Falling for Them Volume 3: Reverse Harem Collection

by Amy Sumida

Smirking, Doug kissed her nose. “Guess our alone time is over.” Winking, he pushed himself upright before heading to the back to greet the returning divers.

  — Chad —

  Chad and Jason were the last to board. They both looked at Doug and groaned softly.

  “What did you do?” Chad demanded as he handed his gear to Jason.

  He didn’t know why he was asking. He already knew. The sated look, the looseness of Doug’s muscles, all informed him how Doug made productive use of his time alone with Aria. His hands fisted the more he thought about it.

  “Nothing.” Doug tried to keep his voice natural, but the tinge of smugness gave him away.

  Jason rolled his eyes. Transferring all the gear to one hand, his eyes dropped to what appeared to be a small bite mark on Doug’s collarbone, which drew Chad’s gaze as well. Walking past Doug, Jason stopped to punch him in the arm.

  “Lucky bastard.” Jason shook his head, but smiled.

  Chad stepped up to Doug’s chest, eyes ping-ponging between staring at the bite and glaring at Doug. “Condom?”

  He waited, fists becoming white with tension as his lips stretched tight until Doug shook his head. Breath rushing out, he closed his eyes, one hand moving to pinch the bridge of his nose.

  Fuuuck!

  Using the pain in his nose, he slowly regained a measure of control. Opening his eyes, he stared unblinking into Doug’s. Pulling his shoulders back, he straightened his spine using every inch of his height. His muscles tense with his fury and concern. Not wanting everyone to hear, he controlled the volume of his voice, but the clipped tones illustrated his anger. “You. Couldn’t. Wait? You know I wanted her to have a checkup first. What if something happened to her heart and I wasn’t here? Oh, my God. What if she’s pregnant? Don’t you realize she can’t get pregnant with her heart the way it is?”

  Doug hands gripped his shoulders. “Relax. Take a deep breath.” Chad took a deep breath and then another. “I was going to stop, but she wouldn’t let me. She’s protected, and she’s fine.”

  “She better be,” Chad muttered as he stepped back. “I’m going to check on her, but if she can’t snorkel, Jason is going to kill you.” He chuckled as Doug blanched. With a smug grin on his face, he pushed past his friend.

  He found Aria out in the sun with Shona and the rest of the girls. They were telling her all about their diving trip. Aria was smiling and laughing, but Chad could see the difference in her. She had a sated look in her eyes. A look he always wanted to see on her, especially if he helped to put it there. A slight redness, almost like a hickey, peeked out from behind her bathing suit top. He hoped he was the only one to spot it, but noticed how Shona’s eyes kept straying to the mark.

  Walking up, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Sorry for interrupting ladies, but I need to borrow Aria for a moment.”

  She grinned up at him. Nodding to her friends, she followed him into the cabin. “Did you have fun diving?” Turning her face, she placed a quick kiss on his bare chest.

  Chad sucked in a quick breath and closed his eyes as he tried to hang on to what little control he possessed. Between his fear and concern over her heart, his frustration with Doug for potentially injuring her, his jealousy over Doug getting to have sex with her, and his overwhelming desire to take her himself, his snapping point was close at hand. Focusing on relaxing his muscles, he took deep even breaths.

  When his control finally slid back into place, he opened his eyes and stared down at her. “I did. Although, I wish I could have been with you.”

  He placed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, not trusting himself to do anything more, before leading her the rest of the way inside.

  — Aria —

  Sitting down, Aria relaxed as Chad proceeded to do a quick exam. He checked her pulse and breathing before asking questions about how she felt. Aria smiled and indulged him. It made her feel special to have him concerned over her wellbeing. He took better care of her than her girlfriends, despite their promises to the contrary.

  Although, she was happy to see Jennifer and Trish having fun. They deserved it after everything the four of them had gone through in the past few years. Shona was a different story. She couldn’t tell if Shona was truly having fun. On the surface, she laughed, smiled, and flirted, but every so often she revealed a look in her eye Aria could not understand.

