“I’ll sleep in the bed,” Lily said reluctantly.

“You sure?”

Lily nodded her head.

“Fine. You can get ready for bed.” Shade got up from the chair, turning the television on.

Lily gathered her pajamas before going into the bathroom. Pulling off her clothes, she walked down the three steps into the shower. She turned it on, feeling the water hit her body at different areas. She took her time, as the shower was becoming an obsession of hers. Each time she took one, she felt absolutely decadent.

Lily bowed her head, confused with why he wanted her when he had a variety of women to choose from, not only in the club but also in town. Every woman in town who was single, and some who were married, had been chasing him since he had rode into town.

Reluctantly getting out of the shower, she blow-dried her hair to take even more time delaying the inevitable. She wanted to flick the rubber band, but she didn’t.

Dressed in her thick pajamas, she opened the door, going into the bedroom. She wanted to go to the corner; instead, she forced her feet toward the bed.

Shade didn’t take his attention away from the television as Lily climbed into the bed, clinging to the side as much as she could without falling out. Shade then turned the television off and went into the bathroom. Lily relaxed when he left the room, letting herself get even more comfortable when she heard the shower. She drifted in and out of sleep, too tense to slip into a deep slumber.

When the door opened, however, she pretended to be asleep. She felt the bed dip on the other side of the bed and felt Shade reach out to turn off the lights. With her back to him, Lily opened her eyes and saw he had left the bathroom light on. She continued to lie tensely, feeling him move under the covers, getting comfortable.

She was trying not to panic. If he rolled one inch closer to her, though, she would go to the corner. Lily didn’t know how long she lay tensed before she realized he was already asleep. She forced herself to relax again, her fingertips lying against the red rubber band as if it would protect her.

Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep, thinking she had gotten one over on Shade. This wasn’t a punishment; she was glad to be out of the corner.

* * *

Shade forced his body to remain still long after Lily had managed to fall asleep. The whole bed had practically shaken with her frightened tremors. When he was sure she had finally gone into a deep sleep, he rolled closer to her, fitting her against him as his warmth seeped into her chilled body.

He let his fingers play with the wisps of hair on the pillow. He was an expert at moving his body a centimeter at a time. All his years of experience had led to this one moment that he had waited years for: Lily in his bed, holding her close.

After she had been hurt back in the summer, he had purchased a whole new bed. None of the women had lain in the bed Lily was lying on now.

A small smile tugged at his lips. Her temper had surprised him today. Over the last couple of years, he had seen a few flashes of it, but today it had passed her barricade and broken loose. She had been jealous, and she didn’t even realize that was the emotion she was feeling, yet he had known it when he’d opened the office door and seen her face.

He hadn’t touched Jewell in his office. He had told Lily the truth. He hadn’t touched a woman since he had almost lost her and had seen her lying on that hospital bed. The sight of her had made him come to the conclusion he couldn’t wait for her anymore. Lily needed him as much as he needed her.

All summer, he had worked toward one goal—luring her to him. He had almost succeeded, too, if not for that bitch Kaley. Now she believed she hated him and he couldn’t blame her, but it didn’t make a difference because, either way, she wasn’t ready to admit to herself that she cared about him.

* * *

Lily woke the next morning to an empty bed. She showered and dressed and then, leaving the bedroom, she found Shade working out.

“I need to get to the church.”

“Grab some breakfast while I get dressed,” Shade said, setting his weights down.

“All right.” Lily went upstairs.

No one was in the kitchen as she prepared herself a bowl of cereal. She had just finished when Shade came in.

“Ready?”

“Yes,” she answered, putting her bowl into the dishwasher. “Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?”

“Rider and I are going to eat at the diner.”

They walked outside and down the path to Shade’s bike. Rider nodded at her as he came outside, getting on his own bike. Lily put on the helmet that Shade handed her and then got on behind him. Her car was still at the college. She needed to make arrangements to get it back to Treepoint so she wouldn’t have to depend on others for transportation.

The ride down the mountain was spectacular in the fall with the changing leaf colors. Lily couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight.

Shade pulled into the church’s parking lot by the door that led to the room she and Rachel would be working in for the day.

Lily climbed off the bike, handing Shade his helmet.

“Thanks,” Lily said, starting toward the door.

“Lily.” She paused, turning back toward him. “Call when you’re finished.”

Lily nodded, going inside the building. She needed her car.

Rachel was already there, sorting clothes.

“Hey, Lily.”

“Good morning, Rachel. You’re hard at work, I see.” Lily picked up a handful of socks that the woman was sorting.

Rachel laughed. “Someone donated a whole bag of socks that had no matches.”

Lily looked down at the colorful assortment. “Just bag them into smaller bags. They won’t care. Most of the people we’ll be helping will just be happy to have something warm on their feet this winter.”

“Good idea,” Rachel said, dividing the socks into smaller piles.

The women worked steadily, talking about their week. Lily felt Rachel’s hesitance at broaching the subject of her breakdown.

“Were you okay when you woke up?”

Lily paused before opening another bag. “Yes, but I couldn’t remember what had set off the panic attack.”

Rachel nodded, reaching out to open the bag for her. “I’ve never seen anyone have a panic attack before. It was scary for me to watch. I can only imagine how Beth and Shade felt.”

Lily looked at Rachel. “Shade?”

Rachel looked her in the eye. “It’s obvious he cares about you, Lily. The man never lets you out of his sight unless you’re with Beth and Razer or at church.”

“I don’t like him… sometimes.”

“Why not? It certainly can’t be his looks that don’t attract you. I was in town last week when a woman practically walked into a parking meter while she was watching him.”

“He’s too... well... too...” Lily couldn’t think of the word she was looking for.

“Much?”

Lily nodded. “He’s too handsome, bossy, aggravating, and he can be mean, too.”

Rachel started to get angry. “He’s mean to you?”

“Not exactly,” Lily conceded.

Rachel gave a relieved sigh. “Thank God. I wasn’t looking forward to kicking his ass for you.”

Lily giggled. “You don’t have to; I can do it for myself.” She told Rachel what she had done the day before.