Acres, Natalie - Sex Drive [Country Roads 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

“Yep.”

“And you don’t care?”

Rex stopped, turned, and shrugged. “If sex was that good earlier, imagine what it will be like when we have a makeup session to look forward to. I don’t care if I make her mad as all hell. In fact, I hope she’s so angry, we can hear her screaming from here.”

Luke laughed aloud. “I forgot how good in bed she is. She fucks better than me.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Rex grumbled. “I don’t go that way.”

“Smart-ass. I would hope not. I’m your damn brother!”

“You don’t lack confidence. I’ll give you that,” Rex grumbled, walking ahead of him, taking a shortcut through one of many gardens.

“Neither do you.” A beat later, Luke said, “You seem certain Lucy will forgive and forget.”

“She will.”

“Why?”

“Look. Here’s the way I see things. Lucy has a high-pressure career. She’s the boss, and apparently, she’s been able to achieve great things in the world of racing. The best drivers, cup winners, and newcomers are in her lineup. She quickly gained respect because she was interested in the business and determined to lead her company to the top. She’s been successful, but she lacks one thing.”

“A strong man—or men—in her life.”

“And a family,” Rex added.

Luke shook his head. “Lucy doesn’t realize what big responsibilities children are. She may think she’s ready for a family, but she doesn’t have experience with kids.”

“Lucy wouldn’t have mentioned having children if she hadn’t stopped and thought about this. She’s not the kind of woman who says one thing and means another.”

“So what now? Should we keep her chained to the bed until we get her pregnant?”

“Works for me.”

“It won’t work for her, or us for that matter, if we’re suiting up to play in the puddle.”

Rex gave him a quick glance. “That was a practice run. We need a lot of those until we have everything checked out under our hoods.”

Luke gulped. “I could’ve done without the comparison.” A beat later he asked, “And just what do you plan on telling Billy the Kid?”

“I’m offering him a job.”

“What kind of job?”

“Lucy’s,” Rex replied. “That’s why we’re headed there now. I’d like to see if he’ll take Lucy’s place until she’s able to return to work.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Luke asked. “She’ll kill you!”

“Maybe, but if she does, then she’ll take the life of her baby’s father.”

“Oh dear God. You really have lost it.”

“No, but I’m determined to make her happy. If Lucy wants to have a child, I want to give her mine. Together, the three of us will raise the brightest boy this county has ever seen.”

“What if she has a girl?”

“We’ll give her to the kid. He probably relates well to girls. He has one. You heard the way he talked to his wife on the phone. He’s had plenty of practice in baby language.”

“I’m not kidding, Rex,” Luke said, stepping onto Lucy’s porch about the same time Rex hit the first step. “This won’t sit well with Lucy. That
Nashville
race is important to her. Handing over the company—a company that doesn’t belong to us, I might add—may make her furious enough to ditch you before you even have a chance to saddle up for a second rodeo.”

“There will be other races.”

“And there will be other opportunities to get her pregnant!” They stood there and stared at one another. Crickets sang their irritating song, and the full moon slid away from cloud coverage. It was a glorious summer night, quiet and peaceful. “This really is ridiculous. And it’s typical of us. You know that right? This is exactly how things always play out with Lucy.”

Rex frowned, rubbed his two-day-old stubble, and remained stubborn as always. “Maybe it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I don’t care. I won’t lose Lucy again, and while she’s staying at our house, in our bed, I plan to make it count. She’s not going anywhere until I know we can trust her to come home to us each and every time she leaves.”

“Well, at least she’s there by her own choice, right?” Luke asked, shaking his head.

Rex studied the stars. “It’s a beautiful night.”

“Okay, so you don’t wanna talk about this. Have it your way. You can deal with Lucy in the morning.”

“I have Lucy covered.”

“We’ll see,” Luke mumbled.

“Trust me. I can handle wild women.”

“Yes, but can you handle smart ones?” Lucy asked from behind them.

“What the ever-lovin’ hell?” Luke asked, looking down at the handcuffs attached to the bedposts she dragged behind her.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t figure out how to free myself?”

Luke blew out a hard and fast breath. “Told you.”

“I can’t believe you, Rex McDavid,” Lucy said, stomping toward the end of the porch, two slabs of wood following behind her. “Did you really think you could keep me bound to the bed until this weekend?”

“No,” Rex replied. “Just until I was sure you were pregnant.”

“This is what I never understood about you,” Lucy ranted. “You do some of the dumbest things. And when the idiot-o-meter hits a dangerous level, that’s when you justify your actions!”

“He wants you to have his baby,” Luke explained.

“I sort of got that part,” Lucy said, fury coloring her eyes. “I have a career!”

“So what? Clearly, you aren’t happy. You’re burned out. Tired. It’s time to let someone else run the company for a bit.”

“Drivers and their families are counting on me!”

“Your point?” Rex asked.

Luke shook his head. She might as well save her breath.

“I can’t miss work!”

“I didn’t ask you to miss work. I left you tied to the bed so you can be accessible while you’re on leave. Consider the time off a mini vacation long overdue.”

“Attending race events is part of what I do!”

“Don’t fret,” Luke told her. “Your company would’ve been in good hands. He was going to ask Billy to stand in for you.”

“Billy?” she screeched. “Are you serious? Billy is dumb as a coal bucket!”

“Thanks,” Billy remarked, stepping onto the porch. “I may not have the hardest tool in the pits, but at least I’m not out here walking around in handcuffs dragging two by fours—or bedposts, which are what those look like—around behind me.”

