Rock Hard Neighbor : A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Rye Hart

  “They find me lame.”

  “You’ve gotta be wrong. You, Kyra? You’re the furthest thing from lame. How do you know they think you’re lame?”

  I watched her face grow stoic as she panned her gaze up to me. She rolled her eyes before she snickered and, for a split second, I thought maybe she was pranking me as well. I grinned at her and she started giggling and before I knew it, we were twirling around, laughing with one another.

  “They call me ‘Miss Lame-caster’,” she said.

  I stopped our twirling and I looked down at her face. She was shaking her head and sighing while I was trying to bury the smirk on my face. Of course, those kids would butcher her last name like that. The poor woman didn’t stand a chance.

  I was trying not to laugh but the moment that familiar twinkle rose in her eyes again, I knew she was okay. I cocked an eyebrow at her while she grinned up at me, then the two of us burst out laughing once again.

  “I’m so glad you aren’t letting your breakup get you down,” I said between my chuckles. “I had to say, I was a bit worried about you.”

  She nodded at my statement, but I did see her face grow a bit more serious.

  “You know, if you wanna talk about it, I’m here,” I said.

  “I know, and thank you,” she said.

  I continued to slowly work my way around the floor with her while she stood on the tops of my feet. I slid my arm tightly around her waist, pulling her closer to me while her eyes danced along my face. For a split second, I thought she was going to open up to me. Her chest filled with air and her beautiful lips parted for just a split second and I readied myself to listen. I allowed all the music and the lights and the people to fade into the background and her perfume to waft over my body while I made myself available to her.

  But then Harper stepped back between us again and stole her away.

  He danced her around the room as the lights came up. The song picked up tempo and I watched while Kyra’s giggles wafted against my ears. I considered chasing them down and stealing her back. I considered reclaiming my moment with her so we could talk more.

  But the happiness on Harper’s face as he twirled her around the floor was unmistakable, so I let them have their moment together.

  The truth was, Harper rarely came out of his room. Owen was the strong, silent type but he loved being outside and around other people. He was a listener. A helper. But Harper was a brooder. He kept to himself, never opened up to anyone, and never intermingled with others unless he had to.

  He was like Dad in that regard and he seemed to be the only one of us that got that trait.

  I knew a visit from Kyra would work wonders. It would get him out and get him talking and I could already see the good it was doing him as I stepped away from the dancefloor. He was really, truly smiling for the first time since we all descended upon the house for our Christmas vacation and the way Kyra was smiling at him warmed my chest.

  I went and stood against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. I watched the way Kyra moved, her toned legs carrying her across the floor. Her forehead was shining lightly with sweat while her shirt fell off her shoulder and, instantly, I wanted to draw figures on her skin with the tip of my tongue.

  But my thoughts were interrupted once again when Blake came up to stand beside me.

  I could see his eyes locked on Kyra, just like mine were, and in an instant, I grew jealous of the fact that someone else was staring at her.

  “I wonder how Kyra’s doing with this whole breakup shit,” Blake said.

  “I think she’s doing okay with it,” I said. “It seemed like she was about to talk about it before Harper butted in.”

  “Ah, well,” Blake said. “Shit happens.”

  The frown that etched itself onto his face told me everything I needed to know. He was still carrying that torch of his. The torch of his worst-kept secret.

  If there was anyone who wore their emotions on their face, it was Blake. We pegged his crush on Kyra back when he was in seventh grade and had teased him relentlessly for it ever since. His crush on her was something we all knew he couldn’t conceal well and, by the look on his face, his heart still hammered for her. I knew he had been into Kyra well before seventh grade just by the way he always looked at her, but I never said anything.

  I didn’t want to embarrass the poor guy.

  That was actually one of the reasons why I kept my crush on Kyra to myself. The guys teased Blake endlessly for it and I didn’t want him to feel like he had some sort of competition. Kyra wasn’t a prize to be won. She was a wonderful woman who deserved her choice of man to spend her days with.

