Broke Down: My Over the Top Possessive Alpha Harem

by Sharan Daire

  “That’s good,” Kaleb called from the edge of the set. “Chris, just stand there for a moment looking grim as hell. Yeah, that’s perfect. Tell them what you want.”

  “Give her to me,” Chris growled out.

  “Over my dead body,” Derek retorted so forcefully that I did a double take, forcing myself to remember this was just a game. A movie.

  Though that gun in his hand definitely made it seem more real. Everett’s arms tightened around me, and Derek backed tighter against me. Shielding me from the threat.

  “Are you sure that’s how you want to play this, tough guy?” Chris taunted, his lip curling in a sneer.

  “Slowly make your move,” Kaleb said, repeating, “Slowly! I need time to capture the story. I’m not as fast on the camera as you.”

  Chris’ hand snapped out, his fingers wrapping around Derek’s wrist. The movement was super quick, but then he held the position a moment, slowly cocking his other fist back like he was going to flatten his friend.

  I didn’t see what happened next, but Derek grunted, his big body jolting against me. And the gun was in Chris’ hand.

  “Give her to me.”

  Derek spread his arms wide, offering up himself as a target. “Take me, man. Leave her alone. She’s not a part of this.”

  Chris focused on me. “She’s the only part of this I’m interested in.”

  My tongue plastered to the top of my mouth. Hoodie shading his face, gun in his hand, snarl on his lips… He was the epitome of a gorgeous but dangerous bad boy. His eyes blazed with heat, even though he’d never touched me. Measuring me for his gowns didn’t count. That had been impersonal.

  Now, his eyes were very personal. Smoking hot. Promising to drag me along a razor-thin wire of too much, too dangerous, too hard, too fast.

  And my body loved every moment of it.

  I was definitely primed for more after that first photoshoot, but this was different. Chris wasn’t the casual flirt, or the hold-your-hand kind of date. No.

  He was the throw-you-up-against-the-wall-and-ravage-you kind of man.

  He held his hand out. “If you care about them, come here. I’ll spare them.”

  “Don’t do it,” Everett whispered against my ear, turning me toward the camera in a slow motion, as if he was going to fling me back behind him, but his movements were more like a smooth waltz. He cradled me against him, his hand sliding up around my throat to my jaw. His thumb grazed my lips. His powerful body moved against mine in a sensuous glide that made all the heat and play from this morning’s session flood back over me.

  “Bang,” Chris said in a cold, flat voice. “That was your warning shot, princess. The next bullet goes into your tough guy. Then your rich boy’s suit has a really bad day.”

  Everett loosened his arms, sliding his hand down the column of my throat and across my shoulder, down my arm as I slowly pulled away. His fingers lingered down my elbow, trailing across the delicate skin of my wrist.

  “Good,” Kaleb called softly. “Give Chris your other hand, and stand there a moment, caught between them.”

  I stretched out my hand to Chris. His fingers closed around my wrist in a vise. I’d been expecting a little force, but the reality still sent electricity charging up my arm. Everett caught my fingers in his, holding me spread-eagled between them. I felt heat against my back, and then Derek was against me, back to back. One of his hands closed around my waist, pulling me firmer against him.

  For a moment, I hung there, touching all three of them. Leaning against the broad muscle of Derek’s back. Three hands on my body. Different hands. Different men.

  It was all too easy to picture what it would be like to have their full attention on me in bed. Without a camera or fancy clothes. Just this heat. This natural choreography between us that didn’t feel scripted, even with Kaleb snapping pictures.

  I’d never known it could be like this. So much sexual attraction. So much arousal. From basically nothing. They weren’t groping me, kissing me, or rubbing their dicks against me. But their care and attention heated my body more than the bright lights of the set.

  Their obvious attraction. The ravenous, ferocious way they looked at me.

  Especially Chris.

  Perhaps they’d given each other a signal that I missed, but suddenly I was stumbling toward him, my back chilled without Derek’s heat. I tripped, my ankle giving out in the too-high heels, but I didn’t have time to fall. Or rather, I fell into him, caught up against him with a jolt that made my breath rush out.

