Snowed In With The Stuntmen

by Riley Love

  I should’ve packed more sex toys. Maybe you won’t need them…

  Snow had already started to fall. The resort lit up the night, casting a golden glow over the grounds. Pine trees were tipped with white. And it was so quiet, like we were the only five people in the world.

  “Have you looked over the scene lately?” Drew asked.

  “I get taken from an inauguration party. And I’m not happy about it.” That was definitely fiction. “And I struggle to get away from you guys, and you don’t want to let me go because you think I have some top-secret information that could help your boss.”

  Garrett nodded. “That’s it. Don’t worry about your lines too much. Tonight, we’re working on the choreography.”

  “You make it sound like we’re going to tap dance.” I laughed. Not exactly what my body had in mind.

  Harvey huffed, his crossed-armed stance saying everything he didn’t. There would be nothing delicate about what was about to go down.

  “You’d have to teach us.” Drew’s hand on my back seared my skin through my thin top. My plan had been to enjoy the winter wonderland from the great indoors. “If I remember correctly, you make a break for it when we get off the plane in France. You fight us, even though you have no idea where you are, and finally realize you have nowhere else to go and you’re safest staying with us.”

  I nodded. My captors would dominate me, and I’d reluctantly surrender until I formulated my plan to escape. My heart pounded, and not necessarily because I was getting into character.

  “How do you usually do this?” I almost asked to go back inside. There had to be a function room at the resort they’d let us use. The production company had rented out the entire resort. Since I was the one who thought I was tough enough to do my own stunts, it was time to prove it.

  Ethan’s breaths rose off his body like steam. Nothing came out of me. I could hardly breathe.

  “Pretend you just got off the plane.” The cold made his voice sound rougher, like he belonged out here. “And you make a run for it. Do whatever feels natural for your character.”

  The stage direction from the script jumbled in my brain, but it all boiled down to me being some helpless damsel in distress. Ugh. It was half the reason I wanted to do my own stunts. I’d give these guys everything I had, even if I knew I’d lose.

  “I bet the director will have something to say about that.” Like she did about the rest of my performance.

  “I’m the stunt coordinator,” Ethan said. “She consults me on any scene that involves my team. Viewers need to find the fight realistic so they can root for you, and we need to make sure you stay safe.”

  “How will you do that?” I rubbed my arms, trying to keep myself warm.

  Ethan’s gaze followed the motion, giving me more warmth than my hands ever could. “When we actually shoot the scene, we’ll have bounce pads on the ground. If you fall, we’ll catch you. It’s our job to protect you and make sure you don’t get hurt.”

  “So if I do something stupid, you’ll let me know instead of letting the entire crew laugh at me the day we film it?”

  “If you look good, we look good,” Drew said. “We’ll teach you everything we know.”

  I nodded. “Do you always work together?”

  They had to trust each other implicitly for some of the more intricate and dangerous stunts to work. The consequences were too dire for anything less than total confidence in their team.

  “Not always.” Garrett put his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder. He looked even tanner against the snow, like sunshine emitted from his body, even in the dead of night. “Stunt work is a brotherhood. You’ve got to be a crazy motherfucker to do some of this shit. Can’t have any fear. We need to be open to everything.”

  “Everything?” I quirked a brow, trying to make a joke. But those two glasses of wine over dinner acted as my representative, making me far bolder than I’d be sober. Sadly, the wine was giving me better rep than my agent lately too.

  Drew tipped my chin up to him. He stood so close to Garrett, like they were one. Everything in their atmosphere threatened to melt. “Everything you want to know.”

  “Okay.” It was getting harder to breathe. “When do we begin?”

  “Now.” Garrett grabbed me, holding me tightly against his chest.

  My heart slammed into my ribcage. What the fuck? I was lucky I had no idea what being abducted felt like in real life. It was scary as shit, even more so after the guys had declared they’d keep me safe. I’d let my guard down, and I couldn’t do that. Ever. I kicked him, my feet not even on the ground. But it was enough to catch him off guard. I wriggled free and made a break for it down the path and behind the hotel.

