The Mermaid's Return_A Reverse Harem Romance

by Kellie McAllen

  “Yeah, maybe a beach house. But with boat access! Yeah, that’d be good.”

  She quirks a perfectly-drawn eyebrow at me. “A beach house? With boat access? Sure, I mean, I can show you something like that, but that’s going to be a much higher price range.”

  “I told you, price is no option. And maybe a few more bedrooms, too.” My frown turns into a smile as I picture my dream house.

  She furrows her brow, but it doesn’t wrinkle — probably injected with botox. “How many bedrooms would you like?”

  I count off people on my fingers. “At least six, with bathrooms for each of them.”

  Heather almost loses it then. Her mouth falls open, and she lets out an unprofessional laugh. “You want a six-bed/six-bath beach house with boat access? You realize that’s going to cost several million dollars.”

  “Yeah, that’s okay.” It’s getting really hot out here, and I’m not used to wearing so much clothing, so I absentmindedly roll up my shirtsleeves, revealing my ink.

  She bugs out her eyes and gawks at me. “Who are you?”

  The guys and I have done our best to keep our find a secret and stay out of the media, going to several different buyers around the region to sell the gold bit by bit. I don’t intend to blow my cover to a real estate agent.

  “Nobody special.” I give her a look that tells her I expect her to keep her mouth shut.

  She shakes her head, but her face curls in a sly smile. She’s not about to risk that big of a commission by pressing for details.

  “Let’s go back to my office where it’s cooler, and we’ll do an MLS search.”

  “I’ll meet you there.” My truck door creaks and rattles as I pry it open. Maybe I should think about getting a new vehicle while I’m spending money.

  Heather drives to a small storefront in a strip mall that probably costs less a month than her Nissan, but that doesn’t bother me. In fact, I’m glad she doesn’t work in a big office with a bunch of other realtors. She’d probably blab about the big commission she was going to earn, and they’d get curious about me.

  Inside, the most impressive feature of her office is the blasting air conditioning. She sits in front of her computer, and I pull up a chair next to her. She stiffens a little then wiggles around like I’m making her uncomfortable.

  Her long, pink nails tap at her keyboard, and soon her monitor is filled with pictures of waterfront mansions with seven and eight figure price tags. I lean closer to get a better look at them.

  “Do you see something you like?” She puts her hand on her neck and laughs unnaturally. This close, I can see how her thick layer of makeup has started to slide in the heat. I stare at her for a minute, and she must mistake my gaze for interest because her eyes dilate, and her breath hitches.

  “I think my girlfriend would like that one.” I point at one with pretty, arched columns.

  “Oh, okay.” She gives an awkward smile and clicks on the listing.

  We flip through the gallery of photos for several minutes, each more beautiful than the one before it. I can picture Bella doing her hair and makeup in one of the huge bathrooms, Jude cooking in the gourmet kitchen, Liam studying in the light-filled office, Avery filling up the giant closets, and Coral snuggled up to me in the master bedroom.

  “I want to go see this one.” I tap on the screen with my finger.

  “Okay, sure. I’ll get in touch with the agent and see when we can have a showing. What’s your schedule like?”

  “I’d like to see it as soon as possible.”

  An hour later, I’m back at the boat, and so is everybody else. My stomach growls when I walk in and smell food, reminding me I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.

  Coral hurries up to me and wraps her hands around me, pulling herself up to my lips for a kiss. “Hi, Gio. How’d it go with the social worker?”

  I squeeze her close, bunching up her soft, cotton sundress as I caress her curves and breathing in the fresh, ocean smell of her. I’m glad Avery hasn’t bought her a bunch of fancy perfume to cover up her natural scent. Her face is a perfect balance of natural and made-up, with her creamy skin left bare and just a little eye makeup to play up those big, aqua pools.

  I lead her over to the kitchen where Jude is plating up some chicken. We sit down at the table with Jude and Avery.

  “Well, she hated the boat. She said I need to find a better home for me and Bella.”

  Coral furrows her brow and puts a hand on my arm. “What are you going to do?”

