Falling For Them: A New Adult Reverse Harem Collection

by C. L. Stone

  “Nothing.” Ellie moved to cover her mouth with her hand. Dov refused to answer, but Mathin didn’t miss their swollen lips and rosy cheeks.

  “Damn, can’t a guy take a nap without his girl getting ravaged?” Mathin faked exasperation.

  “Are you jealous?”

  “If I say yes, do I get a—”

  Ellie silenced Mathin with a kiss, and tentatively poked her tongue into his mouth. She used the tricks Dov had taught her to seduce Mathin.

  “Oh…sweetheart.” Mathin moaned. Dov abruptly rose and went inside. He was thinking about the second mating ceremony. He might agree to use ear plugs after all. Then again, while it would block his cousin’s sounds of joy, it would also keep him from hearing Ellie’s cries of ecstasy. He wasn’t sure if it was worth it to miss the noises she made, just to ignore his cousins. Mating her would be a test of his will.

  Mathin reached around Ellie, tugging her onto his lap. He arranged her so she sat astride him. “Comfortable?”

  “Sure.” She blushed.

  “Just don’t squirm too much, I don’t want to die today.” Mathin wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  She scrunched her brows. “Die?”

  “If you keep squirming like that,” he paused for a kiss, “I’m going to be tempted, and if I’m tempted,” Mathin kissed Ellie’s jaw close to her ear, “I might just give in. I’m not known for my amazing thinking skills.”

  “Hmm, well, I wouldn’t want you to die.” Ellie laughed as his breath tickled her ear.

  He pulled back to stare at her figure. “But what a way to go.”

  “Mathin!” Ellie squeaked. Hauling her back to his chest, he ran his hands up and down her back stopping rather close to the curve of her butt.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll behave.”

  “See that you do.” She kissed the tip of his nose.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Torben called from the door, “and get Ellie off your lap!”

  Mathin and Ellie shared a laugh and a quick kiss before carefully untangling their bodies. Mathin took Ellie’s hand and guided her inside. Torben held the door open and smiled at Ellie, pinching his cousin as he passed. Julia met them in the kitchen with cups of coffee for each of them. Dov was already seated at the table, chowing down on a piece of bacon.

  “Not going to wait for us?” Ellie arched her brow saucily. Dov rose from his chair, scooped Ellie up, and sat back down with her in his lap. He fed her bacon from his plate, Mathin laughed, and Torben rolled his eyes with a smirk. Julia pretended nothing was out of the ordinary, but she did ask Ellie to take her own seat before they passed around the food.

  “Maw-Maw, I thought I saw Ran in the woods last night. I think he stayed for the ceremony.” I thought he was long gone, but there he was, winking at me from the shadows.

  “You saw him too?” Dov’s tone was surprised. He didn’t think Ellie would have noticed him since he was certain his cousins hadn’t.

  Ellie shrugged. “Yeah, when we came in, he was standing at the back. I think he just wanted to watch the ceremony. He’s proud of all of you, even if he doesn’t have the best way of showing it.”

  “Why didn’t I see him?” Torben wondered aloud.

  Mathin smiled at Ellie. “We were a little busy.”

  “He left right after.” Ellie shrugged.

  “Hopefully, he stays away.” Torben ate his food with vigor.

  Ellie touched his shoulder. “You don’t mean that, do you?”

  Torben swallowed before answering. “Maybe not, but it would be best if he gave us some space, at least until the second ceremony is complete.” At the mention of the final ceremony, the table grew quiet, tension thick in the air.

  “You still want it to be a surprise?” Mathin chewed on a piece of bacon.

  Ellie squirmed in her chair, playing with her eggs. “Yeah, I don’t think I want to know ahead of time.”

  “Then, we won’t tell you.” Torben nodded.

  Julia left the boys to clean up breakfast, while Ellie worked on the rest of the house. She was freeloading, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t help out while she was there. She cleaned the house from top to bottom. When the guys were done with the kitchen, they started on the yardwork. Dov mowed the lawn using a riding mower while Mathin trimmed the shrubs lining the property, careful to stay out of Dov’s way. As he usually did, Torben cleaned up the mess the other’s left and weeded the property.

