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

“Thanks for helping me get all this stuff upstairs.”

“You said that already,” Tonio remarked. He was carrying two suitcases and a duffel bag, yet he seemed completely unaffected by climbing the steep staircase to the second floor—unlike me.

“Yeah, but you’re still helping me.” I dropped an armful of blankets and pillows onto Denver’s bed. “Are you sure that he’s not going to mind this?”

Tonio rolled his eyes, probably because I’d said that already, too. “I’m sure.”

“Maybe I should call him.”

“He and Austin are at the gym, and he’s probably teaching a fitness class right now. Neither their day nor their night jobs are the kind that can be interrupted with a phone call.”

That made me giggle. I could just picture the twins up on stage, half naked, women screaming all around them, when suddenly one holds up his hand for silence as he whips out his phone.

Tonio grinned at my laughter. He had a great smile that made my skin heat in an embarrassing way. Hopefully he’d think the flush on my cheeks was from carrying my stuff up here. “You should laugh more and worry less. Denver’s fine in the basement with Austin. They were roommates before they were even born, you know.”

“More like wombmates.”

“Exactly.” Tonio’s sexy wink always made me flush more. “Is there anything else in the car?”

“Just one more load, I think. I can get it.”

“Good, because I’m going to start lunch.”

“Don’t you have class?”

“Not until two today. Want to learn how to make my world-famous empanadas?”

“Sure.” That sounded delicious even though my history in the kitchen was dicey at best.

“Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done—unless you think we should call Denver first and ask if it’s okay.”

Tonio dodged the pillow I threw at him and jogged down the stairs.

“Wait, you’ve got to arrange the meat mixture in the center before you fold it over, or else it’ll go all over,” Tonio said. “Like it just did.”

“Damn.”

“You’ve got to use a gentle touch. My grandmother used to say that we have to cook with amor, with love. You look like you’re about to declare war on the ingredients.”

“I’ve never done this before.” I tried pushing the ground beef crumbles back inside the thin dough, but it broke.

“You’ve never lived in a house full of guys before, either, but you’re doing well at that.”

I laughed. “Glad you think so.”

Tonio shaped three empanadas in the time it took me to butcher one. He raised a dark eyebrow at me. “Or maybe you have lived in a house full of guys before. You’ve been a bit tight-lipped about your past.”

I shrugged, playing around with the ruined mess in front of me. It was a bit like Play-Doh, though I wasn’t sure it was supposed to be. Still, it was nice hanging out with Tonio one-on-one. He was as easy to talk to as he was easy on the eyes. “I’ve never even lived with one man, let alone four. Well, my dad when I was really little, but I don’t remember much about him.”

Tonio’s dark chocolate eyes were sympathetic. “And after that?”

“My grandmother raised me after my parents’ accident. Then college, then a small apartment about the size of Denver’s bedroom, and now here. Well, unless you count the week at Clint’s parents’ place.”

“Which I don’t.” Tonio finished forming the rest of the empanadas and then whisked away the remains of my latest disaster.

“Where’d you learn to do that?”

“My mom. She’s from Mexico.”

“How’d she end up in Tennessee?”

“My dad’s from Chicago but was never really in love with the winters there. They moved here after they got married. They wanted a college town with a big backyard for my sister and me to play in.”

“You have a sister?”

“Yes, Veronica. She’s twenty-four. That’s the same as you, right?”

I nodded. “How’d you know?”

“I have Latin blood. We know these things,” he said with a perfect Spanish accent. Then he grinned. “I saw your license that first night when we were trying to figure out where you lived, remember?”

I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a bit strange?”

“Only the people who’ve met him,” a voice said from the living room.

I turned around and almost went into heart failure. Both twins were there, their bare chests glistening with sweat. Aside from their sneakers, the only things they were wearing were skintight bike shorts that outlined everything underneath them. And I do mean everything.

Austin strode past me, setting his helmet on the counter. The view was every bit as mesmerizing from behind, especially when he bent to pluck two water bottles from the fridge. He tossed one to Denver, who hastily shifted his helmet to his left hand to catch it. I couldn’t help staring, but not at the spectacular catch. The outline of Denver’s cock was so prominent that it may as well have had a spotlight on it. My gaze returned to Austin. The severely stretched fabric was so tight that I could probably pick his dick out of a lineup.

Austin’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he drained the bottle and then set it on the counter. He took in my expression and laughed. “You’ve seen us wearing less.”

“Yeah, but…” I trailed off, blushing. Did he realize that I could see the outline of every ridge, curve, and vein? “Um, I didn’t know you two liked to ride bikes.”