  She felt a tap on her nose, bringing her out of her thoughts.

  “Everything seems fine. There appear to be no lasting physical”—Chad wiggled his eyebrows at her—“effects on you from your earlier activity.” He chuckled as Aria’s skin flushed. Leaning forward, he placed his mouth beside her ear, his voice that timbre that never failed to excite her. “He’s so lucky. Can’t wait for my turn.”

  Aria’s breath hitched. Her tongue came out to lick her lips. She couldn’t wait to be with him either. While Doug was big with muscles, and Jason was thinner with muscles, neither of them had Chad’s fully sculpted physique. Add to that his tattoos and brush cut… Aria knew exactly why the eyes of other women followed him as he walked by.

  Chad moved back, a smug smile on his face. “Make sure you drink lots of water and keep applying the sunscreen.” He frowned. “Scratch that. We’ll keep applying your sunscreen”—he winked—“and you should be good to go snorkeling when we get there.”

  Crap. I’m in so much trouble.

  Aria licked her lips, her eyes glued to Chad’s ass as he walked back towards the cabin door where he stopped and waited for her. Biting the corner of her lip, she brushed past him, rubbing her body against him as she exited out onto the deck.

  ~

  The boat continued its way to the Pillars of Hercules for their snorkeling. They dropped anchor in a little cove prior to reaching English Harbour and set up the barbeque for lunch. Passing the time eating and talking, the group relaxed in the sun. The girls talked and laughed, but whenever the guys captured Aria’s attention, Shona, Jennifer, and Trish shared looks between themselves.

  Having a great time, Aria glanced around at all of her friends talking and laughing together. Even the addition of Mark, Derek, and Kyle seemed seamless. Her hand covered her open mouth as realization dawned.

  Before this trip, her life had been truly dead. There was very little laughter in it. How had she ever let her illness control her life like that? She wanted to kick herself for being so weak. She was alive. She needed to remember it. Her girlfriends were right; she needed to start living again.

  When her attention shifted between Chad, Doug, and Jason, who all smiled at her, her heart jolted with gratefulness at having them in her life, even if it was only momentarily.

  After lunch, the crew pulled up anchor and continued on their way to the Pillars. Everyone went snorkeling and they had a wonderful time seeing all the sea life. Aria swam with her guys surrounding her. They kept poking her to show her different fish and only stopped when Jason pulled out an underwater camera to take pictures of them all.

  It was a tired, but extremely happy Aria who tried to board the boat after snorkeling. Her body refused to cooperate, so Chad reached down and hoisted her out of the water. He wrapped a towel around her as Jason removed her gear. Chad carried her over to where Doug laid out some towels in the shade. Sitting down with her between his legs, Chad held her as everyone else sat down, preparing for their trip back.

  Once the boat was underway, Doug and Jason sat down on either side of them.

  Everyone talked, but fatigue pulled Aria down. Chad’s hands brushed the side of her head and shoulder, followed by his lips, as he told her softly to close her eyes and not to worry. They would take care of her. Her eyes closed and that was the last she knew until lips on her skin woke her up.

  “We’re back.” Jason brushed the hair from her face.

  Aria smiled, but wondered how she ended up with Jason.

  “Doug developed another headache, so Chad took him into the cabin to examine him. They found a quiet, darker area for him to rest in.
” Jason kissed the side of her neck. “I was more than happy to take over holding you.” His voice husky as his tongue traced a path from her ear to her collarbone.

  Aria swung her legs over one of Jason’s legs seating herself sideways between his legs. She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I don’t want to leave yet. I’m so comfortable.”

  His nipple, right beside her mouth, tightened into a hard nub as her breath caressed it. She placed a kiss on his chest, sucking the nub quickly into her mouth. She grinned at the sound of his faltering breathing.

  He tilted his head down to kiss the top of hers. “Keep that up and I won’t be comfortable anymore.”

  Jason’s voice was quiet, but unmistakable passion roughened it. She chuckled and glanced up at him with twinkling eyes. “Hold that thought.”