  My first official act was to bounce out of my bra. I wasn’t dressed for this. If I’d known I was going to be faking a fight scene, I would’ve worn my gym clothes. My boots were glorified slippers, and I was sliding on the walkway. The fresh flakes made everything slippery. I was better off going into the deeper snow.

  All four guys were after me. Turning around to see where they were would only slow me down. They had every advantage over me—they were built for this, all muscle and ambition. Me? I was soft and spoiled.

  The tackle came from behind. Hands on my stomach, covering my breasts, cradling me against a warm, hard body as we went down into the snow. I landed on top of Ethan, my captor. His grip remained firm as I struggled to get free. I straddled him, and my legs slid over his hips. My gaze met his as my inner thigh bumped against his erection.

  He offered absolutely no apologies.

  The more I struggled, the more I was out of this bra, and the harder Ethan’s shaft got. We were practically dry humping in the snow. He lunged up, rolling over so he was on top of me, but he held his body up as a tease. It was the opportunity I needed, and I pushed him away enough to break free.

  I ran before I was fully upright, using the snow for leverage. I acted on instinct, and all plans went out the window. My wet clothes clung to me, but I no longer felt the cold. My body pulsed all over as adrenaline, fear, and too much desire for my own good ran through my veins.

  Harvey was in front of me, anticipating my every move. The other guys were behind me. I didn’t even have to look. I could feel them. I turned to run, but Harvey got me. We stayed upright, his hands steady on my shoulders and hips as I struggled to get away from him.

  I was giving it everything I had, and I could barely budge this guy.

  Still, he said nothing. A few grunts emitted from his lips, his breath hot against my neck.

  I’d swear he let me go. My freedom caught me totally off guard, and I was on my hands and knees, my captors circling me. My breath echoed, like they formed the valley, not the mountains and trees. They became my universe.

  Drew dropped to his knees in front of me grinning. “Ready to surrender, Albany?”

  I wasn’t sure if he was in character or not. “Never.”

  “Okay.” He had my arms pinned behind my back before I had a chance to get away. My wet shirt rode up my stomach, exposing the bare skin to the winter night, but I was on fire. He jerked on my arms, pulling me closer, the shirt further up. Another couple inches and my nipples would be exposed.

  “Fuck. We didn’t give her a panic button.” Ethan crouched down in front of me.

  “I would’ve dropped it in the snow already.” I struggled to break free. Drew slipped a hand onto my bare stomach.

  The guys laughed.

  “That’s not what he meant.” Drew’s breath was hot against my ear. “It’s like a safe word. You might have to say no or stop in the script, but we usually give actresses a word that she’d never say otherwise so we know that you want us to stop.”

  I swallowed hard. “Pumpkin pie.”

  “That’s your word?” Ethan asked softly, and I nodded. Drew let me go, and I caught myself by my hands. “Why’d you pick that?”

  “Because I hate it.” I wrinkled my nose. I hated pumpkin pie so much I could tast
e it at the mere mention. I gagged every time. “But that didn’t mean you had to stop now.”

  “You were going into panic mode,” Drew said. He was beside me now, and he ran his finger under my eye. It came away glistening. I hadn’t been scared, because I knew it was fake. Or so I thought. My breathing was labored, and energy danced along the surface of my skin. “We might have gone too hard on you the first time.”

  “I want you to go hard.” Did I actually say that out loud? “I’m a full-on stuntwoman. Don’t treat me special because I’m the main actress. Is there any other training I can do so I can get better at this?”

  Because they’d let me win.

  The guys looked at each other.

  “You really want to be one of us?” Ethan asked.

  “Yes.”

