Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection

by C. M. Stunich

  It was Case and Hayes. I could imagine myself pulling the gun on them, but I couldn’t imagine what came after.

  Hoping like hell they were still the good guys I knew as kids, I slammed the drawer shut. “I can’t find any of my cards. Sorry.”

  “You’ve always been messy, huh?” There was a teasing glint in Case’s eyes. Oh my god, I’d misread the whole thing. What a disaster if I’d pulled a gun on them. They must have wanted privacy for our conversation.

  “Always?” I frowned as the word settled in. For some reason, I flashed back to being a teenager who couldn’t find my homework in my backpack. I was frantic and embarrassed, the opposite of Hayes, who seemed focused on his paper as I pawed through my backpack. Just as the teacher came down the row, he’d reached out and casually slid his homework onto my desk. I hadn’t even known that he knew my name before I saw it there at the top of the page—Fiona Worth—right before the teacher whisked it away.

  “My brother’s always been messy,” Case said, glancing around my crowded office. Books and files were stacked on the bookshelves; there was a pile of discarded sweaters on the chair because it got cool in here during the day. “Once messy, always messy.”

  “As far as character flaws go, messy isn’t bad.” Hayes shrugged one powerful shoulder.

  “Easy for you to say,” Case said. “You don’t have to live with a slob.”

  Yeah, this was familiar, too, the two of them bickering. They weren’t born brothers—Case was adopted by Hayes’ family when he was eleven, after his own parents were murdered—but I couldn’t give away that I knew that. They sure acted like brothers.

  Hayes locked eyes with me. Every time he looked at me, I swore my heart bottomed out.

  “Ignore him,” Hayes said. “He’s incredibly unhelpful.”

  Case reached across the desk and touched my chin. My eyes widened as I was startled by his light touch. His palm slid across my jaw, his fingertips resting lightly and possessively on my cheekbone.

  “Don’t ignore me.” His voice was low and husky.

  When my lips parted, his mouth twitched into a knowing smile—oh, he was as cocky as ever—and then he stepped in even closer to me. His rock-hard lower abs and belt buckle brushed against my waist.

  I breathed in Case’s cologne. His lush lips pressed against mine in a sweet, chaste, kiss. He backed off slightly, just a breath between his mouth and mine. With those gold-flecked eyes, he seemed to watch me, gauging my reaction.

  I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I wasn’t passing up the chance to kiss Case. I’d been missing him since I was sixteen.

  I leaned into him, my ass on the very edge of my chair, and kissed him back.

  His lips parted against mine. His lower lip was plush and pink and kissable. I drew it into my mouth, sucking gently. He tasted like coffee and a sweetness like ice cream; Case, for all his rough manly ways, always had a sweet tooth.

  I felt Hayes before I saw him, a big, warm presence behind me. He rested his hands lightly on my shoulders.

  “Don’t be a greedy bastard,” Hayes told Case.

  When I tilted my head back, Hayes pressed his lips to my forehead. The touch was sweet and tentative, just like Case’s first kiss.

  Oh my god. The two sweet boys I’d known had grown into two rough, dangerous men who were willing to take me together.

  “Pinch me,” I muttered. This was the stuff of my dreams. I’d fantasized since they’d left me about what it would be like if they really had both loved me.

  Hayes’ eyes on mine were pure mischief as his fingertips glided over my throat and then delved down into my cup. His palm cupped my breast, massaging it roughly, just the right kind of rough—the kind that made me grind down on the seat—before his thumb and finger tightened, tweaking my nipple. My breath came out in a soft gasp.

  “Your wish is my command,” Hayes told me.

  Right. I said pinch me.

  What the hell else could I say?

  If I could have one night off from my real life, one night to live out my fantasies, then I was going to say it all.

  When I looked at Case, he sat impatiently on the edge of my desk. His eyes met mine intently.

  “Does that go for you too?” I asked.

  “Fuck yeah, Melody.” His low, rough voice was teasing. The Melody was a knife in my heart—I wished he knew who I really was, I wished he wanted me—but that sexy voice of his sent a thrum of lust through my body.