  She pushed herself to standing with his help. Together they gathered up their things and headed to the inflatable boat for the trip back to shore.

  ~

  Aria pushed her key card into the machine on their door. She pushed open the door and walked inside with her girlfriends trailing her.

  Shona pushed by her, throwing her beach bag on the bed and her room key on the coffee table. Trish raced past her to the bathroom as Shona headed to the fridge, grabbling a can of coke. Pouring some rum into a glass, Shona turned to the room. “Anyone else want one?”

  Jennifer looked around the room from where she sat on her side of the bed. “I will.” She bit her lip. Reaching into her open bag, she pulled out her wadded up towel. She stood, carrying the towel with her as she walked to the bathroom, grabbing a skirt and sleeveless blouse on her way.

  Trish passed Jennifer on her way from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel after her very brief shower. She walked to her dresser and pulled out a pair of capris and a blouse.

  “Trish, do you want a rum and coke?” Shona paused from where she was mixing the drinks to look at her.

  “Um, sure.” Trish slid on her clothes. The room became completely silent as each girl buried themselves in mundane activities.

  Aria watched as her friends all busied themselves with small activities. Tension hung over the room. She pulled her towel out of her bag. Stripping off her bikini, she pulled her short strapless sundress back on over her bra and underwear. She glanced around the room at her silent friends. Unease filled her, but she didn’t want to rock the boat. Picking up her damp stuff, she walked out onto the patio to hang her stuff on the clothesline. She stood at the railing, her fingers wrapped around it tightly, watching the waves roll in.

  I wonder what’s going to happen now. The tension in the room is driving me crazy.

  Taking a deep breath, she unclenched her fingers, and straightened her shoulders. Might as well get this over with.

  She walked back into the room, stopping by the dresser to pull out a small zippered mesh bag containing her bikini and wrap for tomorrow. To make things easier in the mornings, she packed each bikini and cover-up in their own mesh bag.

  She threw it on her bed before crossing back into the seating area where her friends waited, drinks in hand. “That was such a wonderful trip today…”

  She stared as her friends shared a look.

  Shona took a large gulp of rum and coke, placed the glass on the table before her, met Aria’s eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you? We all know you were fooling around with Doug while we were diving. How could you do that? To us? To Jason?”

  “Yes, tell us. What exactly did you and Doug get up to?” Trish unfolded her hands and reached for her glass.

  “What do you mean?” Aria’s voice came out clipped. “Whatever Doug and I did or didn’t do is between the two of us.”

  She stared at her friends. She couldn’t believe they were acting this way. First, they kept telling her she needed to relax and get back in the saddle, so to speak, and now they were freaking out because she did. What the hell?

  “Fine. It’s between you and Doug and whatever you’re going to tell Jason, but this isn’t you, Aria.” Jennifer placed her glass down and started to carefully wipe the condensation off the sides. She kept her eyes trained on the glass.

  “What do you mean it isn’t me? I’m having fun just like the three of you told me to do.” Aria balled her hands into fists and started to pace.

  Gosh, I could use a drink about now, but I can’t.

  Aria caught the silent conversation between her three friends out of the corner of her eye. What are they planning now?

  Standing, Shona turned to face her. “You’ve never been this girl. You’ve never toyed with multiple guys before, nor did it so brazenly in front of the others.”

  “In front of the others? They all know and don’t care. It’s what they want.” Aria walked towards them, one eyebrow raised in challenge. Her fists remained tense at her side. “I guess now is the time to tell you I’ve been sleeping in their beds every night since our third day here.”

  “What? When have you ever slept with anyone that quickly? You didn’t even have sex with Ryan until you’d dated him for over a year.” Shona placed her hands on her hips, her face red. “We wanted the old Aria to have a taste of life again. Not this new, slutty one.” She picked up her empty glass, turned her back on Aria, and walked to the bar.

  Aria’s head jerked back at Shona’s words as if she’d been slapped. Twice in two days Shona’s words had cut deep. She turned her body so she could see her three friends all at once. Releasing her fists, she placed her hands on her hips.

