Shame of Thrones

by Jenny Gardiner

  “Well, you’re in luck,” Clem said. “It’s nearing eleven. And I won’t force you to stay awake on my behalf.”

  “What are you gonna do?” Pippa said as she got up and aimed the remote to turn off the television. “I feel bad leaving you on your own.”

  “Pips. I’m in this gorgeous home, I know the bed has like a bazillion thread count comforter that is like sleeping on a fluffy cloud, and I will be perfectly happy sinking into goose down until I nearly drown in it. I’ve got some great books to read and I’ll just drift off to sleep when I’m ready. It’s all good. No schedule, no worries,” Clem said. “Now let’s get you off to sleep.”

  Clem took one long, admiring look at the fifteen-foot-tall Christmas tree that stood as the centerpiece of the large open living room. It was so beautiful, she couldn’t help but sigh at its majesty. The house had been decorated in spades for the holidays, with pine roping on the stair railings and garland across the fireplace mantle and knickknacks and holiday decorations everywhere. It felt like a perfect holiday snow globe.

  Finally they shut off the lights, climbed the steps, and bade each other goodnight at their respective bedroom doors.

  “Don’t wake me if I’m sleeping in the morning,” Clem said, who surprised herself with a wide yawn. “I feel a perfect lie-in coming on.”

  “That makes two of us. I promise I’ll be quiet as a church mouse, and please, whatever you do, don’t wake me either.”

  ~*~

  Topher pulled into the long driveway of the ski getaway shortly after midnight. They’d stopped at a nearby ski lodge for a bite to eat and a drink before arriving at the cabin.

  Sebastian sized the place up as they parked behind the house, the front of which opened onto the nearby ski slopes.

  “Not too shabby,” he said, admiring the two-story mostly glass-enclosed home that boasted spectacular views from pretty much everywhere.

  “Let’s try to be quiet once we enter the place,” he said.

  “So we don’t wake up the furniture?”

  “No, no, the housekeeper’s probably sleeping. It would be rude to make a lot of noise and scare her at this hour.”

  Sebastian furrowed his brow. “Housekeeper at a ski retreat? Here’s hoping she’ll be at the ready to warm us up when we come in from the slopes tomorrow.”

  “No doubt,” Topher said, pressing the passcode into the door and finally opening it. “I’m sure she’ll be all about warming you up.”

  “I’m going to hold off on turning on any lights,” Topher said. “I’m ready to call it a night anyhow. We’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

  “Sheesh. All it takes is a baby on the way and you’re acting like an old man.”

  “Says you who didn’t drive for the past three hours. Now, let me show you your room and I’ll come get you in the morning when I’m up and going.”

  Sebastian shrugged and followed him, figuring he might as well settle into his room where he could put lights on rather than sit in the dark in the main part of the house. A two-story atrium in the dark didn’t sound like much fun to hang out in.

  ~*~

  Clementine slept like a baby, nestled as she was in her mountain of feathers. As an added bonus, there was a fireplace in her room, which kept things even toastier until the fire died out at some point in the middle of the night. She must have passed out the minute her head hit the pillow, because the last thing she remembered was turning her light off shortly after she’d snuggled beneath the covers.

  She knew Pippa wasn’t going to come knocking on her door to wake her, so she decided to slip downstairs and get some coffee going before showering and getting ready for the day. With any luck, Pippa was already up and on that and maybe even had some breakfast ready to serve. Clem was starving.

  When she walked down the hall to the top of the open staircase, she gasped at the beauty before her. Overnight a heavy snow had blanketed the mountains and the view from the house was absolutely breathtaking. The wall of windows revealed an unobstructed mountain landscape that had blossomed into a winter wonderland. It would be near impossible not to feel a little holiday spirit with the Alps festively adorned in white. And of course, that gorgeous Christmas tree. Clem’s heart finally started to feel a little joyful.

  Still in her pajamas, she skittered down the stairs, excited for the day. Even if she didn’t ever make it to the slopes, that was fine. Just relaxing in this gorgeous home with a fire in the fireplace surrounded by that beautiful snow would be perfect.

