by Amanda Rose
"What's Blitzen doing here?" Drex asked the two who'd brought me in, running a hand through his wet hair and drawing my focus to his toned bicep.
"Mila," Slade corrected, "is going to stay with us for a couple of nights. That fucktard of a boss of hers fired her and they kicked her out of the staff housing."
"Oh shit, babe that sucks hardcore," Drex exclaimed, crossing the distance between us in a couple of long strides, and wrapping me in an abrupt, wet hug.
Slade finally let my hand go just in time for me to grab onto Drex's slippery back and stop myself from falling over when his weight pushed me a little off-balance.
As mad as I was at him for breaking my camera, it was really hard to stay angry … He was like a freaking Labrador or something. A really sexy, wet, muscled Labrador who was currently pressed against me naked.
"Um, Drex?" I murmured from where my face was squished against his chest.
"Yes, Blitzen?" he replied, his voice reverberating against my cheek.
"Is that your towel on the ground?" From my position, sandwiched against him, I could see a distinctly towel-like object on the ground but nothing else to confirm my suspicion … damn thick winter clothes.
"Drex, seriously bro?" Blaze growled. "Put some fucking pants on!"
"Er, sorry babe," Drex chuckled, releasing me and bending to pick up his fallen towel while I politely averted my gaze.
Okay, I'm lying. I totally checked out his package and holy shit. Was I drooling? Maybe a little. On the inside. Fucking hell, why did they all need to be so damn sexy? And nice! Since when were the Kings of Snow actually nice people who respected women?
"Drex, baby? Are we partying again tonight?" Ah, there it was. A stunning girl wearing nothing but panties and silicon implants walked out of the room Drex had come from. She was towel drying her hair, so no prizes for guessing what they'd just been up to when we arrived.
"Dude," Blaze groaned, and Slade made a pissed off sort of noise.
"Drex, get rid of the bunnies please; we have company." Slade's tone brooked no arguments and his glare was enough to scare the pants off me. Thankfully, it was directed at his teammate.
"Absolutely, S." Drex nodded, an adorable blush staining his cheeks. "Amber, time to go."
"It's Nicole!" the mostly naked girl snarled, and I expected her to grab her shit and storm out but instead she melted into a coy flirty sort of posture. "You don't really want me to leave though, do you Drex, baby? Just the other girls, right? I mean … everyone knows you guys don't share girls so you might still need me here."
Evidently, I wasn't the only one disgusted by her whining voice and total lack of dignity because the scowl that shuttered down over Drex's playful face said it all. She had way overstayed her welcome.
"Grab your shit and go, Amber or Nicole or whatever the fuck your name is. You knew the deal from the beginning, now time's up. Get out and thanks for a good time." Drex shrugged his shoulders loosely, so blasé I almost felt bad for the snow bunny. The dirty look she shot me as she dragged a skimpy dress over her body and stormed out made me feel a tad less sympathetic though.
"What is with all the noise?" Ryder's sleep tousled head popped up from the couch and he frowned at us through half-closed eyes. "Mila-elf? Is that you?"
"Hey Ryder," I replied, giving him a tiny smile. I couldn't help it. He and Slade had seriously saved my ass last night, and it'd gone a really, really long way toward thawing my grudge against them all.
"Hey! Get up! Time to go!" Ryder said as he clapped his hands and two sleepy girls popped up on either side of him, looking confused. "Move it, chickies. Kings only."
"She's not a King," one girl complained, pointing a rude finger at me as she dressed.
"No, she's a Queen. Now, please leave," Ryder said firmly, and the two girls stomped out in a huff.
"Sorry, Mila-elf." He grinned at me. "They know the score when they come up here. Some just push the rules a little more than most, you know?"
"Ah, no. No, I can't say I do know," I muttered, folding my arms over my chest before Slade could recapture my hand. If anything, I was kind of thankful to see the snow-whores, and the way these guys treated them like they were nothing more than servants. I'd been dangerously close to thinking they weren't so bad after all.
