by Bea Paige
“That’s what the locals call it because it’s so posh,” a guy with smiling blue eyes says. He holds out his hand. “I’m Luke, good to meet you.”
I take his hand and shake it. “Nice to meet you too,” I say, but it comes out sounding weird because my teeth are chattering so much. He laughs.
“You’ll acclimatise soon enough. Want to go inside?”
“Sure,” I say. I give a little wave to Shawna and she gives me the thumbs up.
Inside, the club is a hell of a lot warmer than outside and it doesn’t take long for me to regret wearing fake leather trousers. After putting my coat in the cloakroom, Luke takes me to the bar and orders us both a pint of local beer. I don’t actually like beer, but I am too polite to refuse it and murmur my thanks instead. We sit on the barstools, chatting small talk and watching the crowd. He’s nice, but not really my type. For the next half an hour, he tells me how he arrived the same time as Shawna, that he has been coming to the resort every year for the last five years and that there are no better slopes to ski on, in his opinion. I nod my head and smile at all the right times but find myself losing interest pretty quickly. While he drones on about the different slopes and their difficulty grades, my attention turns to the club interior.
The lighting in the club is dim, and the dance floor is already heaving with scantily clad girls and sweaty men. There are swathes of red material hanging from the ceiling in folds, like the roof of a circus. In each corner there are dancers dressed in outfits not dissimilar to what you would find people wearing at a carnival in Rio. I briefly wonder how they manage to move in them, let alone dance so freely.
I am just about to tell Luke I need the toilet when a cute redhead comes over and plonks herself on his lap. She throws me a territorial look and within seconds they start snogging. Feeling decidedly relieved and not in the least bit jealous, I hop off the seat in search of Shawna.
The club is bigger than I thought, and I end up circling it a few times before spotting Shawna in a dark corner sitting astride Pierre. She is laughing hysterically at something he has just said. Half a second later they are kissing. I roll my eyes, take a long drink of my beer, and watch the throng of dancers from my spot at the edge of the dance floor.
“Can I get you another?” a deep voice says from behind me, making me jump.
“Shit,” I say spilling half the beer down my top. I turn around and look up into a pair of familiar green eyes. “You,” we both say simultaneously.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, the tone of my voice sharper than I intended.
He looks me up and down, his eyes lingering on my chest. “Pink Floyd, eh? I hadn’t pinned you for an alternative chick.”
I am immediately offended by his assumption. The fact that he is wearing a tight fitted black shirt and expensive looking jeans, with his hair perfectly coiffed, is exactly what I expected from him. “Funny,” I say, waving my hand up and down at him. “I had you sussed from the moment I met you. There’s plenty of women here without any brain cells, so I guess this place is right up your alley.” I ignore the look of surprise on his face and peer around his shoulder. Walking towards us are his brothers, Max and Bryce. Bryce grins when he spots me, showing a set of perfect white teeth, and Max looks at me with one eyebrow raised, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Well, if it isn’t the Ice Queen,” he says.
“Well, if it isn’t the Three Brothers Dim,” I quip, watching the smiles fall from their faces. I down the rest of my beer and slam the glass on the table next to me. “Night boys,” I say, turning my backs on them. I can feel the heat of their gaze as I walk across the dance floor and up the stairs to get my coat. I don’t give them a second thought as I head out of the club and back to the chalet.
A few slippery minutes later I am back inside. The place is as I left it, aside from a mug tipped upside down on the draining board. Funny, I’m pretty sure I put everything away after I’d made myself tea and toast earlier. Shrugging, I head to the lower ground floor past the long glass wall, on the other side of which is the pool, sauna and steam room, and head into my room. I peel off my clothes, and despite the freezing walk back, a light sheen of sweat is covering my legs. I remind myself never to wear those leather trousers again. As I undress, an errant thought enters my head. Feeling decidedly rebellious, I grab a towel from my en-suite, wrap it around my body and head out into the pool area.
