by Krista Wolf
Among other things to bask in.
I found one of the more comfortable couches at the far end of the lobby and sank down in it. I did it so swiftly, the others didn’t even realize I’d gone.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
I glanced up in the middle of my daydream. My mouth curled into a warm smile.
“This seat taken?”
I shifted a bit to my left. “It is now.”
Camden sat down beside me, draping one big arm over my shoulder. His shirt was undone at the top, and his tie was askew. Still, he’d been working the crowds all day. Helping get the guests settled and the cars parked and the exterior of the whole venue buttoned up for the coming storm.
“Whaddya think?” he asked, settling back with a satisfied sigh.
“About what?”
“About everything,” he laughed.
“Well I’m pretty sure the guests love the fuck out of this place,” I said immediately. “From everything I’m overhearing, no one can even believe we pulled this off.”
Camden laughed, and his hard body shook gently against mine. “I find it hard to believe myself, actually.”
“Yeah, well we did it,” I told him. “We worked our collective asses off for this.”
We lay there together for a minute, just leaning against each other and taking in the lobby. Camden’s thoughts were far away, like mine. I imagined they were probably in the same place.
“Madison may have found the manor and saved it,” he said blankly, “and we’ll always love her for that.” He paused before turning into me. “But you know what?”
“What?” I asked, snuggling into him.
Camden’s blue eyes bored into mine. As always, they made me melt a little.
“You were the best thing that ever happened to this place.”
A warmth swept over me, followed by a wave of intense satisfaction. A dozen return quips came to mind, and all of them involved praising myself. The great majority of them were sarcastic as well.
Instead of saying anything though, I just sighed.
“Roderick’s going to make his speech soon,” Camden said. “And Bryce is going to attend the dinner. Ryan and Sarah are going home in a few. Probably to Ryan’s place, which is going to be Sarah’s place soon enough actually.”
I raised an eyebrow. “They’re moving in together?”
“He told me yesterday.”
My smile widened. “Good for them.”
“Yeah, very good,” agreed Camden. He paused and stretched before continuing. “That leaves just you and me.”
“Oh?”
“Unless you’re heading to the dinner,” he said, holding his hands out. “I wasn’t sure. I mean, if you are—”
“To be honest, I’m not really hungry,” I said.
His eyes flashed for a moment, and now he was smiling too. Yeah. Our thoughts were definitely in the same place.
“So… you wanna do some plowing with me?” he asked, pulling on his gloves.
I laughed. “Is that a pickup line?”
“Possibly.”
“Gotta admit, I’ve never heard that one.”
“Ever driven a plow before?”
“No,” I said. “Can’t say that I have.”
“It’s a little complicated,” said Camden. “One wrong turn and we could end up in a snowbank.”
“I see.”
“We could get stuck on the other side of the property, half in a ditch,” he continued. “Sitting in that big empty cab together, with the heat blasting over our faces.”
I curled into him, letting my hands fold themselves comfortingly over his massive upper arm. He flexed a little, probably for my benefit. I loved every second of it.
“So we’ll be stuck in the cab, huh?” I asked.
“It could happen, yeah.”
I mock-gasped. “Whatever will we do?”
Camden shrugged. By now his smile was so big it melted my heart.
“We’d have to survive,” he said. “Do something drastic to keep warm.”
“We couldn’t just call for help?” I teased.
He shook his head. “Phones might not work. Service might be spotty from the other end of the courtyard.”
I sighed dramatically. “It is a big courtyard,” I agreed. “Why, we could be stuck out there for a whole fifteen minutes!”
Camden turned into me, leaning in so close our lips were brushing.
“I can do a lot in fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll bet.”
My heart started beating faster, all on its own. He looked positively yummy in his dress outfit. Just like the others.
“Just don’t do too much damage,” I grinned. “Remember, we’re all celebrating later.”
“Of course. Who’s hosting again?”
“Me, this time around,” I replied. “It was supposed to be Bryce’s turn, but his room doesn’t have a fireplace.”
“Ah.”
“And when it snows like this?” I pointed upward. “Nothing beats being taken by the three of you in front of a nice, roaring fire.”
We kissed deeply, in the forgotten corner of the lobby. We could’ve been two strangers, or two random lovers enjoying a moment. But the four of us were far, far more than that.
“Let me go endure a few of Roderick’s speech changes,” I said eventually. “Shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. While I’m doing that—”
“I’ll bring the plow around,” Camden grinned.
I practically skipped my way back to the front desk. I had three beautiful self-employed fiancés. A gorgeous historic manorhouse-turned-venue, upon which the four of us would build even further success. Tonight would go swimmingly, of course. The dinner party would be amazing, as would Roderick’s speech. On the tour, he and Bryce would lead our guests on a spectacular journey back in time. As for me, Camden and I would be, well, plowing something. And afterward…
Afterward the four of us would celebrate in our own unique style, in the world of pillows and blankets scattered across the floor of my bedroom. Along with champagne, massage oil, and a roaring fire.
