by Eden Connor
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
So tired of everyone knowing what’s going on and I’m still trying to get my brain out of neutral. “What am I missing?”
“We said too much about Caroline’s idea and how well it worked. Somebody at the shop told Barnes.” Jonny went pale under his tan. “Jaeger can reverse engineer what we did. If Barnes wins the drag race, Jaeger can sign Barnes up to drive, and use our hard work for free.” He drove his fists into the padded arms of the recliner. “And that, my friends, is what they call payback.”
“He doesn’t have the code,” Caroline whispered.
“Right. He’ll play hell finding it, too.” Caine blew out a deep breath.
Just kill me now. “Jaeger played me, too. He acted like he wasn’t interested with teaming up with Hannah-Built—because he believed Dale cheated to get me that goddamn Audi, so I’d jump at the chance to prove otherwise.”
And Barnes... was he smart enough to work this out, or had George helped him—to see where Audi’s loyalties lay? Either way, they’d sprung the trap and I couldn’t stick my neck in it fast enough. Guilt tightened the muscles at the base of my neck. The familiar headache cranked up.
Caine narrowed his eyes on me. “Who’s this guy you had struck off the pit crew? Someone we know?”
“I honestly never got his name.” I cleared my throat. “He told me he was there the night I raced Rowdy. Green eyes. Hair like Alan Jackson and Jason Aldeen’s sneer.”
I thought I’d used two country music stars he’d know to describe this guy, but Caine scowled. “Huh?”
I turned to Caroline in frustration. “Makes you wish your vagina had a zipper, so you don’t accidentally offer it to him?”
Caroline’s eyes rounded. “Fuck me. Goodlowe Albright? I knew he took a job with some German race team, but I thought he had to, like, move to Germany.”
“Wait a minute. Go back to the zipper thing.” Caine had a unibrow going on, he scowled so hard.
Jonny scrubbed his hands over his face. “Niles was transferred from the Motherland to the States not long ago. That’s why he lives at the Radisson. Barnes fucking played us like a fiddle.” He drove his fist against the chair arm. “We modified those engines to try and solve a problem—a theoretical model—that’s been batted around in engineering circles for a while now. Just to see if it could be done. Caroline solved it. It fucking works. And I told the German bastard all about it.”
“The code’s encrypted, but Albright will blow through that like it’s tissue paper, if Barnes gets that car back.” Caroline dropped her face into her hands, but not before I spied how pale she’d gone.
I couldn’t hold anything back. I had to tell them, even though it meant none of them would probably speak to me, ever again.
“Don’t feel bad. I tried to get out of racing by telling Ervin I had no crew, but he assured me this guy’s team would take care of both cars, right? Jaeger was all over the Audi the minute I pulled up beside him. I even let them jack it up, and your buddy Goodlowe hooked his computer to the damn thing.”
“Oh, shit. Lowe already got into the computer?” Caroline looked like she needed the ginger ale and crackers.
“Set up.” Caine shook his head. “Barnes played you the hardest, Shelby. And I stood right there and let it happen.”
He hadn’t ‘let it happen’. He’d tried to stop me, but my ego wouldn’t let me back down from the challenge.
“I was lookin’ at George after you finished with the reporters.” Caroline let her hands fall to her thighs. “I swear, y’all, I think he texted Kolby.”
“Set up.” Caine nodded. “George had two extra hours to figure out what to do to take any heat you might bring off his ass. He calls Barnes to show up, Barnes calls Niles. Niles jumps at the chance to do George a favor, and steal some trade secrets in the process.”
Trade secrets?
I kept forgetting that my brothers—my friends and family—ran in the most competitive of circles. I recalled Rick Ridenhour’s special blend of motor oil—or rather, the money he’d put into developing it. With millions at stake, of course, industrial espionage was a concern.
Their faces. God, if I lived to be a hundred, I’d never forget their faces. I’d fucked over the very people I loved most in the world, no kiss and no lube.
“Then, I guess I have no choice but to win.” I pushed out of the chair. “Or, pray that Barnes doesn’t know the whereabouts of the last ‘Cuda convertible.” I was drained of tears. All that was left was the aching hole in my chest. “Maybe whoever owns it won’t sell.”
