Wicked Souls: A Limited Edition Reverse Harem Romance Collection

by Rebecca Royce

  Minhyuk lifted the spoon to his lips, blowing on it before tasting. “Perfect,” he muttered before turning down the heat. He turned, his eyes going wide the moment he saw me. “What are you doing here?”

  “I live here.”

  “Yes, but Inhye said you never leave the office before nine and I have only just finished the sauce. You’re not supposed to be home yet.”

  I pushed myself off the island and pointed at the ceiling the vague direction of my bedroom. “I can go soak in the bath for a while and we can pretend I’m not here.”

  Minhyuk frowned, chewing at his lip as he considered that. “You can’t go in your bedroom.”

  I was willing to bet the other trail of rose petals led to my bedroom.

  “What about your bathroom?”

  Minhyuk slowly nodded. “But you’re not allowed in your bedroom.”

  “I have things in the laundry room.” I walked over and wrapped my arms around him, smiling into his shoulder when he hugged me back. “Thank you for surprising me, even if I did spoil the surprise.”

  “I’ve missed you, Holly,” Minhyuk told me. When I pulled back, he kissed me and I had to stop myself from melting into him. Finally, he stepped back. “Go bathe. I will call you when it’s nearly ready.”

  With a peck to his cheek, I left him in the kitchen, diverting to the laundry room for some clean clothes and underwear. After grabbing my iPad from the office, I headed to Minhyuk’s immaculate bedroom. Whenever I stepped into his room, I felt like I was outside. All the furniture was pale wood, with pale green walls, and items that were made of natural materials. It was calming, just like him.

  It was probably why he ended up being the only other person in the house with the bathroom which had a bath.

  The house wasn’t quite perfect, but it was the best I could do without building one from scratch. Two bedrooms had their own private bathroom with a bathtub—mine and Minhyuk’s. Three had private bathrooms with a shower—Nate’s, Dante’s, and Jun’s. And the last two shared a bathroom. That one went to Tae and Kyun, but considering the two had been inseparable since school and shared a bedroom since then, they’d been the one to pick that option.

  I ran a bath before sinking into it. This was what I needed. Before I completely submerged myself, I propped my iPad up and set the drama playing.

  All too soon, Minhyuk was calling me. After drying myself off, quickly taking the worst of the moisture out of my hair with a hairdryer, and then dressing in the clothes I’d grabbed from the laundry room, I hurried downstairs, making my way straight to the dining room.

  Minhyuk was waiting for me. Like a gentleman, he stood, pulling my chair out, helping me sit. “This looks delicious,” I told him, practically drooling over the lasagna he had created from scratch. “I didn’t know you knew how to make this.”

  “I remember you saying you missed lasagna not too long ago, so I found a recipe.” He poured us both a glass of wine before sitting down. “And, Holly, I say this with love, but you look like you’ve not been eating properly. You look like you needed a filling meal.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  “You guys aren’t here, and I usually grab something at the office. If I remember.”

  Minhyuk nodded, giving me a disapproving look. “It’s that last part that worries me.”

  “I’m busy,” I protested, unsure as to why I needed to defend my not-so-healthy habits. “As are you,” I added, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. “You’re in the middle of promotions.”

  “And we don’t have anything scheduled until ten tomorrow morning. I wanted to spend tonight with you.” With his cheeks going pink, he looked down at his lasagna, prodding it with his fork.

  “Are you OK?”

  Minhyuk nodded. “You should eat your lasagna before it goes cold.”

  I wasn’t going to let Minhyuk’s lasagna go to waste. It tasted as good as it smelled. It was also the first homecooked meal I’d had for a couple of weeks. Needless to say, it didn’t take me long to devour it.

  Minhyuk barely touched his. His wine, on the other hand, got a second refill before I’d finished my first glass.

  Comfortably full, I set my fork down. “Thank you, Minhyuk. That was amazing and just what I needed. But you have barely touched yours?”

