The Renovation: A Reverse Harem Romance Read online

  “Hey, what happened to the client who asked you out?” I asked.

  “Oh. I haven’t told you about him? He chewed with his mouth open.” She shook her head.

  God forbid.

  “No second chances?”

  “No. Absolutely not. I can’t teach a grown man table manners. His mother should have done that.”

  She had a point.

  “So, I spoke to someone at the bank,” I said.

  Her eyes widened. “No! You did not! What did they say? What did you say? Tell me everything.”

  “So I asked them if I could have some more time.”

  “Yeah? What happened?”

  “The guy I spoke to was a total dick. Said that since I was behind in my payments, he had no authority to change what was already underway.” I felt that damn lump in my throat return. I was getting tired of crying over this shit.

  “No way. God, I’m so sorry to hear that. Is there anything else you can do? Can you talk to their supervisor?” she asked.

  “I could try, I suppose. Sometimes, I think those fucking banks just want you to fail. Like they get their kicks out of it. I hate banks.”

  “I hear ya. Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them,” she said, nodding. Her phone rang, and she handed me the dog leashes while she fished through her pockets.

  “Oh shit. It’s the open-mouthed chewer. I’m not gonna answer it,” she said.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Answer the damn phone. He’s nice enough to call you, you be nice enough to answer.”

  “What?” Clearly, being nice was not part of the equation for her.

  “C’mon. Be a nice girl.”

  She rolled her eyes and swiped her phone open.

  “Hello?” she said, walking a few steps away from me.

  I started walking the dogs to keep them moving when I froze.

  It was Lance. Fucking Lance.

  With his whore.

  I started in the other direction so I wouldn’t have to contend with them, when I stopped. What was I running away from?

  I tightened my hand on the dog leashes and walked toward the two of them.

  “Hey!” I yelled.

  They turned around to see who was calling them. Problem was, a lot of other people turned around, too.

  Fuck it. I was pissed.

  “Hey asshole! Yeah, you, Lance!”

  His face was deathly white when he realized I was the one calling him. He looked around, most likely for a place to hide.

  “Thanks to you,” I said, pointing in his face, “and your whore here, my house is being foreclosed on, my credit is going to be shit, and I will have no place to live.”

  The whore screwed up her face like she wanted to take me out. If only she’d lay a hand on me. It would be the perfect excused to slap her Botoxed mug.

  Lance held up his hands like he could diffuse the situation. But I kept going.

  “I hope you’re proud of yourself, fucking me over like you did!” I screamed.

  He looked at his whore, grabbed her hand, and starting hustling away.

  While I’d been scolding him, the dogs had gathered around my feet protectively. The problem was that when I took a step toward chasing after Lance, my feet were tangled in the leashes. After teetering back and forth trying to catch my balance, I fell on my ass with a thump.

  Shelle came running up to me and pulled me back to standing.

  But she wasn’t going to drop things.

  “Yeah, run away, you fucker!” she screamed after them. “Chicken shit!”

  She was a true friend.

  “Are you okay? Sorry about the dogs. Sometimes they do that.” She looked down at them, wagging her finger. They just stared back.

  “Okay. Let’s keep moving,” she said. “I gotta get these guys some exercise so when they go home, they’re good and tired.”

  It was funny, but ever since Tanner had straightened out Bob the accountant, my life at the agency had gotten better. Bob was off my back, and Tanner was making sure to tell me about his accounts when he had the time, so I could really learn more about the business.

  “So, how’s your day going?” he asked, having stopped by my desk. He was wearing a really hip suit with skinny legs and his shirt was open at the neck. I loved guys in suits with no ties. It made them look like they were doing the walk of shame. Like they’d had a big night partying and had lost their tie somewhere along the way.

  “Good. Good. Yours?” I asked in return.

  He nodded slowly. “Eh. I’m about to go into another one of those tampon meetings. Last one I was in, I thought I was going to throw up. You wouldn’t believe the personal shit the women were discussing. I’ll never look at any of them the same way again.”

  I had to bite my tongue not to laugh. I felt for the guy. I really did. But c’mon. Was hearing about periods that bad? I mean, it was his freaking job. And he was paid pretty well to do it, from what I knew.

  “So, hey,” he said. “I know you didn’t want to go on a quote unquote date.” He did the air quotes thing with his fingers. “But let’s schedule that lunch, okay? As friends, of course.”

  “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

  As soon as he left the reception area, I called Shelle.

  “Yo,” I said.

  “Whassup, bitch?” she answered.

  “So you know the cute guy we saw jogging last week?” I asked.

  “The one who works in your office? HELL yes, I remember him. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

  I was glad she couldn’t see me roll my eyes.

  “Yes. That one. Well, we’re going to lunch.”

  “Get. Out. I thought you didn’t want to go.”

  “Well, we’re just going as friends.”

  Big sigh. “Well, if you didn’t go, I couldn’t be your friend anymore.”

  Sometimes, I wished she would just shut up and listen. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea to date anyone from work—”

  “You’re popular lately.”

