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

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” I said. I wasn’t usually brave enough for dares—not that the guys went easy on me. They could ask some pretty probing questions. It was Sunday night, so no one had to go to the club. We’d had so much fun two weeks ago when our movie night turned into a question-and-answer session that we’d kept it going, only now it was more like the party game from my teenage years.

“Whose bed do you like sleeping in the best?” Austin asked.

Ugh, that was a loaded question. I’d slept next to Denver in his bed three nights before Austin suggested I take a turn with him. Soon, I was regularly rotating between all of their beds. It sounded slutty, but nothing ever happened. Usually I was asleep when the guys returned from the club, so all I registered was a quick good-night kiss when they climbed in next to me.

Mornings were more fun, though. It was nice to snuggle next to a big warm body in the morning. Austin always put his arm around me the moment he woke up. Denver would prop himself up on his side and stare into my eyes as we talked. Tonio often woke me up with a heavenly backrub. And Knox would often get up early to go take pictures, but he’d always tuck the covers carefully around me before he left.

“That’s impossible to answer.”

“But you have to. It’s the name of the game, darlin’,” Austin said with a drawl. He and Denver had apparently put together a new routine in which they dressed up like cowboys, and ever since, he’d been affecting a Southern accent from time to time.

“I like sleeping in all of your beds,” I said diplomatically as I looked at each one in turn. Knox was in the biggest recliner, and Tonio was in the smaller one. I was sitting on the sofa sandwiched between the twins. “Though I do admit that when Knox isn’t there I sometimes roll over to his side and get stuck in the gigantic indentation in his mattress.”

The others laughed as Knox rolled his eyes. “Need help flipping your mattress?” Tonio asked.

Knox flexed his biceps. “Nope.”

Ooo, that was hot. He was so quiet and unassuming that sometimes it was easy to forget how incredibly strong he was. “All right, my turn,” I said. “Denver, truth or dare?”

“How come you never pick me?” Austin complained.

“Because you always choose dare and I can never think of anything to ask you.”

“You could always hit him up for money,” Tonio said.

That made me laugh. “I don’t think that’s quite how the game works. Otherwise, it would be called Truth or Extortion. Come on, Denver, which do you choose?”

“Truth,” he said, as I’d known he would. It wasn’t that he was afraid of a dare, but he was less willing than Austin to put me on the spot—which I appreciated.

I had a good question ready for him. “How come Austin brags about his body all the time, and you never do about yours?”

They all laughed.

“That’s an easy one,” Denver said. “The truth is, I don’t have to. We look exactly the same, so when he’s bragging about his looks, he’s really talking up both of ours.”

“And you thought I was just being self-absorbed,” Austin added, and I giggled.

Next, Denver asked Knox which of his and Austin’s many stripper costumes he would wear if he had to, and we all laughed at the idea of Knox in a fireman’s costume—even though it sounded pretty damn hot to me.

The game continued and got progressively wilder as we drank, ate snacks, and enjoyed each other’s company. I was in the moment, but every once in a while, I’d flash back to how much fun this was compared to the uncomfortable evenings I used to share with Clint. I didn’t think about him much anymore, for which I was extremely grateful.

“My turn,” Austin said, looking straight at me. “I think we’ve let Emma get away with choosing ‘truth’ for far too long.”

“It’s called Truth or Dare, not Dare Emma to Do Something Embarrassing,” his twin said.

“But the whole point of the game is to push people outside of their comfort zone,” Austin responded. “So here’s the deal: Emma, if you choose dare, it’s going to be an easy one. But if you choose truth, it’ll be a hard one.”

A nervous laugh escaped my lips as Austin’s tone and the intensity of his gaze sent shivers up my spine. Should I pick dare? He said it would be easy, but with Austin, you never knew. Still, this would be a safe time to try it—right? But there was a disconcerting gleam in Austin’s eyes as he watched me squirm that I didn’t quite trust. “I pick—truth.”

The others groaned, but Austin looked pleased. Uh-oh. “Maybe I should’ve picked the dare.”

Austin cocked an eyebrow at me. “Maybe you should have. Are you ready for your question?”

Honestly, not really. But the direct look he was giving me made my blood race toward my core. I squeezed my thighs together and braced myself.

Austin was clearly enjoying keeping me on edge because he was definitely drawing this out. Just when I thought I would explode from nerves, he spoke. “My question is… after we’ve been flirting with you, and your face flushes and you run up to the bedroom with a flimsy excuse about needing to fill out job applications… what do you really do up there?”