  In the spacious kitchen, she went straight to the Nespresso machine. She’d forgotten she could whip up a cappuccino at Pippa’s place. She rifled through the fridge in search of milk and gave Pippa props for making sure the place was stocked with beef tenderloin, several bottles of good French champagne, even some yummy-looking dessert pastries she had a half mind to eat right now for breakfast.

  She found the milk and poured it into the canister for the machine and within a minute had a steaming hot drink at the ready. She almost forgot to clean the steam reservoir and even hesitated once she remembered, since those things were notoriously loud. Oh well, hope it doesn’t wake Pippa.

  She knew her friend slept like a bear in hibernation under normal circumstances, so figured it wouldn’t be an issue. Besides, why would it matter? They had the weekend, free and clear, and could nap and laze around to their heart’s content, and no one would bother them.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Where in the hell is all that racket coming from? Sebastian wondered as he sat up in bed in his darkened room. He’d been in a deep, deep sleep, only to be awakened by a loud, gurgling noise coming from downstairs that echoed all the way up to his cave of a bedroom.

  With great reluctance he got out of bed, threw on a pair of boxers, and half staggered down the hallway to yell at whoever was disrupting his peace. But he couldn’t see anyone downstairs. He trudged down the steps, then took a minute to admire the snowfall that occurred since they’d arrived last night. Over a foot of the white stuff had accumulated overnight: much more than predicted, and it would be a while before the roads were even passable. Good thing they were in a ski-in ski-out location.

  The sight of all that snow energized him to really wake up and get a move on so that they could get out and enjoy this virgin snow before the mobs got to it. Not that it would be that crowded this early in the season and before people arrived en masse for the Christmas holiday. For now, it would be mostly locals and those wise enough to have planned to get up here before the snow fell who would be able to indulge in this first big snowfall.

  He walked past the living room and into the butler’s pantry, then pushed the door to the kitchen open.

  “Hey, Toph-—what is up with the blasting noise, man?” Sebastian said, rubbing his belly and looking down, only to notice the usual morning wood announcing its presence. He looked around to see where the nearest bathroom was so he could take care of that, and then he saw her.

  “You?” he said, pointing at Clementine, who was looking insanely hot in a pair of really short boy shorts and a thin cami top that let him know she was either really cold or instantly happy to see him.

  “Sebastian?”

  Clementine set her cappuccino down on the granite island, wrinkled her brow, and just stared, her gaze rapidly working its way downward to where that thing stood at attention.

  Sebastian scrubbed his hands over his face.

  “Did I wake up in the wrong house or something?” he said, looking around, completely confused. “Where’s Topher?”

  “What do you mean ‘where’s Topher’?” she said. “Where’s Pippa?”

  “Why would Pippa be here?”

  “Um, how about since it’s her place?”

  Sebastian turned around, looking at the house.

  “Damn,” he said. “This is Pippa’s place?”

  Clem nodded. “And you’re here because?”

  “I’m here with Toph. We got in late last night. We’re taking a l
ong weekend and we’re going skiing. In the snow.” He pointed out the window to the obvious.

  “What the hell? I’m here with Pippa. And we’re taking a long weekend. At her place. And there was no mention of additional houseguests. By the way,” she said, pointing downward toward his obvious state of, um, enlargement, “you might want to go pee. Bathroom’s there.” She aimed her thumb toward the powder room behind her.

  “Fine,” he said. “Then we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  ~*~

  Minutes later Sebastian returned to the kitchen.

  “You call for Pippa to find out what’s going on?”

  “She wanted to sleep in, so I didn’t want to wake her.”

  “Something’s going on and I want to know what,” he said. “And it’s plenty late enough to even wake a sleeping pregnant woman to figure it out.”

  Reluctantly, Clementine called upstairs for Pippa but got no response, while Sebastian looked out back to see if the car was still where they left it in the driveway when they arrived last night. Finally she went upstairs and opened the door to Pip’s room, only to find a bed that hadn’t even been slept in, with an envelope on top of it.

