STRIPTEASED (Roommate Reverse Harem Romance)

“Pardon?”

“It’s Knox,” he said, pronouncing his name clearly before shooting Austin a look. “Not Drax.”

“Oh. Nice to meet you, Knox.”

He gave me a quick nod before turning toward the stack of French toast the bartender had set on the table. A minute later, Tonio pulled up a chair and the three of us each took a slice while the twins ate their omelets. No wonder they didn’t have an ounce of fat on them. Not that Tonio or Knox were out of shape. Truth be told, the only one at the table with a little extra padding was me.

I nibbled at my food in silence, sneaking peeks all around me when I thought no one was looking. It was still hard to believe that I was eating with two men that over a hundred women had gone crazy for last night. I was kind of glad that Austin was sitting at my side. If he were across from me, I was pretty sure I’d be staring at his bare chest. As it was, I kept glancing back and forth between him and his brother, trying to find differences.

“It’s the hair,” Tonio said abruptly. “Denver’s is a little longer. That’s how you can tell them apart.”

Oops. Guess I hadn’t been as subtle as I thought I had.

Denver nodded. “We try to make sure we look as much alike as possible for the act, but hair can be a little tricky.”

“Can’t you just get it cut at the same time?” I ventured.

“We do, but mine grows a bit faster,” Denver said.

Beside me, Austin opened his mouth, but Tonio cut him off. “If you even think about making a joke about being a ‘grower’ or a ‘shower’ in front of our guest, I’ll force-feed you bread.”

Austin grinned and cocked his head to the side. “You and what army?”

Tonio jerked his head in Knox’s direction.

“Oh, that army,” Austin said. “Fair enough.”

“The other way to tell us apart is that Austin’s usually wearing less clothing,” Denver said, flashing me a smile.

I couldn’t help letting my eyes cut over to Austin’s hard pecs, and heat flooded my face.

Austin, however, just shrugged. “Taking off my clothes pays the bills.”

“Some of the bills,” Denver said darkly. But then he smiled his good-natured grin at me. “So tell us about yourself, Emma. How come you’re so far from home?”

Home.

That thought made the queasy feeling in my stomach return. Where was home? Certainly not Clint’s parents’ place. Not the tiny studio apartment I’d lived in since my sophomore year of college. Someone else lived there now, anyway. And certainly not my grandmother’s cold, sterile house. “I, um, just moved here.”

Tonio met my eyes, encouraging me to go on.

“My, um, fiancé is from here, and he wanted to move back. But now…” I trailed off, and for the first time since receiving Clint’s message last night, tears threatened. Last night I’d been so numb… and so drunk. This morning I’d been trying to get my bearings and going with anger because it was easier. But now, with four concerned faces staring at me, it was harder to stave off the waterworks.

“We know about the text,” Denver said gently. “We saw it when we were trying to find someone to come get you.”

To my surprise, a warm hand slipped under my hair. For a brief moment, a long, strong finger caressed the back of my neck. “Asshole,” Austin said, and my mouth dropped open. His touch was electrifying, but completely at odds with his utterance. “Him, I mean, not you,” he clarified.

“Yeah, that was a real dick move,” Tonio said, while Knox grunted in agreement.

Despite their tough words, their looks of understanding almost undid me. I didn’t know if I could put what I was feeling into words, though. My mind kept wavering between pain and fear, fear for the uncertainty of the whole situation.

It hurt, losing Clint, but, well… in my heart of hearts, maybe I had sensed that something wasn’t completely right between us. I guess I’d hoped that a fresh start in a new town might help strengthen our relationship. There was something inherently romantic about two people creating a life for themselves in a new town. But now Clint was creating a new life with his high school sweetheart, and I didn’t have a clue what to do next.

“Are you going to head back to Pennsylvania?” Denver asked.

“No.” The word left my lips without conscious thought. “I mean, I haven’t really had time to think. But… there’s nothing there for me anymore.” That was true. My grandmother wouldn’t be thrilled if I showed up on her doorstep, and my old job had been filled—not that I wanted to return to either of those places. “I guess I just feel that now that I’m here, I may as well… I’ve been looking for a job, and I put in all of these applications. I might as well stay and see if anything comes of that.”