Denver sat down at the table and finished his own water. “It seemed like a good day for it since you had my car.” My automatic instinct was to apologize for inconveniencing him, but he held up a hand to ward that off. “I like to ride my bike. Besides, we needed some exercise.”

“But you work at a gym.”

“Working isn’t the same thing as working out.” Austin leaned against the counter. “What are you guys making?”

“Carbs,” Tonio responded, and Austin rolled his eyes. “Delicious, authentic Mexican carbs. You’re welcome to have some when they’re ready.”

“We’re good,” Denver said.

“Yeah, we’ll have all the time in the world for that kind of thing when our good looks fade,” Austin added. “That should be in what, thirty or forty years?”

Tonio scoffed, but suddenly I could see the twins as hot older men with a tinge of white at their sideburns. They’d definitely be DILFs or even GILFs well into old age.

“At least,” Denver said. “Got to hit the shower. Enjoy your lunch.”

He winked at me as he headed to the upstairs bathroom and Austin to the downstairs one. For a moment, my mind was preoccupied by the image of the twins peeling off those super tight shorts and stretching their naked bodies under the hot, steamy water…

“Hungry?” Tonio asked, interrupting my thoughts. I blushed, trying to rein in my overactive imagination. From the way Tonio was smirking, I figured he had an idea of what thoughts had crossed my mind.

“Yes.”

He jerked his head in the direction the twins had just gone. “Does that kind of thing bother you?”

“What kind of thing?” I did my best to look innocent.

“Their in-your-face sexuality. I’ve been best friends with those guys since high school. I know how they are, Austin especially.”

I sat down in the seat Denver had just vacated. “I’m just not used to it.”

Tonio cleaned up some of the mess we’d made while he talked. “Some people aren’t comfortable with the way they’re so open with their bodies. Especially good girls like yourself.”

Though it was probably true, it was also insulting. “Who says I’m a good girl?”

“Pretty much everyone who’s ever met you, I’d bet.”

That made me smile in spite of myself. “Probably.”

Tonio reached over and smoothed my hair away from my face. “The real question is, do you want to be?”

My smile faded as I thought about that. The man across from me waited, giving me time to think, and I appreciated that. “I kind of don’t know what I want anymore,” I began. “I thought it was Clint, and marriage, and a house and kids someday, but now I just don’t know. I mean, maybe that wasn’t ever what I really wanted—maybe it was just what I thought I should want?”

Tonio nodded. “It’s something worth thinking about. Everything else in your life has changed. You’re new in town. Newly single. Looking for a job. Perhaps you should take some time to think about what kind of other experiences you want in your life, too.”

“What do you mean?” It was a genuine question even though his words made my pulse quicken.

“Let’s just say that if you want to experience something quite different than what you had with your ex, you’ve come to the right place.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but the thought made my heart pound faster and kept me off balance throughout the meal. And pretty much for the rest of the day.

As the week went on, I continued to get to know the guys. I did the grocery shopping and helped with the cooking when I could. Tonio hadn’t been lying that first morning when he’d said they needed help. I wasn’t exactly Martha Stewart, but I helped to keep the living room and kitchen neat. The guys ate a ton of food and were often too busy with their various jobs and classes to help out with it themselves. Even Tonio gave up on cooking when things got busy with his classes, and then I took everyone’s order and arranged for takeout. But when we did cook together, it was fun and easy to talk to him.

Tonio told me as much about his business classes as he did about the mismanagement issues at the club. He had a lot of opinions about how it could be run better, and it was easy to see him as the manager of his own business someday.

When I asked him about it, however, he just shook his head. “I’ve already made the rounds to the banks, and no one’s willing to loan me the money. It’ll be years before I can open up my own business.” It was a shame because I could see he’d be good at it. He was already pretty much the de facto manager of this house.

The twins remained flirty and fun, and every day I learned more of the subtle differences between them.

The one who remained a mystery, however, was Knox. Whenever the five of us were together, Knox seemed to fade into the background. It seemed physically impossible given his size, but that’s the impression I always got. He was there, he was paying attention, but he seemed… separate somehow. Even a week after moving in with them, I still didn’t know what he did during the day. He was the only one who hadn’t mentioned a day job, though he went out a lot. When he and I were the only ones home, he often stayed in his first-floor room with the door closed.

The thing that finally helped me learn more about him started off as a nightmare—literally. One weekday morning, I woke up in a panic, reaching for something that wasn’t there. My heart raced as my fingers clawed at the sheets. The dream faded too quickly to hold on to any one thought, but I was pretty sure there’d been a car accident in my dream—possibly the one that had claimed my parents’ lives.

