by Mia Harlan
“Of course we looked for you,” Charles snaps.
“Everywhere,” Tate adds. His chest vibrates against mine. “We only came back here when we ran out of places to search.”
“I’m sorry, Tate,” I whisper. I can hear the hurt in his voice and it makes my chest ache.
“It’s okay, Roo Roo,” Tate says the words quickly, but I don’t think he means them. There’s a tension in him, like there’s more he wishes to say. When he doesn’t speak, I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him close. Tate relaxes against me and plants a soft kiss on my wet hair.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist us.” JJ chuckles and my cheeks heat.
“I-I fixed the song!” I blurt out, my blush intensifying.
“Forget about the song…” Tate’s breathing grows heavy. He slides his muscular leg between mine and wetness pools between my thighs.
I start to arch my back but Charles grabs my hips with huge hands and holds me still. “The audition’s a lost cause anyway,” he breathes against my ear.
“We haven’t been able to sing together all year,” JJ adds, sounding deceptively casual. I glance at him and his eyes blaze.
He takes my hand and presses my palm against his chest, holding it there. I tremble.
This time, not one of the guys thinks it’s from the cold. Tate groans. Charles growls. And it suddenly dawns on me that whatever’s going on between us right now, it’s not about getting me warmed up. Or maybe it is, in a whole other way.
What am I doing? It was one thing kissing Tate and Charles, and I shouldn’t have even done that. Not together that first night, or separately like I have every day since. I believe in fairy tales. In love at first sight. In happily ever afters with one prince—that perfect soulmate meant just for me. I’m not the type to have a college fling with multiple guys, and even if I were, my growing feelings for Prince Charming and the Beast make it a terrible idea.
I glance from Tate to Charles and then my eyes settle on JJ. How can I be attracted to all three of them? How can I even think of kissing them all? Of doing this, whatever this is?
The shower suddenly feels too small and I feel trapped. There are muscular arms and chests everywhere and my breathing grows heavy as I’m filled with an urge to run.
Almost immediately, Charles takes a step back, giving me space. It’s almost like he can read my mind, and the others can, too. JJ lets go of my hand and gives Tate a pointed look. With a nod, my Prince Charming steps back and gently cups my cheek. “Are you alright, Roonie?”
A little dazed, I nod.
“Are you warmer now?” Charles asks, his voice rumbling behind me.
“Yes. Thank you.” I blush as I look at the guys.
“Here, let me help you out.” JJ extends a hand. He reminds me of a gallant prince, which naturally leads to thoughts of singing, and…their song!
“I figured out how to fix your song!”
“Roonie…” JJ voice is laced with regret. “The three of us talked about it,” I notice that he doesn’t say four, which means they didn’t consult Silas, “and we’ve decided that the audition’s a lost cause.”
“Wait, what? You can’t just give up!”
“We’re not giving up, Roo Roo. Even if you can get us through to the next round, we’ll just end up looking like idiots.”
“But you have to try!” I turn to Charles, silently pleading for him to agree. He shakes his head.
“As much as I want to do another rendition of Apples, I think everyone will appreciate it if we just cut our losses and try again next year.”
“But you can use my songs…” I argue, then realize exactly what I’m saying. “I know they’re not great, but I can try to make them better!”
“Your songs are good,” Charles grumbles.
“They’re not just good, they’re amazing,” Tate adds with a pointed look at Charles. “And they’re not the problem. We are.”
JJ nods. “The four of us can’t harmonize.”
“Yes, you can!”
“You heard for yourself. We really can’t.”
“That’s ‘cuz you weren’t doing it right!” I cover my mouth, wishing I could take the words back.
“You don’t say,” JJ drawls, but he doesn’t look upset. He gives me a heated look, and warmth spreads through me.
“I just meant…look…Tate should be singing with Charles, not you, JJ. I know what Silas said, and I know that’s what you’ve been doing all year. But just try it, please?” I grab Tate’s hand and pull his soaking wet form out of the shower. Obligingly, he follows. I position him in front of the door, and then turn to my Beast. “Charles, you’re in front of Tate. Right here.”
With a grunt, he shuts off the water and moves into position. JJ follows, and I gesture for him to stand in front of the tub, facing me.
“Okay, Charles, you sing first. Tate, harmonize with him. Just forget about symmetry, okay? Sing the first line, like this,” I demonstrate, my voice resonating through the bathroom. It sounds deeper, better, and my confidence grows. I sing JJ’s lines, then move back to singing Charles’s and Tates’s. I tell them which lines belong to Silas and explain what I want them all to do.
My three princes gape at me. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I immediately see why. My eyes are wide and my hair hangs down my face in dark, soaking-wet strands. My silk blouse is see-through and sticks to my body, providing glimpses of the black bra I have underneath.