Ryder disappeared behind the couch again for a moment, then stood up wearing a pair of boxers and came over with his arms outstretched as though for a hug.
"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked, backing up a step and hearing Blaze snicker.
"What? I can't hug you? Mila-elf, I've sat on your bed. We are so okay to hug now." Ryder's ridiculous reasoning teased another small smile out of me, but I still backed up another step.
"I'm not hugging you! Fuck knows what sort of bodily fluids you're covered in right now!" I couldn't help snorting a laugh at his shocked expression and Slade clapped him on the shoulder jokingly.
"Go shower, you man whore. Mila has had a rough twenty-four hours and doesn't need you and Drex rubbing up all over her." He gave Ryder a push in the direction of one of the bedrooms, then turned to Drex. "Clothes, D. Now."
"You got it, boss!" Drex grinned, giving a salute then winking at me.
"Sorry about them," Blaze sighed, placing a hand on my lower back once more and directing me into the open plan style kitchen.
"Nothing to apologize for." I shrugged, taking a seat on the bar stool that he pointed me toward. "It's not like you guys don't already have a reputation for being disgusting party animal man whores with little to no respect for women, authority, or rules."
"Ouch. Tell us how you really feel, babe!" Blaze clutched a hand to his chest dramatically, like I'd actually hurt his feelings. Yeah, right.
"Oh, please. As if you don't knowingly cultivate that image for yourselves." I rolled my eyes and saw the sly grin pulling across Slade's face as he took the stool beside me.
"And what makes you say that?" he murmured quietly. His role as the leader of the group was clear, in both the way he'd just spoken to Drex and Ryder, but he was also a quiet kind of guy. Always watching and listening. I had no doubt he was also the driving force behind their fame.
"Because it keeps you in the media. Snow sports isn't exactly the most widely publicized business to be in, yet you four have managed to land modeling contracts, movie contracts, music video appearances … not to mention you have paparazzi following your every move. I'm surprised they haven't managed to get into The Ridge yet, actually." I chewed my lip as I considered the two of them. The smiles they both wore confirmed my suspicion that their image was all a part of some elaborate marketing scheme.
"And how would getting our misadventures splashed across every tabloid in the country possibly be a good thing, Mila?" Slade challenged with a smirk.
"Yes, do tell, babe." Blaze grinned, pulling food out of the fridge and laying it out on the counter in front of Slade and me.
"Don't get me wrong, you four are clearly very skilled snowboarders. No amount of publicity can win you a combined thirty-eight Olympic medals. But I think this whole bad boy image is just that. An image. It keeps you in the spotlight, and books you some seriously well paying gigs, if this penthouse is anything to say for it." I peered around at what I could see, and it was definitely all it had been hyped up to be.
"So you don't think we really are alcoholic, coke-addicted assholes who use women like Kleenex and then toss them aside in the morning?" Blaze asked, abandoning the sandwich he was making and leaning on his elbows across the counter from me.
"Ah no, I think you absolutely are all of those things; I just think you're doing it for a bigger reason than just cause we can." I paused. "Except I think the drugs and alcohol thing is exaggerated. No elite sportsman would actually abuse their body like the media says you all do."
"Interesting," Slade commented, then turned to Blaze. "Are you making us food or what, bro?"
"On it!" Blaze pushed back up off the countertop and started laying out cheese over bits of bread then placed them in
to the oven.
"Wait, are you going to tell me if I'm right?" I asked, confused. This was a new theory that I had literally only just developed, and I was burning to know if I was right or not! Even the callous way Ryder and Drex had just treated those girls had come off as fake somehow. Like an act. Or maybe that was just me trying to justify their actions to make my attraction toward them all seem more acceptable?
"Nope. Here. Have some cheese. You're so skinny." Blaze passed me a slice of cheese and met my gaze with a sultry grin on his face that made me want to slap him and kiss him all at the same time.
God-fucking-damn it. I knew that little make out in the gondola was a bad idea. Now I couldn't stop thinking about what it felt like to run my tongue over that lip piercing, or the feeling of his long, tattooed fingers inside my—
"Hey guys, what are we eating?" Drex bounced out of a bedroom and slid onto the stool beside me.
