by Zara Chase
Spirit, Colorado 4
Their Colorado Conquest
Five friends, one basket of sex toys. How to win it? By telling the sexiest story.
Ellie Kirkwood takes a job as publicist at a renovated hotel in Spirit, Colorado. She’s peeved to find that Josh Cooper, the guy who broke her best friend’s heart, owns the place. Still, she needs this job so she’ll just have to get over herself.
Josh’s partner, Rex Moore, maintains that Josh wasn’t responsible for the breakup with Annabel, but Ellie knows better. She puts her animosity to one side as she works to publicize the hotel. Josh and Rex are real hunks. Perhaps a charity auction with the two of them as the star prize?
Ellie is shocked by Annabel’s determination to exact revenge on Josh but isn’t prepared to sit back and let the dreams of the two guys she’s fallen for be shattered by a vindictive woman…
Note: The books in this series share an external story arc. Though not mandatory, we highly recommend reading the books in sequential order.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 50,918 words
THEIR COLORADO CONQUEST
Spirit, Colorado 4
Zara Chase
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
THEIR COLORADO CONQUEST
Copyright © 2012 by Zara Chase
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-955-5
First E-book Publication: December 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
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DEDICATION
To my fellow authors in this series, Melody Snow Monroe, Lara Valentine, Alicia White, and Peyton Elizabeth. Thanks, guys, it was a blast!
THEIR COLORADO CONQUEST
Spirit, Colorado 4
ZARA CHASE
Copyright © 2012
Prologue
Wow! Ellie Kirkwood thought as she joined in with the raucous roars of approval when Hannah finished her story. Impressive.
“Violet wand?” Lana asked. “Wow, I want to try that! Casey, do you carry that in your store?”
“Hell yes!”
Hannah said confidently, “None of you can top my story, which means I win the basket of sex toys.” She grinned. “And my guys and I know precisely what to do with them.”
“You think we don’t?” Selena rolled her eyes. “Honey, you’re an amateur.”
“Not so fast.” Casey had to shout to be heard above the music blaring out in Fannie’s Old Time Saloon. The place was packed with pre-Thanksgiving tourists out for a good time. The girls had been lucky to get their usual Thursday-evening booth at the back of the bar. “The rules are that we each tell how we met our men here in Spirit. Ellie and I haven’t taken our turns yet.”
“Well, if that means we get to have another round of drinks or six, who am I to complain?” Lana waved her empty glass at the harassed server struggling to keep up with demand. The whole place seemed to have gotten into the holiday spirit already, and there was still a week to go.
“Waste of time,” Hannah said smugly. “Telling more stories, that is, not ordering more wine. I’m definitely the winner.”
“Don’t bet the farm on it,” Ellie said.
“Hey, our resident Brit is starting to talk like an American,” Casey said, raising her glass in salute.
“Why? What did I say?”
“You’re sounding more and more like us, babe, that’s all.”
“Thank you. I think.”
The others laughed good-naturedly. Then the conversation drifted back to their respective men, just like it always seemed to during their get-togethers. Except this time Casey had brought along a basket of tricks from her sex shop. She was offering it as a prize to the lady who told the best story about how she’d met her men here in Spirit, Colorado, and ended up in a permanent ménage with them. The competition had certainly livened up their gathering, no question about that.
Ellie sat back, allowing the banter to wash over her. She loved these ladies like sisters, and yet eight short months ago she hadn’t known any of them. Spirit was aptly named in her opinion. Something otherworldly had to account for the fact that all five of them lived in the small town and had formed permanent, loving relationships with multiple men. What’s more, they weren’t afraid for people to know it. Where else was that likely to happen?
Selena plonked a fresh glass of wine in front of her. “Come on, Ellie. Your turn. For you to stand a prayer of winning, we need to know all the intimate details of your relationship with Josh and Rex.”
“What, all of them?” Ellie’s reticence was entirely feigned. “I’m an uptight Brit, as you keep reminding me. I can’t possibly tell all.”
“No you’re not, you’re an honorary Yank,” Lana said.
“Depends if you want to get your hands on these little babies,” Casey teased, brandishing a shocking pink vibrator, not seeming to care that hal
f the people in the bar were now staring at it, and her.
