“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Gracie said coldly. “Giving you a break. We’re done. Finito.”
Anger flashed on Keith’s face, and Luke started forward. He knew that look and it could only mean trouble.
“You teasing bitch,” Keith snarled.
He made a grab for her arm, but Gracie sidestepped him and rammed her knee into his groin.
“Cock-sucking bastard!” she hissed as he fell to the ground.
Luke stepped between them and hauled Keith up by his shirt. The man was still pale with pain and clutching his privates for all he was worth.
Luke slammed him against Keith’s truck and got in his face. “If I ever see you within ten feet of Gracie again, I’ll make what she just did look like a blow job. You got me?”
Keith grunted and struggled to get loose. “Yeah, I get it. Get your fucking hands off me. You’re welcome to the psycho bitch.”
Luke decked him. Keith fell to the ground, blood spurting from his nose. Keith grabbed his face with both hands, howling in pain.
He scrambled to his feet and fumbled to open his truck door. “You son of a bitch! If you broke my nose, I’m pressing charges.”
Luke chuckled and jerked his thumb in the direction of the kitchen window. “You do that, pussy boy. But you ought to know two cops are watching from that window over there, and I imagine they’ll swear they didn’t see any such thing.”
Keith threw himself into the truck, swearing and swiping at the blood running down his face. In a few seconds, he spun out of the driveway, spewing a trail of rocks and dirt several feet high.
Luke turned back to Gracie who wore a look of astonishment on her face.
“You okay?” he asked gently.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She looked up at him, her eyebrows arched in question. “What the hell was that all about?”
Luke knew why she was confused. He’d never intruded on her business like that. Gracie was more than able to take care of herself. It was something he admired about her.
He shrugged and put a hand on her shoulder. “Just looked like you could use the help, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well, thanks,” she mumbled as they started back toward the house.
As they stopped at the steps, she looked up at him, her bottom lip stuck between her teeth, a sure sign of agitation.
“You didn’t…you didn’t hear our conversation did you?” she asked nervously.
Luke almost smiled. Yeah, he supposed Gracie would about die if she knew he’d overheard that and more. From what he’d gleaned from her conversation with Michelle and then her fight with Keith, it looked like she was spreading her wings a bit and venturing into new territory. Territory he was intimately familiar with.
“Nah, I’d just come out when he made a move toward you,” he lied. “Looked like he was trying to hurt you.”
“Well, thanks,” she said again, her shoulders slumping in relief.
“No problem. What are friends for?”
He threw his arm around her neck, letting his hand dangle over her shoulder, something he’d done a million times before. Only now, he was very aware of the proximity of his hand to her breasts. And those nipple rings he was dying to see.
Chapter Three
“So you going to tell me what the hell went on out there earlier?” Wes asked as he popped open another beer.
Luke flopped onto his couch and took a long swig of his own beer. He and Wes had left Jeremy’s earlier and had ended up at Luke’s place. Luke knew Wes was curious over his interference, not that Wes would have done things any differently if he’d been outside when Keith made his move at Gracie.
He took another fortifying gulp before he eased the bottle from his lips. “Let’s just say it’s been an interesting and informative day. Wes leaned back in the arm chair and propped his feet up on Luke’s coffee table. “How so?”
Luke shook his head. Where to start? With the easy part he guessed. “Keith was being an asshole. He was ripping on Gracie, and she told him to take a hike. He went after her and Gracie kneed him in the balls.”
“Good for her,” Wes said, performing a mock salute with his beer bottle.
“I broke his nose for good measure.”
Wes looked at him and shook his head. “Shit, tell me I’m not going to have to arrest your ass when he presses charges.”
Luke laughed. “He’s a pussy. Besides, I told him you and Jeremy were watching and would swear you didn’t see anything.”
“Gee, thanks,” Wes said dryly. “Just what I need, to be arrested with you.”
Luke fiddled with his beer, tapping his finger in restless staccato against the cool glass. He hesitated to tell Wes what he’d overheard. Why, he couldn’t say. They’d never exactly been discreet with each other, and he knew Wes would find it as surprising as he had. But something held him back.