  Julia was thrilled to come home to such a clean and tidy cabin, but the real surprise was hers to reveal. She was leaving, not for good, but for a couple weeks. She’d received a call from her associate in Arkansas; he asked for her help in treating a horse under his care. Since the kids were engaged and didn’t need her supervision, Julia accepted happily.

  “So, you won’t be here for the next two weeks?” Mathin asked thoughtfully.

  “Nope, you’ll be fixin’ your own meals.” She laughed. The unsaid but obvious benefit would be Julia’s absence during the second mating ceremony. While the guys could afford to take Ellie somewhere nice, they were running low on time. Besides, in order to take Ellie somewhere, they would need to tell her what was happening—that wouldn’t help her plead ignorance about when the ceremony would occur.

  Julia headed to her room to pack, while the guys stared at Ellie. “What?” she asked.

  “You realize we’re going to be alone in this house for two whole weeks, right?” Mathin wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Yup, but I also know we’re waiting for the ceremony. So, I guess you’ll just have to be good little bears and keep your paws to yourselves.” Ellie laughed at Mathin’s frown.

  Torben shook his head. “If you think I’m not going to kiss you for two whole weeks, you’re nuts.”

  “Nuts…” Mathin laughed like a child. Dov didn’t rebuke him like he normally would; he was too busy imagining all the things he was going to do to Ellie during his part of the ceremony. They’d planned the event in one week. Julia was nice enough to plan to stay away longer than they needed, giving them time to adjust before she returned.

  “Actually, we have other things to take care of.” Ellie waited till all eyes were on her.

  “Like what?” Mathin looked up.

  “Well, you might not have remembered, but I’m supposed to be leaving for college soon. We need to decide what we’re going to do about it, should I go back? Do you guys come with me? Should I take a semester off while we figure things out, or should I relocate here?” Ellie let out a huge sigh.

  “Well, what do you want to do?” Torben held her hand.

  “I don’t know…I want to become a vet more than ever now.” She laughed at the irony. “But, I can do that at any school that offers the program. On the other hand, all my stuff is still there. So, at some point I’m going to have to go back…at least for a few days.”

  “What if we went on a road trip, picked up your stuff, and you lived here with us?” Mathin smiled.

  “That would be fine for a while, but do you really want to live with my grandma forever?” Ellie’s mouth twitched; her eyes tight.

  “I guess I never thought about it. We have the money now. We could afford to buy our own place.”

  “Or we could build one, design everything from the ground up the way we want it.” Torben tickled Ellie till she gasped through the giggles.

  “I like that,” Dov said.

  “That is a good idea, but it doesn’t solve the college problem.” Ellie pointed out after she caught her breath.

  “We could go with you, if you don’t want your father to object, not changing colleges would be easiest.” Dov wasn’t crazy about Ellie’s father, but he’d do whatever he had to just to keep the two on good terms.

  “How would we do that?”

  “Same as here, we can buy or rent a house, finish out this semester while we plan the wedding. Once we’re married, we can move wherever you’d like while you finish your degree.” Torben’s chest puffed out as he spoke.

  Dov h
ated to be the downer, but they were missing the obvious. “That still leaves one problem.”

  “What’s that?” Torben nudged him.

  “Her father’s not going to agree to her marrying all three of us.”

  “Dov’s right. Daddy didn’t like me dating Josh, he’s not going to like the idea of me getting married either, but to three men? He’d lock me in the basement!”

  Mathin scratched his head. “Well, what do we do about it?”

  “I have an idea, but you probably won’t like it.” Dov stood, turning to get a drink from the fridge.

  Torben raised his eyebrows, throwing his hands out. “Well?”

  “We have three separate ceremonies, one wedding for each guy, and her dad only gets invited to one. One of us plays the husband when he’s around.” Dov wasn’t really thrilled about his own idea, but it was all he could think of.

  “That would work, but it would require lying to him the rest of our lives.” Ellie sighed.