  He stood, offering me a hand to help me up. The other guys got to their feet. He didn’t let my hand go when I stood up, adjusting my shirt so it wasn’t up to my ribcage and not clinging to my boobs. He pulled me in closer, his grip tightening. I only came up to his nose. “There’s something else we can show you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Let’s go back inside.” Ethan was so close, and I wanted him to kiss me. In front of his guys, in the snow. But he didn’t. “You’re done running tonight.”

  Chapter Three

  We didn’t go back to the restaurant. Some of the crew had come back to the resort as the day wound down, and many of them congregated in the bar. With the next few days off, they’d be guaranteed to celebrate. But I had a feeling that wasn’t why Ethan led me back to his suite.

  My heart pounded as the door clicked closed behind me. I was alone in a hotel room with four attractive men I barely knew. Men that I’d wrestled with outside in the snow. Did anyone else see us? I’d seen them practicing fights many times from my room—and I wouldn’t admit how long I’d stood in the window watching them. That was between me and my fantasies.

  The tension had been as thick as their biceps ever since I joined them at their table for dinner. My stunt team fantasies had been my forbidden escape from day-to-day reality of working with my ex and having such a messy public breakup. These were the kind of guys I should’ve gone for all along. The ones who were damn good at their jobs for the satisfaction of doing it well and the love of moviemaking. Not because they wanted to be the subject of the gossip sites.

  It was possible it was me who was reading too much into everything, with my raging hormones. The double entendres and the handsyness were part of their job.

  Garrett sat at the table, leaning forward and grinning. Yup, he brought the sunshine with him everywhere he went. “What did you think about your first stunt session?”

  “It was intense.” I slipped into the chair next to him and pulled my shirt away from my body. It kept clinging. I wasn’t super modest, but I had to look ridiculous with my boobs awkwardly sticking out of my bra cups. I needed to excuse myself and fix it.

  “You were great, rolling with the punches, and you weren’t afraid to fight. The scene needs to be intense.” Ethan sat on the other side of me, the devil to Garrett’s angel. “And you trusted us to keep you safe. That’s the most important thing. Trust.”

  “Okay,” I hedged. He’d said there was more. “What else I can do? You all keep talking about trust and safety, and I feel like I’ll do something stupid and get someone hurt.”

  I’d swear these guys shared a brain. They exchanged another look, and it was like they were having a silent conversation that everyone but me could hear. I wanted to be on that wavelength. I wanted to belong.

  “We have a confession to make.” Drew was directly across from me. When he flushed, it covered his head, which was kind of adorable. He’d legit been a warrior, and I thought he was cute. There was no telling what horrors he’d seen. What those hands were capable of.

  “Enough with the dramatic pause.” I tried to adjust the bra and only succeeded in drawing attention to the situation. “Tell me what it is.”

  “Okay.” He gulped. I made the warrior nervous. “We can’t stop thinking about you.”

  What?

  “What does that mean?” I’d had plenty of guys adorably stumble over telling me about their feelings, but this was my first experience with a plural pronoun. It was still entirely possible I was reading this all wrong. But from the way Drew’s gaze hadn’t left mine, it seemed rude to survey the table to see what the rest of we was thinking. I could feel their gazes on me.

  “We busted Harvey’s balls because he had a crush on you.” Garrett’s voice was low. Harvey? Really? But he didn’t talk. “The more we gave him shit, the more we realized we all felt the same way. So we started making up stories about what we’d do if we got the chance. And we kept trying to top each other, which one of us would fuck you best.”

  I couldn’t speak. All this time, I’d been sitting in my lonely suite identical to this one, having the very same thoughts. It was overwhelming to realize that not one but four men had been fantasizing about me. I wouldn’t be able to catch my breath for the rest of the movie.

  “Did Garrett make things weird?” Ethan asked, whacking Garrett in the back of the head. “Because if he did, we can pretend we don’t want to fuck you.”

  There were two ways I could handle this situation—walk out of the room in a huff like I thought the idea was disgusting. Or I could stay and find out what this all meant.

