door to the kitchen. “Lily’s home, babysitting Razer’s kids. Beth needed a break from them, so Razer’s giving her one upstairs.” His president couldn’t keep the snicker out of his voice.

  Shade’s lips tightened into a tight line. Walking back to the bar, he set the whiskey bottle back down on the counter before walking silently out of the room, wondering if the Freedom Riders needed a new enforcer.

  * * *

  He was crossing the parking lot after leaving the factory early, since Train had said he would finish the day when he noticed Cash, who seemed to be getting off his bike. However, when he saw him, he sat back down.

  “I’m going to Rosie’s for a drink. Want to go?”

  Shade hesitated, seeing the manipulative gleam in Cash’s eyes. Did the brother seriously think he could pull something on him?

  “Sure, Lily won’t be home for a while.” Shade got on his bike, interested to see what Cash had up his sleeve.

  Rosie’s had a few vehicles out front when they pulled up. He was surprised Cash voluntarily wanted to go in with the Porters’ truck parked outside.

  Climbing off his bike, he then followed Cash in.

  The Porter brothers were sitting in Rosie’s, having a beer.

  Shade saw the determined expression on Cash’s face as he walked over to their table to greet them. Their hate-filled expressions and lack of response had Cash gritting his teeth loud enough for him to hear. Shade wanted to laugh at Cash’s predicament. Hell, he had only had to deal with Beth when he had wanted Lily, but Cash was stuck having to deal with not one but three assholes.

  “Mind if we join you?” Shade asked, tempted to let Cash handle this on his own for trying to trick him into helping, but he couldn’t desert a brother who was facing a firing squad.

  They didn’t wait for acquiescence, both of them taking a seat at the table. The Porter brothers might hate Cash, but Shade was their regular customer, so he would be harder to piss off.

  The men looked like the beer in their stomachs was turning sour as Cash and Shade both ordered their drinks.

  “What do you want, Cash?” Tate didn’t hesitate to ask why Cash would be willing to sit down at the table with them.

  Cash decided to take the devil by the horns and be honest with the three brothers. “We need to come to an understanding and cut out this bullshit between us.” Cash began his talk to get in the good graces of Rachel’s brothers.

  “Why? It works for us.” An evil grin came to Tate’s face. “This has to do with Rachel, doesn’t it?”

  “Why does his talking to us have anything to do with Rachel?”

  God, Dustin has to be the slowest of these idiots, Shade thought in pity.

  While his two older brothers rolled their eyes at the question, realization slowly hit Rachel’s youngest brother.

&
nbsp; “Hell, no.” Dustin’s reaction mirrored his older brothers’.

  “We can keep fighting between us, and we’ll all lose Rachel, or we can pretend to get along and keep Rachel in Treepoint. It’s up to you. I’m willing to tolerate you three for Rachel.”

  Without another word, the three brothers got up from the table, leaving Cash and him staring at their backs as they left the bar.

  “That went well,” Cash said drily.

  “Did you expect any different? You four have spent years pissing each other off. It’s going to take more than a meet to change that.”

  Cash studied Shade speculatively. “I gave Lily my vote for your marker.”

  Shade’s amusement died. “Yes, you did. So?”

  “I want your help to bring those assholes around,” Cash laid out his terms.

  “I promised you my marker, not a fucking miracle.”

  “Shade, you’re the most manipulative bastard I know. If anyone can get those assholes to tolerate me, it’s you. Can you think of a bigger challenge for your skills?”

  “Actually, no.”

  Mick set the beer down in front of them.

  “You’re buying,” Shade told Cash, picking up his.

  * * *

  “What are we doing here?” Cash asked as they sat outside the movie theater.

  “Trying to pay you back.”

  Before Cash could ask any more questions, the movie let out and the moviegoers came through the doors. They sat in silence while Shade searched the exiting crowd for the one he was wanting to talk to.

  “You sneaky son of a bitch.” Cash’s voice was filled with admiration of Shade’s skills.

  As the two boys they were waiting for drew closer to where they were sitting, their gazes were all for the bikes.

  “Hi, Shade, Cash.” Jace and his friend came to a stop at the bikes.

  “Hey, Jace, Cal,” Shade responded to their greeting.

  Jace and Cal were friends who came from opposite sides of town. Jace’s father had been one of the wealthiest men in town until The Last Riders had arrived, while Cal’s parents were lucky to put dinner on the table. It was a mismatched pair, but the two were close friends.

  “Can we talk?” Shade deliberately made it seem as if he was taking the boys into his confidence.

  “Sure.” Jace puffed up his chest at the thought of someone like Shade seeking him out, while Cal’s expression became impassive and watchful.

  “Your dad will be here any minute.”

  Shade had to admire the kid for trying to watch out for his friend.

  “This won’t take long. I have a favor to ask. Cash here wants to make friends with those cousins of yours. I was hoping you could hook him up with a helping hand. Of course, I could help you out with something you’re wanting real badly, too. I have an extra bike I don’t need any more. You would have to get your dad’s permission and get your motorcycle license, but it would be yours, free of charge.”

  “Why do you want to become friends with them? They hate your guts.” Of course the boy was a Porter, and he was suspicious of their motives, despite the gleam in his eyes when the motorcycle had been mentioned.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Shade saw Cash wince at the blunt question.

  “I was hoping you could help me out with that problem. I’m going to be straight with you: I don’t give a shit about your cousins, but Rachel won’t go out with me without their permission,” Cash admitted.

  As the two boys looked at each other and burst into laughter, Cash shifted uncomfortably on his bike.

  “You have a whole clubhouse of chicks, and Rach is giving you trouble?”

  At Cash’s silence, their laughter continued.

  “Do we have a deal?” Shade intervened before Cash made another relative of Rachel’s an enemy.