  “Sonofabitch,” she heard Sebastian shout from downstairs.

  Clementine grabbed the envelope and opened it.

  “Hey Clem!” she started to read aloud just as Sebastian entered the room. He, too, was holding an envelope.

  “Guess you’re more than a little surprised right now to realize that I’m not here,” Clem read.

  “Uh, ya think?” she muttered.

  “So, Topher and I were talking about how we owed everything to you for having gotten us back together. And then when that happened (even though it didn’t last at the time) that’s when you and Sebastian hit it off so well. And then, well, you know the drill. The two of you have just been on and off each other at all the wrong times and we thought it was time to maybe help usher things along a little, give you two a chance to reacquaint yourselves with each other in a romantic setting. Where neither one of you could run away, either.” Clementine rolled her eyes as she continued reading. “Don’t hate me, Clem! It’s for your own good! I think you’ll thank me one day! In the meantime, make yourselves at home...everything is at your disposal. The kitchen is stocked for meals, and be sure to check the nightstand drawers, because, well, you know. You don’t want to end up like me! See you Sunday! XOXO, Pips”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Clementine said, her voice loud and irate. “What do you have there?” She pointed at the thing in his hand.

  Sebastian was holding up the other envelope.

  “I glanced out the window and noticed Toph’s car was missing,” he said. “So I ran downstairs to the door we came in through last night and found this taped to it.”

  He tore open the envelope and scanned the sheet of paper with just one word written on it.

  “Gotcha!” Sebastian read aloud.

  “Gotcha?” he repeated. “What the hell?”

  “A man of few words,” Clem said. “But one with scheming in his heart, clearly. I’m not sure which one of them I will kill first as soon as I get back to Monaforte—Topher or that pregnant chick who used to be my best friend. But first we need to find Pippa’s keys.”

  She started to look around the room, pulling open the dresser drawer to figure out where she’d have put them.

  “Maybe she left them on the table when we came in last night.”

  Sebastian shook his head.

  “In case you haven’t noticed,” he said, “We’ve been set up. If Pippa parked in the garage, then her car is gone. I already checked. I’m pretty sure they didn’t want to give us a chance to bail as soon as we learned of their scheme.”

  “So what are we supposed to do?” Clem said, her voice getting a little high and near shriek-ish.

  Sebastian gave Clementine a long, slow, assessing look.

  “I can think of a couple of things I’d be more than willing to do.”

  Chapter Forty

  It was as if someone had set Clementine’s very mood on fire, she was that pissed off at her friends for having set her up like this.

  But when Sebastian looked at her like that wolf left alone in granny’s bedroom with Little Red Riding Hood, well, she was both pissed off and turned on. It was already hard enough to take her eyes off of his gorgeous chest, still all suntanned and smooth and exceedingly touchable. Damn. But for him to just, well, be all hot and nearly naked and did she mention hot? Plus, there was that rather large banana in his boxers—well, that wasn’t playing fair. Temptation had sent her an engraved invitation to come out and play, and man, it was tempting. But wasn’t temptation the root of all evil? Or was it the mother of invention? Whatever it was, temptation was going to have no role in her behavior. She knew better than to go down that path.

  “Well, this isn’t quite the relaxing girls’ weekend I had planned,” she said. “I’m just going to call one of my brothers to come get me.”

  “First off, if you mean that knuckle-dragging ape-man Eduoardo, you might want to reconsider that,” Sebastian said. “He’ll probably want to put me in cement boots just for having been here, even though I had nothing to do with this.

  “But second, if you look out there,” he said, pointing out the window, “no car is going to get up here in the next day or two until roads are cleared. The forecast wasn’t for this much snow, so I’m sure they weren’t prepared to plow those treacherous mountain roads so early in the season. I’m afraid, my dear, like it or not, we’re stuck here together.”

  He sized her up and down and crossed his arms across that manly chest of his. “Might as well make the most of it.”

