STRIPTEASED: A Standalone Reverse Harem Romance (Roommates Book 1)

“Happy new year!” Austin exclaimed, giving me a long, lingering kiss. I kissed him back enthusiastically, even though it was only eleven o’clock.

“You’re an hour early,” Denver said from his place on the sofa. “It’s midnight in New York, not here.”

“Time zones are a scam,” Austin said, making me giggle. Of course, with the amount of champagne flowing around our home this evening, a lot of things seemed funny.

“I want to give you a New York kiss, too,” Tonio said. I was more than happy to oblige him. I ran my fingers over his bare chest, tickling him. Then I grabbed him by the black necktie he wore around his neck. It was a real necktie, too, not the stripper kind the twins used to wear.

Our lips met, and I ground myself against him, laughing when I felt his rising interest. “No fair,” he whispered, before nibbling along my neck. “There’s not much room to hide an erection in silk boxers.”

I grinned. I’d been upstairs writing all afternoon, and when the guys called me down to dinner, I’d found them all wearing black silk boxer shorts and black bow ties. While I was torn between amusement and arousal, they explained to me that it was a holiday and thus the ties. “Otherwise, we’d be dressed too casually,” Austin explained. Knox had looked adorably embarrassed in the outfit, but he’d done it for me.

And I’d done my part by running upstairs to change into something skimpy. Denver had come to make sure I picked out something nice, but I think he just wanted to watch me change. Which he did.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Knox reached out from his spot on the big armchair, grabbed me, and pulled me onto his lap. My white teddy flew up as I fell back onto him. Before I could straighten it out, Knox had one large arm clamped around my waist. My heart pounded in my chest. It was always such a turn-on when my guys manhandled me like this. They could be so kind and generous and loving, but I also liked it when they teased me and couldn’t keep their hands off me.

Knox ran his thumb along the satin lingerie and offered me his glass of champagne. Austin came over as I took a long sip.

“Nice view,” he observed, and I grinned. The only thing I had on under the teddy—which had ridden up when Knox grabbed me—was a garter belt and white thigh-high stockings. “You look like a naughty nurse.”

I laughed because when I unwrapped the teddy at Christmas last week, my first thought was that perhaps the teddy, garter belt, and stockings had come from a naughty nurse costume. It was just one of the weird and wonderful presents Santa—and my four handsome men—had gotten me.

It was hard to believe that just two months ago at the book signing, I’d thought I wouldn’t be sharing any holidays with all my guys together. But we’d had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now New Year’s Eve. And there would be more holidays in the coming year—if we had time. Lately, all our free time had been devoted to getting our business up and running. That’s why it felt so good to let loose and have fun with the guys tonight.

Tonio pulled a chair over and sat down next to me. I wiggled around on Knox’s lap until my feet hung over the arm of the chair. Tonio obligingly picked up my foot and rested it in his lap. Then he attacked the instep with his strong thumbs. “Some people spend a cold winter night gathered around the fireplace,” he said. “We gather around an Emma.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I said with a grin. Knox was cradling me in his arms and giving me champagne. Tonio was rubbing my foot. Austin sat in front of me, staring at my stocking-covered legs with a glint in his eyes. The only one missing was Denver, but a moment later, he appeared, settling down on the arm of the chair next to me and stroking my hair.

“I could get used to this,” I moaned. All of them were touching some part of me now.

“You are used to this,” Tonio said.

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you calling me spoiled?” I totally was, but I didn’t want to admit it to him.

He grinned. “Not spoiled… but sort of like a pampered pet.”

“I’m not a pet!”

“You sure like being petted.” Austin said, sliding a hand up and down my thigh.

“True. I’ll allow that.”

Tonio frowned at me. “Are you getting drunk?”

“No. Not yet. But it’s not like we have to drive anywhere.”

“True,” Denver said. “But there’s something we’d like to do, and you’ll need to be sober for it.”

“Does it involve having to get up?”

“No,” Denver said. “Stay right there.”

He walked out of sight, and I basked in the love and attention from the rest of my guys. They looked so handsome, with their sculpted muscles and gleaming skin. I really didn’t know how I’d gotten this lucky.

“Here you go.” Denver put a box wrapped in silver paper on my lap. Tonio let go of my foot, and Knox shifted uneasily under me. Even Austin sat back, watching me intently. Somehow, the mood had shifted from leisurely and playful to something different.

“What’s this?”

“A present that didn’t make it under the tree,” Knox said.

“What’s inside?”

“Apparently, she’s forgotten how presents work,” Tonio said.

But Austin gave me an actual answer. “It’s an addition to your New Year’s Eve outfit… if you want it.”

Suddenly, I wondered if this really was part of a naughty nurse costume. “Is it a hat?”

Knox sucked in a breath, and the other three looked at me sharply.

Finally, Denver said, “Of a sort.”

This was getting strange. I knew my guys, and they were on edge about something. “Should I open it?”

Denver looked at the others and the nodded. “Yes.”

I smoothed down the skirt of my teddy and sat up straighter. Whatever was going on, it seemed too serious to be sprawled across Knox’s lap.

The box was feather light, and the lid lifted off easily. Someone had wrapped the two parts of the box separately. Inside was a great deal of a soft, white material. I pushed it aside, thinking that the present might be underneath it, when I suddenly realized what it was.

A veil.

My mother’s veil.

I lifted it out carefully, letting the light fabric glide through my fingers. I’d given this connection to my mother away when I thought all hope of a happy relationship was gone. Now the veil had returned to me when I was happier than I’d ever dreamed of. “Where did you get this?” My voice was barely a whisper, but Knox heard.

“Your friend Maddie told us about it, and we asked her for it.”