Shaken, I threw on a robe and padded down to the kitchen to get something to drink. It was a little before six, so I didn’t expect to encounter anyone, but there was Knox, sitting at the kitchen table, eating cereal. The only light in the room was from the faint traces of dawn coming through the windows and the gleam of his phone screen.

“You scared me,” I gasped. My heart was still pounding from the nightmare, and coming across him unexpectedly didn’t help.

“Sorry.” He spoke so rarely that I still wasn’t completely familiar with his voice.

“What are you doing up so early?”

“I am most days.”

“Really? But you get home so late from the club.” I was usually sleeping when the guys got back, often between two and three in the morning.

Knox took another bite of cereal before answering. “Early morning’s the best time.”

“For what?”

He stared at me for a long moment, and I started to get self-conscious. My face was likely lined from being mashed against my pillow, and I had a serious case of bedhead. Finally, he said, “Come with me and I’ll show you.”

That was unexpected. And so was the ease with which I made my decision. “Okay.”

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed, semi-presentable, and riding in the front seat of Knox’s large SUV. Being with him was somehow different than being with the other guys. With the twins, and even Tonio, part of my mind was always aware that I was in the presence of an incredibly handsome man and I’d better not do or say anything stupid. With Knox, I didn’t feel that way, and I couldn’t quite understand why.

It wasn’t like he was any less handsome than the others. He was probably the strongest man I’d ever seen. His biceps were the size of a small nation-state. Several times since moving in, I’d caught myself admiring his strong thighs, his defined pecs and abs. Yet he didn’t make me nervous the way the others sometimes did.

Maybe it was just the fact that he was so quiet, but he seemed like someone who would never judge you. Not that the other guys were overly judgmental, but deep inside it felt like it was okay to be myself around Knox. I was trying to be myself around the other men, but with them it took some effort. With the bouncer, it just seemed to happen.

Being new in town, I didn’t recognize the route Knox drove, but gradually we saw fewer houses and more fields. The quiet drive along nearly empty roads lulled me into a trance, and I was almost asleep when Knox stopped the car. “We’re here.”

Blinking, I looked around. We were parked on the side of a small dirt road in the middle of the woods. Knox got out of the car, and a moment later the door to the back opened and I heard him digging around back there.

When I joined him, he had a bag slipped over his shoulder and was opening another, which revealed a very complex looking camera.

Surprised, I looked up at him. He seemed to be watching me intently for my reaction. “You’re a photographer?”

For some reason, my words made him smile. Had he been uncertain of my reaction to his hobby? Or maybe it was more than a hobby. His equipment looked professional. “Does your camera use film or is it digital?” My voice was quiet—it seemed appropriate out in the woods in the early morning.

“Digital. That way, I can tweak the photos on my computer after I take them.”

“Smart,” I said as he stepped back and pressed the button to close the door. “What do you take pictures of?”

“Everything,” he said simply. “This is a good spot for birds, deer, dew on spiderwebs—those kinds of things. Ready?”

It was a restful morning. The beauty of the woods was restorative even though I’d never been much of a hiker. But maybe after all the stuff with Clint and all the recent changes to my life, I needed to commune with nature a bit. Or maybe with Knox.

He led the way but moved slowly, either out of consideration for my shorter legs or just so that he could keep scanning things to take pictures of. Or maybe both.

Knox took pictures of everything. He explained at one point that, since it was a digital camera, he took as many photos as he wanted, and then later, back at home, selected the best few to work with on his computer.

We ended up by a little creek. It wasn’t until we arrived there that I realized I’d been hearing the sound of the water rushing over rocks for a few minutes. “This is a pretty spot.” I stepped out onto a large, flat rock and watched the water rush around me. Knox was crouched down, taking close-ups of the water, but one time, when I glanced over at him, he took a picture of me.

I hopped off the rock. “Why’d you do that?”

He looked at the image on his screen. “I liked the way your hair was blowing around your face.”

“You’ve got to delete that. I’m not even wearing any makeup.”

“Don’t need it,” he grunted, still looking at his camera.

“Let me see that.” I grabbed his huge forearm, trying to see. It felt like grabbing on to an iron beam.

“I’ll send it to you.”

That seemed like a couple of needless extra steps for something I was going to delete anyway, but this was his show. He fiddled with his camera, then pulled out his phone and asked for my number. A few moments later, my phone chimed and I opened his text.

Wow. The woman staring up from the screen didn’t look like me at all. Her eyes looked light and seemed to stare right through me. Her—my—hair was wild around my face, yet somehow framed it perfectly. The picture was unlike any I’d seen of me, but I no longer wanted to delete it.

“Wow. Um, you’re a good photographer. I guess you can make anyone look good.”