“What’s eating you?” Wes spoke up, intruding on Luke’s thoughts. “You’ve been acting weird all afternoon. You said the day had been informative. So what’s the news?”
Luke sighed and leaned forward to set his beer on the coffee table. “It’s about Gracie.”
Wes cocked an eyebrow. “What about her? You weren’t really surprised she dumped her pussy boyfriend, were you?”
Luke shook his head. “I’m not talking about the wimp, and no, I’m not all together surprised she dumped him. Even less so after what I heard her talking to Michelle about.”
“Ah hell, man, what were you doing eavesdropping on the girls? Gracie will kick your ass if she finds out.”
Luke grinned. Yeah, she wouldn’t hesitate to lay him out. He got the oddest tingle just thinking about her getting in his face. He shook his head. It was the nipple rings, it had to be. He couldn’t get his mind off what her nipples must look like. Hell.
He cleared his throat. “She, uh, well, she said some interesting things.”
Wes leaned forward, dropping his feet to the floor with a thud. “Now you’ve got me curious. What the hell did she say?”
“Apparently she dumped the pussy because he sucked in bed.”
“Yeah, well, again, that’s no surprise. She probably ate him alive,” Wes said.
Luke cocked his head sideways and stared at his friend. “Tell me something, Wes. Have you ever thought about having sex with Gracie?”
Wes choked on his beer and coughed several times in succession. “Sex? With Gracie? Shit man, no, not really. I mean she’s hot, don’t get me wrong. Seriously hot. But...”
“Seriously hot, huh. So you have thought about it, you lying sack of shit,” Luke said on a laugh.
“You have eyes, man. The girl is a walking goddess. What guy wouldn’t get a hard-on looking at her?”
“Well, get this,” Luke said, leaning toward Wes. “I overheard her telling Michelle that she was tired of men not satisfying her in bed. That she has fantasies she wants to live out.”
Wes sat up straighter, his attention focused on Luke. “What kind of fantasies?”
Luke shrugged casually, but his blood was racing just thinking about all she’d said. “Bondage, a little spanking…and she wants to take on two guys at the same time.”
“Whoa,” Wes said as he flopped back in his chair. “She said all that?”
“There’s more,” Luke continued on. “Apparently she wanted pussy boy to do a little experimenting in bed and he freaked. He called her a whore.”
“That little son of a bitch,” Wes growled. “I knew I should have gone outside with you.”
“She has nipple rings. Must be recent. Keith evidently didn’t receive the news so well judging by his comments.”
“Holy fucking shit. Nipple rings?”
“Yeah. Now tell me you aren’t picturing Gracie in the buff with nipple rings dangling from those perfect breasts.”
“Jesus.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Luke mumbled.
“She wants two guys? She said that?”
“Oh, hell yeah. She said that and a lot mor
e. She wants a guy who isn’t afraid to call the shots. Someone who will tie her up, spank her ass and fuck her brains out.”
“Goddamn.”
Luke laughed. “Is that all you can say?”
“I’m speechless,” Wes said, his mouth still open in shock.
“Glad I’m not the only one all fucked up over it.”
“Does she know you heard all that?”
“Hell no. She wouldn’t speak to me for a year,” Luke said.
Wes fell silent, his eyes thoughtful. Luke knew Wes’s brain was spinning a mile a minute. He also knew Wes was rapidly coming to the same conclusion he had.
“Hell, if that’s what she wants…”
“Yeah,” Luke said. “Tell me you aren’t thinking the same thing I am.”
Wes grunted. “I’d have to be fucking gay not to react to something like that. I mean she’s hot. I’ve always thought so.”
Luke looked over at his friend. “Valentine’s is just two weeks away. Should be enough time for you to make arrangements to be off work.”
Wes’s eyes narrowed. “What are you thinking about?”
Luke took in a deep breath then grinned. “Well, we’ve already established the fact that Gracie is hot. We’re both attracted to her. Neither of us has any problem with nipple rings or bondage, and we have considerable experience in the threesome arena. So it seems to me that maybe we should give Gracie a Valentine’s Day to remember.”