by Sharan Daire
Knocked Up
My Over-the-Top Possessive Alpha Harem
Sharan Daire
Copyright © 2021 by Sharan Daire
Cover Art by Moonstruck Cover Design & Photography
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
For my beloved sis.
Thank you to Sherri Meyer
for all your help and late night edits!
Contents
Knocked Up
1. Chris
2. Shelby
3. Shelby
4. Derek
5. Shelby
6. Chris
7. Shelby
8. Shelby
9. Shelby
10. Shelby
11. Derek
12. Shelby
13. Shelby
14. Kaleb
15. Shelby
16. Shelby
17. Shelby
18. Chris
19. Shelby
20. Shelby
21. Kaleb
22. Derek
23. Shelby
24. Shelby
25. Shelby
26. Chris
27. Shelby
Epilogue
Note from the Author
Knocked Up
By Sharan Daire
1
Chris
The ride home took fucking forever.
I didn’t say a word of complaint. How could I, when home was right here in my arms? I held Shelby on my lap all the way, though I insisted on getting the seat belt wrapped around us both. I trusted Everett with our lives, but I couldn’t speak for the other motherfuckers on the freeway.
After she dropped the bombshell that she might be pregnant, she fell fast asleep. I didn’t know if I’d ever sleep a wink again. None of us would.
I didn’t want or need children to carry on my hated surname. Fuck, I’d been certain I wouldn’t even live to be thirty. I was more concerned about her. All I cared about was making sure she was deliriously happy. Every single need met before she could even open that pretty mouth to ask. If that meant she had a dozen babies, then by all means, she could make her way through all of us.
Derek and Kaleb might even shoot sets of twins. That would get her a dozen kids in a hurry.
“You okay?” Everett asked as he pulled off the freeway toward our lodge. “You’ve been quiet.”
“Not a single curse word,” Derek added from the back seat. “That’s pretty much a death sentence.”
“Why the fuck would I not be okay?” Though I grunted sourly. “Besides, I can’t curse so much if kids are going to be around.”
“I just know how you feel about your parents,” Everett said. “Having kids wasn’t ever on your list to achieve.”
“I’ll be a shit dad. No doubt about that. That’s what you motherfuckers are for. I’m just worried about the million things that could go wrong.”
“Yeah,” Kaleb whispered, trying not to wake the little girl sleeping on his chest as he maneuvered himself out of the car. “Ange really struggled with all kinds of health issues before she got pregnant this time. Marlo said he thinks she’ll end up on bed rest, and they may induce her early.”
“Should we put Shelby on bed rest now?” I asked.
Kaleb spluttered. “No. Absolutely not. You can’t make her stay in bed for nearly ten months on the off chance something might go wrong.”
“Why not?”
“That’s not how any of this works,” Kaleb replied.
Carrying her to her big-ass bed I’d had installed, I couldn’t help but think long months of bed rest might be exactly what the doctor ordered. For all of us.
I’d been in a permanent dry spell my entire life. Damned straight, I wanted to fuck, but I wanted to hold her too. I wanted to feel her against me. Her hair in my face. Her hands on my body.
I’d been starved for so long that I didn’t even know how badly everything in me hurt, aching for a simple touch. If I could get away with it, I’d wrap my arms around her and carry her everywhere I went, day in and day out, just to feel her with me.
The twins carried the kids to their beds upstairs and then joined Ev to stand staring at Shelby like a starving pack of wolves.
They were just as needy as me. Four desperate, horny, hot-blooded studs panting over her. At this rate, she’d never get any sleep, which wasn’t good for her or the potential baby she carried. I’d bought the biggest bed I could find, but it was nowhere near big enough for all of us without someone being annoyed as shit.
Me. I would be annoyed. Shit.
“How are we doing this?” Derek whispered, looking at the other guys.
“Rock paper scissors again?” Ev replied.
Kaleb crossed his arms and pouted like a toddler. “No way. I’ll never get a shot, then.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” I scooted deeper into the bed. “The first asshole who puts his dick on me gets to sleep with the dog the rest of the week. When she’s conscious, we can ask her to set a fucking schedule.”
Ev and Derek both dived for the spot by Shelby’s back, nearly flipping us both off the other side of the mattress. Resigned, Kaleb came over on my side and lay down behind me. Ev reached the mattress first, but D bodily picked him up and tossed him to the foot of the bed.
All the jostling had her blinking tiredly up at me. “Where are we?”
Derek wrapped an arm around her and spooned her harder against me. Ev shifted around and wriggled in close enough that he could wrap her lower legs against his chest. Kaleb touched my back briefly as he scooped up her hand that lay on my waist and pulled her slightly closer to us both.
I tucked her head up beneath my chin. “We’re home.”
