Seven Roses: Reverse Harem Romance

by Kelli Callahan

  “I’m not a kid.” He had an annoyed look on his face when he turned around.

  “You sure about that?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You don’t seem like you want to be here and you are the only one that might stand between the rest of us and the arrangement Charles has offered.”

  “Why is that so strange? Don’t you think this whole thing is a load of crap? You’re just going to get your hopes up and then she’ll say no—I know how it goes.” He shook his head back and forth.

  “So you think the rest of us are going to get our hopes up, but you aren’t?” I took a drag off of my cigar and stared at him.

  “This isn’t even what I signed up for.” Anders opened the door and walked into the house.

  I could have snapped the little boy like a twig. I had no idea how he managed a perfect match with Lyn. I didn’t believe in a computer figuring out love, anyway.

  I liked Lyn. She was a bit of a fool, but she was cute. She fell for Markus’ charm and gave him her panties when I thought she had enough sense to wait for me to take her like a real man would. I would have destroyed her virgin pussy and left her ruined for other men—and that was exactly what I intended to do after our date. I was going to take her to the depth of depravity and show her a world she didn’t even know existed.

  There was a reason I didn’t do romance and it wasn’t because I was always away—I didn’t do it because they couldn’t get enough once they had a taste of me. Lyn would be just like the other ones, but I willing to make her the last if she could handle me. There was a part of me that needed that. The others could keep her busy while I was away and there would be no drama when I came home to claim my prize.

  “Are you going to get dressed?” Charles opened the door and looked outside. “You asked to start the date early, so she’s getting ready.”

  “I’m already dressed.” I stood and let the cigar rest in my teeth, puffing it with a laugh.

  “Okay then.” He raised his eyebrows and closed the door.

  Charles didn’t understand, but he would once the cameras finally got a glimpse of what I had planned. I didn’t need a suit or some gimmick to sell who I was. I looked out at the pool and kept puffing on my cigar. Once it was burned to the point that it was nearly against my fingers I tossed it into the pool and walked towards the door, sending the last remnant of the Cuban plantation swirling around me. I stepped into the house and saw Lyn walking down the stairs. I didn’t give her a hint about the date, so she was wearing a dress similar to the one she wore when she went out with Dawson. It didn’t matter. Anything would do at that point.

  I motioned for her to follow and walked towards the door. She seemed a little shocked that I didn’t offer her my arm, but I was more concerned with getting it underway than giving her the chivalry. I walked towards the car and heard her heels behind me, trying to keep up. The driver opened the door and I pushed him out of the way. I slammed the back door and opened the passenger door.

  “Now you’re opening doors for me?” She tilted her head. “Why am I riding in the passenger seat?”

  “Because I’m driving.” I turned to the driver and snatched the keys out of his hand.

  “Sir, wait!” The driver started to protest, but I shot him a glare that caused him to swallow hard and step back.

  “Are you fuckers coming?” I turned to the camera crew and started walking towards the driver side of the car.

  “We’ll follow you. We have a camera in the car.” They started towards their van.

  “If you follow me you won’t keep up.” I turned back to the car and opened the door. “Your choice.”

  I put the pedal to the floor the second I had the keys turned over in the ignition and then we were screaming down the driveway. Lyn held onto the door and looked over at me in a panic before scrambling for her seatbelt. It wasn’t going to be romance—it was going to be a fucking thrill ride. The tires squealed when I turned into the road and I saw driver of the van barely starting to get his vehicle moving. He wasn’t going to catch up. I punched numbers into the GPS on my phone as I drove and met each turn without my brakes. Lyn’s eyes got wide as we continued to drive. I could practically hear her heart beating from the other side of the car.

  She had no idea what was in store for her, but once she found out, she was either going to accept me for the man I was or understand that there was no place for her in my world. She needed to understand what kind of man she had the chance to have and what I did every day of my life. There would be times when I simply couldn’t come home to her. It was the only way anything would work—whether it was a relationship she wanted or the arrangement laid out by Charles.

