Breaking the Cycle (Rocking Racers Book 1)

by Megan Lowe

  “I know, I felt it,” I say, and laugh.

  “Bria, baby, you have no idea what this all means.”

  I cup his cheek. “I do.”

  He shakes his head. “This, right here,” he says, tapping the table, “this is my dream. You’re making my dreams come true, even ones I only had a couple of days ago.”

  “The way I see it, I’m building my family’s dreams, building our future, all of ours, forever.”

  Reed pulls me to him, pressing his lips against mine. Our tongues connect and it takes everything in me to remember our surroundings and pull away. Once again, his mouth is next to my ear. “Fuck, angel, I need to be inside you. Right. Now.” I’m nodding before he finishes his sentence.

  “Buddy,” Reed says to Chris, “can you tell Pop that Aunty Bria and I will be back soon?”

  Chris nods without looking up from his colouring.

  “Come on,” Reed says, pulling me up and pushing me in front of him to hide the evidence of his arousal. We run, giggling, through the diner, ignoring the knowing looks from Liam and Parker.

  After our afternoon interlude, we run into Jax and Mav as we’re cleaning up; we only made it as far as Reed’s kitchen table.

  “Brother, sister,” Jax says, a large grin on his face. Both he and Mav are dressed similarly in black singlets and basketball shorts, their skin glowing red from the workout they just came from.

  “Hey, Jax, Mav,” I say and wave at them, my head resting on Reed’s chest.

  “It smells like sex in here,” Jax says. “Were you two partaking in a little afternoon delight?” He wiggles his eyebrows. “And in the kitchen too. I hope you sanitised everything.”

  “Seriously, man?” Mav asks.

  Jax holds up his hands. “Hey, I’m not the one who had sex in the kitchen. I’m just asking if they’re being hygienic.”

  “Shut up, you idiot,” Reed says, slapping Jax on the back of the head. “Come on, Pop and Bria have work for you guys.”

  “Us? Why?” Jax asks.

  “Up you hop,” Reed says to me, offering me his hand. “Bria’s Ryan Racing’s new PR rep, so they’re getting everything set up.”

  “Oh, nice,” Mav says, nodding.

  Jax gives a cheesy grin and does a little dance. “Oh yeah, we’re moving to the big leagues now!”

  Reed shakes his head as we walk out the door.

  “Do either of you have Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts?” I ask.

  “I have Facebook, but no to the other two,” Mav says.

  “Personal or professional pages?”

  “Personal.”

  “Okay. Jax?”

  “Just Facebook and Instagram.”

  “Personal?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll take a look at your Instagram and then we’ll set up the others and streamline them. Mav, Pop said you update the Ryan Racing website?” He nods. “Okay, so if we can, it’ll be good to link them there. We’ll have to set all this up for Liam as well.”

  I say all this and Reed starts to turn around.

  “Where are you going?”

  “You keep talking like this and I’m gonna chain you to my bed.”

  I laugh and pat his head. “Stop! You’re going to have to get used to me saying this sort of stuff.”

  “Fine,” he huffs, and heads back to the diner. “Sorry,” Reed says, leading me to the seat of the booth. “Bria needed to change the dressing on her leg.”

  Pop and Jay both nod before Pop says, “Reed, go give Park a hand.”

  He nods and kisses me.

  “Here,” Pop says, and hands me a tattered notebook. Inside are the contact details for dozens of journalists and publications.

  “Oh great, thanks. I’ll type all this up and then send out a press release.”

  “What will it say?” Jay asks.

  “Much what I said to Bob. That we’re shocked at the explosion, we’re cooperating with race officials and police, and we’re looking forward to the next race. I’ll also include that I’m now our PR rep and any and all questions and requests are to come through me.”

  Pop and Jay look at each other and smile.

  “Yeah, we got a good one,” Jay says, patting my hand.

  “Thanks, Jay.”

  “Pa,” he corrects, and I beam.

  “Pa. I also want to set up social media presences for the guys and the team as a whole.”