The pool itself has underwater lighting which highlights the expensive-looking blue mosaic tiles, and the room is lit a soft pink, giving the space a very exclusive spa-like feel. I walk across to the loungers and drop my towel on top of one, enjoying the warmth from the underfloor heating and the thrill of being naked. For a moment, I allow myself to imagine that the chalet is my own home and try not to squeal in excitement at how ridiculously happy that makes me feel. The locals were right, this place is a palace. I step down into the pool. The water is like a warm bath and I sink under the surface gratefully. Once acclimatised, I begin swimming lengths, completely butt-naked. It is quite exhilarating. Up and down I go, concentrating on how the water feels against my skin. I’ve always been good at swimming and had been on my school swim team. At least I was until I had to pull out in my last year due to Mum becoming more of a problem. She would turn up at my club pissed and almost always caused a scene. I dropped out through sheer embarrassment.
After a good half hour of doing laps, I decide to test my underwater swimming skills. I manage to make it from one side of the pool to the other in one breath. When my head breaks the surface, I am startled to find myself staring up at Green-eyes.
“Well, hello again,” he murmurs, his eyes roving over my nakedness. My body finally catches up with my brain, and I attempt to cover myself.
“As much as I appreciate a naked woman as well as any man, do you mind telling me what you are doing in our chalet?”
My mouth pops open as my brain struggles to find an answer. Our chalet? Eventually, realisation dawns. “You’re my designated family?” I say, just as Max and Bryce step into the room. They stop talking as soon as they see me.
“Damn,” they say in unison.
Chapter Five
“I can explain,” I say, trying and failing to hide my naked body from the three men, who seem to be having way too much fun watching me squirm. In the end, I give up, figuring they’ve seen it all already. “Fuck it,” I murmur under my breath. Deciding I’m likely going home anyway, I walk up the steps totally starkers and grab my towel, wrapping it around me.
All three men are looking at me with their mouths gaping open and I can’t help but feel secretly pleased by their reaction. I’m not normally this confident, but for some reason their arrogance pisses me off. I have these men marked; they love women and I am a woman. In this situation, I feel that my sexuality is the only power I have. Somehow, I know that being coy will give them one over on me and for reasons completely unknown to me, I do not want to give them the satisfaction of making me squirm.
“Perhaps we misjudged you?” Max laughs. “Not so much the Ice Queen now.”
“We didn’t even have to chat you up or buy you a drink to get your clothes off…” Bryce smirks as he swipes a hand through his shoulder length hair, which is now hanging loosely around his face. “Really, there’s no need to leave on our account. We were just about to take a swim, weren’t we, Hudson?”
I gape at Bryce. What a prick. If he thinks I am getting back in the pool with them, he’s got another think coming.
Hudson shakes his head as if coming out of a daze. He looks at me, his green eyes stormy.
“I think you should get some clothes on then meet us back upstairs in the kitchen. We should talk.” With that, he turns to his brothers. “Upstairs, now,” he says, and they file out behind him.
I take a deep shuddering breath. What the actual fuck did I just do? My high quickly comes crashing to the ground when I realise I’ve just stood completely starkers in front of them all. I groan. One word pops into my hea
d. Sacked. My mum will have a field day and Richard… Oh, god, Richard is going to be so disappointed.
Resigned, I go back to my room, pull on my tracksuit, pile my hair up in a messy bun, pack my bag, then head upstairs to face the music.
“What have you got there?” Hudson asks as I walk into the kitchen. There is a pot of coffee percolating on the counter, with four mugs set out beside it. The three brothers are sitting around the kitchen island, apparently waiting for me.
“My suitcase. I’ll arrange for a cab to take me to the airport. I’ll just hang about there until I can get a flight back home,” I say, all fight gone out of me now.
Bryce gets up and walks around the island towards me.
“Give me that,” he says. “You’re not going anywhere. There’s heavy snowfall due. You wouldn’t be able to get a cab now even if you wanted to.” He places my bag back by the stairs, then sits back down on the stool. As he walks past I feel decidedly tiny against his tall frame.
“But, I thought…”
“Look. So you used the pool, big deal,” Max says, shrugging. “Besides, it was quite entertaining,” he adds, giving me a wink. Bryce punches him on the arm.