  “Where are we going?” The car finally settled to a calm sixty-five in a forty-five zone and I dodged the slower vehicles in front of us.

  “We’ll be there shortly.” I kept my answer vague as I stared at my GPS.

  “This is definitely a strange start to a date.” She looked over at me and shook her head in confusion.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, babe.” I grinned at her and put my eyes back to the road just in time to dodge a car in front of us that had slammed on the brakes.

  There were a lot of skills required to do the kind of work I did. Pushing a car to the limit and making it do things it wasn’t built to do was just one of them. I kept cranking my foot against the accelerator as cars got in my way, weaving between them until my phone said I was nearing my destination. We had left the fancy glitz and glamour of Chicago’s upper echelon behind and we were approaching the South Side, where the kind of people I hunted always seemed to linger. I knew Lyn was from that part of town after seeing her date with John, so I wasn’t worried about her getting scared when we entered some of the more worn-down areas. When the GPS finally said we were there, I looked around and let the car slow to a crawl. I saw what I was looking for—a large black van—parked under a bridge.

  The car’s tires rolled across the gravel as I came to a stop. I slammed the car in park and winked at Lyn before I opened the driver’s side. The moment I was out of the car, I saw two men step out of the van. They both worked for me—one was a tracker named Rob and the other was a private investigator named Lawrence.

  “Hey, boss.” Rob tilted his chin towards me and opened the sliding door on the side of the van.

  “You sure this is the right place?” I looked at Rob.

  “Yeah, he’s holed up about a block from here. We got a visual confirmation this morning and he hasn’t left.” Lawrence nodded and started to open up our bag of guns.

  “What the hell are we doing? I thought we were on a date...” Lyn stepped out of the car and started walking towards us.

  “We are.” I slid on a bulletproof vest and picked up a pair of handcuffs. “I’m taking you on a date you’ll never forget.”

  “You should put this on.” Rob grabbed a smaller bulletproof vest and walked towards Lyn.

  “Wait a second.” She held her hand up. “You’re going after someone, aren’t you? You’re taking me on a mission?”

  “This is my world.” I picked up a handgun and slid a clip into the bottom. “You won’t be in any danger. This is a small-time asshole that jumped bond on drug charges. I just have to put the handcuffs on him and get him down to the police station to collect my money.”

  “Then why does it look like you’re going to war?” She watched as I tucked the first handgun into my belt and picked up a shotgun.

  “You grew up around here, right?” I turned towards her.

  “Yeah...” She nodded and continued to stare at me.

  “Then you should know that you can’t ever be too careful.” I motioned for Rob and Lawrence to follow me. “Lawrence will stay with you. Rob will go around back and I’ll go through the front door. We do this all the time, babe. It won’t be anything other than a smash and grab.”

  “What if he fights back?” She followed behind us as we started walking down the sidewalk.

  “He won’t. He’s no
t that stupid.” I picked up the pace as we put distance between the van and house we had to raid to get our mark.

  It wasn’t the first time I had to pick up Julio Vance. He was a bit of a charmer and while he would always be an addict skirting with the law, he was also very charismatic. There was always an older woman who was willing to break the bank and get him out of jail. His latest victim was my newest client. Even though I was based out of Chicago, I went wherever the work beckoned me. It was rare for me to actually get a local call. After the reality show took off, I started getting calls from all over the United States and some of the people I chased were actually dangerous.

  We approached the house and I motioned for Lawrence to stay with Lyn. We had spoken on the phone and he understood that if anything happened to her, he would be left on the street with a broken neck. Rob went around back and I took my place at the front door. I didn’t hear anything inside, which meant he was sleeping or he saw us coming. I hoped it was the former. I gave Rob a signal on the radio and then sent my boot crashing into the front door. One thing that was good about raiding houses on the South Side—the carpentry was shit. The door flew off the hinges and splintered into pieces as I stormed the house.