He tilted his head to the side as he stared down at me but didn’t comment. It felt like he’d managed to capture not just my image, but somehow, a hint of my spirit. I didn’t know how he’d done it, but some people seemed to have a certain kind of magic with a camera, and clearly Knox did.

Spontaneously, I stretched up on my toes and reached my arms around Knox’s thick neck. After a moment, his arms went around me, and I felt warm, safe, and secure. I inhaled deeply, my nose buried in his shirt, and he smelled good. He’d obviously showered this morning, and he had a clean, fresh scent in addition to deeper masculine notes behind it. Knox patted me somewhat awkwardly on the back and ran a tentative hand through my hair. When I stepped back, he met my eye for a moment before gesturing down the path. He was right, it was time to go back.

We walked along in a comfortable silence until we were almost back to his car. Then he stopped and turned to me. “I don’t usually do that.”

A number of different interpretations flashed through my head. “Take pictures of people?”

“No,” he said, then shook his head. “Well, that too. But hug people. I don’t often do that.”

“I don’t either.”

One of Knox’s dark, bushy eyebrows rose. “Really?”

“Really.” I studied the terrain as if the trees and bushes around me held the words I was looking for. “I told you I was raised by my grandmother, right?”

He nodded, looking as tall and as strong as the trees behind him.

“She was a very practical sort of woman. When I was little, if I fell and banged my knee, she’d patch it up, but wouldn’t kiss it or offer any words of sympathy. She didn’t ever seem to feel the need to hug me or pat my arm or anything like that. It just didn’t mean anything to her, if that makes any sense.”

“What about your ex?”

I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face. “He hugged me—if he wanted something.”

“Wanted something?” Knox echoed.

“Let’s just say that it was part of his very limited range of foreplay.” I was pretty sure I was blushing.

“Oh.” His tone held no judgment, and my embarrassment faded.

“Did your parents hug you?”

“Foster parents,” he corrected. “And no, most of them didn’t.”

“How many did you have?”

“A lot. Maybe when I was young some did, but the bigger I got, the more they kept their distance.”

“That’s awful. I’m sorry you went through that.”

He shrugged. “I learned to keep my distance, too. It seemed easier. Not many foster parents liked having to look up at a kid.”

Impulsively, I stepped forward and took his hand. “I wish they’d been able to see your heart instead of your size.” As much as the story of his past made me sad, I was also glad that he was opening up to me and that we were finally carrying on an actual conversation.

Knox stared down at our joined hands as if arrested by the sight. “Why aren’t you scared of me?”

I looked up into his blue eyes. “Should I be?”

“No. Unless you’re causing trouble at the club. But most people are afraid, anyway.”

That was sad, but I suddenly realized it wasn’t entirely true. “The guys aren’t. Tonio and the twins. They’re your friends.”

“They’re my coworkers.”

“They wouldn’t have invited you to live with them if they didn’t like you.”

He cocked his head to the side. “How do you know they invited me to live with them? Maybe it’s my house and I let them stay there.”

Oops. “I just assumed, because Tonio said the three of them had been friends since high school.”

“You were right, but you also proved my point. They’re a unit and I’m on the outside.”

“No, you’re not. I’m the outsider. You four have a bond.”

“Nah, you’re already on the inside—you just don’t know it yet.”

“Not true,” I said, and he just shrugged, his eyes on the path. A moment later we were walking along it, my hand still in his.

When we got to the car, he opened my door and I smiled up at him. “Thank you for bringing me with you this morning.”

“My pleasure.”

I took a deep breath. “But you’re wrong.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he muttered.

“You’re wrong about Tonio and the twins. You are part of the group, and I wish you could see that.”

His mouth twisted into a half smile. “Suddenly you know more about my life than I do? Did you read my horoscope or something? Do you know if a Libra can bond with whatever those guys are?”

“Yes.”

His grin widened. “Fine, but if you start reading my tea leaves, I’m out of here.”

“Fair enough,” I said with an answering grin. But on the ride back, I couldn’t help thinking about how even though we were so different, neither of us had gotten a lot of love and support in our childhood. “Do you think your outlook would be different if you had received more hugs as a kid?”

Knox was silent, his eyes on the road. “Maybe,” he finally said. “But I’d still be the biggest guy in every room. The one everyone’s afraid of.”

“I’m not afraid, and I know the perfect way to prove it to you.”

He glanced over, his eyebrows raised. “What’s that?”

“Every time I see you, I’m going to give you a hug.” I let a note of teasing creep into my voice even though I was perfectly serious. “What are you going to do about that, mister?”

A faint smile stole across Knox’s face. “Hug you back?”