He shut the bedroom door behind them, seeing her happy expression. She thought she had manipulated him into forgiving her, and he begrudgingly admitted to himself that she had. It was a sad day when he found himself wrapped around a woman’s finger, and he hadn’t even fucked her yet. He was going to be in deep shit when she learned she could manipulate him with sex.

“Fuck,” he muttered as they went down the steps.

“Did you say something?” Lily asked, looking back over her shoulder with a soft smile.

“I think I’m having crow for dinner.”

* * *

Shade watched Lily, Beth, and Winter do the dishes as he played cards with Razer and Cash at the kitchen table. Lily blushed when she caught his gaze on her.

Before dinner, they had been playing around, and she had run up the stairs ahead of him. He had then caught her watching Raci and Train fucking in the room across from theirs. He had seen nothing except embarrassment and curiosity at her catching sight of Train and Raci. For a brief second, he had thought he might even have seen a brief flash of longing, but he couldn’t be sure. However, she hadn’t spiraled into the panic attack the sight once would have once caused.

It was almost Thanksgiving, and the woman had made huge strides since Halloween. He hadn’t touched her intimately since the night he had spanked her; instead, he had used every opportunity possible to fuel her desire without giving her the pleasure he expertly judged she wanted to experience again.

Viper walked into the room and threw Winter over his shoulder, leaving with her yelling at him to put her down. Shade’s grin widened when Lily winced in sympathy at the sound of the loud whack from the other side of the door.

“Brother, you’ve got it bad,” Razer muttered, throwing a bill into the pile of cash in the middle of the table.

Shade raised a brow, throwing his own bill in.

“You’re one to talk. How’s the new bathroom look?” Shade said snidely.

Lily took out a bucket of champagne on ice with a ribbon tied around the bottle. Turning, she handed it to Beth. “I wish you many years of happiness, sister.”

Razer got up from the table, throwing down the cards he had been dealt. “Ready? I’m done with these card sharks. If I don’t leave now, Cash will be riding my bike tomorrow.”

He walked to Lily, pulling her close for a hug. “Thanks for the booze, lil’ sis. Thanks for the green, Shade. We’ll see you guys Sunday.” He grabbed a squealing Beth into his arms, and Lily rushed to open the side kitchen door for them.

“You’re joking about the green, right?”

Razer winked at Lily on his way out the door.

Lily shut the door behind them then threw the dishcloth at Shade.

He caught it in midair. “What did I do now? Did I say anything about you giving booze to your sister?” Before she could say anything, he added, “I know, I know. It’s legal.”

She had seen him come back to the clubhouse with weed earlier to give to the brothers. It is Friday, Shade thought as he shrugged to himself. She should be happy that was all he had planned for the night. His plans went up in smoke as fast as the weed would when he saw her expression, though.

Lily went toward the living room, taking a few steps forward before coming to a stop. They had spent a long time in the kitchen after dinner, so the party was in full swing.

“I don’t think that’s legal,” Shade said from behind her as they watched Jewell giving Rider a blowjob while Train was sitting behind her, smacking her on her bare bottom.

As Lily walked to the steps, Shade admired that she didn’t run screaming toward them, but then his good humor vanished at seeing the two blondes heading toward him with seductive smiles pasted on their lips.

The two were not only the biggest sluts in Treepoint, but were also the nosiest. They were a fountain of information that Lucky needed, so he had made the request for the twins to be allowed back in. He hadn’t been happy about it when Viper had told him, and he was even less now with them heading his way.

“We’ve been looking for you. Jewell said the kitchen was off-limits and your room. What’s up? We’ve missed you, Shade. Hook us up with a room and give that flogger of yours a workout. The last marks you put on us are gone; we need a refresher.”

Shade’s face went cold at their damning words.

“You can have the third bedroom on the left; no one is using it anymore.” Lily spun on her feet, heading back toward the kitchen, but Shade caught her within a few steps, lifting her into his arms and carrying her struggling body back to the steps.

“Shade?” Stacy whined.

“Cash!” Shade snapped.

“I’ll take care of it.” Cash ushered the women away from Shade, giving him room to pack Lily up the stairs.

Lily tried to get away as soon as they were off the steps. When he refused to let her go, she froze in his arms. He closed the door behind them, he set her down on her feet, and Lily hurriedly moved away from him.

“Lily.”

Lily held her hand up as she sat down calmly on the bottom of the bed, facing him. Shade’s blood went as cold as the ice dripping from her voice.

“What do you want from me, Shade?” she asked, startling him with her bluntness when she usually wanted to avoid any type of discussion about their relationship. “Are you wanting a platonic friendship, friends who have sex, or were you wanting me to fall in love with you? Exactly what do you want?”

“I told you. I want you,” Shade answered truthfully.

Lily nodded.

He watched as she stood up and went to the dresser, pulling out her ponytail holder then brushing her hair while staring at herself in the mirror.

“You don’t even know who you want.” Lily reached out and briefly touched the mirror she was staring into. Her lips twisted ironically. “You want me because you think I’ll be the perfect submissive for you. That weak-minded Lily can be guided and manipulated into being exactly what you want.”

She strode angrily across the room to stand in front of him, sinking to her knees. In perfect posture, she knelt with her back straight, her head lowered, her hair falling against her face. She laid her hands palm-up on her lap.

The perfect submissive pose. Shade angrily wondered who she had learned it from.

“I could be everything you ever dreamed of having in a woman.” Lily’s impassive voice didn’t show an ounce of emotion. “You and those women downstairs play games for a few nights a month, but I have dreams, and they don’t include being your little pet,” she snarled at him, getting to her feet.

No, Lily wasn’t anyone’s pet.

“I hope you enjoyed that because I will never”—she poked her finger into his chest—“ever do that again, you big jerk.” With that, Lily started to gather her pajamas.

“Those blonde Barbies are more plastic than the dolls,” Shade commented drily before staring, stupefied, as she stomped across the floor to the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” she snapped when she saw the direction his eyes were focusing on.

Shade stood with his arms across his chest, watching her as she yelled at him. “Watching your ass jiggle.”

“My ass? That’s all you can say?” Lily’s mouth opened and closed. “If I said what I really wanted to, I would have to pray for forgiveness every night for a week.” Lily went into the bathroom, slamming the door closed.