  “I’m not hungry,” he mumbled, starting to gather up the dirty dishes. I helped him, following him into the kitchen where we cleaned up together.

  During dinner, it had been me doing most of the talking. Minhyuk had been listening, but he hadn’t been chatting with his usual enthusiasm. As I dried one of the saucepans, I watched him wiping the already clean worktop down again. “Are you tired? I know promotions are hard. Do you want to go up and relax with a movie?”

  “No,” Minhyuk said. “But I do want to go upstairs.”

  It was only when he looked at me with bright pink cheeks that I got what he was implying.

  After Minhyuk had confessed to never being with a girl, I’d never pressured him into sex. Even if I didn’t have five other guys with insatiable sexual appetites, I wouldn’t have rushed him. I loved him too much for that.

  I decided that I would wait until he was ready, while still making sure I spent as much time with him as I did the others. He was more than happy to snuggle to sleep together.

  But until now, we hadn’t even gotten past taking our clothes off in front of each other…

  “Are you sure?”

  Minhyuk nodded. “Why do you think there are rose petals leading upstairs?”

  “Because you are one of the sweetest, most romantic people that I know, and I thought you had planned a relaxing evening,” I told him. Being with Minhyuk was easy. As he’d never really brought up sex, I’d just assumed it wasn’t on the plan for tonight. I glanced down at my clothing choice and sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have dressed up more.”

  “Isn’t the whole point to take the clothes off?” Minhyuk asked, before going beet red.

  I bit back my smile, reaching to take the dishcloth from him. “Then let’s go upstairs and you can help me get out of them.”

  Minhyuk gave me a firm nod, taking my hand in his. Without a word, he led me out of the kitchen and upstairs to my bedroom. Outside the door, he stopped and turned. “Wait here. I need a few minutes.”

  As soon as the door shut behind him, I turned and ran to my office. The baby doll set I had been planning to return was still in there.

  No matter what Minhyuk said, this was a special night for him, and the least I could do was treat it as the important occasion it was. And Minhyuk deserved something special.

  I cut the tag off it and then hurriedly changed into it. The set was pale blue. The top had blue lace over the bra with floaty see-through material that split down the middle. The bottom half was a thong made of the same see-through material.

  Without allowing myself the time to second-guess my choice, I darted back to my bedroom. The last thing I wanted was for Minhyuk to open the door and think I’d run away.

  Thankfully, he took longer than me.

  The house was heated with under floor heating, which was great for my feet, but in the barely-there baby doll, I had goosebumps all over my arms.

  Or maybe that was nerves?

  I’d never taken someone’s virginity before.

  Oh god… what if I did it wrong and Minhyuk had a disappointing experience like my first time had been?

  Before I could doubt myself further, Minhyuk opened the door.

  His mouth fell open.

  And then he grinned, closing the distance between us. As Minhyuk’s fingers laced through mine, he kissed me.

  Minhyuk stepped back and sucked in a breath. “I didn’t spend all this time on your bedroom to make love to you in the hallway. Close your eyes.” I did as he said, allowing him to lead me into my bedroom. He only let go of one hand once we were in and I felt him move to my side. “Okay,” he whispered.

  I opened my eyes and gasped. The room had to be lit by at least a
hundred candles. The trail of rose petals led up to the bed where there was a giant heart made up of more petals. Scattered over the sheets there were at least a dozen stem roses.

  “This is beautiful,” I murmured.

  When I had been younger, it was the kind of thing I’d imagined for my first time.

  “I’m glad you like it.” Minhyuk led me over to the bed.

  I climbed on, moving back into the pillows, waiting for him to join me. He did, flopping onto the mattress beside me.

  “Minhyuk—”

  “Thank you for waiting for me, Holly.” There was pink on his cheeks again, but he looked me in the eye. “I wanted it to be special.” He leaned over and kissed me.

  There was a quiet confidence in his kiss. He’d stopped me from telling him that, whatever happened, I’d let him take the lead. I’d wait for as long as he needed me to.