  I hooked a finger through the belt loop on his jeans. He eyed me, mischief written in the way his laugh-lines crinkled. I pulled him toward me, and he came easily, sliding off the edge of the desk. But he didn’t stop at standing in front of me; he knelt between my knees.

  Case wrapped a big hand around my thigh, his grip sure, and pulled my leg up. He rested my knee on one of his powerful shoulders.

  Hayes pushed the rolling chair toward Case. Hayes’ hands settled on my shoulders, pulling me back so that my hips rolled up, and my core tightened in anticipation.

  Case winked at me before he turned his face to kiss the inside of my knee. His hand still rested familiarly on my thigh, holding my leg there against his shoulder. His kisses trailed up my thigh, sweet and sure as he made his way slowly toward my core.

  Running his fingers through my hair, Hayes pulled on it just hard enough to send another jolt of lust through my body. I turned my face up toward him, and his mouth met mine. Soft and lush, his lips were the perfect contradiction to his hard-angled face. He massaged my breast, as he kissed me sweetly, his palm warm and rough in the best of ways against my nipple. Inviting him in, my lips parted against his. His tongue stroked against my lower lip, slowly, sensually, tracing the shape of my mouth.

  Case pressed his lips to the top of my thigh, right against the edge of my panties, and I drew in a shocked breath.

  Hayes’ lips came down on mine, claiming me, distracting me as Case brushed his thumb over my core through the panties. Even through the fabric, I could feel how wet I was as Case’s thumb drew slow circles. Driven wild by their synchronized teasing, I popped my hips up, eager to strip off my panties for Case.

  Hayes took my wrists in his hands, his thumbs stroking the insides, an erogenous zone I didn’t even know existed before this moment as lust pulsed through my body. He pulled my hands up, pinning them against his rock-hard chest, and went on kissing me.

  Meanwhile, Case continued his torment. He kissed his way back down, pausing mid-thigh to draw my skin into his mouth. As he began sucking a sweetly painful bruise, his thumb worked steadily on my clit through my underwear.

  I desperately wanted more of him. Of both of them. They seemed determined to take their time, though, and I was pinned in this chair between them.

  I’d never been powerless in such a delicious way before.

  Case kissed his way back up, but this time, his lips nudged aside the elastic of my underwear, and he pressed a kiss between my thighs. I almost sat up, the sensation was so intense, but I couldn’t get away from the two of them. Hayes kissed me hard, as if he were claiming me. His tongue slipped against mine, and the wet heat of our mouths together made me want his cock inside my other wet heat.

  “You don’t need these.” Case’s rough, warm hand slid under the waistband of my panties. This time when I rolled my hips up, his hand cupped my ass cheek, stealing a touch as he dragged them off. He held them up, hooked on one finger, and took a look at them before he threw them over his shoulder. They landed, twisted in a heap, on my desk in the middle of my day-planner.

  I definitely didn’t write this down in the day’s plans.

  Hayes held my hands against his hard pecs while Case settled between my thighs. Case dipped under my other thigh, sliding both my legs up onto his shoulders. He looked up at me and his eyes were full of teasing as he leaned forward, closer and closer, until he pressed his lips to my core. It was a sweet, tender kiss, even if it was in the naughtiest of places.

  Then his long, strong to
ngue slipped out, and he licked me from my center all the way to my clit. I bit down on my lip to hold back a scream of desire, but Hayes’ lips were still hovering right next to mine. I turned my face into his, licking that kissable lower lip, and then drawing it into my mouth. I bit down, hard—I had to have some kind of outlet as Case ran his tongue up and down me, teasing me mercilessly.

  Hayes’ lips quirked up against mine. I pulled away slightly to look at him, but no matter how hard I’d just bitten him, he seemed amused. “Savage,” he whispered, his voice husky.

  I was not sorry. I’d never feel sorry about any of this.

  Case’s deep eyes locked on mine as his tongue slid into me. The tip of his tongue seemed to tease against my g-spot, pushing into it, as his mouth worked on me steadily. The sensation was all warmth and pressure in just the right place, pushing against my g-spot over and over. I almost couldn’t bear the intensity. I would have pressed my knees together if Case didn’t have my thighs locked on his shoulders.