  “I called a real estate agent and went to look at a house.” Everybody gawks at me like I told them I spent the afternoon at a strip club.

  “Did you like it?” Coral’s voice is soft and tentative.

  I sigh. “It was perfect for me and Bella. A nice three-bed/two-bath ranch in the suburbs with half an acre. Good school district.”

  Surprisingly, every single one of them has a look of disappointment, Coral especially.

  “I hated it.” I give a small grin and shake my head. They stare at me, not sure how to respond.

  “I’m gonna go look at another one tomorrow. I want you all to go with me.” Their faces scrunch in confusion.

  “It’s a mansion big enough for all six of us to have our own wing, and it’s right on the water.”

  Coral’s face lights up like a freakin’ sunbeam, and she jumps up and grabs me. I won’t turn down the opportunity to kiss her, so I pull her into my lap and savor the taste of her sweet lips for a long moment till it gets to the point where she’s either got to get off my lap or I’m gonna carry her to the bedroom. Who would’ve thought that I’d get this worked up by her excitement about buying a house to share with three other guys? It’s crazy, but somehow it works for us.

  The next day, the six of us carpool to the mansion on the water — Coral and Bella in the truck with me and the guys in Liam’s car. A jungle of tropical plants and bushes are in front of the wrought iron fence, blocking the view, but the gate is open, giving us a peek. We drive up the brick driveway to the front entrance where Heather is waiting in her car for us.

  Everyone hops out, and I slide my arm around Coral’s waist. It doesn’t take the guys any time to notice it. Right away they’re eyeing me. “I told the agent I had a girlfriend. Just go with it,” I whisper.

  “Of course you did.” Jude slugs me in the shoulder.

  “Heather, this is my girlfriend, Coral, my sister, Bella, and these are my… investment partners.” I smile, proud of myself for thinking that one up on the fly.

  Heather’s eyes rove up and down Coral, Bella, and the other guys, and Coral stiffens under my arm, making me wonder what Heather’s thinking.

  “Wow, I’ve never shown a house to so many people at one time before.” Heather gives that nervous laugh that’s really starting to annoy me.

  “Yeah, well, I expect them all to spend a lot of time here, so their opinion is important.”

  She nods distractedly, and I’m sure she’s trying to figure out what the hell is going on between the group of us. Good luck with that. I don’t understand this relationship half the time, and I’m living it.

  We follow her up the deep, brick steps to a wide porch with swings and rocking chairs and hanging ferns — all that cozy shit. The thing is, I can see myself sitting out here at night, shooting the breeze with the guys or cuddling with Coral. I get the warm fuzzies just thinking about it, which makes me feel like an old man.

  Heather unlocks the front door and swings it open into a gigantic foyer that leads to a living room overlooking a sparkly pool and the ocean. Coral rushes to the big windows and presses her hands to the glass, eyeing the gorgeous blue water, but my eyes go straight to the boat slip.

  “Avery, it’s like the apartment you wanted, only better!” Coral’s sweet voice calls out. The guys are all rolling their heads around, gawking at the huge windows and high ceilings.

  “This is the living area…” Heather starts in with her annoying realtor speech, but nobody’s paying
her any attention. We all go our separate ways, checking out the place.

  “Look at this kitchen!” Jude’s loud mouth bellows, and I grin. I knew he’d like that.

  We all head that way to find Jude stroking the white marble countertops and glossy cabinets. “Look at this stove! I could make a ten-course meal all at the same time on this stove. And this fridge! I could fit enough food in here to last us for a week instead of just a couple days like that tiny thing on the boat.”

  We leave Jude salivating over the appliances and walk back out to the main area. “There’s a lovely library/office over here,” Heather says, pointing.

  Liam perks up at that, of course, and hustles her way. When I get there, his head is tipped back, and his mouth is hanging open as he gawks at the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

  “This is amazing, but all this sunlight is damaging to books.” Liam points to the giant windows letting in beams of sunshine.

  “These windows are specially treated to prevent sun damage” Heather explains, satisfying Liam’s worries about his precious textbooks.