  Torben tilted his head downward, but still held eye contact with Ellie. “We would already be doing that, he can’t know about our bear sides.”

  “True, but this seems worse.” Ellie’s shoulders slumped; she didn’t like the idea of denying her relationship with her boys. On the other hand, her daddy dearest would have a heart attack if he knew everything. Mainly, because he’d be so pissed he’d explode.

  “Aww, Sweetie. I don’t mind if you don’t tell your father about us. I know you don’t want to hurt us, but I’m okay with it.” Mathin hugged her shoulders tight.

  “I don’t need his validation,” Dov said.

  “So, does that mean I get to be the public husband?” Torben chuckled.

  “Sure.” Mathin slapped his back; Dov just shrugged.

  “You guys would really be okay with that? What if he wanted to come for a visit?”

  “Well, we would just have to tell him we lived together to save money. Married couples can still have housemates, just lie and say it’s a duplex.” Mathin laughed.

  “Well, he might believe it…” Ellie cringed and rose to grab breakfast for dinner, cold cereal.

  “If not, we can always take a trip somewhere for a couple of days. It wouldn’t be ideal, but if it means we can make this work, we’ll do what needs to be done.” Dov squeezed Ellie’s hand. Somehow, they would make it work. Ellie poured all her fiancés a bowl of cereal, but she put way less food in her own bowl. The guys will probably have seconds too.

  “Okay, Torben is my public husband that still leaves the problem of where to live and go to school.” Ellie picked at her nails; she felt responsible for so many of their problems. She only had one year left to get her undergraduate degree. If she’d decided to come down one year later none of this would’ve mattered. Still, she wouldn’t change a thing except her dad’s attitude about her bears.

  “I think you should return home this semester, we can find a place to live near you. Once we’re settled, you can move in. We have the money. While you’re going to school, we can get the ball rolling on getting a permanent home built. I think we’d all prefer to live here where there’s plenty of woods to shift in and Julia’s nearby.” Torben took a big bite of cereal, and Ellie laughed as milk dribbled down his chin.

  “That sounds good to me.” Mathin laughed, but tossed Torben a napkin.

  Dov smiled at Ellie. “I’m in.”

  “Okay, we’ll let my grandma know. I don’t think she’ll object. She’s been so understanding already.”

  Torben wiped his chin and took another bite chewing quickly. “Maybe we should look for some land before you go back to school, find something we all like. Then, while we’re looking for a place to rent near you, we can find a contractor and pick a floor plan.”

  “Alright, cool.” Ellie leaned back in her chair. It felt like the one-ton weight that was sitting on her shoulders had been lifted, and she could breathe again. Having figured out part of their future, they decided to get ready for bed. Julia came down a little later, bags in hand, ready to take off. She kissed them all on the cheek and headed out.

  Since Julia wasn’t around to object, they decided to sleep in the living room together again; only this time, they would share the sofa sleeper. Ellie worried their combined weight would break the boards, but Dov assured her it was sturdy. They slept soundly that night, Ellie in the middle, and a guy on each side—Mathin slept at her feet. Sometime during the night, Ellie woke to find she was bogged down by various limbs thrown across her; it made her smile.

  8

  The dawn brought a new wind to Cedar Gap, and the leaves were starting to fall; it was a time of transition for the group. Ellie began to do some reading her teachers had assigned online. Classes hadn’t even begun yet, but they were already uploading reading to have done when classes started. While Ellie was working, the guys decided to scout out land a little further south. They found several properties that seemed promising on paper, but had major flaws when they visited. It was harder for the guys to find a place due to their dual natures since they couldn’t have nosey neighbors nearby, and they needed plenty of room to run.

  “I think I found a place,” Mathin shouted to the guys in the kitchen. He’d camped out on the sofa searching listings for hours; each option was evaluated closely before moving on to the next.

  Torben walked in eating an apple. “Oh yeah?”

  “It’s got plenty of land, there’s even a stream that goes through the property. The price is reasonable for as big as it is. There’s only one downside…”

  Ellie looked up from her book. “What’s that?” She’d situated herself on the sofa across from Mathin.