  The two of them worked in tandem, with Hayes teasing my nipples—which were hard pink pebbles—between his expert fingers as Case tongue-fucked me exquisitely. Hayes pushed my cups down out of his way, but he didn’t stop long enough to unhook my bra.

  Their handsome faces blurred together as my eyes closed. My back arched involuntarily, thrusting my breasts up toward Hayes, although his hands followed mercilessly, continuing to tease. My building orgasm was a wash of heat through my body, an intensity that bordered on sweet pain as Hayes pushed me relentlessly. What I really wanted was one of their cocks buried deep inside me, but instead I clenched around his tongue. My hips rolled up, searching for more. As Hayes held my wrists and Case gripped my thighs, I found myself suspended between them. I couldn’t escape the pleasure that built in hot waves until I shattered.

  As my legs shook and my hips rolled, Case followed every movement, his mouth still working steadily until my orgasm broke. I moaned, and Hayes’ mouth was there, covering mine as if he was drinking in every sound.

  Warm and languid, I sank into the chair. Despite being spent and satisfied, I still wanted more. I finally pulled a wrist out of Hayes’ grip and grabbed the collar of Case’s shirt, wrenching him up. He grinned in surprise but half-stood so I could pull his face toward me.

  When I kissed Case, his lips opened against mine, and I tasted the smoky sweetness of myself. Hayes kissed the tender spot on the inside of my wrist, making my core tighten with the aftershock of his orgasm, and then released me. I slid my hand up his broad chest, his neck, over the rough scruff across his big jaw. I caressed his cheek, wanting both of them close to me.

  “Let me do something for you too,” I whispered softly.

  Case pulled away slightly, putting a breath of space between his lips and mine. “Just don’t lose our card.”

  I smiled and patted Hayes’ cheek. Sitting forward, I tried to re-arrange myself, but my knees were weak. My legs were still trembling, my core still tightening with regular spasms. Right. Time to get it together, Fiona. Act like you have sex with two hot men all the time. Don’t give away that this means something to you. That this means everything to you.

  I stood, hoping my legs wouldn’t give on me. They trembled, but I pulled my dress back down, yanking the hem down over my legs. “Thanks for the night, boys.”

  Hayes winked at me. “It doesn’t have to be one night.”

  “You’ll be heading out of town soon, I hope,” I said briskly. I was sure they would be leaving—they always did—but it was a lie that I wanted them to go.

  Case gave me that look, that look like he saw right through me. But it was a lie too; he didn’t really see me. He didn’t recognize me.

  If I told them now who I really was, how sad would I sound? How desperate? I used my magic on them to pretend I was someone else. I used my magic on everyone, but Hunters didn’t take kindly to that kind of thing.

  “Good night,” I said firmly. “Don’t keep Nicolai waiting.”

  Hayes and Case exchanged a look. There was something unsaid between them, a quick flash, but I didn’t know what I was missing.

  Hayes reached out toward me. As much as I wanted him to kiss me again, I froze. He tucked my bra strap back under the neckline of my dress. The casual, familiar way he touched me made me bite my lip, lost in a sense of longing that had nothing to do with sex at all. When our eyes met, there was an affectionate warmth in his bright blue gaze.

  Hayes turned and headed for the door without saying anything else. Although that gesture had seemed fond, his movements were quick and curt.

  Case laid a business card on the desk. He looked at me like he wanted to say something, but all he gave me was a quick lift of one broad shoulder before he stuffed his hands back into his pockets. “Good night.”

  I watched as he went. Case filled the doorway with the broadness of his shoulders and the distinct taper of his waist above an adorable ass in tight jeans. When the door closed behind them, I let out a sigh and buried my head in my hands.

  My clit was still throbbing from that orgasm.

  It was the only part of me that was happy right now.

  I thought it would be fun to have just one night with them. What the hell was I thinking? I needed so much more than one night.

  I needed so much more from Hayes and Case than sex.

  3

  Hayes

  “What the hell took you—” Nick looked at his watch, though I was pretty sure he was keenly aware of what time it is. Drama queen. “An hour?”