“Oh God,” Lucy said, bowing her head. “This is a nightmare.”

“I think it’s kind of funny,” Luke said, approaching her.

“Me, too,” Billy agreed, taking a seat on the swing. “If this is how folks live in the country, I may get used to things out here.” A beat later, he looked at Rex and said, “What’d you do, use those cuffs with the plastic pulleys?”

“No,” Rex snapped.

She lifted a brow.

“Did I?”

Luke shook his head. “Yes. You were so excited about becoming a daddy that you didn’t pay attention to what you used. Lucy was asleep, and you saw a prime opportunity to strap her to the bed.”

Billy frowned. “Wait a minute. Did the two of you try to hold Lucy against her will?”

“Don’t worry about it, Billy.” She looked at Luke and then shot Rex a mean stare, one certain to make the hairs stand up on the back of Rex’s neck. “I’m used to them. We’ve been playing these games since before I was able to drink alcohol.”

“That’s not right,” Luke corrected her. “The first time we had sex was on your twenty-first birthday.”

She smiled. “Yes, but we’ve been chasing one another around since I was about this high.” She stuck her arm out in front of her and dropped her hand a few inches.

“Really?” Billy asked, studying the wood she was still swinging around. “You must’ve been a strong little tike, huh?”

She pursed her lips and batted her eyelashes. “Now you see why I don’t want Billy taking over the company?” Quickly, she addressed Billy, “Sorry, hon.”

Billy shrugged. “Hey, no problem. I couldn’t do what you do anyway.”

Rex rubbed his chin. “Could I?”

Lucy looked down at the heavy limbs she’d accumulated and sighed. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

“Are you letting him have his way?” Luke asked, not at all surprised.

“I suppose so. I always do.”

Chapter Thirteen

Lucy awoke to breakfast in bed. Luke carried a tray to her bedside, placed the wicker carrier next to a mountain of paperwork, and then kissed her gently on the lips. “I figured you needed to restore your energy.”

“I could get used to this,” she said, stretching.

“You deserve to be pampered,” Luke whispered against her lips.

“You think turning over the business to Rex is a bad idea. Don’t you?”

“It doesn’t matter what I believe. This is between you and him.”

“I care what you think, Luke.”

He sat on the edge of the mattress. Happy to have his company, Lucy went about buttering her toast and spooning homemade peach preserves onto the light bread. “So? Tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours.”

“Let me ask you something,” he said, turning the tables. “If your grandfather were alive today, what would he say?”

She choked on her first bite of toast.

“That’s what I thought.”

She held up one finger and chewed. Taking a drink of freshly squeezed orange juice, she said, “I can almost hear him now.”

“It’s not what he’d say. It’s what he’d do. He’d try his damndest to get the reins of his company back.”

“I’m not handing over ownership. Rex is just standing in while I concentrate on more important matters, like starting a family with the two of you.”

“We haven’t even discussed this, Lucy. This is how you operate. You’re a right-now person.”

She laughed. “And what makes you say that, Luke McDavid?”

“You always have been. Everything must be done right when you make a decision to do it. There’s no waiting with you. When you were a kid, you wanted a horse. Your granddad went out and bought one a few minutes after you asked for one.

“You wanted a sports car, not the pickup he gave you for your sixteenth birthday, and what did he do? Traded it that day so you could still tell your friends you got a Mustang on your birthday.

“You couldn’t get anyone to rent to high school kids at
Myrtle Beach
for your senior trip, so the old man told you not to worry. He bought a fucking house, closed in two days, and you spent the summer there. And let’s not even get me started on how you got accepted at Vanderbilt.”

“I didn’t go.”

“Of course you didn’t. You fell in love with racing that year, and Mr. Malone didn’t just sponsor a race car, he bought a whole fucking team. Anything you want, you can have, and thanks to your financial situation, you’ve never wanted for anything long.”

“Are you mad at me for some reason?” she asked, noting his tone sort of suggested as much.

“No, honey. I’m not angry with you, but I need you to see what you’re doing here. I don’t think you want to be a mom yet. You certainly don’t want Rex running your company or at least you shouldn’t. Think about it. What the hell does Rex know about racing?

“Thing is, you decided to start a family, more or less told us that’s what you had in mind, and now you’re kicking up your heels and raring to go. You’ll fuck around the clock if you have to—not that I’m opposed to that, by the way—just so you can get started on expanding your family as soon as possible.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t had time to think about it. You rushed back into town like a bat out of hell, grabbed hold of our hearts like you’d just dropped them at the door and decided to stop back in and scoop them up, and now you’re talking a lifelong commitment with a couple of kids.”

“Eight.”

“What?” he screeched, apparently understanding but unable to process.

“I want eight kids.”

Luke rubbed his jaw.

“Oh come on now. You know you want a few little Lukes running around.”

Luke fell against the chair behind him. “This is my point. You just come up with these random ideas and then decide they’re the greatest notions in the world. You expect everyone to follow suit. I don’t want eight kids. I may not even want
a kid
.

“I don’t know if you really want children, Lucy. I damn sure don’t think you want to hand over your company, the company you and your grandfather built from scratch, to my brother or anyone else.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” A beat later, she said, “I’ve been living this life for a while now. I’m ready to settle down. Stock car racing is a demanding sport. I never have time to breathe. It’s a burden to lie down and go to sleep.”

“And you love Rex so much that you want him to enjoy that lifestyle?”

“He seemed willing to take over. I’m not exactly going away indefinitely. I’m just stepping aside so he can be the front man while I take some time to enjoy life again.”