I froze and stared at Austin in shock. Did he already know? How could he? My mouth opened, but no sound came out. Helplessly, I looked at the others to see if they suspected. Tonio seemed to be trying not to laugh. Denver was glaring daggers at his brother. Knox looked neutral, but as always, I felt he had my back. He’d never put me on the spot like that.

A full twenty seconds passed as I sat there, mortified. Finally, I was able to put some words together. “What do you mean? You know I’ve been searching for a job.”

“Yes,” Austin said calmly. “And I’m sure it does require a lot of work. But the times I’m talking about are when we get you all hot and bothered and then you rush up there in a blind heat. That’s what I want to know about.”

Oh God, tell me this wasn’t happening. I’d thought they hadn’t noticed the way I abruptly disappeared sometimes. This was not good. Belatedly, excuses came to me. Perhaps I should’ve claimed that sometimes, I’d suddenly remember that a job application was due by 3 pm or something. Or that I was late for a webinar about job search strategies. But these were my guys. They’d taken me in. They’d patched up the pieces of me Clint had so casually shattered, and I didn’t want to lie to them.

Tonio spoke next. “Come on, Emma, it’s kind of obvious. You can talk about it with us.”

It was? And I could? But it was so… personal. “I’ve never talked to anyone about it.”

“Not even Clint?” Denver asked.

“No. He thought it was disgusting.” My face reddened.

“He’s an ass,” Tonio said, at the same time Austin said, “We’d never think that.”

“Yeah,” Denver agreed. “We think it’s pretty awesome.”

“You do?” That was hard to believe, but they all nodded, even Knox. “I just… it’s hard to talk about.”

Austin reached out and ran his hand up my bare leg. “You can talk to us about it. After all, we’re the ones who inspire it, aren’t we?”

It wasn’t really a question. From the look in his eyes, he knew that to be a fact. Slowly, I nodded.

Tonio took over. “Let’s start simple. Where do you do it, in bed?”

I knew some people did it there, but that wasn’t my style. “No, I use Denver’s desk.”

“You… use my desk?” Denver echoed.

“Well, that’s where my laptop is.”

“Oh.” His face cleared. “So do you watch stuff online, or maybe read something on your laptop?”

“Well, yeah, I do some reading, but that’s not enough.” They seemed confused, so I went on. “I mean, reading only gets you so far.”

“True,” Austin said after a pause. “Does it make you feel good?”

“Sometimes, sure, but other times it’s frustrating.”

“Maybe we could help.” Austin moved closer, a glint in his eyes.

“Thanks, but… it’s just something that I do by myself.”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be,” Tonio said.

I never would’ve imagined they’d be interested in this. “I guess I never really thought about that. I mean, when I was younger, I asked my English teacher for help, but she didn’t think it was a good use of my time.”

Denver’s head snapped up, and he exchanged a puzzled look with the others. “Um… just to be clear, what exactly did you ask her for help with?”

“Well, with brainstorming various ideas and scenarios.”

Austin’s mouth dropped open for a moment before he pulled himself together. “Emma, what exactly do you do on your laptop when you dash upstairs?”

That was weird. Hadn’t we spent the last five minutes talking about this? “I’m writing a romance novel.”

There was a long pause and more than one shocked face, which I didn’t quite understand. Finally, Tonio spoke up. “You’re up there writing?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not very good, but I started writing romance when I got my first laptop in high school. Then after college I started dating Clint, and he didn’t approve, so I stopped. But now, living with you guys… it’s inspired me to start writing again. I’m about three quarters of the way done with my most recent story.” My face flushed a bit from admitting that fact, but I couldn’t understand why the guys looked so astonished. What was with them?

Austin shook his head in wonder. “So, when we flirt with you and get you all worked up, you run upstairs to write instead of…” He trailed off.

Rather than admit that they got me turned on, even though they obviously knew it, I focused on that last part. “Instead of what?”

No one answered me. In fact, they weren’t even looking at me. Tonio was staring down at the floor, but his chest was rising and falling in strange little patterns. Was he trying not to laugh? “Instead of what?” I demanded, looking straight at him.

He met my eye and his face broke into a big grin. “We thought you were running up there to masturbate.”

“What?” I shrieked, and all four of them burst into laughter. “You actually—you thought that I was—”

They laughed harder and I couldn’t even sort out my feelings. Embarrassment? Shock? Indignation? Probably all of the above.

When he’d recovered enough to speak, Austin said, “To be fair, we weren’t that far off. We were getting you turned on, you just channeled that energy far differently than we thought.”

“I can’t believe you guys.” My face was probably redder than a tomato.

“Why? Masturbation’s not a shameful thing, Emma.” Denver’s tone was suddenly more serious.

