Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection

by C. M. Stunich

  Beaming at me, Rayne nodded. “Yep. I bet you wouldn’t last a day.”

  Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my food. “Well, you lost. I’m still here.”

  “Not for long. Night’s fallen.” Rayne flashed his canines at me and walked out the door with his bottle in hand.

  “Well, that was cryptic,” I muttered to myself and finished my meal. After I was done, I gathered up the laundry that had finished, preparing to take them back to their owner’s rooms before going to bed.

  I had only gotten through Rayne’s and the twins’ clothes. Thankfully, Rayne was doing whatever he was doing so I could easily drop his clothes off without a problem. The same went for Alister’s clothes. However, when I went to drop Drake’s clothing off, I wasn’t so lucky.

  “Why hello there. Miss Billings is it? Or can I call you Piper?” Drake grinned at me, his body only partly covered in a towel, his skin still wet from his shower. It was like he had read my mind and knew about my daydream earlier today, and as my eyes followed the trail of water moving down Drake’s rippling abs, I knew I was in trouble.

  6

  I stood there for a moment gaping at him. I didn’t know what to do. Should I leave or continue with my work? Honestly, I was having a hard time just getting my brain to function.

  My eyes trailed down Drake’s body to where his towel sat over an obvious bulge. I swallowed. Such a hard time.

  “Are you going to stand there all day or give me my clothes?” Drake smirked at me and held his hand out. “I don’t really have anything else to wear. Unless … you prefer the towel?”

  “No, no. I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard.” I shook my head and moved further inside to set the bag down, and I tried to hurry back to the door.

  “So, you don’t like the towel?” Drake said in such a strange way that I had to pause and look back at him, just in time to see him drop the towel on the ground. Against my will, my eyes instantly locked onto what had been hidden beneath and my mouth grew dry. “Ah, I see you like me better this way, huh?”

  I couldn’t find my words. What were words? Thoughts? Thick muscular thighs. His cock hung long, hard, and perfect between his legs and coming even closer toward me.

  Jerking my eyes away from Drake’s private parts, I felt my face heat considerably. Backing up, I held my hands up in front of me. “I’m so sorry. I’ll just go now.”

  “Why the rush?” Drake asked, closing in on me until my back hit the door. “You just got here. We haven’t gotten the chance to know each other yet.”

  His breath felt hot against my face, and I turned my head to the side. Just standing there with a gorgeous, naked man was playing havoc on my body. Now he had to get up close and personal. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my hands to myself.

  “Tell me, Piper,” Drake growled, his nose brushing along the curve of my neck. “Have you ever been had by a man?”

  “W-what?” I gaped, moving away from him slightly. The feral look in his eyes scared me and turned me on all at the same time. What the hell was wrong with me?

  Drake didn’t seem to have the same thoughts as me and brushed a hand over my hair before grabbing my ponytail. “You know what I mean. Have you ever …?” His other hand moved down along my thigh, causing them to press together. “Let a man into your glorious haven?”

  I snorted. I couldn’t help it. Glorious haven? Come on now. How cliché was that?

  “What?” Drake jerked back from me, a look of confusion making his beautiful face even more attractive.

  Shaking my head, I slipped out of his grasp. “Your brother was right about you. You really know how to pull a prank.” Grabbing the door handle, I pulled it open, but it was slammed shut by Drake’s hand.

  “I’m not joking.” Drake bared his teeth at me before caging me in between his arms once more. “You should not have come here, little girl. Your type tend to get eaten up by mine. Especially if you smell like that.” He took a big whiff of me, and a low rumbling came from his chest.

  Frowning at his manhandling, I shoved at his chest. “Now, you listen to me here. You might think you are the hot shit. Which, well, you are, but I’m not some piece of ass you can mess with. I need this job, and I’m not going to do anything that might jeopardize it. That includes getting wrapped up in the likes of you.”