  “Well, that sounds very new age to me,” Pa says.

  “Not really, it’s just an instant way to get news and information to your fans. I’ll then have Mav put links up on the website. Speaking of… Jax!” I yell, and he saunters over. “Let me see this Instagram of yours.”

  He types in the address and I have a look. Most of the posts are harmless, but his username, @hotbmxboy, isn’t going to cut it.

  “I’m changing your username,” I tell him.

  “To what?”

  “@jaxryanofficial. It’ll be your username for Twitter and Facebook as well.”

  “Will Liam and Mav’s usernames be as boring?”

  “Yep. @liamryanofficial and @mavryanofficial to go with @ryanracing.”

  “Fine,” he sighs. “I’ll be boring.”

  “It’s not boring. It’s appropriate. We’re going to be shining the spotlight on you, all three of you, and we need to make sure you’re presenting a face sponsors will love.”

  “Oh yeah, baby, now we’re talking!”

  “Who you calling baby?” Reed asks as he walks past.

  “Er, no one,” Jax says meekly.

  “Yeah, just remember that.” Reed leans over to kiss me before walking away. I watch him for a minute before looking around and noticing the diner’s getting busy.

  “If you need to help out here, I’m fine to do this by myself. It’s just a lot of filling in forms,” I say to Jax, Pa, and Pop.

  “Thanks, darling,” Pa says, and kisses the top of my head.

  I spend the next couple of hours setting the accounts up, entering the reporters’ contact details in a spreadsheet, then typing up and emailing the press release. I look up to see the Ryans all lounging around socialising, the patrons all very male.

  I get up and stretch, and Reed notices my movement. He comes over and rubs my shoulders. “You done, baby?”

  I moan and move my neck from side to side. “Yep, all done. God, Reed, that feels so good.” I'm sure he's smirking behind me. “I know you’re smirking back there.”

  Reed draws me back into his arms and rests his chin on my shoulder. “I don’t smirk, baby. I was simply enjoying your reactions.”

  “Sure. So what’s going on?”

  “The Monday night footy shows,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. I guess it is if you’re a general football fan, but I only pay attention if my team, St Kilda, are being featured. I think I’ll reveal that chestnut a little bit later on.

  “Oh, of course!” I exclaim, “How could I not realise?” I bat my eyelashes at him.

  “So fucking sweet,” he mutters under his breath.

  “Is it okay if I stay?”

  Reed comes to stand in front of me and takes my face in his hands. “Baby, I’d be mad if you didn’t. If footy isn’t your thing, feel free to study or whatever. I just want to be with you, near you, wherever you are.”

  I beam at him. “Do you mind if I call Grayson?’

  “Not at all. Food’s served afterwards so if you want anything between now and then, get it now.”

  “Some cheese fries?” I ask.

  He kisses my nose. “Anything for you. Another shake too?”

  I smile shyly and nod. I love the way he takes care of me and is always looking out for me.

  I call Grayson and invite her over. She arrives about the same time as my cheese fries.

  “You know,” she says as she slings her bag onto the table and plops down in the booth next to me and Chris, who’s eating his dinner. He’ll go to bed before the programmes start. �
��Normally I’m not a footy fan, but seeing all these good-looking men, it’s not a hardship to sit and watch.”

  “I thought you might be convinced to come over.”

  “So you’re a part of this now, huh?”

  I nod. “I am. Reed and I are official, making plans for the future. The guys call me sis, I call Nate and Jay Pop and Pa. They’ve taken me in. I love them, all of them.”

  She nods. “And they love you, all of them, not just Reed—who left a massive hickey on your neck, by the way.”

  “I know, about all of it.”

  “I have to admit I had my doubts, but I’m glad to be proven wrong.”

  “I know. It’s all happened so fast, but it feels right. Everything just clicks, you know?”

  She nods.

  “I started working for them today, doing PR for the team.”

  “Really? That’s awesome! What’s the pay?”

  “They’re not paying me, as such. I’m family, they’re family. We look after each other.”