SHELBY
Something woke me. I lay quietly a moment, letting my senses stretch out, searching for anything amiss. The guys’ arms were heavy around me, and they were so damned hot I was sweating. Something lay on my feet, tangling up my legs. I was used to sleeping with Allie and sometimes Liam all together in one bed, but all four guys made this gigantic bed seem more like a twin-sized mattress.
But that wasn’t why I’d woken up.
I strained to hear anything beyond the heavy deep breathing around me. Almost like I’d heard one of the kids’ crying or calling my name. I tried to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but I sensed it again. More of a feeling than a sound. I sat up to hear better.
“What’s wrong?” Chris asked, immediately lifting his head.
Now that I was upright, I saw a shape in the hallway. Wally whined softly, confirming that something was wrong. I carefully untangled my legs from Ev and climbed over Derek because I knew he wouldn’t wake up. “One of the kids needs me.”
“Do you have dog ears or something?” Chris muttered, sitting up too and seeing the dog. “Fuck. I guess Lassie’s here to tell you that Timmy’s in the well, but I didn’t hear a thing.”
I still had all my clothes on from earlier, so I didn’t have to look around for a robe. We started up the stairs, and then I heard the quiet sniffling cries coming from Allie’s room. I quickened my step and hurried to her.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Crying, she clung to me, “Mommy.”
I rocked her in my arms, smoothing her hair back from her face. Wally jumped up beside her with a soft whine. “Wally was worried about you and came to get me. Did you have a bad dream?”
I kissed her head, hugging her tighter. “It can be scary sometimes having a big-girl bed in your own room. Do you want to sleep with Bubby a while until you’re not so scared? He won’t mind.”
“No. I want to sleep with you.”
Chris snorted, though at my narrowed glare, he quickly stifled his derision. “Sure, what’s one more?”
Allie pouted. “He gets to sleep with you, but I can’t? That’s not fair.”
For a moment, I was at a loss. I felt guilty for wanting adult time to do adult—very adult—things. Especially if my child was scared alone. I didn’t mind her occasionally coming in to sleep with me, but with four guys…
It was going to be complicated to explain. Especially to a four-year-old.
For a moment, I thought he’d smart back with something like, “Life ain’t fair, kid.” But he surprised me by reaching over to grab one of the books lying on the bedside table. “How about I read you a book? Would that help?”
She brightened immediately. “Okay. But you have to come up here to show me the pictures.”
He moved around to the other side of the bed and sat beside her. She nestled down against me and threw her other arm around the dog. Chris cleared his throat several times at first, as if he couldn’t quite believe he was reading about a mouse and a cookie, but after a few pages, he even started to change his voice a little to match the flow of the story.
Sitting there watching the big tough Marine willingly read a silly book to my daughter…
I couldn’t believe the miracle that had brought us here to such a wonderful man. Let alone that I might actually be pregnant. The one time I’d had sex with him.
It only took one time, at the right (or wrong) time of the month. I knew that. My first instinct was to blame my terrible luck. The one time we forgot a condom would be the exact time I was ovulating, because of fucking course it was.
Here I’d dropped into Chris’ life with all my problems and two kids, and then I was saddling him with an unwanted pregnancy and tying him up with more responsibilities. It’d be easy to start beating myself up. Wishing my stupid car hadn’t chosen to break down on the road to his lodge. That his friend hadn’t found me.
But that was old broke-down Shelby talk.
The Shelby who didn’t believe anyone would ever willingly help her. Who assumed any man interested in her would only hurt her again. Use her. Break her.
In a matter of days, Shelby had been fixed up. She’d found confidence. Happiness. Smiles and warmth and friendship. And especially…
Love.
It dawned on me, watching as Chris continued to read the book even though Allie had fallen back to sleep, that I hadn’t given him the words. This man had changed my entire life. When I’d left because I’d been misled about my car, he’d followed, and then respected me enough to wait until I reached out to him before coming to me. Now he cared enough about me to read a book to my kid.
Sensing my attention, he looked up at me. He must have seen something on my face that concerned him, because he closed the book and set it back. Ever so carefully, I slid out of bed, making sure to tuck the blanket up around Allie’s shoulders. Then I patted Wally and told him he was a good dog.
Chris didn’t say anything until we were in the hall, but then he turned to me sharply, his hand snagging my chin. Eyes narrowed, he searched my face. I knew my eyes were shimmering with tears.
“I know I’m shit with kids. Tell me what I did wrong, so I don’t fuck it up again.”
My eyes flared and I shook my head. “No, it’s not you. That was really sweet of you to read a book to her. She’ll love you forever now.” I took a deep breath, gathering my courage, and whispered, “And so will I.”
He stared at me. Frozen. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
He’d asked me to marry him. He’d built this crazy mansion hoping they could find a woman to share it with. But evidently he didn’t expect me to actually fall in love with him.