Making ten steps to the bedroom felt like I was dragging the whole bus with me. I needed to repost any tweet that used the heroic hashtag, but when Caine followed and handed me my phone, I pressed the power button, staring at the tiny screen until the phone went dark before I laid it on the nightstand.
Stupid. NASCAR is all about the dirty driving. Why didn’t I just come out and say I thought Barnes was suicidal and England was making money by letting him self-destruct?
I brushed my teeth and washed my face. By the time I came out of the bathroom, Caine was already in bed. He watched me undress, then lifted the covers. I crawled between the cool cotton sheets, curling close to his side. His lips felt warm against my forehead, but nothing could chase away the chill around my heart.
“All the times I imagined us actually sleepin’ together, it sure as hell wasn’t under this cloud.”
Was Dale having nightmares? My feelings on keeping the baby changed by the hour, but I was still terrified to actually find out whether I was pregnant. Then, there was Marley and her nosy-ass stepfather. I’d taken a piss in George England’s corn flakes and he’d wasted no time firing back. I’d fallen for his and Kolby’s ruse. They were probably sharing a beer and laughing their asses off. Could someone so stupid actually graduate from college on Sunday?
“Shelby. Stop, babe. I can hear the wheels turning inside your head.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I’d take your mind off things, if I wasn’t too goddamn tired to get it up.”
Oh, and I was about to fail three exams. My printmaking course didn’t have a final. Yay. One bright spot.
He caressed my arm. “You need rest. Stay in bed all day tomorrow, except for visitin’ Dad. That’s an order.”
He’d learn I didn’t take orders unless someone paid me $2.13 an hour, plus tips. We’d have to figure out how to be a couple—and the Hannahs had never done a damn thing like normal folks. Add one more concern to my list.
“Caine, I have to get my exams out of the way, just so I can stand up under the weight of all this other stuff.” I blinked back tears. “Right now, I feel like I’m about to be crushed.”
I ticked the problems off in my head as I spoke. “Exams. Breaking up with Robert. Dale. Colt and Marley. The drag race. Possibly pregnant and no clue what I’m gonna do. Industrial espionage. And, I have a doomed-to-fail hashtag campaign to manage.”
Let’s not forget Mom and that damn video. Had I sent it to Dale, or was Doris chortling over the goddamn thing?
He pushed my hair off my cheek. The softness in eyes made me look away. Why wouldn’t he just yell at me?
“What George does is out of your hands now. So is Dad. Two gutsy decisions made. Now you just gotta watch and see how they play out. For that matter, Colt and Marley are out of your hands, too. Me, Colt, and her used to race her when she was in diapers to see who could climb to the top of a big old stack of racin’ slicks first. None of us know what Dad’s plans are for Hannah-Built, because the fucker keeps everything under his hat. I guess now you see why. But. I went balls to the wall to conceal Caroline’s work from anyone who didn’t have hours and hours to look. As for being pregnant, I’m right here and I ain’t leavin’. I love you.”
I wanted to say the words, but they felt odd on my tongue, like eating raw cauliflower for the first time.
“When I look at those videos of you that I had no right to make, you know what I think ab
out?”
“N-no.” This could go ten different ways, nine of them humiliating. My chest already felt like I’d parked the Audi on it.
“I wonder what God musta been thinkin’ when He made you. I see Him pickin’ out the parts. Big eyes the color of spring grass first. Then, He scooped up a handful of freckles to throw in ‘em. Used what was left on your nose. I figure He only had five girl’s toes in handy, so he cut them in half to make ten.” He smoothed a hand over my hair, keeping time with the lulling way he spoke.
Please, yell at me. Anything but this.
“That meant He had to trim all the other parts, so everything would be to scale. Added strands He plucked right out of a sunset to go on your head. Used the softest skin he could find. Gave you a face to match them cute little toes. Made you smart as hell and threw in four pinches of stubborn. And then, He weighed all the scrap and it kinda shocked Him how much he’d trimmed off, right? So, He finds the biggest goddamn heart in the barrel. One that was rated for a Sun Tzu or Spartacus type, but He managed to fit it inside you.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “And the job I signed on for is to back you up when you follow that heart and take on the world. Ain’t so bad. This is one of the few times in your life you might actually need me.”
“Stop. I fucked up. Don’t be nice about it.”