  “Julio!” My voice boomed through the house. “Don’t run!”

  He didn’t listen. He came bolting down the hallway and turned towards the back door. As soon as he approached, Rob sent his shoulder through the door and Julio stopped in his tracks. He turned towards me and started running again. I swung the butt of the shotgun at him as he started to pass me. He was a quick little fucker. He got past me and darted through the smashed door. I was behind him in an instant, but he leaped off the porch. My knees weren’t going to like that, so I took the three steps as he recovered from his landing.

  I didn’t like to shoot people unless they were armed, so I wasn’t going to blow out his kneecap to keep him from running. I got to the bottom of the steps as he got to his feet again. Before he could get any momentum, I closed the distance between us and grabbed him by the back of the neck. He tried to twist out of my grasp, but I barreled forward and wrapped my arms around him. I gave him a suplex that would have made professional wrestlers jealous as I took him off his feet and drove him face first into the grass. He yelled, but before he had a chance to catch his breath, I had the handcuffs on him. I stood up and hauled him to his feet, pushing him towards Lawrence. Rob came running through the door and smiled when he saw Julio in handcuffs.

  “See...” I walked him towards Lyn. “Easy.”

  “You motherfucker! I didn’t do anything!” Julio started to protest and I slapped him on the back of the head.

  “Shut up.” I pushed him ahead of me. “You know why I’m here.”

  There was definite surprise on Lyn’s face as we walked back towards the van and the car. Julio wasn’t worth a lot of money, but it was an easy job. Once he was in custody, there was no reason for me to bother with him anymore. Rob and Lawrence could take it from there.

  We got back to the waiting vehicles and I started putting my gear back in the van. Lyn pulled off her bullet proof vest and handed it to Rob who tossed it in next to mine. Julio was put in a cage we kept in the back for people we caught. It wouldn’t be long before he was back in jail where he deserved to be. Rob, Lawrence and I made small talk while Lyn walked back to the car. Once all the gear was situated, I looked over their schedule and signed off on a few smaller jobs that they wouldn’t need me for. I trusted them to do it on their own, but since I was there, I figured I could give them my input. I watched until everything was closed up and then I walked back towards Lyn who started shaking her head back and forth as I approached.

  “That was crazy.” Her eyebrows raised. “I can’t believe you took me to apprehend one of your bounties on our date!”

  “You liked it.” I smiled as I opened the door and let her slide back into the passenger seat.

  “It was interesting to see you in your natural habitat, but I’m not sure I’m ready to join your crew or anything.” She looked over at me as I entered the car and cranked it up.

  “Good.” I grunted and laughed. “I wasn’t asking anyway.”

  “So that was it?” She looked out the window. “You just wanted to show me how macho you are?”

  “No.” I shook my head back and forth. “I wanted you to see how I live. I don’t have a problem with the arrangement Charles has offered. Honestly, it’s intriguing. I’ll be loyal to you, but I won’t be home much. Some of the jobs I do take me away for several days, especially if we’re having to chase someone.”

  “Well, I must say—that was one of the more chaotic dates I’ve ever been on.” She chuckled.

  “How about some lunch? We passed a diner that was advertising the best cheeseburger in Chicago.” I turned the car onto the road.

  “I don’t think they’re the only ones claiming that, but I’m fine with anything you want to eat.” She nodded and shrugged. “You got me out of the house so early I didn’t even have breakfast.”

  It took a while to find a parking space, but I got one that was fairly close after a couple of trips around the block. The diner looked like the kind of dive I enjoyed. I had no patience for the kind of restaurant Markus chose for his date, even if Seven Roses was paying for it. The camera crew finally showed up, apparently able to figure out where we were from the camera mounted in the car. I didn’t give a shit at that point, I just didn’t want them calling attention to the hunt before I was able to apprehend Julio.

  I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and Lyn decided she would have the same. I liked that—she didn’t try to act like she was some dainty salad eater. We made small talk as we waited on our food and when it arrived, the aroma of bacon and grilled meat made my stomach start to growl. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until it was put in front of me.