  A low sound escaped his throat, a rumbling growl or word, I wasn’t sure. He whirled me around, making me dizzy. My feet didn’t touch the ground. His arms locked around me, so hard and fierce. His body a brick wall, every ounce of muscle screaming with tension.

  My back flattened against a hard surface, but it was his hips settling against me that made me suck in another quivering breath. He pinned me against the wall, just as I’d immediately pictured when I’d met him.

  He caught my wrists above my head in one hand. He must have put the gun away or dropped it when he grabbed me, leaving his other hand free to settle around my throat. He squeezed ever so delicately. I could breathe… but his fingers told me that he controlled every breath I took.

  Panting, I stared up at him as he leaned down, eyes glittering, the chiseled lines of his face barely an inch away.

  “Is this okay?”

  I blinked, trying to get my brain to work. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to think. Arching my back, I pressed up against him.

  He gave me a slow full-body flex, drawing a groan from my mouth. He dropped more of his weight against me, leaning closer so his words were a caress against my lips. “I guess so.”

  My body turned to Jell-O. My bones dissolved. I twitched and rubbed against him, a fevered need that demanded movement. Pressure. Friction.

  But all he did was hold me there, letting me writhe against him. He didn’t force his way between my thighs so he could press up against my core, even though I wanted him to, so badly that I moaned in frustration. The dress was too tight for me to open my thighs for him.

  Lifting my head, I tried to kiss him, but he easily evaded my lips, forcing me to settle for burying my face against his chest. He was too tall for me to even get his skin against my mouth.

  So humiliating. I’d never been so sexually turned on, and then denied so effortlessly. The pure, clean scent of his T-shirt only stirred my hunger even more. I wanted to know what his skin smelled like. How much chest hair might tickle my nose. Whether he had any tattoos. If he had even a single ounce of softness on his body anywhere.

  He’d said he wanted me earlier, but I couldn’t help but sympathize with young Angela now, who’d gone home in tears because he’d so easily denied me even a kiss.

  “Thank you,” he whispered gruffly, dropping his head closer to mine.

  I clenched my jaws a moment, fighting down the frustration that bubbled up inside me. “For what?”

  My tone was still harsh to my ears, and yeah, bitter. It wasn’t right for him to play with me like this, and then shut me down so effortlessly. Despite his words earlier, I couldn’t help but take his actions as rejection. And that made tears burn my eyes.

  A soft grunt escaped his lips as if I’d poked him in the ribs. He raised his head, backing away slightly as if he wanted to see my face, but I didn’t want him to see the raw hunger that was surely still blazing in my eyes. Not if he didn’t… If he wouldn’t…

  His thumb dug into my chin, his fingers firm as he tipped my face up to his. Eyes narrowed, he studied me a moment. I couldn’t catch my breath. My eyes were watery, so I’d probably messed up my makeup. My lips kept trembling, caught between wanting to cry and flinging myself up against him to demand a searing kiss. My whole body burned like I’d fallen into a bonfire, so hot that sweat beaded my forehead. I felt a thin trail of sweat between my breasts, which were almost spilling out of the bodice after all this jostling and hard breathing.
/>
  Which only made me tremble harder. Wanting so much more.

  A look flickered over his face that I couldn’t quite read. Agony? Though maybe that was my imagination. I couldn’t imagine anything hurting him. Let alone me.

  “For this. For letting us in. Even me.”

  He released me so suddenly that I wavered a moment, my knees trembling, ankles threatening to dump me on my backside. All the sweat and heat instantly started to cool on my skin, making me shiver. I could only stare at him, dumbfounded, as he turned away and strode over to take the camera away from Kaleb.

  “I’m going to go review what we got. See you tomorrow morning, eight o’clock sharp.”

  And then he was gone.