I can’t tell if I look like a drowned mermaid, a wicked witch, or a down-on-her-luck princess. At least my princes haven’t fared much better. JJ’s the only one who’s mostly dry, minus a slightly damp sleeve. Tate’s jogging clothes hug every inch and Charles’s white dress shirt has gone sheer, showing off the muscular chest hidden underneath. Water droplets cling to his hair and he brushes it back with one huge hand.
“Um…Right…Okay, I’ll be Silas.” I rush to stand by the shower door. “Charles, you start us off.”
He hesitates for a second, but then dutifully sings his line and moves across our mock stage. Tate joins in, then JJ sings his part. It starts to morph into the song I’ve heard in my head, and I can’t help grinning as I sing Silas’s first line. I know my voice isn’t right for the part, but it’s just a placeholder, and the rest of the song sounds amazing.
By the time we reach the last verse, we’re all beaming. Tate has the final line, and he slides to his knees and lets his voice soar. It’s perfect, so perfect that happy tears slide down my cheeks.
“That was amazing!” JJ grabs me around the waist and spins me around full-circle, almost crashing me into Charles, who has to step out of the way.
“We did it!” Tate whoops, pulling JJ and me into a hug.
“Thank you, Roonie,” Charles adds gruffly. He wraps his huge arms around the three of us and my heart’s filled with warmth.
“It was nothing,” I whisper.
“It was everything,” my Beast whispers.
“We should celebrate.” JJ breaks up our hug and heads for the door.
“Chez Caviar?”
“We literally just ate there.” Tate shakes his head.
“So I’ll cook?” JJ calls over his shoulder. “You guys go change.”
Tate and Charles follow him. For a split second, I feel lost, but Charles turns back and grabs my hand. “You can change in my room.”
He leaves me with another pink bag. When I peek inside, my heart melts. Charles got me a beautiful, yellow dress that would be perfect for Beauty. I slip into it and the skirt swirls around my knees. The material is soft silk and it makes me feel like a princess.
I don’t even realize I’m singing until Tate’s voice rings from just outside the door, harmonizing with mine. I slip into the hall and the two of us turn the audition song into a duet. Charles joins us once he’s changed into dry clothes and a split second later, JJ’s voice echoes from the kitchen.
I think it’s the happiest I’ve felt in years. I forget about sound
ing good and channel all my emotions into the songs. JJ does the majority of the cooking and we talk and laugh and sing while we eat dinner.
“How about a movie, Roonie?” Tate asks once the dirty dishes have been put away.
At my nod, he leads me to the couch and cues up a movie—Cinderella. My heart nearly melts. Charles grabs a blanket and JJ gets us snacks, and then we all get comfortable. I end up sandwiched between Tate and Charles, with JJ sitting on the floor with his back against my legs. Then, the movie starts and everything feels perfect.
Halfway into the movie, life couldn’t get any better. I sing along with Cinderella and not one of the guys tells me to stop. In fact, whenever they know the words, they join in too.
We finish singing about the glass slipper and I sigh happily and snuggle under the blanket and bask in the warmth of sitting beside the guys. On screen, Prince Charming kneels in front of Cinderella. I hold my breath, staring intently, even though I know what happens next. Except this time, he never gets to try on her shoe. There’s a knock at the front door and Tate hits pause.
“I got it.” JJ gets to his feet.
I don’t think anything could ruin my happy mood until I hear his voice.
“Hey JJ. I was hoping I could stay here tonight. My roommates—”
At that moment, Silas steps into the apartment, duffle bag in hand. He sees me and his eyes narrow as they slide from Tate to Charles to me, sandwiched in-between. His lips turn down around his piercings. His eyes narrow. The look says that he wants me gone. That he will do anything to make that happen. That he will make me pay.
“What is she doing here?”
Thank You For Reading
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Mia and Vivi
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Note from Mia
Thanks so much for reading my first book. I’d love to meet you and hear what you thought. Stop by my Facebook Group and let me know your favorite Fractured Heart guy so far!
Note from Vivi
If you enjoyed Fractured Heart, you might also like my other books:
A Star Pilot’s Heart by Vivi Clarke and Eva Delaney.
Can I complete my mission and save the galaxy with five alluring men tempting me at every turn?
A Star Pilot’s Heart is a medium-burn reverse harem romance. Click here to read in KU today.
Accepted and Conflicted (VIP College Duet) by Vivi Clarke and Athena Wright
If you want to be a student at VIP College, get used to rubbing shoulders with royalty, rockstars and billionaires.
Accepted and Conflicted are books 1 and 2 of the VIP College Reverse Harem Romance Duet. Click here to read in KU today.