  “Yeah, I’ll help. But let’s be clear: if he hurts my cousin again, I’ll tell my dad, and believe me, if you think Rachel’s brothers are a pain to deal with, he will become your own personal nightmare.”

  “I have no intention of hurting Rachel,” Cash said through clenched teeth.

  “Cool, it’s settled then,” Shade intervened once again, seeing Cash’s temper wearing thin. He shot him a warning look.

  “I’m going hunting with them this weekend. We’ve been dying to hunt on your private land. We could stay the night at your cabin. That would win some brownie points with them.”

  “All right. Set it up. I’ll pick you guys up Saturday morning at five a.m.”

  “We better go,” Shade warned.

  Everyone in town knew the cherry-colored Porsche at the red light, ready to pull into the theater’s parking lot, was Jace’s father’s car.

  “Later,” Cash said, starting his motor.

  While both men rode out as Drake pulled in, Cash lifted his hand in acknowledgment. Shade shook his head, not missing the gloating look on Cash’s face. The poor fucker was actually looking forward to getting the Porters on his side; however, Shade would rather make friends with a pack of rabid dogs.

  * * *

  He opened the door to his house later that night, seeing Lily sitting on the floor beside the couch, going through her purse.

  “What are you doing?”

  Lily looked up, smiling at his worried question. “You’re going to be mad if I tell you, so before I do, could you help me up?”

  Shade hastily walked to her, bending down then easily lifting her to her feet.

  “Thank you.”

  “Now tell me what happened.”

  “Nothing. I over-estimated the size of my belly. I didn’t realize that I couldn’t move the table back once I scooted down from the couch.”

  “You actually wanted to sit on the floor?” Shade asked patiently.

  Lily nodded. “I was looking for my driver’s license. I must have dropped it the other day when I switched purses.”

  “Did you find it?”

  “No. I must be getting careless, trying to get everything ready for the baby. I’ll go into town tomorrow to get a new one.”

  “Why didn’t you wait until I came home?”

  “Because I can do some things for myself,” she said stubbornly.

  “It didn’t seem like you were doing so well when I walked in the door.”

  “Don’t pick on me. I’m pregnant,” Lily teased, reaching up to kiss him. “How was the movie?”

  “It was good,” Shade said, picking her up into his arms then carrying her up the steps.

  Lily laid her head on his shoulder. “I didn’t know Cash was a fan of romantic movies.”

  “I didn’t, either, until he asked me. He was afraid the brothers would bust his balls if he asked any of them to go see it with them.”

  “You’re a good friend.”

  “I try.” Shade took her shoes off, noticing her feet were swollen. “You need to stay off your feet more.”

  “I will, but we were busy today.” She yawned. “There’s so many in town needing our help, and more and more people are coming in each day. Brooke asked us to make several bags of clothes and household items for a new couple that recently moved to town.”

  “You don’t seem too happy about it,” Shade said, surprised. Lily never seemed to resent giving to people who came into the store whether they attended church or not.

  “I’m happy she was able to help them. It’s just that she gave them so much, I don’t know how I’m going to replace it all at one time.”

  Shade’s hands went under Lily’s dress, pulling off her underwear before helping her to sit up. When she did, he tugged off her dress, laying it carefully on the bottom of the bed before reaching behind her back and unsnapping her bra.

  “Shade, I can undress myself.” Lily watched as he took off his own T-shirt before toeing off his boots.

  Unsnapping his jeans, he saw her smile widen.

  “I fixed dinner for you. Aren’t you hungry?”

  “I’m very hungry.” Shade pushed her back to the bed, parting her th
ighs.

  Lily had grown more beautiful every day of her pregnancy. Her breasts had become even fuller, and even better, it had an added benefit of making them more sensitive. He could bring her to climax merely by playing with her nipples.

  Teasing the tip of one with his tongue, he brought it to a peak. “Close your eyes.”

  Lily obediently did.

  Shade rose up. Sitting on the side of the bed, he reached for his jeans where he pulled out a small box, placing it on top of her stomach.

  “Open your eyes.”

  She followed orders, seeing the jewelry box perched precariously on her tummy. Reaching out, she took it and opened it. Shade watched her reaction as her gaze returned to his.

  “They’re beautiful, but I don’t usually wear earrings. They’re clip-ons?”

  Shade reached out, taking them away from her. “They aren’t earrings; they’re nipple clamps.” He took them out of the box. “I had them specially designed to match your eyes. I bought the purple diamonds from Australia and then had a jeweler add them to the nipple clamps I bought.” Shade placed one on the hardened tip of the breast he had been playing with, bending down to tease the other one before placing the nipple ring onto it. He placed them loosely. He would gradually get her used to them being tighter after the baby was born.

  “Ouch.”

  “Did I hurt you? I didn’t…”

  “They pinch, but they don’t hurt. Your baby just kicked. I don’t think he approves.”

  Shade ran his hand over the mound of her stomach, his voice lowering and gentling. “Go to sleep, little one. Daddy wants to play.”

  Tears filled Lily’s eyes. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you call yourself that.”

  “Daddy?”

  Lily nodded at his question.

  He bent lower, kissing her stomach before rising. “I guess you’re not the only one who’s getting ready. It won’t be much longer, just a couple more months.” He smiled down wickedly at her. “We better take advantage of him still being inside of you while we can.” He reached out, pressing on the side of the nipple clip.

  “Oh!” Lily moaned as the clamps began to vibrate.

  Shade nudged Lily’s thighs apart, sliding between them. He placed his cock at her opening, letting himself glide inside her wet pussy and she arched underneath him, taking him deeper. Their eyes met, each sinking into the whirlpool of desire which drove their bodies together.