“Well… I guess not, but—”

“No, not but,” Austin said, his tone suddenly matching Denver’s. “It’s not a bad thing. Though with your upbringing, and thanks to your asshole ex, we can’t really blame you for thinking so.”

“Agreed,” Tonio said. “In fact, I’m surprised you even had the gumption to write romances. Are they steamy?”

“Well… yeah.”

“Then I’m glad we’ve inspired you to start writing again,” Denver said.

“Though you might want to look into other outlets, too,” Austin said.

“I, um, know how to do that too.” It was hard to maintain my dignity with that admission, but Austin’s cockiness was getting to me. “I know there’s nothing wrong with it, but I didn’t want you to think that every time you showed some skin or flashed a sexy grin at me, it caused me to lose control of myself.”

Tonio chuckled. “Sure, it’s not like that happens to women six nights of the week at the club.”

Austin laughed. “Losing control isn’t the worst thing in the world, Emma.”

“I know. But that kind of thing is personal and private.”

“You share a bed with one of us each night,” Denver said. “That’s pretty personal and private, too.”

It was, but any more on this subject and I’d probably be too embarrassed to ever speak to them again, let alone share a bed with them. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Tonio said, and the others nodded. “Have you ever published your writing?”

“No, of course not.”

“Why not?” Denver asked.

“Because I’m not a professional writer.”

“So? Anyone can self-publish these days. My sister has.”

Tonio’s words surprised me. “She has? But you said she was just my age.”

He laughed. “Far as I know, there’s no age requirement for self-publishing. You should try it sometime.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think anyone would be interested in my stories.”

“Stories, plural?” Denver asked. “How many have you written?”

“Probably a dozen over the years. And I’m almost done with the one I’m working on now.”

“A dozen? Am I in the most recent one?” Austin asked.

Tonio interrupted. “Obviously, I’m better source material. You’re about as romantic as a telephone book.”

“I don’t have to be romantic,” Austin said, shooting me a wink. “It’s all about animal magnetism, right, Emma? Sex sells.”

Typically, I blushed.

“So there is sex in them,” Denver said. “Does the hero of the story dance? Because if so, he’s based on me.”

Trying to forestall an argument, I spoke up. “He’s actually based in part on all of you. But at the end of the day, it’s fiction. It comes from my imagination.”

“Which we help fuel.” Austin was still convinced that the fact that I was writing again was a compliment to him. In a way it was, to all of them in fact.

Pride kept me from admitting that. “If you want your ego stroked, go to the club.”

Austin stared at me in shock for a moment, and then Tonio and Denver burst out laughing. Tonio actually reached across Austin to give me a high five. From his spot on the recliner, Knox was grinning.

But nothing caught Austin off guard for long. “Am I bleeding?” he asked, patting his bare chest. “Because that was vicious.”

“But well-aimed,” Tonio said, shooting me a wink. “It makes me want to read your book.”

“I told you, no one would want to read it.”

“We would,” Knox said simply.

“And I’m sure others would, as well. So that’s your dare,” Tonio said.

“Excuse me? I picked truth.”

Tonio held up a hand in a maddeningly superior way. “But then you said you wished you’d picked dare. So that’s the dare. Finish the story you’re working on now and show it to my sister.”

The thought of someone else reading my amateur scribbling wasn’t a pleasant one. “Guys, it’s just a hobby. It won’t ever be anything more.”

“My photography started off as a hobby,” Knox said, “and now I sell my stuff online.” He’d showed me an online stock photo site that bought his pictures from time to time.

“I set up my YouTube channel on a whim, but now I’m trying to take it up a level or two.” Denver reached over and squeezed my hand. “You’ve said before that this is a transitional period in your life, a time to make positive changes. Why can’t this be one of them?”

“But…” It was so hard to argue with them when they presented a united front like this. Even Knox was on board. “What if it’s no good?”

“Then Veronica will tell you that, but she’s not going to shame you for it,” Tonio said. “She’s a good person, and if you do ever decide to publish, she’ll help. But the first step is showing your writing to someone. I think she’s the right person for that, but if you’d rather show us first—”

“Oh God, no, I’d rather show her.”

“Good.” Tonio looked smug. “I’ll tell her to expect your story a week from today.”

“A week?” I yelped.

“You said you were almost done. And since you’re not working during the day, that should give you enough time.” That was easy for him to say. He grinned and raised one dark eyebrow. “If you need any extra inspiration for the sex scenes, I’m sure any one of us would be happy to lend a hand or other body parts.”

I looked around to see four knowing—and eager—smiles. What had I gotten myself into?

I guess I had one week to find out.