  “Are the bedrooms all upstairs?” Avery starts climbing the wide staircase.

  “Yes, there are six of them, each with an ensuite bathroom. One for each of you, I guess?” Heather chuckles, trying to play off her curiosity. I know she’s dying to know what our deal is.

  “Coral, look at this closet!” Avery yells from the first bedroom. I laugh and shake my head cuz he did just what I imagined him doing. I give Coral a little nudge, and she heads off to humor Avery.

  With Coral occupied, I sling an arm over Bella’s shoulder. “What do you think, sis? Do you like this place? You can have your pick of the bedrooms.”

  “Do I like it? It’s a frickin’ mansion, Gio! What’s not to like? If you’re trying to impress me… it’s working.” She grins and shoves me away from her then takes off down the hall, peeking in all the bedrooms.

  “Which one is the master bedroom?” I ask Heather since, so far, each one has been bigger than my last apartment.

  She points to the end of the hallway. The house is long and narrow, set up so every room has a great view of the ocean. “It’s the last one, and there’s another staircase next to it.”

  I head for the biggest bedroom. The word master doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s bigger than the house my parents owned. Smack dab in the middle of it is the biggest bed I’ve ever seen in my life.

  “What size is that? That’s gotta be bigger than a king size.” I gawk at the pillow-covered monstrosity.

  “It’s a super king, 80 by 80. Not sure why anyone would need a bed that large, but the room certainly accommodates it.” Heather waves her hand around at the enormous space. Even with the huge bed, there’s still plenty of room in here.

  When Coral slips in next to me and presses her warm, little body up to mine, an image flashes through my mind that I know is gonna come back to bite me, but damn if I can’t stop thinking about it. When the others show up and get a load of the bed, their gulps and stares make me think they might’ve got the same idea as me. This bedroom is gonna be Coral’s.

  “If you think the bed is big, wait till you see the tub.” Heather pushes open a door to a bathroom the size of a living room with an honest to God jacuzzi in the middle of it. Not a regular size tub with jets but a full-size hot tub with room for all of us. Jude groans out loud, and Coral turns as red as her sun dress.

  “I think we’re done here,” I say, suddenly in desperate need of some privacy, or better yet, some private time with my favorite mermaid.

  Heather looks stricken. “But you haven’t seen the veranda yet!”

  “Sure, okay, yeah, let’s check it out.” I shake my head and try to focus on something else besides the thought of Coral in that hot tub.

  Heather makes sure we take notice of the balcony that looks over the water, as if we could miss it. Then we all file down the stairs and out the glass doors leading to the back yard.

  Jude plops down on one of the fancy, cushioned lounge chairs under the overhang and reaches towards the little table next to it. “Damn, the only thing missing is a margarita.”

  “There’s a bar right here. You can make one.” Heather points out a small bar with shelves filled with liquor bottles, a fridge, and a couple of barstools. Jude oohs and hustles over to check it out.

  Bella kicks off her shoes and sits on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water. “I’m definitely throwing a pool party.”

  I cringe thinking about a bunch of teenagers running and screaming and horse playing, but Bella’s wistful smile makes me crazy enough to consider it.

  Avery and Liam are checking out the neighbors. There are houses on either side, but the lush, tropical landscaping makes it impossible to see anything but their roofs, which is good because I like my privacy.

  Coral has wandered out to the edge of the property where a couple huge palm trees frame a wooden dock that leads to the sea. I watch her walk to the end of it and stare down at the water. I can picture her tossing her dress on the dock and diving in. That’s what I want for her, the freedom to have both worlds at the same time so she’ll never be tempted to leave me. I head her way and come up behind her, wrapping my arms around her body and nuzzling my face into her neck.

  “What do you think, Coral?” My voice sounds hesitant even though I can’t imagine her not liking it here.

  She lifts her arms to stroke my head then turns around and embraces me, staring up at me with those blue eyes, big and bright as the sky. “I love it, Gio. It’s incredible.”

  “Then it’s yours.”

  I bend down and take her lips with mine, drinking in the sweet taste of her.