“Well, in that case.” Ellie took a large swig of wine. “I took a temporary job, working at Silver Lodge to help Josh and Rex plan their gala opening. Then I discovered that Josh was the guy who broke my best friend’s heart…”
Chapter One
“Right, I can do this.” Ellie spoke with enough determination to squash the persistent doubts playing through her head as efficiently as the windshield wipers cleared the drizzly sleet from her screen. “I absolute can! How hard can it be?”
She slowed to the speed limit as she arrived in Spirit and pulled her car into a vacant slot on the main street. The tires crushed over compacted snow as she killed the engine and peered through the side window with a combination of anxiety and interest. This small town would be her home for the next few months, and she’d made that commitment without setting foot in the place first.
Fortunately, she liked what she saw. Still blanketed in snow, the Colorado ski town at the end of the season looked picture-postcard attractive. In the distance she saw a line of tourists making use of the lifts to whisk them up the slopes, just so they could come hurtling down again on spindly planks of wood. She didn’t get the point herself. Still, it took all sorts.
Ellie stepped out of the car and glanced up at the majestic mountains. The sleet stopped as abruptly as it had started and the slopes now sparkled like multifaceted diamonds as sun reflected off their snowy peaks. She breathed deeply, filling her lungs with fresh mountain air so crisp that it made her gasp. March in the Rockies, she was fast discovering, was still cold enough to make her shiver inside her thick sheepskin jacket. There was a hint of spring in the air as winter debated whether to cede its frosty grip on the elements. The notion filled Ellie with optimism. She loved spring. In spite of all the arrows life had fired at her recently, she still felt sanguine about fresh beginnings and was determined to remain upbeat about her new career path.
That’s what she was doing in Spirit. Making a new start by putting all the shit she’d tolerated for so long behind her. She’d arrived early, quite deliberately. She wasn’t due to report to her temporary employers for another hour but needed time to check out the town first and get a feel for the place. She glanced across the street and noticed the Harmony Café. Its steamed-up windows and steady stream of customers gave it a homely, welcoming appearance, and Ellie made a beeline for the door.
Midmorning and the place was jam packed. Ellie grabbed a latte from the pleasant lady behind the counter, who seemed to take the rush of customers in her stride, and looked for a place to sit. All the tables were taken.
“Join me,” said a pleasant-looking, petite woman of about Ellie’s own age. “I could use the company.”
“Thanks.” Ellie slid into the seat opposite the woman. “Hi, I’m Ellie Kirkwood, new to Spirit.”
“Oh, you must be the new promotions lady at Silver Lodge.” Ellie quirked a brow, causing her as-yet-unnamed companion to smile. “It’s a small town,” she said, offering Ellie her hand. “I’m Casey Charles, owner of Miss Melanie’s Spirit Emporium.” She waved a hand toward the steamy window, and Ellie could dimly make out a store across the street that appeared to be undergoing extensive renovation.
“I’m impressed by your enterprise.”
“Don’t be. I inherited the place and am having it done up so I can sell it.”
“But, you’re not sure you want to.”
“Not much gets past you,” Casey said, her grin widening.
Ellie shrugged. “I’m a people person. It’s what I get paid to do, reading their expressions and stuff like that.”
“Yes, well, Spirit kinda gets under your skin. I haven’t been here that long myself, but I already know a bunch of people who were just passing through and never got round to leaving. I sort of understand why.”
“What do you sell at the Emporium?”
“Sex toys,” Casey said with another broad smile that fired her cornflower-blue eyes with devilment.
Ellie couldn’t help grinning right back. “Then you ought to do well. Sex never goes out of style.” Unless, like me, you’ve given it up.
“That’s what I’m planning on.” Casey took a sip of her coffee. “So, what made you decide to come here?”
Ellie took a moment to choose her words with care. “I worked for a large corporation in Denver but got tired of all the office politics and backstabbing.” Well, that part was certainly true. “So I quit and set up on my own as a freelance promotions guru.”
“That must have taken courage.”
“No more than setting up a sex store in the middle of an established town, doubtless shocking some of its more staid residents in the process.”
“I didn’t set it up, my aunt did. I used to come here a lot as a kid, but I had no idea what she was into.” Casey’s smile was tinged with sadness. “I wish she’d have told me. Anyway, it seems to do well.”
