Shade(69)

Winter and Beth immediately moved toward the young woman, but before either could reach her, Shade was lifting Lily from the floor into his arms. Lily tried to struggle free with her eyes on her bloody hand.

“Where’s the bathroom?” Shade snapped at Diamond.

When she pointed to the door outside her office, Shade strode from the room with a still-struggling Lily.#p#分页标题#e#

“Beth…”

Shade didn’t slow down at Lily’s whimper.

“Stop it, Lily,” Shade said, sitting her down on the closed toilet seat.

Her eyes remained on her bloody hand as her eyes started to roll back into her head. A sudden shake had her eyes traveling back to Shade.

“Eyes to me, Lily,” he snapped. “Don’t look at your hand again.”

“It hurts.”

Shade’s lips tightened. He had almost protested when Lily had gone to her knees to pick up the messed-up office, yet he hadn’t wanted to interfere. He was angry at himself for not following his instincts. He was getting fucking tired of the fine line he was walking to keep everybody happy, especially since Lily was invariably the one getting hurt because he was unable to protect the accident prone woman.

“I’ll get the glass out and get it cleaned up, and then the sting will stop.”

“Beth is a nurse; she can do it, Shade. I want Beth,” Lily replied stubbornly, refusing his help. Shade knew she was reacting to being in the close confinement of the room with him.

“I’m sure you do. Do you think Beth can pull out that glass with you crying and acting like a baby?” he said, hoping her anger would arouse her fighting instincts.

While Lily stiffened, Shade could see her trying to gather her composure as her eyes tried to sneak a peek at her still-oozing injury.

“Eyes on me,” Shade snapped again, wetting paper towels and gently picking out the fine shards of glass.

He could instantly feel her gaze on his face. She hadn’t argued against his commands, even though he had been a bit harsh. The same nearness of the restroom, which was unnerving her, was straining his control.

As he finished her hand, he heard a knock on the door and Razer telling him he had a first-aid kit. When he opened the door, a silent message passed between the two men before the door closed once more.

Shade opened the box, finding sterile gauze for cleaning her knees. One particular shard had become imbedded there, so he took great care in removing it; however, Lily’s dress had ridden up her silky thighs, rattling his concentration. Shade’s hands shook as he finished cleaning her knees, wiping them with an antiseptic and starting to wrap them with bandages. He felt her tremble as his hands touched the soft skin behind her knees, trying to clench her thighs together.

“Open your legs. I need to wrap your other knee.”

He felt her legs open a scant amount so he wrapped it softly, stroking the sensitive flesh behind her knee. When she would have pulled away, Shade rose to his feet, letting his hand slide across the top of her thighs with a delicate touch the innocent girl would think was accidental.

Taking her hand, he applied the antiseptic to it then wrapped it, taking his time once more, enjoying her eyes watching his every move. Unable to prolong the inevitable any longer, he took a step away.

“You’re done.”

Her eyes immediately broke from him, and she practically ran from the restroom.

Shade picked up the first-aid kit, meticulously replacing the items he had taken out. Going to the sink basin, he washed his hands and sprayed cold water on his face, wondering how much longer he could resist reaching out and taking what he was determined would be his.

The glass had been swept up by the time Lily reentered the room with wild eyes. Shade watched from the bathroom as she immediately went to Beth. Her sister rubbed her back, easing her tension until Lily calmed and sat on a chair to begin organizing the papers The Last Riders were picking up.

Shade’s eyes remained on Lily when he came back into the room. He started gathering the papers while taking in Lily ignoring him. He didn’t like being ignored by her. She hadn’t even bothered to thank him before running out of the room, either. He could still feel her soft skin under his fingertips.#p#分页标题#e#

Shade was unaware the brothers had formed a circle around him until he looked up and saw himself surrounded.

Evie, Dawn, Jewell, and Raci arrived then, lessening the tension in the room. All of them brushed aside Diamond’s protests and began organizing her paperwork. Holly put them back in the cabinets when each folder was completed.

What would have taken a week to reorganize took just one afternoon with everyone’s help.