  “I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach.” Lyn looked down at the gigantic cheeseburger with bacon poking out in every direction.

  “Eat what you can—you can save the rest for later. You’ll have an appetite after I’m done with you.” I chuckled and lifted my burger.

  “So, you think that I’m going to sleep with you after this? My heart is still racing!” She tilted her head and exhaled a loud burst of air. “You could have gotten me killed!”

  “You were never in any danger.” I shook my head back and forth. “It was all in good fun.”

  “You have a disturbed view of fun!” Her voice raised as she picked up the burger.

  “I have a disturbed view about a lot of things. Just wait until I get you in the bedroom.” I winked at her and chuckled.

  “What exactly are you planning to do?” She leveled her eyes at me and raised her eyebrows.

  “You’ll see.” I grinned.

  I knew she wasn’t going anywhere except the bedroom with me once we were back at the Seven Roses mansion. She put up a good fight with her words, but there was a flicker in her eyes—that flicker of curiosity would be mine to enjoy for the rest of the afternoon and well into the night. I finished every bite of my burger before she had even managed a few bites. I started on the fries and chugged soda between each bite.

  After putting Julio away, I was ready to move on to what I really wanted—Lyn’s sweet, delicious body. I wanted to start by devouring her lips and then take her to heights of pleasure she had never experienced. I didn’t care if it was just the two of us or if the whole house joined in. I was going to get what I craved either way. I wouldn’t have many moments with Lyn. I was always one phone call away from another job and the reality show had sent interest through the roof. I still needed companionship though, and I wasn’t going to get it with the life I lived.

  Chapter 13: Lyn

  Brando was a dose of chaos I never saw coming. He seemed like a simple guy with a wild life that required him to do dangerous things to keep making money, but he was good at it. The way he handled Julio was mesmerizing and it definitely got my attention, even if I
wasn’t going to just admit it.

  He certainly got style points for his creativity with our date. I had never been put in mortal danger before. I knew I wasn’t actually in real danger, but you couldn’t tell my pulse or stomach that while my brain was creating every horrible scenario that could go wrong. I wanted him to be part of our union and I definitely found him attractive. He was honest and his lack of concern was a bit refreshing. He seemed to be all-in without needing any sort of convincing.

  I could see why he was interested because I couldn’t see him ever finding true happiness unless he found someone who was willing to sit around worrying every time he was on a job. He was a lot like Markus without the charm, but he made up for that with unadulterated heat. I would have never considered dating someone like him if he even asked, but I thought he would have a good place in our arrangement. I would definitely feel safe with him. We got back to the house and I put my food in the fridge before returning to the lobby where I found him waiting for me.

  “I’m not asking anyone else to join us.” He walked towards me and put his arms around my back. “I want you all to myself.”

  “That isn’t how this works though, we have to be united if we’re going to be together forever.” I looked up into his eyes.

  “I didn’t say I wouldn’t share you with them, I just don’t want to share you tonight.” He moved a hand up to my neck and pulled me close for a kiss.

  His lips quickly subdued the concerns I had. It was forceful and I could feel the hunger he felt for me when he started to wrap his tongue around mine. I felt like one of his bounties being caught with nowhere to go. I couldn’t pull away. My body started to react to his large muscular form squeezing me tight as he continued to ravage my lips and flatten them against his. He was a brute but he was sexy as hell. He kissed me with his tongue exploring my mouth for so long that I practically lost my breath. When he finally pulled away, my body was tingling with desire.

  We started towards the stairs and when we got to the bottom, he picked me up. Before I knew what was happening I was over his shoulder and being carried up the stairs. He clearly knew how to make an impression. His arms wrapped around the back of my knees as he held me firmly in his grasp. We got to the top of the stairs and he pushed the door to my bedroom open. He carried me like I didn’t weigh a single pound, walking into the bedroom and slamming the door behind him.