  Minhyuk’s hands rested on my shoulders, gently pushing the hair from them. His fingers traced down my side, under the curve of my breasts. And then he was pulling back. He quickly pulled the sweater and the T-shirt he was wearing under it off, tossing it to the side.

  My resolve to keep things at his pace went with the sweater. I had bare skin in front of me, and I wanted to touch it. It took only took one hand to slide down his chest and Minhyuk was pushing me onto my back.

  Heat seemed to emanate from his eyes as he looked down at me. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

  “This is one thing you never need to apologize to me for,” I told him, firmly.

  Minhyuk’s slim body covered mine as he resumed kissing me, only this time, our hands were busy exploring each other’s bodies.

  Finally, his fingers found their way to the clasp in the middle of the baby doll and he quickly popped it open. Only when his palms brushed over my nipples did he pull back again.

  Gazing down at my breasts, he had the look of a man who knew exactly what he wanted. His mouth closed around a nipple, making me arch my back as I moaned. Minhyuk sucked harder.

  I grasped his hair, practically thanking him for his stubbornness when it came to cutting it because now the shoulder-length hair gave me something to run my fingers through.

  Minhyuk turned his attention to my other nipple, running his tongue around it before completely covering it with his hot mouth. “Oh, god, yes.”

  Glancing down, I found Minhyuk watching me.

  Gone was any trace of embarrassment. He’d always been the strong but silent type, and right now, it was turning me on as much as his mouth was.

  He raised his head and smiled, as if he could read my mind. “Do you want me to stay here, or…?” he started walking his fingers down my stomach to the elastic of the thong.

  “I think this is as much about you as it is me. I want this to be good for you too.”

  Minhyuk shook his head before shuffling down the bed. “I have been dreaming of this.”

  The thong was pulled down my legs and deposited on the bed. Minhyuk dipped his head and began licking.

  Biting my lip, I lay back and closed my eyes. Not because I was enjoying it, but more because I was hoping Minhyuk would find his rhythm before I had to say something.

  I really didn’t want to have to say anything. Not on his first time.

  The opportunity never came.

  And neither did I.

  Behind us, the door burst open and Jun walked in. “Holly-shit.”

  His eyes met mine in panic as Minhyuk leaped away like we had been caught by his mother.

  “Shit, fuck, crap, balls!” Jun stepped back looking just as mortified as Minhyuk. “Carry on.”

  And then he slammed the door shut.

  My palm flew to my face as I winced behind it. Before I could remove it, the door had opened and closed.

  Minhyuk was gone.

  Open The Door

  Running my hand through my hair, I sat up, fastening the baby doll up as I stared around the empty room. I slid off the bed, grabbing my thong. I had just slid it back on when there was a knock at the door. Seconds later, it opened, and Dante poked his head in.

  “What just—wow.” He cocked his head, his eyes taking on his I’m going to fuck you here and I don’t care who sees expression. “Why have I not seen that before?”

  “It’s new, and it’s not the important thing here.” I moved over to the door, taking my robe off the back of it and pulling it around me.

  “Don’t cover up on my account,” Dante told me, stepping in the room. He looked around, frowning. “What happened in—oh, shit,” he said, meeting my gaze.

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Minhyuk really did it?”

  “Jun walked in.” I bit my lip. “I should go find him.”

  Dante put his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. “I know you mean well, but that’s the last thing you should do.” His eyes drank me in. “Ugh, it kills me to say this, but maybe you should put something else on.”

  I set my hands on my hips. “You think?”

  Leaning over, Dante pressed a kiss on my nose. “We’re all here, by the way.”

  When he left, I pulled out some pajamas and changed into them. Why were they all here? They were still in the middle of promotions.

  Ignoring the tail of rose petals, I headed in the opposite direction, for Jun’s room. I gently knocked on the door before opening it. The light was off.

  Changing direction, I went downstairs, heading for the living room. Tae and Kyun were in there. Both looked up when I walked in.

  “Have either of you seen Jun?” I asked them.