  But his crush was also one of the reasons why I’d never made a move. How in the hell was I supposed to compete with my brother? How the hell was I supposed to be better than him? Blake had that mixture of mountain man and intelligence to him. He always wore his glasses, despite the fact that his beard was always a little too ragged. Blake was the peacekeeper; the one with the soft side. I was romantic, sure, but he was just soft. He was the one to always settle the disputes between Ethan and Chance and he had always been the sensitive one. His nose was always in a book, reading everything from crime thrillers to philosophy to erotic romance.

  We called him a nerd and teased him for his crush, but the truth was, he was just as passionate about “manly” things as the rest of us. Blake was a diagnostician. He always knew why something broke before he fixed it and he could always tell when something was about to break based on a sound it was making. He was like that with people, too; always able to read them at the drop of a hat.

  Maybe that was why he always wore his emotions on his face. Maybe he was just trying to level the playing field.

  Nope. A man couldn’t compete with someone like Blake. He was the perfect mix of sensitive and manly. He could fix any fucking thing you set in front of him, whether it was yourself or a fucking dishwasher. He could regale you with poetry or take you down in football and he always had a quote from a book that seemed to fit every single type of scenario.

  The silence overtook the two of us while we watched Harper and Ethan pass Kyra back and forth. Our shoulders pressed into the wall while we watched from the shadows.

  I longed for Kyra, but as long as Blake was standing beside me, I knew she could only have eyes for him.

  I mean, it only made sense.

  CHAPTER SIX - KYRA

  As I spun around the dancefloor with my Lost Boys passing me off, I couldn’t help but forget all my troubles. I’d always loved my boys and, tonight, I started to realize how much I’d missed them. How much I missed their attention and their kindness. I lived with, and around, Landon for an entire year and nothing we did or said to one another compared to the way I felt around my boys. Now that I was around them, I was beginning to see how badly I had been treated by Landon: how badly my heart had been broken over and over again for the sake of love and pending nuptials.

  I could tell Harper could see my far-off gaze, so he tugged me from the floor and snuck me outside.

  “Here,” he said. “Take this.”

  He passed me a flask, and I couldn’t help but shake my head. Harper might always keep to himself but you’d never know it while I was around. He was very quiet and much darker than his brothers. Always brooding over something or overthinking his actions. But he had always been in tune with others around him. He always seemed to know what they needed. He was always so endearing to me and, whenever he came out of his room for me, it always made me feel special.

  Like tonight.

  I took the flask and drank a bit, allowing the alcohol to hit my empty stomach. A few more sips found my cheeks flushed and that was when I felt my father approach my side.

  “It’s getting late and I’m getting tired,” he said. “You ready to head out?”

  But the truth was, I wasn’t ready to leave.

  Not just yet.

  “I can make sure she gets home all right, Mark,” Harper said. “If you’re
all right with that.”

  “Yeah, sure, I suppose she’s safe with you boys,” my dad said. “Just watch her drinkin’.”

  “Will do, sir,” Harper said, grinning.

  We watched my father leave as my boys trickled out to find us all on the porch. I could feel my body loosening up with the alcohol and my mind was as clear as day for the first time in months. I could never go back to that man. I’d never be able to find with him what I found with my boys. I felt them all huddled around me as I passed the flask back to Harper. Only this time, I felt someone’s arm thread around my shoulders.

  “Wanna hit up the Trent house like old times?” Harper asked, winking.

  “Sounds good to me. I’m not ready to go home anyway,” I said.

  “Hun, our home is practically your home,” Harper said.

  Hun.

  I was wondering if he was still gonna call me by that fun little nickname.

  We all made our way back up the mountain and parked out back of the Trent house. We made our way inside and dumped ourselves into the living room, and Chance was the one that started breaking out the liquor. Stories were told, memories were relived, and soon, Owen was accusing Rowan of lying about something or another.

  “You weren’t under that long,” Owen said. “Only a few seconds.”

