Falling For Them Volume 2: Reverse Harem Collection

by Nikki Bolvair

  I climbed in, and he shut my door before opening the second one to get into the back. Baxter, who now sat in the driver’s seat, started the truck and pulled out of the dirt path.

  “By driving down the road a bit,” Baxter explained, his blue gaze cutting to mine before his attention went back to driving, “it covers our asses if someone comes to look for us. No truck, then we must be gone.”

  I nodded. “Makes sense.”

  I felt Colten against my back, and his breath moved my hair, trying to get my attention while he spoke. “It’s weird talking to her about this stuff.” He directed the words at Baxter before laying a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’s not you. I just don’t understand why your mom could know and you couldn’t. After your mom married Kenneth, he told her everything, but it still confused us why we couldn’t tell you, too.”

  “When we hung out, we always had to keep this part of us separate from you. It wasn’t easy,” Baxter added.

  Colten’s hand tightened on my shoulder for a moment. “Fuck, there were so many times I almost slipped.”

  Baxter chuckled. “Me, too. Like at Slide Rock when—”

  “When I fell flat on my ass!” Colten’s amused tone turned light-hearted. “If nobody else was there, I totally could’ve shimmed out of it. But with her, I couldn’t.”

  I winced. “I remember that. You had a nice bruise on your hip after.” That was also the first time Colten kissed me.

  “You saw?” Baxter’s voice lifted with surprise as his eyes shifted toward us for a moment. “When?”

  My cheeks grew red, and I turned to peer out the window. That was the moment I found out Colten Ross liked me. Like, really liked me.

  Colten’s hand moved to my neck, as if he sensed my memories, his fingers curled around the sensitive area, lightly massaging. “Yeah, she saw it a week later when it looked ugly.”

  I cringed. “It looked black, brown, and green, and covered his whole hip. I felt sorry I pushed him.”

  “Wait!” Baxter’s gaze darted to the rearview mirror to stare at Colten. “I thought you slipped.”

  I smiled and leaned into Colten’s touch. “He just said that so you guys wouldn’t know he got taken down by a girl.”

  Colten’s fingers tightened, deliciously so. “Ha! You wish.” His chuckle of denial vibrated through the truck. I shivered when his thumb caressed the column of my neck. “I did slip. Your slight tap just helped it along.”

  My thoughts drifted to those times. Colten had kissed me, but then majorly backed off. Now, I knew why. He couldn’t start a relationship with his friends’ stepsister. Even though I was only their stepsister, the Lydent community considered me family, and with Colten and Baxter being a part of their bond group, they couldn’t cross that line.

  The only reason they stepped out of bounds now was because I was one of them. My stepbrothers and their two friends decided not to form a bonded family, but to find their own wives instead. At Philip’s funeral, Colten tried to lay claim on me, and he was more touchy-feely now. Baxter knew the risks and still asked me on a date. But besides last night, I hadn’t seen or talked to my stepbrothers.

  We used to text all the time. I glanced down, noticing my lack of a purse or bag, and pursed my lips. I didn’t exactly shim to Flag with all my stuff.

  “We’re here,” Baxter broke into my thoughts as we pulled up to a large, brown archway that read Zona Animal Sanctuary, in big, bold letters.

  “Back to the grind,” Colten agreed.

  Just as we drove beneath the arch, a massive rock sculpture, a mixture of wolves and bears carved into it, dominated the right side of the structure. It was pretty darn cool. “You’re sure they’ll be okay that I’m here?”

  Colten gave my neck a squeeze before his hand pulled away. “You’ll be fine.”

  “Lots of people come here. The zoo is half walk-through and half drive-through. You’ll blend in just fine.” Baxter reassured me.

  We passed the arch and pulled up to a gate with a camera, where Baxter and Colten both rolled down their windows and waved their badges. The gate opened.

  We pulled through the gate and to the right I saw what looked like a road that led into a mountain pass before Baxter turned left going away from it. “What’s that?”