  “I don’t know about that. But I am getting asked out. Which will be some nice rebound fun. Thing is, I feel kind of weird going out with these different guys. I mean, it’s the only way to get to know them.” I lowered my voice. Several company execs went flying out the door, presumably to an important meeting. They took no notice of me, but I still couldn’t take a chance on them hearing about my pathetic life.

  I continued, “I’m not sure what to do. I mean, go out with three guys? It feels…weird.”

  I heard dogs barking in the background. “For god’s sake. Get over yourself. Just fucking go out with them and stop whining.”

  “Really? I mean, I don’t know.”

  “Look.” She sighed impatiently. “Go out with them all. It’s the only way to find out which one you like. See which one is best in the sack. See which one eats the best pussy.”

  “What? Oh my god, shut up. No way. I can’t sleep with them all—”

  “Jayma, you were with Lance a long time. Too long, if you ask me. You need to sow some wild oats.”

  She sure loved saying that.

  “And if you have any leftovers, you can send them my way.”

  What was the harm? It’s not like I was going to marry any of them, and besides, I’d be homeless in a month anyway. Might as well have fun before I was a complete and total loser.

  Chapter 10

  CARTER

  I had to admit, I’d been looking forward to seeing Jayma all day. It had been a long time since I’d looked forward to much of anything, much less a date with a hot freaking redhead. Just thinking about it left my cock twitching.

  I felt bad about the situation with her house, and of course, I’d do what I could if she let me. She was proud, not to mention stubborn. But I was certainly happy that douchebag boyfriend was out of the picture. Good riddance to that pretentious ass. I’d never had a good feeling about him, but had absolutely zero respect for him since he’d left Jayma. What a dumbass.

>   I looked out my window, over at her house, which was the kind of place kids would run by on Halloween, not daring to set foot on the property much less ring the bell and wait for candy. Paint was peeling from the exterior of the house, and the only window I could see that wasn’t covered by an old sheet had a long crack through it. Wonder how long that’d been there? She was in a mess of a situation, to be sure, but she was clearly smart and scrappy. She’d find her way out—with or without me—but I hoped with me.

  I walked across our yards and climbed the rickety steps to her front door. When I rang the bell, she answered almost instantly. Damn did she look cute.

  “Ready?” I asked her.

  “Yeah! Let me get my keys.”

  She popped out the door, pulling it shut behind her.

  “Let’s do it,” she said, looking up at me with those brown eyes. She pulled the mass of red hair off her face, securing it with an elastic band she pulled from her wrist.

  “Just tell me if you need a little break,” I said.

  We set off jogging. It had been her idea to get some exercise. I guess she’d seen me on my regular runs and thought I might be able to help her get back into a fitness routine. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige, and I let her set the pace.

  As we reached the end of the block, I figured I’d see if she was too winded to talk.

  “So when was the last time you ran?” I asked.

  “Oh, let’s see. I think it’s been a couple years. So, I’m basically starting all over.”

  We went a few more blocks—we had only aimed to do a mile, if she could do that much—when she started breathing hard. She must have been sweating a little too, because I could smell her perfume or lotion or something. Very nice—fresh and clean, just how I liked my women.

  I glanced down at her as we approached the end of our mile, and good for her, she was working her ass off. Her face was in a grimace, and she was trying so hard she was oblivious to everything around her, including me. Which was fine, because I could look out for her.

  But she didn’t pass out, and in fact, finished her mile. She was panting and sweating, and her face was beet red, but she did it, and I thought that was hot as hell.

  “How’re you feeling?” I asked.

  “Um…good…” She was still huffing and puffing. “Got a little cramp in my side, but I’ll be okay.”

  She stopped to try to stretch it out. Wisps of her hair had worked their way out of her ponytail and were sticking to her perspiring face. Several fingers dug into her cramped side.

  “Here. I’ll help you with that. Take long, slow breaths.” I stood behind her. “Place my hand where the cramp is.”

  “Right…here,” she said, pressing my fingers into her side.

  It felt damn good to get my hands on her hot little body, even if the intention was to help her stop cramping. And I don’t think she minded, either. She leaned into me, continuing with her slow breathing.

  “Feeling better?” I asked, my face nuzzled into her moist neck. She smelled like clean girl sweat. Goddamn.

  “Yeah…” she said in a breathy voice. “Yeah, that’s nice.”

  Okay. Apparently, that was all I needed. Don’t you know, my damn cock was already standing at attention. I backed up so it wouldn’t be pressing into her ass. I didn’t want to scare her off or send her running the rest of the way home. Even though she looked pretty exhausted and probably couldn’t have run another step.

  “Can you walk? Ready to head home?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get back.”

  I removed my hand from her waist but kept one arm draped around her shoulder while we walked the last couple blocks. She leaned into me just enough to let me know she was into it, and of course, to give me nasty ideas about what I might like to do to her later.

  “Oh my god, that smells amazing,” she said when we arrived at my place. I couldn’t cook many dishes, but I had a chicken roasting. It was one recipe I’d mastered, so I made it over and over.

  “It’s my specialty,” I said with a laugh.

  “And what an amazing house,” she said, looking around as I led her to the kitchen. She stopped to study some photos hanging in the hallway and then hustled to catch up to me in the kitchen.