  Rowan shook his head firmly. “I was under that water for damn near a minute, Owen. I’m serious.”

  “You’re an idiot,” Owen said.

  “And you’re pissed that you just have faulty memories of our childhood,” Rowan said.

  “You’re lying, and you know it,” Owen said.

  “I’m really not,” Rowan said.

  “If you’re not lying, then prove it. Run some water in the sink and let me hold you there for a minute.”

  “There are consequences for lying, you know?” Harper said. “I wouldn’t make Owen pony up.”

  “‘Pony up’? The hell you talkin’ about?” Blake asked.

  “Consequences?” I asked. “You mean like… Truth or Dare consequences?”

  “Hey, guys, Tinkerbell wants to play Truth or Dare!” Ethan yelled.

  “Not at all what I said,” I exclaimed.

  “Truth or Dare! Truth or Dare! Truth or Dare!”

  Soon, all the boys were chanting, drowning out my protests while I sighed and rolled my eyes. I plopped down onto the couch with my drink in my hand, shaking my head while all the boys settled around me. Their faces were beaming with delight while Chance refilled everyone’s drinks but I shooed him off when he tried to refill mine.

  “Empty stomach, guys,” I said. “Still gotta think straight.”

  “All right, ladies first,” Harper said.

  “What, I get blamed for the game being my idea and now I gotta go first?” I asked.

  “Ladies first. Ladies first, Ladies firs—”

  “All right, all right. Shut up with the weird voodoo chanting.”

  They all chuckled and relaxed as Owen eyed me carefully.

  “Kyra, truth or dare?” he asked.

  “Truth.”

  I watched a devilish grin settle onto his cheeks before he leaned forward and settled his elbows on his knees.

  “You have to tell us all which brother you’d prefer to fuck. You know, if you absolutely had to fuck one of us.”

  I stared at him incredulously before I started to shake my head.

  “I’d never be able to choose,” I said.

  “Oh, come on now,” Chance said. “Don’t be shy. Who would it be?”

  “It’d be me, obviously,” Ethan said.

  “You’re an idiot,” Harper said.

  “Let the girl talk,” Rowan said.

  “No, I’m serious,” I said. “I’d never be able to choose. Even if my life depended on it, I’d probably just end up dying.”

  “If you don’t wanna answer the question, you’ll have to do a dare as punishment,” Harper said.

  The grin on his face made my body shiver as I drew in a deep breath through my nose.

  “Fine,” I said. “If you can’t accept my answer, then dare it is.”

  “I’ve got a dare for you,” Ethan said.

  “Shoot.”

  “I dare you to kiss me,” Ethan said.

  The boys groaned but I found the dare utterly fascinating. Ethan’s trimmed beard and deep blue eyes called to me, like a bird looking for its mate. He got up from his seat and came over to me, holding his hand out for me. He was silently asking me for permission while his tall, muscular structure loomed over me and, for a moment, I thought about running my hands through his dark brown locks.

  I put my hand in his, signaling my permission, and he pulled me up toward his strong chest and captured my lips.

  The kiss sent a shot of electricity through my entire body. I felt dazed after, even though our tongues never once met. I pulled back and felt my eyes widen as Ethan’s smirk slowly fell from his face and I could tell he was just as shocked as I was.

  And all the faces of the rest of the brothers were stone-cold still.

  “My turn,” Blake said.

  “Truth or Dare?” Rowan asked Blake.

  “Dare,” Blake said.

  I was still wrapped up in Ethan’s arms while all this was going on around us.

  “I dare you to kiss Kyra,” Rowan said.

  I whipped my gaze over to Blake, my wide eyes shining as Blake reached for my arm. He wrenched me from his brother’s grasp and crashed his lips to mine, rendering me breathless while my head began to spin.

  My pelvis arched into him while his arms wrapped around me. His hands pressed into my lower back while my lips swelled against his.

  “Fuck the game,” Rowan said behind me.