“Because you knew it belonged to my mom?” I asked.

“Yes,” Denver said at the same time his brother said, “No.”

The twins looked at each other, a little startled to be out of sync. Denver gestured for Austin to go ahead.

“We know it belonged to your mom, so of course you should have it for that reason. But that’s not all it means—at least not to us.” A rush of gratitude washed over me at Austin’s words. Ever since the night he rescued me at the club, our relationship had grown so much stronger. He was still funny, irreverent, and sexy… but he was also content to lie next to me in bed and hold me all night, stroking my hair and whispering sweet things in my ear—whether we had sex or not.

Tonio reached over and took my hand in his. “Let’s get up.” I cradled the veil against my chest as he pulled me to my feet and the men rose, too. We stood in a circle in the middle of the home we shared, and suddenly, it seemed very significant that they were wearing black and I was wearing white.

We stood in a circle. Denver was across from me. “A new year is starting soon, and it’s the first one we’ll experience together. As a team. As a unit. But—those words don’t feel adequate for what we have.”

Tonio took over. “I’m not sure there are words for what we have. Nothing I can think of does it justice. But maybe it doesn’t need a name. Maybe we should just be grateful that it exists.”

“We are,” Knox said and I smiled at him.

“We brought the veil here because we wanted to give you a choice,” Austin began. “That first night we spent together, you said you never wanted to choose between us. We’re not asking you to. We’re just asking if you’re sure you want to choose us—all of us.”

“’Til death do us part,” Denver said. He gestured toward the veil in my hand. “That’s just a symbol, but it’s an important one. It represents what we want… if you want it too.”

My fingers trembled around the veil my mother had worn so many years ago. Had she felt the kind of love I felt right now? I certainly hoped she had—and I was so glad I did. “I do,” I said.

Tonio gave a quick laugh. “Wait, not yet.”

I didn’t know what he meant, but I didn’t really care, because I knew what was in his heart. In all of their hearts.

My hands were no longer shaking as I raised the veil to my head. Small hair clips allowed it to settle in my hair as the soft lace floated around my shoulders and across my back.

“You look beautiful,” Knox said.

At that moment, I felt beautiful. Like a goddess. Not because I was amazing, but because my guys were, and they’d chosen me.

Denver stepped forward and took my hands. “Emma, do you accept that we’re your family and that we love you?”

My eyes teared up. “I do.”

Tonio stepped up. “Do you promise to let us help and support you, even when you think we’re being overprotective?”

I smiled up at this handsome face. “I do.”

Then Austin took his place.

“Wait,” I said. “I need a tissue.”

Knox had anticipated my need and had one at the ready. I dabbed some tears off my cheeks and then looked into Austin’s whiskey-colored eyes.

“Emma,” he said, “Do you accept this as a binding commitment even though it’s not official and we’re all in our underwear?”

I gave a watery laugh. “I do.”

And then Knox was in front of me, and he had a tissue of his own. “Emma,” he began, but he couldn’t go on. The others reached out, patting him on the back or the arm. He took a deep breath and then started again. “Emma, do you know how much we love you?”

Tears filled my eyes as I nodded. “I d-do.” It was hard getting the words out. “You know how I do? Because I love you that much, too.

Austin and Denver flanked me, their arms going around my back as I tried to find the right words. “You four are my family. For a long time, I didn’t have one, and now I do. A wonderful one—and we’re going to do wonderful things with the business we’re starting.”

“Hell yes, we are,” Tonio said, and I smiled at him.

“I love you. All of you. I couldn’t choose between you before, and now I know I never have to again, because this is how we’re supposed to be. A year ago, I didn’t know this was possible, but now… I can’t imagine living my life without the four of you.”

“You don’t have to imagine it without us, because that’s not going to happen.”

Suddenly, loud sounds came from outside the house, startling us all.

“Firecrackers,” Knox said. “Must be midnight.”

“This time, it’s in our time zone,” Tonio said. “Guess it’s time for some New Year’s kissing.”

I smiled, looking into the eyes of each man I loved. “Definitely time.”

Austin cocked an eyebrow at me. “Want me to get the blindfold so you don’t have to choose who to kiss first?”

“Nope. The order doesn’t matter, because I love you all, and I’m pretty sure you guys know it.”

I turned to Denver, kissing him fully on the lips. Austin’s arm was still around my back, and I loved feeling that connection. Then I turned my head to the other amazing twin, kissing Austin hard.

When I was ready for the other men I loved, they moved in. Tonio stepped forward, and to my surprise, he scooped me into his arms. I linked my hands behind his head as he kissed me so thoroughly that I was breathless by the time he finished. Then he handed me over to Knox, who lifted me easily. His kiss lasted the longest of hem all. My eyes weren’t the only moist ones as I reached my arms out to touch as many of my loved ons as I could.

A throat cleared, and Austin was behind me. Knox’s blue eyes beamed at me before he held me out to Austin.

“You already had your turn,” I said in a mock scolding voice. I wiggled my hips as he held me tightly to his chest.

“I know,” he told me. “But sometimes I have to step in to save you.”

I drew in a quick breath. “Like at the club that night?”

“Yes, like that… but also from other things.”

I frowned. “Like what?”

It was Denver who answered. “Like the floor, of course. It’s made of lava.”

I grinned as Austin handed me over to his twin. Denver nuzzled his nose against mine as he held me tightly. “Now we don’t ever have to let you go.”

The smiles on my guys’ faces made me so happy. I loved them so much. “I think if you check the rules, there’s one place we’ll all be safe from lava.”

“Where’s that?” Knox asked.

“Downstairs on Austin’s bed.” I beamed at them. “Do you guys want to join me there so we’ll all be safe?”

As it turned out, they did.