  19

  Shelby

  Freshly scrubbed from the heavy makeup and dressed in my most comfy sweatpants and ratty shirt, I curled up on the leather sofa in my borrowed cabin. I tucked the cozy blanket up around my shoulders, but I still shivered deep inside. I wasn’t cold, not really. I just…

  I blew out a heavy sigh.

  I wanted…

  Touch. A hug. Fingers threaded through mine. A heavy arm around my shoulders. A warm, hard chest to lean against. A thick thigh beside me that I could throw a leg over while I slept.

  But that only made me remember the humiliating moment earlier today, when I’d buried my face against Chris’ chest and tried not to cry.

  How had they made me care about them so quickly? So easily? How had they made me trust them so effortlessly?

  How had they made me need them so badly I couldn’t sleep? It was nearly midnight. The kids had been asleep for hours. Yet here I sat. Thinking.

  About the four men who ran this lodge.

  I’d only known them a few days, but it might as well have been years. They’d thrown open the books, pulled back the curtains, and invited me into their daily lives like they’d always known me. They didn’t care about my past. They didn’t care that I owed several thousand in back rent and utilities at my old place in Dallas. That my credit was complete crap. I didn’t have an education or career to speak of. No family other than poor old Granny.

  For so long, it’d been just me and my kids against the whole world, struggling to keep my shit together on the surface, at least long enough to get them to bed or school, to make sure they ate and got their homework done. So I could rush off to make a few bucks waiting on rude customers. That had been my life for so long that I’d given up on even thinking about anything more for us.

  One foot in front of the other. The days and nights blurred into exhaustion, barely surviving from one moment to the next. Where the stress of finding enough to eat for the week at the grocery store on my tips was a never-ending nightmare from which I couldn’t wake.

  They’d opened my eyes to possibility. To hope. Not just for a partner, or friend, or even a quick, hot as fuck one-night stand. They’d made me feel good about myself, both as a mother and a simple human being. Every time I saw the heat in Derek’s eyes, the admiration in Everett’s, the sweet longing in Kaleb’s, and the blazing surge in Chris’, they healed another little cracked piece of myself that I hadn’t even known was damaged.

  It honestly felt like one of those extreme renovations where a whole crew came in and tore the house down to the studs and put everything back together again in a week. Everything I’d known about myself, especially my limitations, had been stripped bare.

  I was capable of so much more living. Not just making ends meet. I was beautiful. I was a great mother. My kids were doing fantastic despite the divorce and trauma. I was actually starting to think about things I could do, and yeah, believe they were possible. Whether that meant school or new training. Hell, maybe even college. I wasn’t too old.

  It was possible.

  I was possible.

  They’d given that to, not just me, but also my kids. In less than a week.

  So what happened now? How could I pack up our few precious belongings again and drive away to Granny’s, when everything I’d never even dared to dream about was right here?

  It was crazy. I couldn’t possibly be thinking about staying. Right? With four men I barely knew. Long term. Dare I say… forever.

  But I wanted to. Badly.

  I wanted to make this real and permanent. I wanted breakfast with Everett at the lodge, lunch with Kaleb, and everyone for dinner. I wanted picnics and s’mores and fishing trips. I wanted more Anderson family dinners. I wanted to see Angela and Marko’s new babies.

  In a matter of days, they’d somehow managed to slide us into their lives as if we were a perfect fit. As if they’d be devastated if we weren’t here. Just the thought of dragging Liam and Allie away to a new life yet again made everything in me cringe and twist in agony.

  Yet the realist in me insisted that this couldn’t last forever.

  Something scratched at the door. Heart pounding, I slipped over to peek out, clutching the blanket to me. Wally wagged his tail, somehow looking both apologetic and adorable, as if he knew he shouldn’t be here in the middle of the night. I opened the door and he stepped inside, rubbing against my leg.

  “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

  I scratched behind his ears, suddenly worried that Kaleb might need help. It was pretty late, but even if everything was ok, I didn’t want him to worry about where his dog had gone. I picked my phone up from the counter where I’d been charging it and texted him. Are you up?