  “It’s too perfect.”

  Dov agreed with a frown. “There might be something they’re trying to hide.”

  “Or, it could be just what we’re looking for.” Ellie closed her book. “Let’s go check it out.”

  “What about your reading?” Torben pointed to the book in her lap.

  “I can finish it later, who gives assignments before school resumes anyway?” She tossed the book aside.

  “I’ll drive!” Mathin grabbed his keys, holding them up.

  “Why don’t you let me?” Dov grabbed Mathin’s keys before he could object. He was a safe driver, while Mathin was faster but more reckless.

  The drive to the property only took ten minutes. It wasn’t far from Julia’s; it also shared a border with the Conservation Area. It was perfect since the neighbors were all several miles away. The guys even ran the property as bears to see if their other natures could detect any flaws like nosy neighbors or other shifters—they found nothing.

  “Why don’t you get ahold of the seller? I think we’re standing at the site of our future home guys!” Ellie cheered and hollered.

  “You could even open your own practice here someday,” Dov said coming to stand behind her.

  “I’ll probably work with my grandmother while I can, but that would be nice down the line.” Ellie turned her head to smile at him as he lowered his lips for a kiss.

  Torben called the number on the listing, talking to the person for quite a while, but the seller was out of town—though he was thrilled at their offer. They agreed to meet and draw up the papers in a few days; it was set. They were building their own home after Ellie went back to school. The guys could commute to check on the progress, but Julia could help in that respect as well. Ellie was thrilled. She went around singing all day; even when she was supposed to be reading, she’d break into random bits of song or hum to herself. She called Julia right away. Her grandmother was happy for them, but wasn’t able to talk long. She had other animals to care for.

  “Why don’t we have a barbeque to celebrate?” Torben asked the next day.

  “That’s a great idea!” Ellie beamed, then narrowed her eyes. “But who’s cooking?”

  “Dov is good at grilling, my vote’s for him.” Mathin pointed and chuckled, dodging the projectiles Dov sent his way.

  “I’ll do it, but yo
u’re cleaning the grill first.” Dov barked orders before heading to the freezer to check supplies. “Does steak sound good to everyone?”

  “Is the sky blue?” Ellie laughed.

  “Well…” Torben stared out the window gauging the sky’s color.

  Dov rolled his eyes and grabbed the meat out of the freezer. “Blue enough, steak it is.”

  Mathin cleaned the grill with a grin. Ellie didn’t know it yet, but tonight was the night. They were performing the ceremony at midnight. The guys were keyed up, but doing their best to act natural. Thawing the meat in the microwave, Doc stared at the clock on the wall; he willed it to tick faster, but the steady hand didn’t change pace. Tick, tick, tick. He glared at the clock like it mocked him.

  “I’ll shuck some corn. We can throw it on the grill in some foil.” Torben pulled several ears from the fridge and got to work.

  “What should I do?” Ellie asked.

  Mathin chuckled. “Sit and look pretty?”

  Ellie giggled even as she shook her head. “Um, no.”

  “Wanna make some potatoes?” Dov asked.

  “Sure.”

  Ellie set Julia’s largest pot—filled with water—on the stove. She placed her phone on the counter, singing to the music while the water heated.

  “You’ve got a beautiful voice.” Torben wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a quick kiss on her neck, before walking away.

  “Thanks! My dad always said my mom could sing like an angel and cuss like a sailor.” She laughed and turned the timer on the stove on.

  “You must take after her then.” Mathin teased her lips as he passed through, the grill scrubbed clean. Ellie whacked him in the stomach. “Ow!”

  “Oh please, I probably hurt my hand more hitting you…”

  “He is rather dense.” Dov chuckled.

  “That’s the pot calling the kettle—”

  “Enough, Mathin. Dov, I think the meat’s done. Dov? Dov!” Torben threw a piece of corn at Dov’s back.

  “Hey! What the hell was that for?” Dov swung to glare at Torben.