  Tae shook his head. “Shouldn’t you be with Minhyuk? I figure the flowers had to be his doing…” Tae paused and then let out an exasperated sigh. “Is that why you’re looking for Jun?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. I made to leave but stopped. “Not that I’m not happy to have you all home, but why are you all home?”

  “We missed you,” Tae told me. “And after today, we got worried.”

  “It’s the middle of promotions and you guys don’t get enough sleep for the month as it is.” I frowned, hoping that didn’t sound like I wasn’t happy to see them. “You really don’t need to worry about me.”

  “Bullshit,” Kyun muttered.

  “The lineup was changed, and we now have a later rollcall. We don’t have to be anywhere until ten tomorrow morning. You will leave before we do,” Tae added. He walked over and wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin on my head. “Just because we’re not always here doesn’t mean that we don’t worry. Are you OK?”

  I turned in his arms, burying my face into his chest as I hugged him back. This way, he couldn’t see my frown. If Tae and the others were here, that meant that none of them knew of Minhyuk’s plans before they’d arrived. At least they had worked it out, and even if Tae and Kyun could now guess how successful the evening had been, it wasn’t my business to tell them.

  Minhyuk could share that, if he chose to.

  He probably wouldn’t…

  Pulling back, I stood on my toes and kissed him. “I love you, but I should go see what Jun wanted.” Extracting myself from his arms, I gave Kyun a kiss before leaving them in the living room.

  In a house this big, there was an easy way to find him.

  I went to the dining room where I had left my purse and pulled out my phone. Ignoring all of the notifications, I opened up Kakao. Where are you?

  Recording studio.

  Clutching my phone, I made my way to the door to the garage. One of the weird quirks to the house was the games room. It had been built with an underground garage which could hold four cars, and I loved that because it gave us additional privacy when we entered our home. But oddly, and I was sure it had been a later addition to the house, there was a room at the back of the garage which we had turned into the recording studio.

  I shivered in the cold of the garage, hurrying over to the studio.

  Whenever they weren’t in the middle of promotions, I could always guarantee at least one m
ember of H3RO was in here. The soundproofed walls meant they could practice without being heard, and several were already working or thinking about solo projects.

  Jun was sitting at the mixing desk, his back to the door, but he turned around when I walked in. “Why are you all the way out here?” I asked.

  “I heard about the original version of Youngbin’s mixtape and I liked the idea.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “The original version?”

  Jun grinned. “He recorded Kate.”

  “Youngbin’s mixtape?” I said, trying to recall the song. “There wasn’t a featuring artist on it and Kate doesn’t…” My eyes went wide. “Are you kidding?”

  Somehow, Jun’s grin got bigger. “Oops.”

  Letting out a long sigh, I shook my head. “It’s a good thing that didn’t get released. No one would question the paternity of that baby.”

  “I think we should make our own.”

  “A baby?” I spluttered

  Absolute panic washed over Jun as he began waving his arms and shaking his head. “No. Hell no. Fuck no. No babies. No.”

  “What did you want to see me about? Or was it to record us having sex, because let me tell you now, that’s never happening.” I told him, quickly trying to divert the conversation.

  Jun winced and hung his head. “I walked in on what I think I walked in on, right?” When I didn’t answer, Jun’s elbow rested on the mixing desk and he held his head in his hand. “Fuck. I cock-blocked Minhyuk.”

  “Technically, I think you cock-blocked me.” I moved over beside him, leaning back against the mixing desk. “But yeah. That happened.”

  “And that’s why I’m hiding out here.”

  “You?”

  Jun looked up at me, his dark eyes peering through his lilac hair. “Contrary to popular belief, I know when things should and shouldn’t be joked about.”

  I arched an eyebrow.

  “I might toe the line occasionally—”

  More like jump back and forth over it like the line was a jump rope.

  “—But there are some things I won’t mess with, and one of them is Minhyuk when he gets embarrassed. And considering there are very few things that embarrass him, that’s saying something.”