“Ow, what was that for?” he says, shoving his brother back.
“Pack it in you two,” Hudson says, giving them both a glare. He turns to me. “You’d think that now they’ve reached the grand old age of twenty-five they’d be a bit more sensible. Alas, I think the sight of a hot, naked woman in our pool has sent them spiralling back to puberty again.”
Hot, naked woman? I almost laugh out loud. Did he actually just say that?
“Seems like we’re not the only one whose brain has been affected, or perhaps it’s another part of your anatomy,” Max says, laughing. Hudson ignores him and pulls out a stool.
“Come and join us… we still don’t know what your name is, even though this is the third time we’ve met.”
“Isn’t that usual for you guys? I mean, get a woman naked first, ask names later, if at all?” I swear I have absolutely no clue what has come over me but, clearly, I’m determined to insult these men tonight.
Hudson’s gaze is heated with anger. Still, neither he nor his brothers try to deny it. Only Max has the decency to look a little sheepish. When I look at Bryce, there is a challenge in his hazel eyes, and I am not sure I like it.
“Your name?” Hudson demands. This time the friendly tone is gone. I almost want to lie, but in the end figure it’s pointless.
I take a seat at the island and lay my palms flat on the table. “My name’s Louisa, Louisa Budd. I’m your designated chalet girl.”
“Well, we totally lucked out,” Max says, high-fiving Bryce. He holds his hand up to Hudson, who just rolls his eyes. “Ah, man, don’t keep me hanging.”
I can’t help it, I laugh. Max is clearly the joker of the family. If he wasn’t such an egotistical prick, I could get to like him.
Hudson pours four cups of coffee and hands out one to each of us. “I thought it would help, you know, sober you up,” he says, nodding to the cup.
I frown. He clearly has no idea what pissed looks like. “I don’t need sobering up. I’m not drunk,” I snap, taking a sip of the bitter tasting coffee. I crinkle my nose, then in a saccharine voice say, “Can I have some milk and sugar, please.” I almost flutter my eyelashes at him, but don’t. I’m pushing my luck already.
Hudson is staring at me as though trying to get a grip on how I tick. “Do you usually swim naked then?”
“Oh, yes. I’m well known for it down the local pool.” I smile sweetly and pass him my mug. I don’t know why I feel the urge to needle him but every time I’ve met him, I have this desire to put him in his place. Him and his cocky brothers.
He takes the mug from me with a shake of his head, confusion furrowing his brow. A moment later he gives it back. I take a sip and savour the sweetness. “Hmm, that’s better,” I say, licking my lips. Our eyes meet and there is a flash of desire in his. Although it is entertaining being admired, I feel no pull towards him. Instead, I feel inexplicably angry and I don’t have the faintest idea why.
Max sniggers. “Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hudson lost for words. I think you and I are going to get along.”
I turn to Max. His brown eyes are twinkling with mischief. He oozes a boyish charm that I am sure most women lap up, but not me. “So long as you don’t try your chat up lines on me, we’ll get along just fine.”
Max laughs loudly. “It’s a deal,” he says, although there’s something about the way he’s looking at me that gives me the impression he’s a man who doesn’t keep his promises.
“So, you’ve decided to stay then?” Bryce says, brushing a hand over his beard. He twists some of the hair between his thumb and finger as his strange, multifaceted eyes rove over my face.
“I don’t think so,” Hudson says, glancing at me. He’s angry now. “Louisa should go as soon as the snowstorm passes.”
I narrow my eyes at him. I get it, he can’t overpower me with his charm and good looks so now he’s using my one mistake against me. I think about what I have to return home to: a drunken mum and Christmas in A&E. Well, to hell with that. I am staying whether he likes it or not. “Actually, I don’t think I will go.”