  Drake stared down at me for a moment as if he couldn’t quite believe I had told him off. Then he threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, you poor, sweet thing. You think your words will save you?”

  “Well, I–”

  “If your job is what you are worried about, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” Drake cupped my face in his hand, stroking his thumb across my lower lip. “Antoine is not the only voice in this house. If I want you to stay, you will stay.” I found myself frozen to the spot. The dark pools of his brown eyes were so entrancing that I couldn’t look away from them.

  “Now, stay still while I get a taste of you.” Drake leaned down, his mouth opening wide. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do. Give me a hickey? Was he one of those people who liked to lick? I could get down with that if it weren’t on my neck.

  A warm wet muscle slid along the line of my neck just as the door behind me burst open. Thrown from the door, I fell to the ground, whatever spell I was under broken. Drake still stood on his feet but a few feet away, and his shorts had magically appeared on his form.

  “What do you want, Marcus?” Drake asked his older brother calmly as if he hadn’t had his hands and mouth on me.

  Marcus glanced to where I now sat on the ground and then back to Drake who had a smug smirk on his face. “You know the rules.”

  “And I didn’t break them.” Drake held his hands up in front of him. “No harm, no foul. She’s fine.” He turned those eyes on me and waved a hand. “Tell him. I didn’t do anything to you.”

  I crawled to my feet, my legs a bit wobbly beneath me. Clearing my throat, I shot a glare at Drake. “You’re such an ass,” I shouted before I marched out of the room and back into the hallway, not waiting to see what they said.

  Hushed voices followed after me as I moved away from Drake’s door and to his brother Allister’s. I held my breath and hoped that he wasn’t in there as well. If one twin was like that, then the other probably was as well.

  Thankfully, Allister was in his bathroom when I entered. I dropped his bag off and quickly darted out of the room. I finished handing out the other bags to Wynn and Marcus, the latter was probably still reaming into Drake about breaking the rules. Finally, all I had left was Antoine’s, the one I was least excited to deliver.

  I knocked on the door and this time a voice from inside answered. “Enter.”

  With my nerves already on edge, I slowly opened the door. Antoine stood by his window, looking at some papers. The drapes were pulled back for once so that the night sky could be seen. It was a beautiful sight but paled in comparison to the man before me.

  Someone shouldn’t look so good in just slacks and a button-down shirt. His long dark hair was braided down his back, and his pale eyes intensely stared at the papers in his hands. He didn’t even look up from them when I entered the room.

  “I have your laundry.” I held the bag up lamely.

  “Put it over there.” Antoine gestured his hand flippantly to the dresser.

  Nodding, I moved over to the large dresser and sat the bag down. I was surprised they hadn’t asked me to fold and put up their clothes as well, but as Darren had informed me, they were each particular about their things and didn’t want me snooping. Ha! Me? Snoop? I didn’t care a flip about these bastards. I just wanted to do my job and get paid. Maybe once I saved enough, I could get a different job and my own apartment.

  One could dream.

  I made my way back to the door but stopped, my eyes going back to Antoine who hadn’t moved or looked up from his papers. Should I say goodnight? He had told me not to speak unless spoken to which I had already messed up when I entered his room. So, I cou
ldn’t very well get in any more trouble by being polite. Right?

  “Good night, Mister Durand.” The words had barely left my mouth before Antoine called out to me.

  “Miss Billings.”

  “Yes?” I turned back to him to see his eyes locked onto me. There was a burning anger there that had me taken back and in fear for my job.

  “Since you seem to have a complete disregard for my rules, let me remind you. This is your job, not someplace to get your jollies on.”

  Jollies? Who the hell said that anymore? And what did he mean jollies? Was he implying that …?

  “Wait a second,” I couldn’t be silent any longer. “I’m not the one who’s been trying to get their jollies on. I’m just doing my job.”

  “And breaking rules.” Antoine shot back. “Or did you not speak to me when you entered before I spoke to you?” He arched an elegant eyebrow, and I wanted to punch him in the face.