  ~*~

  Well, crap. She could think of all sorts of ways to make the most of that. But that was so not on her agenda. Been there, done, er, um, that. And it was pretty damn well worth the price of admission.

  But she felt like she’d seen this show before and the ending would never be the way she’d want it to be, so she just wasn’t going there. Even if his chest looked cah-razy amazing. Even if he didn’t quite get rid of that alluring morning hard-on he was sporting. Or maybe this was a new one. A trapped-in-a-cabin-with-someone-of-the-opposite-sex-with-a-pulse boner. Because that’s how it would be with any guy who was stuck somewhere with a female. He’d make do. So she would just have to remind herself that it wasn’t a good idea to follow this to its obvious conclusion, because eventually she’d end up right back where she was, which put her at a vacation getaway to escape her doldrums, only now with the doldrum-causer right next to her.

  But then again, if that, too, got her out of her funk, well, then, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. After all, it could be viewed as a medicine of sorts. Yes, sort of a sex-with-hot-guy-you’ve-already-tried-on-for-size as mood-altering drug. There was something to be said for that. Perhaps it was even less addicting than pills.

  Nah. Who was she fooling? It would be way more habit-forming. And that was the problem. She just didn’t want to get herself hooked on someone who wasn’t hook-able. Well, not that she was looking to latch onto anyone, but she certainly wasn’t interested in someone as non-stick as Teflon, and that certainly described Sebastian. And she knew she was talking herself in circles on this whole thing. But that, of course, was a woman’s prerogative.

  She finally shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned to Sebastian, bracing her hands on the dresser as she leaned forward to talk to him.

  “Well, if we’re gonna be stuck together, at least we’d better have something to eat.”

  ~*~

  Damn straight, Sebastian thought. Something to eat is precisely what I was about to suggest. Starting with you, on top of that kitchen counter.

  “I’m not sure what all Pippa asked the maid to stock in the fridge,” Clem said, “but knowing her, the fridge is full of aphrodisiacs and her plan for breakfast was oysters and whipped cream.”

  And that’s a bad thing?

>   Sebastian could tell he was going to have to tread lightly with this one. She was one skittish kitty and he’d have to figure out how best to stroke her in order to be able to ultimately really get a chance to stroke her. Where it counted.

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” he said. “I’m at your service.”

  Clem sort of glared at him.

  “Really?” she said. “You’re not going to protest this or push your naked self on me or anything?”

  Sebastian laughed.

  “I’ve never forced myself on a woman before, and trust me, I’m not about to start now,” he said, rubbing his belly. “I’m just hungry and ready to get out on the slopes. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get fed and skiing.”

  “Okay, then,” Clementine said. “Let’s go see what we can cook up.”

  But Sebastian already knew what he wanted to cook up. Too bad he didn’t have a sous chef for that preparation. He was going to have to come up with this recipe on the fly.

  Chapter Forty-One

  “After scouring the cupboards and fridge, I think I can whip up a poor imitation of huevos rancheros, if you’re up for it,” she said after sorting out that they had a can of black beans, fresh tomatoes and jalapeno peppers, eggs, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and a jar of salsa. “And to Pippa’s credit, there is nothing about these ingredients that are remotely aphrodisiacal. Props for subtlety. Even though I’m still going to have her head on a platter for pulling this maneuver.”

  “Maybe your friend is looking out for you.”

  They were both standing in the kitchen, still in their skimpy sleepwear, as Clementine searched through drawers and cabinets for a skillet, some cutting boards and knives, and a spatula so she could get this breakfast going. Each time she bent over to peer into a cupboard, Sebastian was behind her, checking out that teeny-weeny pajama bottom that kept wanting to creep up into precisely the spot he was after.

  Finally, she handed Sebastian a knife and cutting board.

  “Feel free to put on some more clothes so as not to distract the kitchen help,” she said, breaking out into a grin. “Meantime, you can chop the tomatoes and peppers. And don’t pretend you don’t have kitchen skills; I’ve seen you at work in the galley of your boat so I know you’ve got the cooking chops.”