  “The drive-through portion of the sanctuary,” Baxter explained. He parked and grinned at me. “Ready to see Zona?”

  “Sure, she is!” Colten stated cheerfully as he opened his door.

  Baxter leaned my way and reached to curve his hand around my neck. I didn’t resist as his lips met mine once again. The brief, soft coaxing of his mouth against mine made my heart race before we pulled apart. His blue eyes darkened, letting me know if we had been somewhere else, his kiss wouldn’t have stopped there. “Don’t forget me completely while you’re with him, seeing as we’re both aiming to steal your heart.”

  A wild thump in my chest made me realize it might already be gone. “I won’t.”

  Colten opened my door and poked his head through. “You kiss him twice, and you have yet to plant those cherry reds on me?” he demanded good-naturedly, helping me out of the truck. His golden gaze and smirk made my heart melt. “We need to fix that soon. But not here.”

  “Colten,” I let out a flirtatious warning, hitting his shoulder as I walked to the back of the truck. “Quit messing around.”

  “I say what I mean, always,” he shot back, following behind me.

  We met Baxter at the tailgate of his truck, and together, we followed a fence to another parking lot, this one for guests. A trolley was parked off in the distance on a paved, curved driveway in front of another entrance that people were walking through. “Baxter!”

  The three of us stopped and swiveled around to find a cute girl with blonde ringlets pulled up in what looked like a glorified golf cart. She wore a uniform that stated Zona Animal Sanctuary across her chest.

  “Yeah, Trixi?” Baxter asked as she parked beside us and got out.

  She didn’t bother acknowledging me as she walked over and spoke to him. She touched his arm briefly and tilted her head up to give him a warm smile. “The black leopard is acting up for the vet again, and you seem to have a soft touch with her. Do you think you can come and help?”

  He smiled, but it was tight. “Sure. I’m always willing to help.”

  Baxter could calm down a black leopard?

  Trixi’s gaze then moved to Colten before her eyes landed on me, and she gave a practiced smile. One usually given to a customer. That was fine; we didn’t know each other anyway.

  “Oh! Didn’t notice you at first. You seem to disappear between these two. I haven’t met any of your family yet, guys.” She held out her hand. “I’m Trixi. Which handsome brother is yours?”

  I shook it and gave a smirk. “Carly, and neither.”

  She pulled her hand away as her gaze grew cautious, her fake smile dropping away. “Neither?”

  “Come on, Trixi,” Baxter urged. “Don’t we have an anxious leopard to see?”

  Her gaze snapped to him. “Yes, you’re right.” That smile returned. “It was nice to meet you, Carly.”

  “Same.” I leaned back into Colten, who brought his hands to my hips.

  She noticed and so did Baxter, who promptly leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the corner of my mouth. “Remember what I said.”

  Trixi climbed into the golf cart and honked. Baxter pulled away and gave Colten a fist bump. “I’ll come and find you guys later. Have fun!” Then he got into the seat next to Trixi, and they drove off.

  I turned around in Colten’s arms. “Is that his light gift? An affinity to animals?”

  He grinned and held my hand as we walked. “Learned that in school, did you?”

  I shrugged. “Among other things, yes.”

  “Yeah, Baxter has a way with animals.”

  “And you?” I asked, my inquiring eyes glancing up to his.

  “Honesty.”

  I stopped walking. “What doe
s that mean?”

  “I’m a living lie detector.” He tugged on my hand with a wild grin. “Come on. Let’s go play.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked, following him.

  “I’m going to be your own personal chauffeur.”

  “Not that.”

  He had a twinkle in his eyes. “I know.”

  I sighed. “And what does a personal chauffeur at an animal sanctuary do?”

  “You’ll see.”

  We walked to the trolley, where kids waited with their parents to board.

  “Hey, everyone! Are you ready for the bus tour?” Colton greeted them. All the kids yelled their yeses, which caused me to chuckle. “Great! Let me open up the trolley, and we can all load up!”

  He turned and gave me a wink as we climbed onto the bus. “You can take the seat behind me.”