  Chapter 16

  Avery

  I’ve been waiting months for this night, and my balls are so blue they might as well be frozen, but everything is going to be perfect, and it will all be worth it.

  I check my look one more time in the array of mirrors in my bathroom that let me see every angle. Jude says only a narcissist could stand seeing that much of himself every time he went to the can, but at least I know I look good for my date tonight. I squirt a couple sprays of cologne on my pulse points and smile at the lucky guy who’s getting some mermaid tail tonight. As soon as the lame pun flashes through my mind, I cringe at it. Living with Jude must be rubbing off on me.

  I head downstairs to wait for Coral to come down, watching the boats go by out the back windows. My shiny, black oxfords tap out a nervous rhythm on the floors as I pace since I’m too worked up to sit down. Finally, she appears at the top of the stairs, stunning me, a vision in a sexy, red silk dress that flows over her curves like liquid. Her long, dark hair hangs over her breasts in soft waves. The ruby necklace and earrings I gave her are the perfect accent.

  I’m impressed at how great her hair and makeup look. I was going to do it for her, but Bella said that was too weird and offered to come over and help her, instead. Coral was so happy I couldn’t ruin the moment, but I wondered what kind of look a 15-year-old would think was appropriate for a fancy dinner date. I guess I shouldn’t have underestimated her, though, because Coral looks amazing.

  I feel kind of bad that the other guys aren’t here to see her, and for a moment I think about calling them in here. This kind of entrance deserves an appreciative audience. But I told them I wanted Coral to myself tonight, so the show is all for me. My heart pounds like it’s applauding, and my chest swells with pride. I can’t believe she’s mine. How did I ever get so lucky?

  She glides slowly down the staircase like a true princess, giving me plenty of time to admire her. I’m sure it’s because she feels unsteady in her heels, but a girl this gorgeous needs to make an entrance. When she gets to the bottom of the stairs, I’m there with my elbow out. She wraps her arm through mine and gives a little sigh, probably happy to be back on level ground.

  “You look amazing, Coral. I’ve never seen someone so beautiful,” I whisper in her ear. My breath and my words w
arm her cheeks, making them blush a rosy red.

  “So do you, Avery.” Her eyes rove up and down my body, and she strokes a hand down the shiny, black lapel of my suit. If my bathroom hall of mirrors is telling the truth, the suit was totally worth the huge price tag. It hugs my body like it was custom-made for me. It wasn’t, but I had it tailored for a perfect fit. Her gaze tells me she appreciates it.

  I lead her out to my new car, a sporty Mercedes that’s almost worthy of her, and help her into the passenger seat then climb behind the wheel. The engine starts with a purr I can barely hear over the soft classical music coming from the radio.

  “I’m so happy this night is finally here. I almost cancelled our reservations when you…” I stop myself. I don’t even want to mention those days when we thought Coral was never coming back.

  “I’ve been looking forward to it, too.” She gives me a smile that tells me she’s excited about more than just the fancy French restaurant and the art gallery. She lays her hand on my thigh. All of a sudden the skin underneath is on fire. I’m half-tempted to skip dinner and go straight for dessert.

  Self control, Avery. I’ve been planning this perfect night for months; I’m not going to let my lust spoil it. There will be plenty of time to satisfy that later.

  We’re halfway to the restaurant when my cell phone rings. I give her an apologetic look. “Damn, I forgot to put it on silent. I’m sorry.”

  I wiggle it from my back pocket, and I’m just about to decline the call when I see my sister’s name on the screen. Becky doesn’t call me very often, and she knows I’ve got a special night planned. My finger hovers over the buttons for a second, debating.

  “Answer it, Avery. I don’t mind. It’s your sister.”

  I glance at Coral, and she smiles in encouragement. With a sigh, I tap the green button.

  “Hey Beck, what’s up?”

  “Daddy’s in trouble! He needs help, Avery.” Her high, squeaky voice pierces the quiet of the car.

  I wince and pull the phone away from my ear. “Becky, can you call Stag, or Mom? I’m out on a date with Coral.”