Hudson looks at me sharply. I can feel Bryce and Max’s hot stare, but I don’t look at either of them, too busy staring Hudson down. “I’m pretty sure I can use the facilities, so long as the guests agree to it and it doesn’t take from my duties. I had no-one to ask so, technically, I’ve done nothing wrong. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve had a long day and I need to go to sleep.” I slide off the chair and pick up my suitcase, throwing a look over my shoulder. “Breakfast will be ready at eight am sharp.”
With that I head back to my room, hoping I’ve made the right decision, but something deep inside tells me I may be making the biggest mistake of my life.
Chapter Six
I wake up at seven am, shower and dress in a pair of blue Levi jeans, a thermal long-sleeved top, and a loose grey sweatshirt. My hair is thoroughly tangled, and it takes me a good five minutes to brush a comb through it. Last night I only managed to get a few hours’ sleep after lying in bed thinking about the way I had behaved. I’m pretty sure the brothers went out again at some point after I returned to my room; not that I care what they get up to, it’s their holiday, after all. What bothers me now is how rude I was to the brothers. I am not normally so confrontational. When I think about it, I know it’s because I am damaged goods. My mum and her trail of boyfriends have fucked me up so thoroughly that I am pretty much in self-defence mode all the time.
This morning I have some apologising to do, but first, a trip to the local store is required to get supplies. The shop is a ten-minute walk into the main resort and open from seven am. All the chalet girls use it, apparently. I figure if I go now I will be back in time to cook them breakfast. Perhaps we can start again. Fresh day, a fresh start and all that.
I head out into the hallway and catch one of the brothers swimming in the pool. The underwater lights aren’t lit so all I can see clearly is the top half of the swimmer’s body moving through darkened water. Whoever it is has a huge, black, dragon tattoo penned into the skin of their sculptured back. It’s not Max as he’s blonde and it isn’t Bryce as his hair is longer, which only leaves Hudson. I watch as he reaches the edge of the pool, turns and spots me. For a moment, my breath catches in my throat at the long look he gives me. He just stares, and I stare back. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights, wanting to move but suddenly unable to. What the fuck is wrong with me? Am I really going to pieces over a half-dressed man I don’t even like? I watch as he swipes a hand through his wet hair. He walks to the steps of the pool and climbs out, turning to face me. He is completely and utterly naked. My eyes widen just a fraction as I take in his broad shoulders, defined pecs, six pack, and strong, muscular arms, finally resting on his manhood. A small smile plays at the edge of his mouth as he looks at me
looking at him. Despite my bravado yesterday I find my cheeks heating, and not wishing him to see how much he’s affecting me, I look away.
Arsehole, he totally did that on purpose. I turn on my heel and head upstairs, my heart pounding treacherously in my chest.
The ground floor is quiet as I enter, just the sound of coffee percolating in the machine. Max and Bryce are likely still sleeping and, glad I don’t have to make small talk, I pull on my ski jacket and winter boots. When I open the door, my mouth drops open at the amount of snow covering everything in sight. “Shit,” I say, my breath coming out in warm puffs. A snow plough is making its way down the street, pushing huge piles of snow to the side. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I head outside, enjoying the muffled quiet that only heavy snowfall can bring, and walk towards the main strip where the supermarket is located. It takes me less than ten minutes to gather what I need. The check-out girl tots it all up and I hand her the company credit card I’ve been given to pay for the food with. I still can’t quite believe there is a couple of grand stacked up on the card to use for supplies. When Shawna handed it over to me, she said she had ‘borrowed’ a couple hundred quid from the card and paid it back on payday, implying that I could ‘borrow’ some money too. It’s just as well I am trustworthy. This job means more to me than a few hundred quid.
“Merci,” the girl says, handing me back the card after ringing up the bill. I thank her and make my way out of the shop.
A minute later I am struggling back up the incline, trying to hold on to two full bags of shopping whilst trying not to break a leg.
“Hey, Louisa, let me help.” I turn and almost fall on my arse, a particularly icy patch making my feet skid beneath me.
“Whoa,” Max says, catching me in his arms. The breath of his laugh tickles my ear. “Steady, you could break something,” he murmurs, a little too sexily for my liking. He props me upright, turning me to face him. I am still ensconced in his arms.