Caine’s crooked grin sliced my heart open. “I knew what Colt let you leave home believin’ about yourself. Yeah, this has been the worst day of my life, but life’s more twisted than we could ever be. I’m bleedin’ inside, too, but then, God goes and gives me a shot at settin’ that to rights.”
Too overcome to speak, I wrapped an arm around him. He cupped my cheek, pressing my head to his chest. His heartbeat lulled me, but long after he fell asleep, my brain wouldn’t let go of all the problems to be solved. I wanted to get out of bed and pace, watch my Twitter feed, check every sports site I could find, but I snuggled close to Caine and listened for Colt to come back, feeling as lost as I had the night of my eighteenth birthday.
The only thing missing was an awkward offer to dance.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I opened my eyes, trying to identify the noise that woke me. The sharp, muffled report sounded again. Car doors?
“Don’t tell me another goddamn rock star checked in. I like to have killed myself cleanin’ up after the bandmates of the last one. They trashed that private waitin’ room up on three west. Had to re-carpet the goddamn thing, but I was the one who got my ass chewed. Like it’s my fault that piss bleaches the dye outta wool carpet?”
“Nah. Didn’t you read the signs people are holdin’, you illiterate motherfucker? This one’s some big shot with NASCAR. Damn, that bus has gotta be fifty feet long. Glad I ain’t gotta drive that sumbitch.” I studied the panel that hid the bathroom. Seriously, if two people could fit in there, I’d think the mouthy jerks were in the john.
“Reckon I better check the supply closet and see what we got that cleans tobacco juice stains.”
Fuck you, stupid. The voices grew too distant to hear.
The curtains blocked any light, giving me no way to gauge what time it was. My bladder made a clarion call I couldn’t ignore. With a sigh, I eased out of the big bed, hoping not to cheat Caine out of any sleep.
A soft giggle made me think Caroline and Jonny were awake, so once I relived my bladder, I tiptoed to the door and eased the panel aside.
Jonny sat in the middle of the unfolded sofa bed, legs spread. Caroline knelt between his thighs. He rested his head on the top edge of the cushions at his back.
My heart leaped with joy. Colt’s feet were planted wide on either side of Jonny, knees slightly bent. I stared at the taut globes of my beautiful stepbrother’s ass, noting Jonny’s darker hands gripping the untanned globes while Colt thrust into Jonny’s mouth.
Colt peered over his shoulder. “Mornin’, sis.”
Caroline’s hair swept forward, blocking Jonny’s groin from view, so I enjoyed the play of his abdominal muscles instead. Every time she hit a certain spot and those muscles tensed, I tightened my channel along with him.
Transfixed by the scene, I grinned when Caroline swept her hair to one side, giving me a peek at her lips, stretched around Jonny’s glistening shaft. My nipples beaded. A strong beat sprang to life in my clit. Caroline’s folds peeked from between her thighs, drawing me forward.
I smoothed a hand down her spine, enjoying the music of their mingled moans. Colt grasped Jonny’s head and picked up speed, and damn, watching them play rough sent my temperature soaring. Raking my nails down Caroline’s buttocks, I put one knee on the rumpled sheets, undecided whether to watch or participate.
While I tested Caroline’s wetness, Jonny trailed his fingers down my hip. I twisted my hips his way, and he got the message. Moving to my mound, he thrust his hand between my legs. Now that Caroline’s arousal coated my fingers, I matched the pace Jonny set inside me, inside her.
When Jonny treated me to a second finger, I did the same for Caroline—the most wicked game of follow-the-leader I’d ever played.
Caroline bowed her back, lifting her ass to give me better access. She made a muffled sound around Jonny’s shaft. A heartbeat later, Jonny stilled and made a similar cry, strangled by Colt’s shaft. Colt finished the chain reaction with a loud groan.
Colt dropped one hand from Jonny’s head and half-turned from the waist, peering in my direction. The showoff wanted to be sure I got a good look at that big dick, judging from his grin, and I took full advantage of the view. He pinched my nipple roughly, giving the tender peak a half-twist.
Jonny’s finger-bangs were a thing of beauty. He showed no more mercy than Caine did, which I loved. His palm slapped my clit with each thrust. Tightening around his fingers, I urged him to pick up speed. I tipped my head back to enjoy the sensations streaking though me, struggling to keep time inside Caroline.
