“Yes and no.” Shade raised his hand. “Never having experienced a Dom/sub relationship, I wanted to find out how you would deal with one. I didn’t want to throw you in the deep end if you couldn’t deal with the lifestyle. I wanted to find the parts you liked and give that to you, and then we could go further slowly.”

“What if I didn’t like any of it?”

“Then I would have stopped.”

“You can’t stop being who you are for me.” Lily’s anger had her flushing. Her hands went to her hips. “You do that all the time. Why do you work at the factory? Bliss said you hate it; do you?”

“Yes,” Shade admitted truthfully.

“Then why are you doing it?”

“Because when I asked Viper for the job the summer you wanted to work there, that was the deal. I couldn’t toss it away when I was done with it unless I found someone to replace me who does it just as well.”

“Then find someone,” Lily said with frustration.

“Who? Name me one Last Rider who can do it as well as I can. I’m not bragging; I’m actually good at it. It’s hard and time-consuming, and you have to deal with the brothers and women who would rather be in bed than filling orders.”

“Razer,” Lily blurted.

Shade shook his head. “He hates it as much as I do.”

Shade could see her thinking of the rest of the brothers.

“Lucky?”

“He’s been tied down for years with the church and dealing with the demands of others, so he deserves a break for a while. Besides, he’s Viper’s VP, and he’s staying pretty busy with that job. Viper has his hands full with the two clubhouses, and he handles the business side of the factory. Lucky is actually with him on that.”

Lily went quiet then an inexplicable look crossed her face.

“I know someone who can handle the job.”

“Who?” Shade asked, ready to shoot her idea down. He had already thought this over several times before he had accepted. He was stuck with the job for the foreseeable future.

“Jewell.”

Shade opened his mouth to come up with a reason she couldn’t then closed it when he realized she was right. Jewell was tough but fair. She was often on time more than he was, and she was always willing to pitch in when help was needed. She was also extremely smart.

“I’ll talk to her.”

Lily’s face glowed. “What are you going to do if you don’t manage the factory?”

“I’ll still have to work there two days a week. We all have to put that time in. The other three days, I could work on my projects more. Some of the patents The Last Riders have were developed by me, and I’d like to spend more time doing that,” Shade admitted.

“Why didn’t you suggest any of the other women?” he asked, his lips twitching. “Bliss, for example?

Lily rolled her eyes. “We’re not exactly on speaking terms right now. Besides, she’s never on time and fills the orders too slowly. If she were to run the factory, it would be backed up with orders in two days.”

“Why aren’t you on speaking terms?”

“Did you know she was in love with you?” Lily asked instead of answering him.

“I suspected that she was, but neither of us talked about it, and she was aware I didn’t return her feelings.”

“You didn’t feel bad about having sex with her, knowing you didn’t return her feelings?”

Shade remained silent, raising a brow.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Lily blew her tumbled hair out of her face. “You’re a…”

“Whatever you’re about to call me, think about it and decide if it’s worth another stroke.”

“Ass. Jerk,” Lily continued defiantly.

“Aren’t we little Mrs. Spitfire tonight? That’s twenty-six.” Her fiery look had him struggling to retain his impassive expression. “Suppose you tell me what you want from me.”

“I want you to treat me like I’m your freakin’ wife! I want you to treat me as if I won’t break if you play too rough with me!” She stomped her foot in the high heels, almost toppling over. “Forget the safe word. I know the words ‘no’ and ‘stop’! I know the difference between those men raping me when I was younger and Saul whipping us. There’s a difference. You love me; they didn’t! I would never confuse you with them.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Shade grinned, straightening. “Then let’s see how you deal with your first real punishment.”

Lily’s dueling expressions had him going to the new cabinet he had purchased. He unlocked the side with his new toys, taking out his whip and flogger. Laying them on the foot of the bed, he then went to the wall beside the bed, taking down the two pictures and propping them against the wall several feet away.

Going back to the cabinet, he pulled out a set of chains, deciding on a thicker set than he had used on her before. The thinner ones were more like jewelry; these were not. Each time she moved, she would be aware of their weight.

Taking a pair of handcuffs which were padded, he closed the cabinet.

“Come here,” Shade ordered.

Lily walked toward him in the stripper outfit. Red was definitely her color.

Reaching out, he pulled at one of the strips of cloth coming down from the bow. It easily came untied, the cups of the top barely covering her nipples.

“I’m surprised you had the courage to walk through the room in this outfit.”

“I was angry,” Lily confessed.

“That makes two of us,” Shade said. “I’ll be right back.”

He left the room, coming back a few minutes later carrying the workout mat. He closed the door with his booted foot.

Lily’s eyes widened, watching as he used the loops on the end to hang the mat against the wall on the hooks the pictures had been hanging on.

“That’s convenient,” Lily snapped.

“I thought so.” Shade turned to face her when he was finished hanging the mat.

“Take off those shorts.”

Lily started to take off the heels.

“Leave those on,” Shade instructed her.

Lily paused then went to the chair, holding on to it as she pulled the tight shorts down her hips. Shade nearly had a heart attack when he saw what was underneath it.

A tiny black patch of material barely covered her pussy lips, and it was held in place by three tiny strings.

“Turn around,” he ordered hoarsely.

Lily obediently turned. He wanted to bend her over the chair and fuck her when he saw the black string between the cheeks of her ass. From his view, he could see her pussy.

“You can turn back around.”

Once Lily turned, her hands went to her hips to pull the tiny thong off.

“Leave it on. Come here.”

Lily walked seductively toward him, coming to a stop in front of him. He reached out to touch the patch, feeling how damp she already was. A blush filled her face when his finger went to his mouth, licking at the taste of her.

“Take my shirt off. From now on, you’re going to undress me every time we’re in this room,” Shade ordered.

“Yes, Sir.”