  Her breathing became shallower and faster the more worked up she got. “You three just don’t get it. The old Aria is dead. She started to die nearly three years ago when she, I, pushed out a baby that didn’t cry. When she, I, had that baby, still warm from my body, placed into my arms knowing I would never see her grow up, we died more. To hold her lifeless body… To know she would never call me momma…”

  Jennifer and Trish’s faces dropped as Shona stilled, but Aria went on, undeterred. She needed to get this off her chest. She’d held onto it for too long. “The old Aria died that night. Many times. It was only the skill of the nurses and the doctors that kept restarting my heart. It was the nurses that talked me into wanting to live again. But the coffin was nailed shut on that old Aria when I came home after surgery and Ryan, who pledged he would stay with me in sickness and in health, had walked out on our life.”

  Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. She turned on her heel and started to pace, trying to keep the traitorous tears from pouring down her face.

  “I’m sorry. We didn’t realize…” Trish’s quiet voice cut through the silence.

  Aria stiffened and nodded, but continued to pace the length of the room.

  “We’re sorry that happened to you.” Shona turned, glass in hand, to lean against the bar. “But that doesn’t mean you have to act like this. You don’t have to go off the deep end and change who you are.”

  Jennifer chugged the rest of rum and coke. “You can still do things slowly. Just take a taste of life.”

  Aria snorted. Taste of life. Riiight. “I already had a taste.” She came to a stop in front of the three. Her hands balled into fists; her voice calm and dead. “Like a wine tasting, I was swished around and spit out into the trash.” She spun on her heel. “Never again.”

  She resumed pacing.

  The girls looked at each other as they tried to figure out what to say next when Aria whirled around and stopped. “This time I’m going to savor life. I’m going to experience all there is to offer for as long as I can. Whatever appeals to me.”

  Shona pushed herself away from the bar and walked to Aria. “That’s fine. Savor life if you must. But don’t be a slut. Don’t toy with those guys. You’re just going to get hurt in the end. You’re no match for a guy like Doug—”

  Aria’s blood pressure rose. How dare Shona insinuate I’m not good enough for Doug. Jealous bitch!

  Aria couldn’t believe her thoughts, but Shona and her friends made her so angry. How could they
do this to her? “Jealous much, Shona? Just get over yourself. He doesn’t like you. He likes me. And I can keep up with him just fine. We proved that today on the boat.”

  Aria turned on her heel and stormed towards the door. As she passed her bed, she stuffed her bag with the bikini into her beach bag and put it on her shoulder. Her room key was back in her bag, so she headed directly to the door. Placing her hand on the handle, she stopped, head bowed until her forehead rested on the back of the door. Her shoulders hunched in as she tried to slow her breathing and get control of her emotions. She couldn’t believe what she just said to her best friends, but then they weren’t acting much like her friends at the moment. The roaring in her head continued to drown out the words being hurled at her from her friends.

  Taking a deep breath, Aria closed her eyes. “Don’t wait up. I’ll be sleeping with the guys tonight.”

  “Aria, don’t you do this.”

  “You won’t be able to come back from a mistake like this.”

  “They’re just using your vulnerability for sex.”

  It was these last comments that pushed her over the edge. How dare they? After everything? Grrrr! She lifted her head and stepped to the side. Yanking the door open, she stormed out, letting it slam behind her.

  Before she knew it, she found herself standing in front of the door to the boys’ room. Thick tears ran down her face. She didn’t remember anything from her walk over. The door opened, revealing a startled, topless Doug.

  “Aria, darling, what’s wrong?” He pulled her into his arms as her body shook. When he lifted her to bring her closer, her legs automatically wound their way around his waist as she continued to sob into his chest. Holding her tightly, Doug backed into the room.

  “What happened?” Jason walked into the hallway standing off to the side behind Doug. Removing Aria’s beach bag from her shoulders, he placed a kiss there as he slid the straps down.