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I frowned. “Well, excuse me if I find it common courtesy to let someone know what they are doing in their room. I’m only human.”

  Antoine’s eyes scanned over my form, and he seemed to relax slightly. “Yes, so you are. However, in the future, I expect you to be seen and not heard. Preferably unseen as well. Then we won’t have any of issues of boundaries being overstepped. Am I clear?”

  My fingers curled into fists, and I pressed my lips together tight. Forcing back the rude remark that was dying to come out, I simply nodded.

  “Good,” Antoine turned his eyes back down to the papers in his hands before adding, “Good night Miss Billings. Make sure you lock your door tonight.”

  As I left his room and headed back to my own, Antoine’s words worried me. Were his brothers so hard up for female companionship that they would come into my room at night? Or was I being protected from something else? Either way, this job was getting weirder and weirder by the second. However, I was determined to be able to last until I could find another one. If I could find another one.

  7

  The next few days were pretty much all the same. I got up, found the note shoved under my door, and started the day. Some days, Gretchen would serve me breakfast, other days, I’d make my own. Darren rarely sat with me at meals, and when he did, he didn’t talk to me much, no matter how much I tried.

  “Why, you look absolutely thrilled to be here.” Rayne plopped down on the stairs next to where I was scrubbing a stain from the floor. I had finished all my chores early and had been looking forward to a nice relaxing evening instead of collapsing in my bed.

  However, God hated me. Darren had stopped me in the kitchen and told me of a mysterious red stain that had suddenly appeared. As the maid, of course, it was my job to get rid of it. Since I wasn’t exactly an expert in tile cleaning, I had been scrubbing at the same spot for over an hour, and still, the ugly red spot had hardly budged.

  “Can I help you?” I sighed and tossed my scrubbing brush back into my bucket of water.

  Rayne smirked down at me, his hands laced in front of him as he leaned on his knees. “No, just enjoying your pitiful existence.”

  Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my bucket and grimaced at the reddish colored water. I’d gotten this much stuff out of the tile, but still, it glared at me like a neon light. Suddenly, a thought came to mind. I glanced at Rayne’s overly smug face and then back to the stain.

  “You did this, didn’t you?” I arched a brow at him.

  Leaning back on the stairs, Rayne just grinned. “Now, why would I do that? I have so many other more important things to do than to make more work for you.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, like I believe that.”

  Standing up, Rayne stomped over to where I knelt and crouched down beside me. “You should watch your tongue unless you want to be out of a job and back to living in your car.”

  I gaped at him. “How did you know that?”

  “I have my ways.” When I only stared at him, he sighed. “It’s called the internet. I did a background check on you. You’ve been job hopping for the last few months after you got laid off. Also,” - his nose scrunched up in disgust - “your car is a mess. You should take more pride in your things.”

  Irritation filled me, and I jumped to my feet. “And you should mind your own business. What I do or don’t do with my own stuff is my business, not yours.” I picked up my bucket of water and glared down at him. “And if you ever do something like this again, I will make sure all your clothes are dyed pink in the next wash.” I spun viciously, making sure the water in the bucket sloshed over the side and splashed Rayne’s feet.

  “Hey!” Rayne jumped back and snarled. “Watch it. You better come back here and apologize. You’re nothing but a maid.”

  “And you’re nothing but a spoiled brat,” I snapped back at him, flipping him off. I marched back toward the kitchen, muttering to myself the entire way.

  Darren stood at the stove, his back to me as he stirred a pot on the burner. “Bad day?”

  I grunted and went to the sink. Dumping the water into the sink, I turned toward Darren, one hip leaned against the counter. “Tell me, did all these guys personally shove sticks up their asses or were they born that way?”

  “I wouldn’t speak so freely of the masters,” Darren warned though I caught a hint of a smile on his lips. “They have excellent hearing.”

  I sniffed, not at all worried. “Then hear this, bite me!”