  I barely finished typing and my phone rang.

  “Hey, Shelby. Everything okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. Wally showed up and I wanted to make sure you knew where he was.”

  While I was talking, Wally headed up the stairs, though he hesitated a moment, looking at me to see if I objected. I smiled and nodded, though I didn’t know that he’d understand. Allie would think she’d woken up in doggie heaven if Wally was there beside her in the morning.

  “Sure, if you don’t mind. I let him out to potty, and I guess he decided to go visiting.”

  I sat back down on the couch and pulled the blanket under my chin. “Allie will be thrilled.”

  “I hope he didn’t wake you up.”

  “No. You?”

  He laughed softly. “I’m a night owl. I’m hardly ever in bed by midnight, but don’t expect me to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at six in the morning, either. Unlike my brother.”

  “I’m usually up early, though I’ve been sleeping in a lot since we’ve been here. I didn’t realize how tired I was.”

  “That’s good. Get all the rest you can. Is eight too early? I can tell Chris you need more time.”

  I sighed softly. “No, eight is fine.”

  “About today…” He hesitated a moment, and I heard a clink, as if he’d picked up a bottle. “I’m sorry if it was too much, too soon.”

  “No, it was fine. I’m just a bit… shaken, I guess, at how intense it was.” I suddenly craved a drink. A beer. A glass of wine. Something relaxing that I could sip while we talked. I got up and rummaged around in the fridge, looking for some beer or chilled wine, but all I found was juice and milk. “Darn.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, nothing. I was looking for a nightcap. I didn’t need one anyway.”

  I could hear him breathing softly several beats before he said, “I could bring you something. What would you prefer?”

  My heart leaped, startling me. Yeah. I did want to see him. Even if it was just a few minutes. But it’d be better if he stayed a while. “Whatever you’re drinking. If you don’t mind…”

  He laughed. “Shelby, I’m already halfway out the door at the thought of seeing you again. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “Okay, see you soon.” I hung up and resisted the urge to rush to the bathroom and check how I looked. It was the middle of the night, and we’d all had a long day. There was no reason for me to primp and worry about dark circles under my eyes or poofy hair.

  Instead, I curled bac
k up on the couch and tried not to check my phone every ten seconds to see if his five minutes were up yet.

  Barely four minutes later, I heard footsteps on the porch and a light tap on the door. “Come in,” I called out softly, not wanting to leave my warm nest.

  Kaleb stepped inside, making my heart pitter-patter again. He was dressed just as casually as me in plain gray sweatpants and a royal blue hoodie that made his eyes insanely blue. A hint of stubble darkened his jaw. With his tousled hair, he had a rumpled, sleepy-eyed look that made me want to wrap my body around him and cuddle forever.

  “I brought a six pack of beer and a bottle of merlot that I opened last night. What sounds good?”

  “A glass of wine would be perfect.”

  He flashed a grin and headed for the little kitchen. “Coming right up.”

  He stashed the beer in the fridge and came back with one bottle for him and a glass of wine for me. “Do you mind a little company? I brought snacks too.”

  I laughed as he pulled a bag of chips out of the hoodie. “Well, I never turned down a snack.”

  He sat on the couch, giving me plenty of polite space. I turned to face him, pulling my feet up and wriggling around until I was comfortable. “Thanks for bringing over a drink. Hopefully I can get to sleep.”

  “It was a pretty heavy day. Hopefully Chris is happy with the shots. He should have a thousand at least to choose from. I couldn’t stop snapping pictures of you.”

  My cheeks heated and I shrugged away the compliment, trying not to think about how it’d felt to be with them. “I think the hardest part was remembering that it was all just a skit.”

  He made a low noise, not exactly a negative response but not a hum either. “It wasn’t pretend, Shelby. Certainly not for me, and I know them well enough to speak for them and say hell no. It wasn’t just a show for the camera. It wasn’t an act. The hardest part for me was remembering that we did have a camera on us.”

  I sipped my wine, peeking at him over the glass. “Or…?”