As Hardin’s face turned a ruddy red and his hands clenched by his side, Shade stood up, coming around his desk. “Are we going to have a problem?”

Shade pinned him with a deadly look. The slimy fucker wasn’t going to slide into home plate with Lily after he had waited years for her. Shade didn’t believe Lily would be attracted to Hardin, but he wasn’t going to take a chance. Shade had seen too many killed in the service by not being careful.

“No, I don’t have a problem. I’m sure I’ll enjoy my new job,” Hardin said, jerking the door open.

“Is everything all right?” Shade heard Lily ask Hardin.

He didn’t speak to her, merely walked past her to leave the building at the same time Shade came out of his office.

“Is everything all right?” she asked Shade instead.

“Everything is fine,” Shade said, losing interest with the man when he walked out the door.

“Why was Hardin upset?”

“That’s none of your business.” When Lily would have said something else, Shade forestalled her. “But I’ll tell you, anyway. I gave him a promotion. We need another driver, so he’s going to be working on the trucks from now on.”

Lily looked out the window as Hardin sped out of the parking lot. “He doesn’t seem to be very happy about his promotion.”

“I’m sure he’s not,” he said grimly. “Are you ready?”

Lily nodded, following him outside.

“I need to get my clothes.”

Shade waited by the steps as she grabbed her small travel bag out of the backseat of her car.

“Where are we going to work out?” Lily asked as she came to stand by him.

“In the gym in the basement.” Shade walked up the path. The concrete path had taken them a couple of months to lay and led around the house to the backdoor, making it easier for Winter to walk up instead of using all the steps.

Instead of going in through the kitchen door, Shade opened another door at the side of the house which had been added when the path had been made. He wanted Lily to be able to come and go from the basement without going upstairs. That way, Lily couldn’t see anything he didn’t want her to, and The Last Riders could still have their freedom while Lily was downstairs. Shade and Razer had both told Beth when they had agreed for her to work in the factory that the upstairs was off-limits.

She looked around curiously, and Shade saw what she was seeing: a large room with exercise equipment, the pole Rider and Train had installed for the women to give shows to the brothers, a large couch placed against one wall, and a flat-screen television.

“You can get changed back here.” Shade walked across the room, opening the door which led to a hallway. “That room has the hot tub.” Shade pointed to the door on the left. “That’s the restroom where you can get changed. The door at the end is my room. I’ll wait for you in the gym.”

Shade left her standing in the hallway, going to his room to change into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Then he stood outside the bathroom door to wait for Lily.

When she opened the door, his mouth almost dropped open at what she was wearing. She had changed into sweat pants and an oversized sweatshirt he thought was big enough to fit Knox. Lily had gathered her dark hair into a tight ponytail, which highlighted her high cheekbones and violet eyes, making her beauty stand out among other women. Her outfit, though, was horrible. Shade wanted to rip it into shreds.

“What kind of workout clothes are those?” he asked without waiting for an answer, striding to the mats he had laid down before going to work that day.

“It’s what I always wear,” she said.

“Then you need to get some different ones. Those won’t do.” Shade motioned for her to stand on the mat.

As Lily came to stand in front of him, her eyes flitted nervously over his body, lingering on his tattoos.

His cock stirred under his shorts as he distracted her, having her warm up by stretching, which he also did. Then Shade showed her how to kick out at him, which he blocked over and over again.

“Come on, Lily; you can do better than this.”

Lily repeated the move, striking out with her foot several times.

“That’s enough,” he said when she stopped to catch her breath. “At least you’re in good shape physically, but you need to do some weight training.”

“I agree. Thanks, Shade.”

“When we’re in here, you call me Sir.” He stared deep into her eyes, determined to lay the ground rules from the beginning.

“Okay.”

She picked up her bag to leave, and then Shade held the door open for her before walking with her to her car.

“Bye, Shade.”

“Later.” Shade closed the car door and watched as she pulled out of the parking lot.

He was always watching her leave, but he was beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. One day in the future, he would give her a reason to stay.

Chapter 41

“Anything wrong?” Shade asked.

She had been picking at her lunch for ten minutes.

Lily shook her head, picking at her hamburger and fries. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Lily said glumly.

Shade’s lips twisted. “You’re very emotional, aren’t you?”

Lily stiffened in her seat. “I’m sorry if I can’t be emotionless like you. I get a little upset when people run like the plague when I approach them.”

“Who’s running?” he questioned, barely able to hide his amusement.

“The other workers. If I try to talk to them, they ignore me and move away.”

“I’m sure you’re exaggerating,” Shade said, eating his own food with a hearty appetite. He was glad the men who worked in the factory had understood his silent message of getting rid of Hardin for getting too friendly with his woman.

“I’m not exaggerating. I asked Gaige if he knew where the pocket flares were, and you would have thought I had asked for condoms. I asked Trent to help me find a packet of seeds, and he walked off while I was still talking to him. And, in case you didn’t know, Georgia is a reincarnated Attila the Hun.”

Shade burst out laughing and saw Lily’s hurt feelings disappear a little. His breath caught when he saw a hint of attraction for him on her face. Then, curiously, her eyes went blank and her hand went to her wrist, snapping the red rubber band.

“Why did you do that?” He knew why yet wanted to see if she did or if she would tell him.

Lily handed him her partially untouched plate, preparing to get to her feet.

“Sit down.”

His hard voice had her bottom immediately returning to her seat, her eyes going to her hands on her lap.

“Eyes to me, Lily,” Shade ordered firmly.

Lily’s eyes reluctantly returned to his.

“Answer my question. Why did you snap the rubber band?” he gently probed.

“I don’t know. It’s just a habit. Sometimes I do it without knowing why,” Lily said softly.

“I see. I only give instructions once, Lily. The next time you snap that rubber band around me, you better be able to explain why. Do you understand me?” Shade stared directly into her eyes.