  Case ignored him, already pulling his seatbelt across his chest. “Pull out, we can wait down the road. I’ll bet you she’s going to head for her mom’s house.”

  “What do you want to bet?” Nick asked.

  “You’ve got a problem, man,” I told him, clapping his shoulder, but I was just joking. Nick had a passion for statistics and a passion for gambling to go with it. Mostly, though, his gift for math—and a little magic for truly desperate situations—kept him out of trouble.

  “I’ve got a problem,” Nick mumbled in disbelief as he steered the Corvette out of the parking lot. “I’ve got a problem? I didn’t just take a pause on a major case to sex up an ex-girlfriend—”

  “Watch it.” Case’s low rumble was all danger.

  Nick threw his hands up, which was slightly terrifying since he was the driver. “What part of that isn’t true? She is an ex. And I assume you weren’t playing Parcheesi.”

  “Shut up,” Case said.

  What Case meant was: she means something to us.

  Case was not going to say that.

  “Fiona’s had a rough life,” I said.

  “Fiona’s a fucking drug dealer,” Nick said. “Sorry, Melody.”

  Case shook his head. “No. You don’t know that.”

  Nick went silent, his lips tightening. He wasn’t going to argue with Case, which was about as productive as arguing with a tiger. When Case was sure about something, he had all the sullen certainty of a house cat and all the coiled ferocity of a tiger.

  But even if he let it go for now, it was written all over Nick’s face: he thought we were being stupid when it came to Fiona.

  “Anyway,” I said, playing peacemaker. “Now she might trust us when we have more questions for her.”

  “Wow,” Nick said. “That’s cold.”

  “I’m just trying to find the practical here.” It sounded logical enough. What it didn’t sound was true. I kissed Fiona because I’d been thinking about kissing her for the last nine years. Since we’d said goodbye.

  “Wow,” Case echoed. “Fiona would really appreciate that, I’m sure. Touching.”

  “If you didn’t want things to go the way they did, why the hell did you kiss her?” I asked.

  “Because we always said if we had a second chance, we wouldn’t fuck it up again!” Case exploded.

  When Dad found out that Case and I were both seeing the same girl—and a witch at that—he’d been sure that she would come between
us. He’d laid a hell of a guilt trip on us. Then he’d whisked us out of Worcester faster than you could say brotherhood, even though there were still plenty of baddies to slay in the armpit of New England.

  But now we were all grown-up. We knew Dad was wrong.

  “I hate to tell you,” Nick said. “But I think you fucked it up again.”

  Fiona didn’t know that we saw right through her little trick. Right through Melody.

  I could imagine how well that explanation would go over.

  “There she goes.” Case stared into the rearview mirror.

  Behind us, Fiona crossed the parking lot. Despite those tall, spiky heels, she swung easily up into the driver’s seat of a beat-up Ford truck.

  She was agile when she wasn’t tripping into my arms. But I liked the idea of her clumsy, wobbly from the intensity of an orgasm, giving me an excuse to throw an arm around her waist and reel her against my body.

  The three of us sank low in our seats as the Ford pulled onto the road and passed us. I glanced up in time to see her face in profile, with that beautiful red-and-gold streaked hair hanging in loose waves around her face. The strawberry-stain of a scar that spread across her jaw and cheek, the one that she was trying to hide, was vivid against her pale, freckled skin. Her wide, red-lipped mouth was set in determination.

  “She’s definitely going to visit witch-mama,” Case said, reading the same thing I am into that grim look on her face.

  Nick gave her time to reach the end of the road, to begin to turn, before he pulled out. He snapped the lights on a second later, when her tail lights had already been lost—just for a second—to the turn. He was an expert at this. We were not going to lose her.

  Not after all this time.

  4

  Fiona

  I drove to my house first. I needed backup. I needed Agnes.

  I knew she was going to judge me if I told her anything about what had happened. It was hard to keep a secret from her, though.

  I parked in the driveway and ran up the stairs to my front porch. When I pushed open the front door, Agnes was a dark shadow curled up in the dim moonlight seeping through the windows. She refused to stay off the couch. Whenever I grouched about her shedding, she always came trotting back with the Dustbuster gripped carefully in her teeth and a pointed look on her doggie face.