“Quit joking and spill it,” Michelle said. “The guys will be in soon.”
“Oh, I fantasize about bondage, a little spanking, maybe a whip or two. The idea of being tied up gets me hotter than I’d like to admit,” Gracie said ruefully. “But…”
But what? Luke wanted to yell.
“More than anything I’d love to experience a ménage.”
“Gracie!” Michelle exclaimed. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Gracie said in a low voice. “Two sexy men, all their attention on me, pleasuring me? Yeah, I think about it a lot. I just don’t know how to make it happen.”
“Holy shit,” Michelle whispered loudly. “Have you thought about taking out an adult ad or something?”
“Yeah, I have,” Gracie replied. “I’ve thought about it a lot. But the thought scares me. Who knows what kind of freaks are out there.”
Adult ad? Luke wanted to march in and throttle her. He would have but he was still thrown for a loop by what she’d admitted. Gracie, his Gracie, had triple X fantasies.
“Face it, Chelle. I’m not sure there’s a man out there who can satisfy my needs in bed. Maybe I’m expecting too much. I just know I’m not settling for less ever again. I’m done with the Keiths of this world. If I can’t find a man, I’ll stick to my toys and self-gratification.”
Not sure there’s a man out there who could satisfy her huh. Luke’s mind whirled with all he’d overheard. So she wanted a threesome. It was obvious Luke had spent far too much time looking at Gracie as a best buddy and a hunting/fishing partner. It certainly wasn’t every day he found a woman who wanted all the things that had gotten him tossed out of so many women’s beds.
Ménage. She wanted a ménage. He couldn’t wait to talk to Wes. He had a feeling his buddy would be very interested in what their good pal Gracie wanted out of her sex life.
Man enough? She didn’t realize it yet, but she’d thrown down the challenge. And damn if he wasn’t going to be the man to answer it.
Chapter Two
Gracie dug into her food, sighing with pleasure as the tender meat hit her tongue.
“Good?” Jeremy asked.
“Run away with me,” Gracie declared. “What does Chelle have that I don’t? We can live on your barbeque and be beach bums.”
Jeremy grinned and started to reply.
Gracie held up a hand. “No, don’t answer that. I’m not up for a list of the ways I don’t measure up.”
Wes and Jeremy looked curiously at her while Luke made it a point to stare down at his plate. Gracie cringed. Instead of coming out jokingly as she’d intended, it sounded sad and resigned.
She glanced over at Michelle and made an “oops” face the others couldn’t see. Then she focused back on her food, cutting another bite of the brisket.
Her breakup with Keith bothered her more than she liked. Not only had the sex been a disaster, but his reaction to the surprise she’d planned still made her cringe in embarrassment. He’d made her feel like a freak. Not what a woman wanted to feel like when she was trying to be wild and sexy.
Weren’t men supposed to like that sort of thing? Didn’t they all complain because women weren’t adventurous enough in bed? Ha! She’d yet to find a man who liked sex with the frequency and imagination she did.
Maybe she was a freak.
She cleared her throat and looked over at Luke. “How’s Ellie doing? I haven’t seen her much since the wedding. Jake seems awfully protective of her.”
“He has a reason to be,” Luke said with a grimace. “But she’s doing good. They seem happy.”
“Isn’t she going to counseling?” Michelle interjected.
Luke nodded. “Yeah, that whole thing with Ray really fucked her up.”
“Stupid son of a bitch,” Wes muttered. “I don’t trust that little breakdown he had on public television. Seems too calculating to me.”
Jeremy raised his brow. “You think he’ll try something?”
“Not unless he has a death wish,” Luke said. “Jake will kill him if he comes near Ellie again.”
“And I won’t exactly be knocking myself out to stop him,” Wes said.
Gracie shook her head. “Ellie’s a sweet girl. I hate that she’s been through so much. But Jake’s good for her.”
“He’d be good for me, too,” Michelle broke in, a devilish glint to her eye.
“Hey,” Jeremy protested as he reached over to tweak Michelle’s arm.