  Darren chuckled, his shoulders shaking with the effort.

  “What, you think that’s funny?” I spat, staring at him like he had lost his mind.

  “Just your wording. The irony.” Darren shook his head and then started to plate the food. He gestured to the bar for me to sit.

  I took my seat and forked up the pasta like creation in front of me, but I was so mad that I couldn’t even get any into my mouth. I threw my fork back down and growled. “These guys are the worst pains in the asses I’ve ever come across. If they aren’t trying to embarrass me, they’re trying to break my back with the amount of work they give me.”

  “So, quit,” Darren answered, “if you hate it so much.”

  Glaring down at my plate, I pouted. “I would if I could. However, jobs aren’t that easy to come by with my track record.”

  Darren inclined his head. “So, I heard. Living in your car, huh?” He raised his brows at me. “It takes quite a bit to drive someone to those lengths.”

  I shrugged. “Not really. It made sense with the lack of funds to pay for an apartment.”

  “What about your parents?” Darren asked, surprising me. This was the longest conversation I’d ever had with Darren. The fact that he was even asking me about myself was a miracle. Usually, he was trying his best to get me out the door or back to work.

  “They’re not here, and even if they were, I wouldn’t go back to them.” I left it at that, not wanting to go into my family history.

  “So, you’re here on your own with no family to look for you?” Darren asked a bit strangely. “That’s not a safe place to be for a young woman.”

  I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. “I can take care of myself.”

  Darren snorted. “That I can’t believe.”

  We continued to eat in silence after Darren’s condescending remark. Darren took both of our plates before I could offer to clean them and then disappeared into the dining room. A few low voices came from there, and I was half tempted to see if my employers were there. What did they eat? So, far I hadn’t seen them get anything remotely close to food besides Rayne’s bottle of red crap.

  Suddenly, Darren showed back up in the kitchen. His eyes landed on me, and he stiffened. “You should go to bed. The masters have some visitors tonight, and they don’t want to be disturbed.”

  The tone of his voice told me there was no room for argument. The voices in the dining room got louder, and there were laughter and some moaning noises. Suddenly, I wanted to be back in my room.

  As I scrambled up the back stairs, my face
heated. What kind of people was I working for? Sex addicts? Maybe one of those BDSM kind of groups? They did want to be called Master.

  Whips and chains came to mind as well as the image of Antoine in some assless leather pants. My body shivered deliciously at the thought. I could totally see any of them being into that kind of stuff.

  I paused at my bedroom door and was half tempted to head back down, but Darren’s warning look took all of my courage. Turning the knob, I ducked inside just as a loud cry of ecstasy filled the house. Yeah, I was going with sex-addicts.

  8

  I spent most of the night imaging what was going on down there. I’d never imagined any of them would be into that kind of stuff. Okay, that was a lie. I totally could see some BDSM action coming from a few of them.

  But Rayne? He was a punk that seemed more like a bottom than a top. Wynn, oh, Wynn, I would let him tie me up any day. The though to of a twin sandwich also didn’t strike me as something I wouldn’t enjoy.

  I was having a delicious dream of just those things when a pounding sounded on my door. Groaning, I glanced over at my clock. It was barely after seven. I was usually up by now, but apparently, I needed the sleep. Something I wished the person at my door would respect.

  “Piper, get up.” Darren’s voice called out, making me groan again. Of course, it would be him, the freaking jerk face.

  “I’m coming! Hold on a second.” I crawled out of bed and pulled a pair of sweatpants on, not bothering to put a bra on under my big t-shirt. I pulled open the door to find an annoyed Darren waiting on the other side. “Yes?”

  Darren’s eyes dipped down slightly to my attire, and I could tell he didn’t approve. Not voicing his opinion, he glanced down at his watch. “No list today. The masters are throwing a party. We need to get the house ready for visitors.”

  I frowned, my brow furrowing. “But they had visitors last night, and we didn’t have to prepare anything.”