“Which is presumably why you’re no longer sure about selling.”
“Hmm, possibly. But enough about me. Tell me how you ended up here.”
“It’s no big deal. I sent my résumé to a few agencies, and they offered me this gig.” Ellie stared through the steamy window. “I figured a small town was as good a place as any to start my self-employment, so…” She spread her hands in an expansive gesture. “Here I am. Besides, beggars can’t be choosers.” She grimaced. “Truth to tell, I didn’t actually have a ton of other offers to consider.”
“Is that a British accent I detect?”
“Guilty as charged. My parents are British, but we moved to the States with my dad’s job when I was still a teenager.”
“So where do you call home?”
Ellie shrugged. “I guess deep down I’ll always be a Brit. I go back to England quite a lot, but I’ve been here now for as long as I lived there, so I’m into the American way of life, too.”
“Well, something tells me you’ll fit right in to things here in Spirit. Providing the guys make a success of Silver Lodge, of course, which I’m sure they will.”
“You don’t sound too certain about that.” Ellie frowned. “Any reason why they shouldn’t?”
Casey looked surprised. “You mean you don’t know?”
Ellie shook her head, all the doubts she thought she’d quelled re-emerging. “Don’t know what?”
“What did they tell you about the venture?”
“Er, I haven’t actually met them,” Ellie admitted.
“What, you took the job without even knowing who you’d be working for or if you’d get along with them?” Casey’s expression was disbelieving. “Was that sensible?”
“I don’t do sensible. Besides, I get along with most people.” Ellie wasn’t ready yet to tell her new friend the complete truth. “I enjoy taking risks.”
Casey rolled her eyes. “Just as well. I mean, there’re already a lot of decent hotels in and around Spirit. Is there room for another, especially at the prices they intend to charge?”
“I sure as hell hope so,” Ellie said with feeling. “I’ll only be here for a few months, but if I can make a success of it, I’ll have something definitive on my résumé to show the world that I can hack it alone.” She shrugged. “How hard can it be to get a few names and influential journalists to attend an all-expenses-paid gala dinner?”
Casey looked decidedly uncertain. “Well, I guess you know your business.”
Ellie leaned across the table. “What is it that you’re not telling me?”
“Oh, nothing specific.” Casey flapped a hand. “Just rumors. You know how people gossip, especially in small towns.” Yes, I sure do. “It seems that the owners of Silver Lodge were brought up here and decided to return to their roots. If even half of what I hear is true, the two of them are putting in just about everything they have to turn the Lodge into an upmarket boutique hotel.”
“Why take that sort of risk?”
“That’s literally multimillion-dollar question.”
/>
Ellie probably looked as shocked as she felt. “They’re putting in millions?”
“So I hear.” Casey fiddled with an unopened packet of sugar. “Opinions vary, but it’s generally held that one of the guys was considered a loser, son of the town drunk, and took a lot of flack because of it.”
“That must have hurt. It wasn’t the kid’s fault if his father was a bum. Still, children can be pretty mean.”
“Quite. It makes me mad just to think of it. I had a tough time as a kid myself, so I can empathize. Anyway, I guess the guy now has a point to make, a few scores to settle, and I’m right behind him on that. I can’t abide bullies.”
“Well, if that’s true and he’s made enough money to buy the Lodge, I guess he can afford to exact revenge any which way he pleases.”
Casey shrugged. “Seems a bit extreme though, don’t you think?”
“The woman at the agency who recommended the job to me told me the Lodge had been bought by a consortium.” Ellie felt increasingly uneasy. She’d been so desperate to find employment of any sort after so impulsively quitting her comfortable, well-paid job that it was now obvious she hadn’t asked the right questions. “That’s why I didn’t realize there were owners to actually meet.”
“Well then, you have a treat in store.”
“Tell me about them.”
A tall, good-looking guy tapped on the window. Casey glanced up, and when she saw him her whole face lit up. She tucked wayward strands of dark hair behind her ears, waved to the man, and gestured that she’d be right with him. Then she turned back to Ellie, an enigmatic smile playing about her lips as she gathered up her bag and gulped down the last of her coffee.