Gracie laughed. God, she loved these guys. She could never stay down in the dumps for long around them. “If Chelle doesn’t want you, Jeremy, you’re welcome at my house.”
“Are you propositioning my husband?” Michelle demanded.
Jeremy rubbed a hand over his chin. “I kind of like being fought over.”
“Cat fights are sexy,” Wes said with a snicker.
Gracie rolled her eyes. “Like any girl has a chance with Jeremy. He’s so gaga over Michelle, it’s nauseating.”
“Just like I like him,” Michelle said with a smug grin.
Michelle stood and began clearing the table. Gracie got up to help and started collecting the plates. As Michelle began running water in the sink, she looked out the kitchen window and tensed.
“Uh oh, Gracie.”
Gracie didn’t like the sound of that uh oh.
Jeremy evidently didn’t either. He went to stand behind his wife so he could look out.
Michelle turned around to Gracie. “Keith just pulled up.”
“Oh great,” Gracie muttered as she plunked down the plates she was holding.
“Trouble, Gracie?” Wes asked in a concerned voice.
She flashed him a reassuring smile. “Nothing I can’t handle.” She walked toward the door, determined to meet Keith outside rather than take the inevitable confrontation inside. “Y’all excuse me for a second. This shouldn’t take long.”
Luke followed her with his gaze until she left the house with a bang. Wes looked over at him questioningly, but Luke played dumb. He didn’t want to let on that he’d overheard Gracie’s conversation with Michelle.
“What’s going on with those two?” Jeremy asked Michelle as they continued to stare out the window.
“She broke up with him this morning,” Michelle murmured.
Wes got up from the table, carrying the plat
es Gracie had left. He walked to the sink and set them down before peering out the window himself. Luke was dying to do the same, but he made himself sit and appear only mildly interested.
“Can’t say it surprises me,” Wes said with a shrug as he returned to sit at the table. “She needs a man she can’t run over so easily.”
Luke looked at his friend in surprise. On that point they agreed, though they’d never discussed Gracie’s love life before. Hadn’t exactly been high on their priority lists.
“He looks angry,” Michelle said anxiously.
Both Wes and Luke shot to their feet and walked to the window to look out. They were all understandably wary after all that Ellie had endured at her ex-husband’s hands. No way would they stand by and let Gracie take the brunt of some punk’s anger. Keith did look pretty pissed and Gracie took a step backwards as they all watched.
“I’m going out there,” Luke muttered. “I want to make sure the dickhead doesn’t get carried away.”
“Jeremy and Wes are the cops, maybe they should go,” Michelle said, her frown deepening as she watched her friend.
“More reason for me to go,” Luke said. “I can get away with decking the asshole better than they can.”
He didn’t wait for a response. He strode for the door and quietly let himself out.
Neither Gracie nor Keith must have heard him because they never turned around. Luke eased down the steps into the yard. Their heated conversation filled his ears, and he stopped so he could listen from the distance.
“Damn it, Gracie, what was I supposed to do? You acted like some kind of a whore. I wasn’t expecting it.”
Gracie clenched her fists at her side.
“Just because I suggested we do something other than the usual suck your dick and missionary that makes me a whore?” she all but yelled.
“Be quiet for God’s sake!”
“No, Keith, I won’t be quiet. It’s over. I don’t know why you’re here, but it sure as hell won’t change my mind. I said all I had to say this morning.”
“You’re dumping me?” he asked incredulously. “Shit, Gracie, you’re being unreasonable. You should have warned me or something. You had nipple rings of all things. Like some kind of cheap tramp. What on earth possessed you? Is that what you made me wait a month without sex for? So you could spring this weird ass surprise on me? And then you go on about how you want me to take control and for you not to have to decide how we do it all the time. Give a guy a break.”
Nipple rings? Oh Jesus. Gracie had nipple rings. This most certainly was a new development. Luke had seen her in a bikini on many occasions, and he damn sure would have noticed nipple rings.
So Gracie was trying to branch out and the pussy boyfriend had thrown a fit. Well, good for her for dumping him. He obviously didn’t deserve her.