MMMMmmmm…
Life was definitely good. Much, much better than at my ‘lakeside’ villa. I’d made a hell of a lot of smart moves since then, thankfully. And I had very little regrets.
“You ready?” I smiled, kissing Roderick on the cheek as he fumbled through the sheets of his prepared speech.
“Err… I—I guess.”
“You’re going to slay them, baby,” I cooed into his ear. From the corner of my eye, I could already see the headlamps of the big plow pulling up near the manor’s huge front windows.
“You really think so?”
“Trust me,” I winked.
Need more Reverse Harem?
Thanks for checking out Theirs to Keep. Here’s hoping you totally LOVED it!
And for even more sweltering reverse harem heat? Check out: One Lucky Bride - A Reverse Harem Romance. Below you’ll find a preview of the sexy, sizzling cover, plus the first several chapters so you can see for yourself:
Chapter One
ADDISON
“No, the highlight of the evening wasn’t when your uncle forgot your name,” Saxon laughed. “It was when he finished his speech… then turned around and walked straight through the double doors into the restaurant’s kitchen!”
Damon snorted so hard he almost spit out his beer. Somehow, my husband-to-be kept it in.
“I’m pretty sure he was trying to find the bathroom,” I giggled, settling back into my seat.
“Yeah, but he was gone for three or four minutes!” Saxon was laughing so hard now he could barely keep himself upright. “Shit, I thought he was gonna come back out with a tray of wings!”
His last statement had the three of us bawling — literally crying our eyes out with laughter. Damon reached out and clapped his friend hard on the back. The two of them were so off balance they almost fell over.
“I forgot how much I miss you, man
.”
“You’d miss me a lot less if you came out to visit,” Saxon countered quickly. “And you really have no excuse. It’s not like Vegas is boring or anything. Plus Addy deserves a vacation just for putting up with you.”
Damon shoved his friend playfully, and this time he did tip over. Our best man rolled sideways and returned to a sitting position again — all without spilling his beer.
“So it was a good rehearsal dinner then?” I asked eventually.
“The best!”
Saxon raised his bottle, his sapphire blue eyes still shining with tears of laughter. His ear-to-ear grin was warm and genuine. As beautiful as he was.
“Here’s to the bride and groom,” he toasted, and the three of us clinked our bottles together. He looked back at the two of us and shook his head somberly. “God. I just can’t believe it.”
“What?” asked Damon. “That your best friend is finally getting married?”
“No, that you managed to land a girl this beautiful.”
Saxon grinned and raised his bottle my way. Smirking broadly, I toasted him back.
“Anyway, tomorrow’s going to be fantastic,” said Saxon. “Especially if your uncle ends up stumbling into the ladies room, or something equally amazing.”
“If he goes into the kitchen tomorrow I hope they put him to work,” said Damon. “Scrubbing pots and pans, or—”
“Any word from Finn?”
Damon’s sentence died in his throat. Very slowly, he shook his head. “No, no yet.”
“Yeah, well that’s Finn for you.”
Finnegan was our other best man. Or rather, he was supposed to have been. As it was, we hadn’t heard from him in about two weeks. The last we knew he was still somewhere on the other side of the ocean.
“He still doing that logging gig somewhere in Germany?” asked Saxon.
“Nah, he was on a fishing trawler last time I talked to him.”
I shook my head. “No, that job was seasonal. Last postcard we got, he was backpacking through Spain.”
I pointed to the wall, where more than a dozen colorful postcards were pinned to the cheap wood paneling of our apartment. Finn wasn’t always the best at keeping in touch, and never had the same phone number for more than a few months. But he still sent postcards, which I always found funny.
“Yeah, well… it’s not going to be the same without him,” said Damon glumly.
Saxon reached out and punched him softly in the shoulder. “Are you kidding? This wedding is gonna rock, man. Finn or no Finn. Besides… you’ve already got the greatest best man on the whole planet. Me.”
He splayed his fingers and pressed them against his broad chest, where his shirt was unbuttoned down to his navel. My eyes couldn’t help but crawl their way over his incredible pecs and abs. Each individual muscle was so beautifully hard and rigid, it seemed sculpted out of clay.
“I’m not so sure we can actually trust your opinion,” I quipped, forcing my gaze back up to the best man’s equally gorgeous face.
“And why’s that?”
“Because you chose to stay here tonight,” I chuckled merrily. “On that contraption.”
I pointed to the jagged black-iron deathtrap that doubled as our futon. It was already unfolded and made up with clean sheets. Even so, I would’ve rather slept on the floor.
“Hey, the price was right,” Saxon smiled. “Free is free, right? Besides, staying here gave me a little more time to hang with you guys.” He and Damon fist-bumped for the sixth or seventh time in the last twelve hours. “Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
As cheesy as the fist-bumping was, it was also cute… maybe even touching. Damon and Saxon had grown up quite literally across the street from each other. Throughout their entire childhood they’d been like brothers — totally and completely inseparable. Practically even the same person, if the stories were to be believed.
And as if that weren’t enough, the same went for Finn as well. Though their crazier friend lived a few blocks away, the trio shared a thousand richly-detailed stories — each one funnier than the last. Most of them involving trouble of course, but I was always kind of addicted to guys who found trouble.