  Problem was, I didn’t think it was a horrible idea. One sinful night could be what I needed to get through this movie. These guys took risks on a daily basis, and I’d said I wanted to be one of them.

  “No, he didn’t make things weird.” The words shook as I spoke. “Tell me some of these stories.”

  No turning back now…

  “We could do that.” Ethan stood and circled the table so he stood behind me. His hands landed on my shoulders, and my body tensed under his touch. He let go immediately. “Or we could show you.”

  I pushed my chair back and stood. Too much nervous energy to sit there. And now that it was out there, all those idle hands needed something to do. They’d vowed to keep me safe in the scene, but now we were playing by a new set of rules. And I fixed the bra. Now that the big secret was out of the bag, there was no way they didn’t know it was fucked up.

  “I think we should start with the stories first,” I said.

  Drew got up and leaned against the table. “We’re a pretty competitive bunch. We all want to be the best. We compare notes about what we’d do with you if we were lucky enough to have one night.”

  “All at once?” There was a chair in the corner, and I sat in it. My legs were jelly.

  Ethan’s face lit up. “If you’re into that sort of thing. But that wasn’t the competition. We’d all have you on our own, and then you’d tell us which one was best.”

  “Like a World Series of sex.” I did like sports. Usually I liked sitting on the sidelines and cheering with a beer in my hand.

  Now it was time to play.

  “You could say that.” Ethan chuckled. “And with production down until Monday, now is the perfect time to try it.”

  I nodded.

  Drew came over and kneeled on the floor in front of me. Hmm, didn’t peg him as the kneeling type. There was nothing submissive about his posture. It was more to be eye to eye with me. “We know it’s a crazy proposition. We wouldn’t do anything reckless, Albany. Your secret is safe with us. You call the shots. Pick a safe word, and if at any time you decide you’ve had enough, then it’s over.”

  “We’re putting our jobs on the line by even proposing this.” Garrett joined Drew at my feet. “You could go to production and get our asses fired right now. I don’t know about these guys, but I need my job. I’m telling you this so you know that I don’t kiss and tell and neither does anyone else on the team.”

  I wondered how he knew that. If they picked an actress on every movie they worked on for a long, drawn-out gangbang. “Do you guys do this sort of thing a lot?”
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  “No,” Ethan said quickly. “We’re professionals, Albany. Not predators. You…captured our imagination.”

  I’d felt like a failure—an unattractive, unsexy, boring failure—every morning as I watched Kyle with Tiffany, his personal makeup artist, in the trailer. When she wasn’t on a movie, she painted. Her work was in art galleries, and she travelled to cool places like Cambodia for vacation. I went to charity events in Vegas, which were thinly veiled attempts to further my career. I wasn’t jealous of Tiffany for having Kyle. I was jealous of Kyle for having Tiffany. She was living her best life, and I was treading water.

  “I have a confession to make too.” I could be playing my cards too early. “I’ve been fantasizing about you guys since the movie started.”

  “Oh yeah? You gonna tell us about that?” Garrett reached out and ran his hand along my shin.

  “In private,” I whispered. I had to relax instead of rejecting the electric current that wanted to run through my veins every time one of these men touched me. “Because it’s something different for each of you.”

  We’d already put so much on the line, confessing this raw, dangerous desire for one another. There was no way they’d told each other their deepest, darkest wishes for that time with me. And they were friends.

  What the hell was I thinking? I didn’t know these guys. I wasn’t even a give it up on the first date kind of girl. I let fear stand in the way. Some people thought that was funny because I had no problem putting it all on the line as an actress.

  But that wasn’t me. That was a role, a persona I stepped into. With my stunt men, I’d be stripping down naked and trusting them with my body and my soul.

  “So you’re in?” Ethan ran his hand through his dark hair. I couldn’t tell if he was my age, thirty-two, or older. Definitely not younger. He had a hardness to him that only experience could bring, but he wasn’t jaded. He wanted this. He wanted me.