  He stepped between Blake and me and cradled the back of my neck with his hand. His auburn highlights shone in the dim lighting of their living room while his green eyes pierced directly into my heart. His lips slowly came down onto mine, his tongue swiping lightly along my lips.

  I felt my knees grow weak underneath me as his strong arm caught me from falling to the floor.

  I was overwhelmed by the passion I felt. As Harper drew me into his arms and away from Rowan, I felt his hands cradle my body lightly. His kiss was unassuming and soft, like he was waiting for me to disapprove of what he was doing. The tips of our tongues connected just before my head cocked to the side and, the moment I threaded my arms around his neck, he deepened the kiss.

  The way his beard raked along my skin brought me endless amounts of pleasure.

  Soon, I was being twirled around in Owen’s arms. Owen’s kiss was surprisingly sweet for a man who boasted of the muscle and strength he had underneath his clothes. My hands fisted his flannel shirt and pulled him closer, our lips dancing against one another’s while his hand slowly worked its way through the tresses of my hair.

  Then I found myself standing in front of Chance, the oldest of the brothers. His light blue eyes stared down at me.

  He didn’t kiss me, not like the rest of the brothers did. I ran my hands up his strong arms, tracing the tattoos I could see before my fingers rounded his muscular shoulders. I could see the pain behind his eyes. The things he’d seen and done that he carried with him from his military days. He stared at me intently, his beard concealing the frown on his face as I slowly rose up onto my tiptoes.

  I couldn’t not kiss him. Not after the way everyone else had made me feel.

  Lightly, I cupped his cheeks within the palms of my hands. I pulled his lips down to mine, cradling his lips sweetly against my warmth. He moved with me, his hands hesitantly placing themselves on my hips and, when I pulled back from him, I could feel myself panting.

  I’d never been so turned on in my life. I could feel myself pooling into my pants while I was surrounded by burly, muscular, beautiful men. I looked deep into Chance’s eyes while I debated my next steps and, for once in my life, I decided to do something I’d wanted to do for years.

  “Truth?” I asked breathlessly. />
  “Truth,” Chance said.

  “I want all of you,” I said as I looked around the room. “Every single one of you.”

  They were all stone-cold silent as I drew in a deep breath through my nose.

  “Dare?” I asked.

  “Dare,” they all said in unison.

  “I want you all to fuck me,” I said. “Now.”

  I could see the emotions playing on all their faces, debating on whether or not to act. I could see that each one of them was hard, while my nipples rose to painful peaks behind my bra. I wanted them all to claim me, to take me as theirs and never let me go. I wanted to feel their bodies pressed against mine.

  I wanted all of them or none of them.

  That was what I truly wanted.

  Then, Chance leapt out toward me. He pulled me against his body harshly, crashing his lips into mine as he tugged my shirt over my head. Everything was a flurry of hands and lips and clothes. Fabrics being cast off to the side while Chance’s lips traveled down my chest. I could feel Owen seize my lips while Rowan whispered naughty pleasures in my ear and, in an instant, I felt Ethan’s naked body pressing against my back.

  The cock that slid between my legs had me shivering while Rowan’s words left me breathless.

  “The moonlight cascading over your skin has nothing on the sweat I’m going to pull from you,” Rowan said. “You’ll be begging for release by the time I’m done with you.”

  I was mindless with pleasure while the brothers kissed and suckled and lapped at every inch of my skin. I didn’t know who was who and I didn’t care. All I wanted was their love and attention and their bodies pressed against mine.

  Ethan cupped my breasts from behind and licked up my neck, causing my body to shiver, while a hand slowly slid between my legs. The rough callouses stroked my pussy, making me wetter than I’d ever felt before. I opened my eyes and looked down, seeing Chance with his hand dangerously close to penetrating my sopping wet folds.

  And his eyes were radiant with devious delight.

  “Are you all right?” Harper asked.

  The question stopped every single brother in their tracks while my body stood spread for their pleasure.