  “You make it sound like the mob.”

  I laugh. “Not the mob, just love.”

  “Fair enough,” Grayson says.

  “So in light of my new job, I need your help. I need you to give me the rundown on the National Racing Series.”

  She smiles, takes a breath, and begins her lesson.

  Chapter Twenty

  REED

  I wasn’t lying when I said I just wanted to be with Bria, near her. This girl has my heart and soul and I never want them back.

  She and Grayson spend the game chatting in the booth we’re now calling Bria’s office. She deserves so much more, but at the first possible moment, we’re getting office space, just for her. Whipped? Absolutely. Do I care? Not in the slightest. When a guy gets a girl like Bria, they'd understand.

  The night’s programming ends, but if somebody asked me what was discussed, I couldn’t answer. I spent most of it watching my girl. I swear I almost shot my load when she told me forever. I have the same plans. I can easily imagine one day calling her my wife and see her belly round with our child and watch them grow. Beautiful little boys—the Ryans always have boys—who have their mother’s blonde hair and brown eyes and my love for bikes. Boys who, together with Chris, can help take Ryan Racing from a family-run team to a major player in the world of action and motor sports. With Bria working on our PR, I have no doubt together, we can build Ryan Racing into a powerhouse.

  I'm still bowled over that she wants to work for us, and for nothing, really, when I don’t doubt she could demand a much better job elsewhere. But I’m not going to question it. I want to build RR with her, for her, for our family, both present and future. She said she’s on the shot, so I wonder if she’d consider not getting it when she’s next due? Maybe she’d want to be married, or at least engaged before we start trying, but that shit can take months or even years… and it’s not like I’m not going to propose eventually. A pregnant Bria…? Shit, that’s the dream right there.

  Once the diner has cleared out, I take her back to my house, although it’s really ours now as I have no intention of her sleeping anywhere else and certainly not without me. I remind her to take her antibiotics as the thought of her getting sick kills me, squeezing my heart in a vise.

  She puts her bag on my, now our, bed and I remember the drawer I cleaned out for her today while she was in class. She actually has two drawers and half my wardrobe.

  “If you want to keep some stuff here,” I say in what I hope is a nonchalant voice, “I cleaned out two drawers for you. There’s also some room in my wardrobe if you need to hang stuff up.”

  “You cleaned out drawers and your wardrobe for me?” she asks in what I think is a disbelieving voice, but I can also hear the underlying excitement.

  I shrug. “Of course. I told you I want to be wherever you are, and as I’m not sure if I’d be allowed to stay with you in your dorm, it makes sense that you have room here, in our room,” I say as I come up behind her, moving her hair off her neck and kissing, nipping, and licking softly.

  “Our room?” she asks in her breathy, turned-on voice that gets me hard instantly.

  “Yep, our room. We’re a thing now, a couple, and couples share spaces. This, previously being my space, now becomes ours.”

  “Mmm,” she moans and I chuckle.

  “Come on,” I say and slap her arse. “Let’s get ready for bed.”

  We move around each other with a familiarity you wouldn’t think a couple of almost a week would have, but I’ve come to realise Bria and I are not a typical couple.

  I’m in bed waiting for her when she comes out of the bathroom wearing my Ryan Racing shirt. It’s huge on her, coming down to almost her knees, but it’s never looked better.

  She hops in and I pull her to me, her head automatically resting on my chest, her hand drawing circles.

  “So earlier you mentioned you and me together forever. What does that entail?” I ask.

  She bolts up, a worried look on her face. “Why? Do you not see the same?” She bites her lip.

  I release it. “Relax, angel. I’m just curious as to what your forever entails. You know, marriage, kids, even location. I just want us to be on the same page.”

  “Oh.” She slumps back on my chest and I run my fingers through her hair. “Um, well I guess I want to be married,” she begins.

  I pull back to look at her. “Hang on, you guess you want us to be married, meaning you don’t really care if we are or not?”

