He shrugged.
Lily was staring at him with a soft smile on her face. For a flash of a second, her face turned to one of heated desire before she blushed, regaining her composure. Shade caught the look and returned it with one of his own. With her not feeling well, he hadn’t touched her the last week, wanting to give her time to rest and regain her strength.
“Had a couple of things on my mind, nothing to worry about. I’m going to go back to the clubhouse. Later.” Shade didn’t wait to hear their replies.
He strode across the yard to his wife who was frantically looking around to make sure no one was watching them. He gave her a wicked grin as he drew closer, and she tried to escape to the picnic table.
“Come here.” He caught her around the waist, pressing her against the tree.
Shade slid his hand across her flat belly. If she didn’t feel better in a few days, he was going to make her go to the doctor.
Bending down, he whispered, “Going somewhere?”
“I was going to get something to eat,” Lily murmured shyly.
“You ate just a little while ago. Let’s go home and have dessert. I have some chocolate mousse in the refrigerator. I made Evie get the recipe off Henry.”
Once Lily nodded her acceptance of them leaving as she smiled, Shade placed an arm around her shoulder, maneuvering her through the crowd.
As they approached the gate to the backyard, King reached out to open it with Evie by his side.
“Leaving early?” King searched her face as Lily turned a bright red.
“The heat is getting to Lily. We thought we would go home until it cools down then come back for the fireworks,” Shade explained with an impassive face.
King smiled down at Lily. “I’ll see you later tonight, then.”
“You two have fun,” Lily said quickly as Shade led her to his bike.
“They make a cute couple.”
Shade rolled his eyes at her. “Cute doesn’t come to my mind when I see them together.” Shade said, getting on his bike.
“Really, what does?” Lily asked, getting on behind him.
Shade looked at the couple still watching them. Evie had been the happiest he had seen her these past few months since high school. King had returned to town not only to get to know Lily better, but to continue the relationship with Evie which had started in Queens City.
“Never mind. They are cute together,” Shade said, starting his bike. He could just imagine King’s expression when he told him Lily’s choice of words. “We need to invite them to dinner,” Shade suggested to his wife. He would have to cash in another of Winter’s IOUs to get her to make another batch of mousse, but it would be worth every spoonful.
* * *
They had been out on the water for over an hour. Shade and Rider both had their fishing lines in the water. He looked over at King as he lit a cigar. The man was hopeless at fishing. Shade had to give him credit, though; he had never really expected King to show for the fishing trip.
Evie was giving Beth a baby shower at her house, and Sex Piston was attending along with her crew. Those bitches had been a powerful motivator for the fishing weekend the brothers had organized.
Stud had fucked it up for the men when he had attended Sex Piston’s baby shower; therefore, the brothers had decided the fishing trip would save Razer’s ass from having to go.
Lily had pressured him into inviting King. Bonding with King wasn’t high on Shade’s to-do list, but Lily had promised him a night of sex when she would do anything he wanted. That was all Shade had to hear to move King up his list. Shade consoled himself with the knowledge that he wasn’t the first man to be bribed by pussy, nor was he going to be the last.
“We could go back to shore and get you another pole,” Rider offered.
“No, thanks. I would probably lose that one, too,” King stated, biting down on his cigar in frustration.
Shade’s lips twitched. King had lost his pole when a fish he was trying to land took off with it. King’s face had been priceless when the pole had disappeared under the water.
“Don’t feel bad. We’ve all lost poles. Of course, we were all drunk as shit at the time,” Rider joked.
King looked toward Shade, who was sure he was waiting for a smart-ass comment to come from him; instead, he kept his eyes on the lake.
“How’s Lily adapting to the new minister and his wife?” King asked.
“She’s adjusting, but there’s not a connection with Merrick like Lucky.”
“Dean’s living at the clubhouse now?” King broached the subject Shade was sure he was the most interested in.
“Yes,” Shade answered.
“How’s that working out?”
Shade sighed while turning to look at him, noticing Rider had a smile on his face as he listened.
“If you want to know if he participates in the club’s activities, yes, he does. Not that it’s any business of yours. Lily and I have our own separate house. Neither of us want Lily to see him when he’s partying, so I text him when Lily’s in the house. Dean cares about Lily and has no desire to tarnish his image to her.”
“That’s a lot of work for you two to make sure Lily isn’t uncomfortable.”
“She’s worth the trouble.”
“Yes, she is. Now that I’m in town, I want to get to know her better.” King hesitated before adding, “Both of you. I don’t want to invade your lives, just become a small part of it. I want to be able to have a relationship with my grandchildren when you two have a child.”
Shade could imagine the hit it took to King’s pride to admit he wanted a relationship with the children he and Lily would have.
The boat went silent; the only sound was the water lapping against the side.
“Got another cigar?” Shade eventually asked. If the man wanted to end the silent war between them, he wasn’t going to say no. He wasn’t the one who had started it, and King had something Shade needed more than he wanted to maintain the antagonism between them.
“Yes, I do.” King pulled his stash out of his tackle box, offering one to Rider and him.
King relaxed on his seat while they talked, the atmosphere lightening on the boat. Shade actually managed to talk to King a couple of times without wanting to rip his arrogant head off.
Shade and Rider both managed to catch six fish before the sky darkened, and they decided to go back to camp. They docked the boat, carrying their tackle boxes and poles as they walked to the cabin. The others had fished from ashore and had already begun frying their catches.
“Where’s your pole?” Viper asked King from the grill.
“He lost it,” Rider volunteered the information.
As The Last Riders broke into laughter, making jokes at King’s expense, King took it good-naturedly. If he was going to maint
ain a relationship with Evie, then King was going to have to get used to the brothers giving him a hard time. Fuck, they were going easier on him than if Shade had been the unlucky bastard to lose his pole.
Viper and Cash served up the fish. Then, after dinner, they all pitched in to clean up outside before going inside to get away from the insects and play some cards.
Shade looked up at the flashes of lightning as he went inside the cabin, frowning. Lily was still terrified of storms.
He managed to play three games, listening to the thunder get closer and closer. By the middle of the fourth hand, a loud burst of thunder shook the cabin. Shade stood up, going to his bunk. Every instinct in his body was screaming that he had to get the fuck out of here.
“What are you doing?” King asked when he saw him gathering his things.
“I’m going back.”
“Why?” King looked down at his watch. “It’s after midnight.”
“I know what time it is. The storm is getting worse, and Lily is afraid of storms.”
“She’s with Evie and Beth; she’ll be okay. We’re heading back in the morning, so there’s no need to hike back a mile to the truck in this storm. Call her if you’re worried,” Cash advised, throwing two poker chips into the pile in front of him.
King didn’t say anything; instead, he crushed his cigar into the ashtray and got to his feet.
“What are you doing?” Shade stopped putting on his jacket.
“Going with you.” King put on his boots then his jacket.
“There’s no need for you to leave.”
A sense of urgency filled him, and King would slow him down. The storm was nearly overhead, but Shade didn’t believe that was what was causing it. He had been outside during too many storms to attribute that to his instinct to protect Lily.
“We’re going back in a few hours, anyway. Might as well go now,” King stated.
Shade didn’t argue further as King reached to open the door after grabbing one of the flashlights.
“Wait a minute. Let me get my things. I’m going, too,” Razer said, getting up from the table and gathering his things.