A heavy tread behind me enticed me to look over my shoulder, but to prolong the thrill, I resisted the urge. Wondering who Caine would fuck first sent a thrill skittering from my nipples to my clit.
“Nice of you to warm her up.” Caine moved my hand aside and eased behind Caroline, gripping his cock. His eyes held a wicked taunt while he fitted himself to her entrance. Hooking a hand around my neck, he drew me forward to meet his lips. An intense bolt of pleasure crackled through me when he slid his tongue into my mouth, simultaneously thrusting into Caroline. I felt my way along her side, teasing her ribs in quest of her breast. How she managed to giggle was a mystery. Colt slapped a hand to the wall and peered over his shoulder.
“Do my sister right, bro. I’m gonna help myself to our sister.” Colt’s naughty wink made me break off the kiss so I could laugh out loud.
God, we’re twisted. But, no matter how I’d picked apart the speech Caine made in Jonny’s shower, back in March, fucked up never equaled wrong.
Colt eased his cock out of Jonny’s mouth. “You got her ready?”
Jonny pulled out of me, showing his fingers to Colt. “Wet enough?”
Colt made a graceful leap, landing at my side. “Let’s find out.” He brought his hand down hard on my buttock. Every nerve ending morphed to life.
Caroline lifted her head, watching with avid eyes while Colt kicked my feet apart. He pushed me forward with an unforgiving hand on the back of my neck. I planted my hands on the bed and spread my feet, lifting onto my toes to ease his entry.
His massive cock stretched me to the limit, but I was so aroused, I felt nothing but an urgency to drive him deeper. Caine set a hard pace inside Caroline, making me need Colt all the more. I rocked back, trying to urge Colt to match his brother’s strokes, but Colt had his own ideas, so I got lost watching Jonny. Wrapping Caroline’s mane around his fists, his muscles rippled as he pushed into Caroline’s mouth with measured beats, lifting his ass off the mattress.
The lack of mercy Jonny and Caine showed Caroline finally spurred Colt’s efforts. I couldn’t help but cry out when
he drove deep, but the symphony of pants and moans, the ring of flesh on flesh, the soft breast in my hand, and the rigid cock driving inside me was what made this so goddamn good. Sex with my stepbrothers was never just sex, it was a buffet of forbidden treats, and I was free to take my fill.
Caroline seemed close to her peak. I tweaked her nipple with more torque. Jonny slammed a hand to the back of her head. His hips jerked in time to his strangled cries.
I held my breath, in solidarity, while he emptied into her throat. I nearly passed out before his hands fell to the sheet, but Colt benefitted from the way Jonny and Caine’s rough treatment of Caroline got me wetter, claiming another inch of me.
Caroline raised her head and turned stunned eyes my way. I leaned forward to lick the droplet of Jonny’s seed from her lips, then kissed her, hard and deep, thrilling to Jonny’s taste on her tongue.
She broke contact with a sob. “Fuck, yeah.”
Caine dug his fingers into her hips. His rhythm became relentless, forcing more cries from Caroline. Colt’s sure strokes lost their rhythm. Were his eyes pinned to Caine’s shaft, thrusting in and out of Caroline, too?
Colt gripped me tighter while he rode out his release. His groans mingled with his sister’s wails until he fell silent. A heartbeat passed, then something warm pressed the spot between my shoulder blades. The kiss soothed away my sleepless night.
“Aw, Jesus,” Colt groaned, wrapping his arms around my waist for a tight hug that erased all the mean things I wanted to say because he’d abandoned us in favor of Marley.
Caroline’s ragged cries filled the bus. Caine went still, but he reached around to drive a hand between her thighs. I envied her that unforgiving touch on her clit. The pressure prolonged her sobs until she wrenched free.
“Can’t take any more,” she panted, lurching forward into Jonny’s waiting arms.
Which left Caine with a hard cock and a wicked gleam in his eye. “Get over here, gorgeous,” Caine demanded, stripping off the condom.
Chuckling, Jonny broke their kiss, patting Caroline on the ass. “Spread wide for Shelby, baby. I bet my car chief wants to watch his woman eat some cat. I know I do.”