  She shrugs and to be honest, my stomach drops, but I step up. I'll take anything she willingly gives me.

  “Fine, no marriage. We can make that work."

  “Reed—”

  “I just want you, us, Bria." I kiss her head and squash the desire to growl that I want nothing more than to see my ring on her finger, but I hold back. I flick off the light and go quiet.

  Her voice cuts through the darkness. “I want a small wedding, just immediate family, my parents, your brothers, Chris, Pa, and Pop. My parents have this gazebo in their yard, and I’ve always dreamed of having the ceremony there.”

  I roll over and see her lying on her back, tears glistening in her eyes, captured by the sliver of moonlight shining into the room. I pull her to me. She clings to me and continues to talk.

  “I want two, maybe three kids. Ideally I’d like all girls, or maybe two girls and a boy. I don’t care where we are, if we have to move or not. I assume Ryan Racing would dictate most of that, but I think we can run it from here with no problems. I don’t think I’d like to be too far away from your family though.”

  I sigh and kiss her forehead. “You don't have to share all this with me, you know. I was being pushy.”

  She sits up to look me in the eye. “It’s really what I want. I swear, Reed, when I said forever I meant forever, until the end of time, till death do us part.”

  I nodded. “Why did you feel the need to hold back?”

  She shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want you thinking I was one of those girls who’s already started planning our wedding.”

  I cup her face. “As far as I’m concerned, you can book the fucking thing.”

  “I can?” she asks in a small voice.

  “Absolutely. Go dress shopping tomorrow if you want, because I will be proposing and we will be having that wedding in your parents’ garden. You’ll wear a pretty white dress, I’ll wear a suit, and then I’ll put my ring on your finger and we’ll have babies. Lots of little boys. I’m sorry, angel, I can’t make your little girl dream come true. Ryans only have boys, and you will be a Ryan.” She sniffs and I hug her to me, her tears dripping on my bare chest. “And then we’ll build Ryan Racing into the powerhouse I know it can be, and raise our boys, with blonde hair and brown eyes like their mama, and I’ll teach them how to ride and we’ll grow old and watch them fall in love and have babies of their own.”

  By now she’s full-on sobbing. “How does that sound?”

  She nods. “It s
ounds like a dream.”

  I smile and wipe her tears. “It’s our dream and we’re going to make it happen.”

  She nods. “I love you so much, Reed.”

  “And I love you, angel. Now come here.” I crush her to me. “No more tears, okay? We have a future to build, and I can’t do that if you’re crying. It kills me to see you cry, baby.”

  She nods and wipes her face.

  “There’s my girl.”

  “You really want all that?” she asks.

  I nod. “Got the kids’ names picked out and everything; might be working on a dog too.” She laughs and it’s the best sound in the world.

  “Is that what you want too?”

  She nods. “Although I really would like at least one daughter and maybe a cat.”

  I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I’ll see what I can do. Maybe we’ll just have to have twins, a boy and a girl.”

  “That’s fine with me, as long as it’s your children I’m carrying.”

  “Jesus, Bria.” I kiss her head. “So we’re doing this? Marriage? Kids? The whole lot?” The reality of this conversation and the meaning behind it hits me hard. I knew our conversation wasn't empty words, but this… fuck me, we're making it happen.

  There's no fear looming in the distance waiting to swallow me whole. The speed, the seriousness, the whole for-fucking-ever… all it does is make me grin and want it all so bad that I want to drag her out of bed now and start making real plans.

  “The whole lot, pets included.”

  “I promise I’ll give you the dream proposal and your ideal ring.” I'm impressed with myself for holding back, but I need to make this right.

  “I don’t care as long as I have you.”

  “Forever, baby.”

  I bend down and kiss her. “So what do you say we start practicing for those boys now, huh?”

  I’m so desperate to get inside her, I don’t even wait for her answer, instead crushing my lips to hers and silencing whatever she was about to say. It doesn’t matter anyway; I’m gonna get my girl pregnant in two months' time, and nothing’s gonna stop me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  BRIA