“Lily is a beautiful woman.” Winter tried to explain in a way that he would understand her hesitation at the possibility of a relationship between their two friends.
“She is attractive,” he admitted slowly.
Winter gave him a smile to let him know that she could never be jealous of Lily’s beauty. “She is beautiful inside and out.”
“She’s beautiful,” Viper conceded.
“Has Razer discussed this with Beth?” Winter asked curious.
“Beth refuses to discuss Lily.” Viper at this point realized that Winter knew the whole club was aware of Shade’s intentions for Lily.
“She is very protective of Lily, Beth is also a little oblivious where Shade is concerned.” Viper lowered his lashes and his face went impassive at her words. “I am not.” Winter’s voice turned hard.
“Say what you are getting at.”
Sighing she continued, “Lily has a lot of issues, and I don’t know Shade well enough to know if he will be able to handle her with the care she needs. If he screws up, he won’t get a second chance.”
Winter gave him the only warning she would give. Lily was her friend and she wasn’t going to throw her to the wolves. The only reason she was giving him a heads up at all was because Shade was the one The Last Rider’s depended on for their protection. Lily deserved someone strong enough to protect her. Winter had observed Lily’s reactions to certain situations and she had a terrible feeling that Lily needed a protector.
“If Beth finds out he is as bad as I’m thinking he is, Shade won’t get a chance. Lily will listen to Beth, even if she’s crazy over a man. If Beth doesn’t approve, she will walk away. They are that close. No one, not Razer or Shade will come between those sisters. That being said, I think he’s playing it smart keeping his activities away from Beth, and me also because what I can’t see I can’t tell can I? But if I get any inclination he’s not the man I think he is, I will have a long chat with Beth and put a stop to it myself.”
“Is that a threat?” Viper asked in a challenging tone.
“Yes, I love her too. Lily is sweet and she has a side to her that really is mischievous and fun, yet she has temper that can get her in trouble. Beth and Lily are two of the best people I know or will ever know. Beth is laid-back and easy going, but Lily is not. Shade needs to decide if she is really what he wants before he makes a move, because if she gets hurt, it will affect Beth and it could hurt her relationship with Razer. I see how much she loves him and I don’t want to see their relationship affected.”
“That’s fair,” Viper conceded. “I’ll have a talk with him. Are you going to give Beth a heads up?” Winter was aware he was in a difficult position. He had opened up to her in confidence. As head of The Last Riders, he needed someone to talk to about his brothers who he could trust to not betray his confidences.
Winter smiled, “There isn’t really anything to tell. He hasn’t made his attention to Lily obvious and I haven’t seen anything I could tell her about. Now, I am going to go take a hot shower, are you going to be awake when I get back?”
“Definitely.”
“Good, because I need to check out that tat on your abdomen.” Winter’s finger traced the tribal tattoo on his arm, admiring the sleeve she was unaware she was provoking a response from Viper. Before she could move out of reach, the towel slipped to the floor with his helping hand.
“Why wait…”
Chapter 13
Winter woke to an empty bed. Stretching lazily she smiled, remembering the night before. It took several seconds for something to work its way into her consciousness. Her body, while sore, wasn’t in actual pain. She had noticed several times that the pain was lessening in intensity and duration, but it was the first time she had woke up not needing to reach for the ibuprofen.
Feeling as if her life was getting back on track, she took a shower, humming to herself as she shampooed her hair before rinsing it out. Carefully getting out of the shower and getting dressed, she made a list of things she needed to do during the coming week. Her rumbling stomach reminded her that she was hungry. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she was surprised to see that it was lunchtime. Winter was amazed she had slept so long, usually her back would have woken her well before now.
Still humming to herself, she left the bedroom hoping there was still some food left. Winter was at the top of the staircase when the voices drew her attention down the stairs. A huge number of The Last Riders members that she hadn’t met were filling the living room and doorway as they stood casually talking. Several glanced up to see her standing at the top of the steps before turning back to their conversations.