Without saying anything, he clamped my hand in his and started down the stairs, too fast for me to keep up with him and survive without a broken leg. I grabbed the railing. “Chris.”
Muttering beneath his breath, he scooped me up in his arms. “Another fucking design flaw. Is this a regular occurrence?”
“Waking up in the middle of the night? Yeah. Babies are up every two to four hours at first.”
“Fucking hell. I’ll call the architect tomorrow.”
“What? Why?”
He stepped back into the bedroom and let out a vicious growl. While we’d been upstairs, the guys had taken the opportunity to spread out in their sleep. “Alright, motherfuckers. Move!”
Kaleb shot upright like someone had goosed him. Ev didn’t even lift his head, but he did roll a bit closer to the foot of the bed. Derek’s soft, rhythmic snores didn’t miss a beat.
“Fine.” Chris set me on the edge of the bed and started to reach up for Derek’s foot. For all I knew, Chris planned to drag him out and toss him on the floor. So I did the only thing I could think of to distract him.
I dragged my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. “There are better ways to wake them up.”
“Maybe I don’t want them to wake up now.”
Kaleb fluffed up a pillow and made a big show of propping himself up against the headboard to enjoy the show. “Too late.”
I stood so I could shove my jeans down my thighs. “I’m surprised someone didn’t decide to put me in something more comfortable for sleeping in the first place.”
Chris scowled. “Nobody’s going to mess with you when you’re asleep.”
I had an unwanted memory flash through my head. Of waking up in the night. Rob fumbling. Drunk. Not caring that I had to be up for work in two hours. Not listening to me when I told him to leave me alone.
Giving in because I didn’t want to wake the kids up.
Chris’ arms came around me, crushing me to his chest. “Whoever the fuck put that look on your face is going to fucking die.”
2
Shelby
He held me too tightly, his arms too hard, but I didn’t complain. I wanted to feel his strength. I wanted to feel his anger at the thought of someone hurting me. As always, he only wore a basic T-shirt and jeans. This billionaire who had so much money he’d custom-built a mansion on the hopes that one day he and his friends would find their perfect woman.
I ran my hands over the rock-hard planes of his chest. The insane bumps of his twelve-pack abs. He loosened his fierce grip on me so I could pull his T-shirt up, baring his lower stomach. “I was so involved in the bathtub that I didn’t even notice if you have any tats.”
He pulled his shirt over his head for me. “I don’t think I ever knew a Marine who didn’t have a tat.”
Over his heart, he had the Blakely Four Brothers logo, only this one had their initial by each point, making it look more like a compass. On his right shoulder, he had a more traditional-looking Marine image with USMC emblazoned over a grim-reaper skull with a rifle.
I wanted to ask him about it, where he’d gotten it, what it meant to him. But I didn’t want to trigger him into talking about stuff that he’d gotten over. Looking at that skull made my heart hurt. So much death and pain. I couldn’t help but press my lips over it, hoping to take some of that hurt away.
“Motherfucker,” he whispered, dropping his head close to mine. “That is the hottest fucking thing you’ve done yet, Shel.”
Considering I’d given him a blow job and we’d fucked in a Jacuzzi while his friends watched, that was saying something. “Well, we’re just getting started tonight. What did you have in mind?”
He stepped away from me, making me feel a little unsure and confused. Until he sat down in the chair that he’d used before. Perfectly positioned so he could watch the activities on the bed. “I thought you could sit on Ev’s face while Kaleb entertains those glorious tits. See how many tim
es they can make you come before D wakes up. Then things will get real interesting, real quick.”
My cheeks blazed. Things were definitely getting real interesting.
I’d been with Kaleb and Derek at the same time, and Everett and Chris later. But we hadn’t all… at the same time…
Talk about an embarrassment of riches.
“Fuck yeah.” Already flat on his back, dressed only in his silk boxers, Everett lifted his head up enough to give me a hungry, wolfish smile. “Let me at ‘er.”
My fingertips were cold, my hands trembling ever so slightly as I unclasped my bra. I wasn’t reluctant in the slightest. I certainly wasn’t scared. It was just so much. So much attention focused on me. All those blazing eyes. Watching my every move. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention, especially in matters of the bedroom.
I dropped my hands to the waistband of my panties, and Everett shook his head. “Let me. Please.”
I climbed up on the bed, straddling his thighs. Bending his knees, he slipped me down over his groin. Sweet torture to feel his dick so close, but so far away, separated by a few thin pieces of fabric.
“You’re a long way from my face, sweetheart.”
Kaleb snickered, drawing my gaze as he scooted closer to us in the middle of the bed. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so tall. It’s a lot of work to climb so far.”
I leaned toward him, trying not to blush even harder as I kissed him. His lips were so soft. Especially compared to the rough bearded stubble on his cheeks.