“You sure you don’t want the couch?” Damon was asking.
“You mean loveseat?” laughed Saxon. “C’mon bro, I’m not folding my body in half to fit on that thing!”
In the three years Damon and I had been together, I’d seen Saxon and Finn a half dozen times each. Every visit made me just a little more jealous of the bond the three of them shared. But Saxon was a successful chef now, working a series of high-end restaurants in Las Vegas. And Finn was, well…
Finn was Finn.
“Holy shit it’s one-thirty.”
We all looked at the clock at the same time. The wedding was mere hours away now, instead of weeks or months. It made me think back to all the planning. All the saving and stressing and anticipation that at times, drove the two of us absolutely nuts.
Damon had been a rock, though. I couldn’t complain. And now that it was all said and done? The two of us could kick back and finally enjoy the day. And even more so, the honeymoon that came afterward.
“We should probably turn in.”
My soon-to-be husband nodded, then turned my way. Our eyes met and we shared a sly, secret smile.
“’Night then,” said Saxon, stretching his long arms. I could tell he wasn’t tired. The time difference between Nevada and New York would keep him up another hour or so, probably screwing around on his phone.
We hugged our friend on the way through to the bedroom. My own embrace might’ve lingered an extra second or two, as I admittedly enjoyed the feel of Saxon’s hard body pressed against mine. But hey, I was still a single girl. For a few more hours, anyway.
“Thanks for the digs,” said Saxon, pulling back the blankets on the futon.
“Yeah, let’s hear you say that tomorrow,” chuckled Damon.
He chuckled again as we made our way across the living room. Just before we left he cleared his throat.
“Oh and guys?”
Our handsome best man pointed back up at the clock, then grinned.
“Happy wedding day.”
Two
ADDISON
I whimpered softly as he slid into me, gripping the sheets in my fists. He felt big tonight. Way bigger than normal. It could’ve been the excitement of our upcoming wedding. Or maybe it was the way I was urging him on. Talking dirty to my gorgeous fiancé, for the very last time.
“Oh baby… fuck me.”
Fiancé. It was such a foreign word, when I first started using it. But I grew to love it over the past fourteen months. It made things that much hotter for us, because it spoke of such close commitment. A bond neither of us had felt with anyone else.
“God you’re soo big…” I gasped, bucking my ass back against him. Damon’s hands were on my hips, flexing and squeezing. His big, muscular arms looking fantastic in our mirrored armoire.
Tomorrow he’s my husband.
The thought made me even crazier, hornier. Only it wasn’t tomorrow. It was today. A few short hours in fact.
But right now none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting my lover’s cock as deep inside me as possible. Screwing him so far into my body that it actually hurt; that special spot he reached that always left me a little bit sore the next day.
“Fuck, Addison.”
Damon’s grunts were primal now. He was lost in the moment — totally fixated on drilling me to the core. He wasn’t being quiet about it, either. Not even with Saxon in the next room, just a door away.
“Your ass is incredible,” Damon murmured. He took one hand from my hip, to smooth his big palm over the warm curve. “Totally fucking amazing.”
“So I’ve been told,” I smirked back over my shoulder. “And tomorrow it’ll be your wife’s ass.”
I saw the arousal flare in his eyes. That glimmer of excitement that always preceded him picking up the pac
e, and screwing the daylights out of me.
“You know you are pretty lucky,” I teased, gyrating against him. “My ass is definitely amazing.”
“I know,” my fiancé smirked back. “Saxon thinks so too.”
I chuckled at the compliment. “He does, does he?”
“Yes,” Damon replied breathlessly. “He said so earlier.”
I tried to picture the two of them discussing my ass, possibly when I was out of the room. As I did, an all new heat blossomed in my belly.
“And what exactly did he say?”
My soon-to-be husband pushed all the way inside of me. Pinned tightly against my rounded ass, I closed my eyes as he leaned over my naked back.
“We were talking about it last week,” Damon whispered into my ear. “I was telling him about the night of our anniversary, when you put on that outfit.”
The warmth in my belly began spreading. I knew exactly which outfit he meant.
“And?”
“And he said you must’ve looked amazing, all dressed up like that. Strutting around in that schoolgirl skirt. Licking that big lollipop, and then bending forward so I could look down your shirt.”
The night in question had been hot indeed. I’d danced for him a little bit, to one of his favorite AC/DC songs. After teasing him mercilessly for a good several minutes, Damon had spun me around and bent me over the bed. He took me just like that — hard and rough, with my skirt hiked up over my ass. Holding my wrists back as he dug me out from behind… almost like he was doing now.
“If Saxon enjoyed that story,” I breathed, “he would’ve loved the photos that went along with it.”
Damon started screwing me again, only this time very slowly. He let out a long, heated hiss as he glided in out of me.
“I would’ve definitely showed him,” he said plainly. “If I knew it was okay.”
Okay?
The very idea of it flooded me with heat. Not that I could tell him that. Or could I?