Shade(138)

“Lily, you don’t know what you want. You want a man who doesn’t exist. One who will never touch you, pretend you don’t have something seriously messed-up going on inside of your head, and be willing to put up with you constantly in some kind of trouble.”#p#分页标题#e#

“I am not,” Lily snapped.

Shade lifted his brow at her response and her inability to deny the truth of the other two statements.

“The man I want exists, and I know you’re not him.”

“I’m the only man for you.” Menace poured from him before he regained control, shrugging and nodding his head toward the phone. “Make your mind up.”

“Beth and Razer can build another house,” Lily argued.

“They certainly can, but it won’t be that house.”

“Razer and you are like brothers; you wouldn’t do that to him,” Lily tried to call his bluff.

“Yes, I would,” he stated matter-of-factly, letting her see the truth in his face.

“I can’t do this.” She pointed back and forth between them.

“I’m not going to rush you. We can go as slow as you want. I’m a patient man.” When you’re not trying to rip my balls off.

“I’m going to talk to Diamond.”

“I’ll take you to see her tomorrow after you get finished at the church.”

Those papers had been written by the best lawyer money could buy. There were no loopholes other than his death. Shade would have to be careful turning his back to her.

“If I can find a way, I will leave.”

“You can leave now, Lily. It’s your decision,” he reminded her. She might not like the consequences, but it was her choice to make, for better or worse.

“Okay.” Lily gave in, staring down at the papers in her hand.

“Good, now that it’s settled, we need to take care of your punishment for nearly ripping my balls off.”

“I became caught up in our lesson,” Lily defended her actions.

“You were pissed at me for something. Care to tell?” Shade waited to see if she would admit the truth.

Lily remained silent, however.

“All right.” Shade leaned forward. “Let’s begin with Jewell. She closed the door to my office when Cash called. Kaley broke the rules. I really didn’t give a fuck if she tried to join the club or not. She would never have gotten enough votes to, anyway, so it’s no loss.

“Now, let’s talk about your punishment. I’m going to be lenient this time”—he paused at Lily’s unladylike snort—“and give you your choice of punishment.”

“What are the choices?”

Shade had no doubt she wasn’t going to be happy with any of them.

“You can take the spanking you deserve, or you can sleep in the bed tonight, or you can give me one kiss. Take your pick.”

“You’re not serious?”

“Yes, I am being more than fair. It hurt like hell when you grabbed my nuts. None of your choices involve excruciating pain.”

“That strap looks like it’s going to hurt.”

“I plan for you to enjoy that.” Shade gave her a grin.

Lily shivered.

“Which one?” Shade prompted her. “Would you like me to pick for you?”

“No! I’ll sleep in the bed,” Lily said reluctantly.

“You sure?”

Lily nodded.

“Fine. You can get ready for bed.” Shade got up from the chair, turning the television on. Since he had gotten the results he wanted, he needed to let her deal with the aftermath.

Lily gathered her pajamas before going into the bathroom. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Shade stood, placing the papers back in the envelope then setting them on the nightstand. He went back to the chair to sit down, listening to the shower running and knowing she was spending the time trying to figure a way out. There wasn’t any; he’d had a long time to make his plans. Too long.#p#分页标题#e#

Finally, she opened the door, dressed in flannel pajamas which were ugly as shit, but Shade pretended not to take his attention away from the television as Lily climbed into the bed.

He gave her a moment to settle her nerves before turning the television off and going into the bathroom. Then he took a long shower, letting her have some time to herself before putting on a pair of shorts and returning to the bedroom.

He could tell she was only pretending to be asleep as he climbed in the bed then turned off the lights. She was hugging the side of the bed so tightly he was surprised she hadn’t fallen off, and the whole bed was practically shaking with her frightened tremors.

Shade made himself comfortable. He had lost track of when the last time he had slept more than a couple of hours had been.