  I sat directly behind him and watched the other people filter in. When the bus filled, Colten turned and gave his welcome speech. He explained about the animal sanctuary and how they decided to make it into a zoo to help feed the animals and give them a safe place to live.

  He continued to talk as he faced forward once more, and the bus lurched forward. We drove back through the customer parking lot, passing through the entrance where Baxter parked his truck and toward the mountain pass I noticed earlier.

  As we drove alongside a guardrail, Colten talked about each of the animals that lived there. The goats, deer, wolves, and bears.

  It was all wonderful and exciting. I’d never been to a drive-through zoo, and I regretted not coming here sooner. I guess that was what I got for not visiting my mom more often.

  If it weren’t for Kenneth and his warning, I might have come up here more… or never left. That realization made my gut sink. Did I want this? Did I really want to try to bind myself to Kenneth’s sons and their friends, knowing full well my step-father wouldn’t approve? I enjoyed my time with Colten, but those nagging doubts crept up. I swallowed a lump in my throat. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.

  When Colten brought the bus to a stop and people filed out, he waved and gave them a smile as he continued to talk to them. I sat behind him and watched, trying to brighten my mood once again and erase the lingering uncertainties.

  When everyone exited, he glanced over to me and frowned. “Why the long face?”

  I hesitated, because now I knew he could tell if someone lied. Mouth pressed into a flat line, his golden eyes grew dark. He reached over and ran his finger across my lips, which caused them to tingle. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop. Don’t lie. Just promise you’ll talk to me if those dark thoughts persist.”

  I nodded.

  “Good.”

  Not ready to talk about anything yet, I gestured toward an entrance where all the families and people seemed to be going. “Is that part of the park?”

  He turned. “Yeah. Want to go?” he asked, taking my hand once again.

  “Don’t you have another bus route to do?”

  He guided me off the bus and pointed to a sign with times on it. “We do one every three hours. I have time. People will look at that and come back for the next tour. In the meantime, we can see the rest of the park.”

  I gave him my best smile. “Okay.”

  We walked in together, and he took me up the steps to a food place and got us some ice cream. Passing me one, he asked, “Where do you want to go first?”

  I bumped his shoulder with my own. “You’re the leader. I’ll follow you.”

  He gave me a grin as his eyes glowed. “Anywhere?”

  I shrugged and dipped my spoon back into my ice cream. “Most likely.”

  I wanted to shock him, but he shocked me. “You know, that’s a loaded answer.”

  With a hand at my back, he stopped us at the first animal enclosure. They were otters. I turned to him and for a moment felt vertigo, but I ignored it.

  Pointing my spoon at him, I tried to make the situation lighter. “Only if you take it that way.”

  His gaze grew molten. “Don’t play with fire, sweetheart.”

  “Colten, you kissed me once, a long time ago, but never acted on it after that. That was because of who you are, right?”

  “Yes, but things are different now.” His eyes darted around, and he nodded. “Let’s not talk about that stuff here. How have you been doing down in the valley with your dad? School and everything.”

  I swallowed the knot in my throat. A stabbing pain came and went. “Well, I graduated.”

  He nodded, and we started to walk. “Good girl.” My nose wrinkled at that. “I remember. It was this year, right? Your mom went down with Kenneth.”

  “Yeah.” That had been awkward. “I graduated from high school and got a job at the Aquatic Center. Yesterday was my first day.”

  “No shit, really? And then you had this happen. Must be overwhelming.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  He kissed my forehead. “Poor baby.”

  He let me go when we passed by a trash can, and he threw his ice cream cup away. He looked to me. “You done?”

  I scooped up the last little bit and handed mine over. “Thanks.” I’d much rather hold his hand than the ice cream cup.

  He took it from me, threw it away, and promptly laced his fingers with mine. “Let’s go check out the goats now that we don’t have ice cream.”

  “I know what goats look like. I don’t need to see them.”

  “Ah, but these are pygmy goats. They’re little and cute. You can brush and pet them.”