  “Wine?” I offered.

  “Of course. Thank you,” she said, accepting a glass. “I hope I didn’t ruin your workout by limiting you to a measly one mile run.”

  “Not at all. I had already run this morning to get my five miles in.”

  She rolled her eyes. “So you know I’d be lame?”

  “No. You’d told me you hadn’t run in a couple years, so I knew you’d be limited to a mile or so.”

  “Well, you were right,” she said, pulling up a stool to my kitchen counter.

  “You know…” I said, stopping mid-sentence.

  She took a sip of her wine. “What? What do I know?”

  Oh, what the fuck.

  I took a deep breath. “I had a crush on you for the longest time. Even though I hardly knew you.” There. It was out.

  She turned an adorable shade of pink that turned to bright red. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She just looked at her wine, swirling it in her glass, with little bits of hair now dried to her forehead. Shit, I didn’t know if I could wait until after dinner to make my move.

  I pulled the chicken out of the oven to let it sit before carving it up. When I turned around, she was standing behind me. Right behind me. Close behind me.

  I’d always had a weakness for women who took the bull by the horns. So to speak.

  One corner of her mouth turned up into the cutest crooked grin I’d ever seen. I ran my finger over her temple to push away her errant strands of hair, and she closed her eyes at my touch.

  Not that I wanted to, but there was just no stopping this. I’d wanted her since I first saw her moving boxes into her house with her douchebag boyfriend, although I’d never imagined he’d be fool enough to leave her. His loss, my gain. And, hopefully Dig’s, too.

  I reached to loosen her ponytail. I had to get my hands in that red hair, and when I did, my heart hammered against my chest so damn hard, I was sure she felt it. She was the perfect package—beautiful, slim, smart, ambitious, and even a little crazy. She did, after all, take on a piece of shit run down old house that most people would have run away from, screaming.

  If I didn’t watch myself, I’d be down on one knee proposing within the week.

  I slowly backed her up to the kitchen counter and leaned to taste those sweet lips, the ones I’d been unable to take my eyes off every time she moved them to speak.

  A small growl escaped my throat. She might as well have known how badly I wanted her.

  Chapter 11

  JAYMA

  Oh my. I hadn’t been touched by anyone but Lance the asshole in several years. And how did it feel to be touched by someone new?

  Fucking amazing.

  Carter was so…strong and self-assured. That’s what it was. He seemed like he’d never be afraid of anything. Like if something bad came his way, he’d find a way to handle it. I needed someone like that on my side.

  He made me feel…safe. Yeah. I’d not felt safe in a long time.

  Sure, Lance had a fancy law degree and a job at a fancy law firm. But he was also insecure and paranoid as hell, always sure someone at work was going to best him, or some guy would try to steal me away from him. That his dick wasn’t big enough, or that his back waxer missed a spot. Such a sad way to go through life.

  But Carter just seemed like a guy who got shit done. Didn’t sit around bellyaching, but stepped up to the plate like a real man. And now he was kissing me. My next door neighbor was kissing me.

  And I was kissing him back.

  A huge part of me knew it wasn’t a good idea. That nothing good could come of making out with my hot neighbor. I could have walked out. Said goodnight, thanks for the jog, enjoy the chicken on your own.

  But the wine and t
he nice rock ‘n’ roll music playing in the background convinced me otherwise—not to mention his hands, which started in my hair and worked their way down the sides of my face to my neck and around my shoulders. One landed on the back of my head and the other on my upper back. Perfect leverage for him to pull me in, which I willingly allowed him to do.

  Hell, if he hadn’t, I’d probably have thrown myself at him anyway. That’s how good it felt to be the object of his attention.

  He took a step back to look at me, and I could swear I saw something pass over his eyes. I wasn’t sure I could describe it, other than to say there was a passion in them that made me weak in the knees. He returned his mouth to mine with a crash, and I fell right into him as some sort of current washed over me, landing right in my core.

  My throbbing core. Damn, it had been a while since I’d felt something like that.

  His tongue probed at my lips, gently teasing them apart. He knew where he wanted to go but was willing to wait for me to follow along.

  I loved that. No disgusting shove his tongue down your throat action.

  How could any guy think that’s hot anyway? I’d never understood it.

  “What about the chicken?” I asked.

  He looked over his shoulder at it.

  “Are you worried about it?” he asked with a small grin. “’Cause it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere to me.”

  I had to laugh at that.

  His hands ran down the back of my workout leggings ‘til his fingers reached the cheeks of my ass. With a tight hold, he lifted, plopping me on the edge of the counter. He parted my knees and moved between them, returning to our kiss and wrapping my legs around his waist. My entire body tingled with heat, and through the thin fabric of my workout clothes, I could feel his hard cock.

  His kisses moved to my neck when I felt his fingers tease under the hem of my T-shirt. They travelled until they met my sports bra, where he ran his fingers over my nipples, already standing at attention. A slight moan escaped me, and he pulled up my bra until the girls were free. He lifted my shirt over my head and pushed my aching tits together and to his mouth.