  I fanned myself with my other hand as I started to feel hot and gave him a skeptical glance. “Really?”

  He grinned and tugged me along. “You’ll see.”

  When we got there, we went through two gates, and I realized he was indeed serious. “Why the two gates?”

  “To make sure they don’t get out. Like extra protection.”

  I blushed when he said protection. That word coming out of his mouth sounded seductive.

  Shaking my head, I focused on our surroundings. Small goats in all different colors walked around a pond in the middle of the area and a barn off to the side.

  I knelt beside one, folding the edge of my pencil skirt beneath my knees, and let my hands run across the coarse hair of the small goat’s back as it ate. Its triangular nose was hard, and its ears soft. They were like dogs, except they weren’t.

  Colten came back with a short-bristled brush. “Here, use this to brush them.”

  He did the same with another one, and when a few families came and asked questions, he answered them.

  We stayed until I felt achy from kneeling for far too long. My mouth was dry, and I started to sweat. I stood and gave myself a moment to ward off the dizziness. Colten stood as well, recognizing I was done, and took the brushes back. When he returned, we left the petting zoo area.

  Hand in hand, we walked until Colten jumped in on the big question. “You’ve known that I’ve liked you for a while, but how long have you liked me?”

  I ducked my head and pulled my hand away as a wave of heat covered my body. “So blunt, Colten.”

  He chuckled. “Have to be, sweetheart, if I’m ever going to get answers.”

  I cleared my dry throat and confessed, softly, “I’ve liked you for a while.”

  “How long is a while?” His rough tone sent a chill racing down my arms.

  I rubbed them, worried about the conflicting temperatures my body seemed to be going through. “Since the beginning.”

  The silence became unnerving, and my eyes shot up to his. A satisfied smirk spread across his face, then he asked another shocking question I wasn’t prepared for. “So how long have you liked your stepbrothers?”

  My eyes went wide, and I stopped rubbing my arms. “Th-that’s not—”

  He brushed a damp strand of hair out of my face, and his smirk turned downward, more concerned. “It’s entirely true.”

  “I think you have that wrong,” I finally answered, almost trembling.

&n
bsp; His frown thinned. “I think I have that right, but we’ll leave that alone for now. Why don’t you come up here more often?”

  “It seems those two questions go together.”

  His hand dropped. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked roughly, demanding.

  “Nothing. What do you do when you’re not giving bus rides?”

  He pressed his lips together but answered, “I do feedings for the animals, but I do that in the truck. The bears like a mixture of frozen berries, nuts, and, at times, a deer carcass. I also do the petting zoo, like we did just now.”

  I swallowed, hot all over. “I don’t remember you being this into animals.”

  His brows shifted downward, searching my face. He stopped our walk. “Carly, are you okay? You seem to be sweating excessively.”

  I waved off his concerns. It was probably that time of the month. The dizziness, though... “I’m fine.”

  His mouth pursed, and he touched my forehead. “I told you not to lie to me. You’re not fine.”

  “Of course—”pain struck me hard, the same dizzy spell coming back full force. I grabbed hold of him and put my other hand to my head.

  His arms surrounded me. “Fuck! Damn it! You’re not fine. You’re pale and sweating. I think you have a fever.”

  He muttered more, holding onto me while he unclipped his radio from his side and notified someone on the other line that he was going to take a thirty-minute break. Then he practically carried me to a door that read employees only and stepped inside. Brooms, shovels, and other maintenance things filled the small room. A janitor’s closet. Before I could ask what he was doing, he shimmed us back to my room at my mom’s cabin.

  “I don’t like the way you look,” he muttered as he set me on the edge of the bed, which still had the blue covers from when Zander transformed it. I stared at the stars where a ceiling should be. They sparkled but without the night sky.

  Colten bent down, slipped off my sandals, and swept his finger around until skirt and blouse turned into something else.

  I glanced down to red-striped PJs. The waist cinched, the bottom of the pantlegs rolling up without anybody moving them, but the shirt remained baggy. I picked at them. “Whose are these?”