"Cheesy toast," Blaze responded, still holding my gaze, "but I know what I'd rather be eating …" He dropped a sexy wink at me before breaking eye contact and I legitimately choked on the cheese I'd just placed in my mouth.
"Blaze, is it totally necessary to try and kill Mila-elf?" Ryder asked, appearing from nowhere and patting me on the back while I coughed up the bit of cheese stuck in my windpipe.
Blaze just smirked and turned back to retrieve the cheesy toast from the oven.
"So what's the four-one-one? Santa the Douche-canoe got Blitzen fired?" Drex asked, leaning over and snagging a piece of toast from the tray. "What are we doing about it? Fucking him up?"
"No one is fucking anyone up," I growled, taking a piece of cheese toast for myself. I really was hungry, damn it! "Gary is Graham Ridgemont's cousin, and Graham is probably richer than the four of you assholes combined. It's cool; I hated that job anyway. I was only here for the free room and board, plus access to the mountain so I could take photos for this huge ass photo competition. Not that that will be happening without a camera …" I glared at Drex and he blushed red.
"So that's what you really want to do?" Ryder asked, pulling up a stool for himself and grabbing some toast. "Take pictures?"
"Yup." I nodded, swallowing my mouthful. "The Candid Moments Photography comp was going to be my big break. Not only do they showcase the winners in a month long exhibition in Manhattan, there's also a half a million in prize money, which would pay for me to set up a studio."
"Shit, I'm so sorry, Blitz …" Drex hung his head, looking devastated. "I'll for sure pay to get it fixed for you. Do you still have it here?"
"It'll be with my stuff whenever they deliver it. The repair job takes way too long though, so I'll just have to try again next year." Hopefully.
"Right, well for now that storm is about to hit so I say we order room service and watch a movie or something." Slade arched his pierced eyebrow at me, teasingly. "Unless you want to play drinking games instead?"
Of course, I knew he was fucking with me. But I really couldn't seem to back down from a challenge with these wankers.
"You're on," I accepted, and felt a surge of satisfaction seeing the surprise on his face. Score one to Mila the Elf.
"Well …" Blaze smirked. "In that case I'll call down for room service. Anything in particular you want, babe?"
"Uh yeah, for you to stop calling me babe," I half-joked, and he barked a loud laugh.
"Never going to happen, babe. It's just part of our vernacular. Boys, place your orders!" He grabbed the phone off the counter and dialed down to the kitchen while the others rattled off their food wishes.
In the end, he ordered a steak with mash and vegetables for me, along with every dessert on the menu and several bottles of tequila.
"Guess we're going Mexican, then?" I asked as Drex fished out shot glasses from one of the cabinets and lined them up on the coffee table alongside a deck of cards.
"Si," he replied, flopping his sinful body down onto a giant beanbag chair. "Now, what are we playing? Spin the bottle? Truth or Dare? Strip Poker?" he grinned at me and ran his tongue over his teeth. Fuck if I didn't want to do it for him too …
"Truth or dare," I blurted out, before my sex drive could take him up on the strip poker offer. That quickie orgasm in the gondola seemed to have awakened a need in me that was going to make this night with the Winter Wankers very painful indeed.
"Bold choice, Mila-elf." Ryder nodded, and parked himself on the couch. "Sure you don't want to change your mind to strip poker instead?"
Ugh, so damn tempting. I've never had a five-way before …
"Nope," I lied, "I'm good. Room service takes freaking ages though so …"
"Not for us they don't," Slade said quietly. "Twenty minutes max. Why don't you go take a shower in the meantime and I can give the boys a lecture on using their manners when we have guests?"
I gave him a small frown, not altogether sure I wanted the boys using their manners. But I was still pretty chilled from being out in the snow all day, and a shower sounded heavenly.
"I'll grab you some sweats to wear, babe," Blaze offered. "You're here all night so you may as well get comfy."
Hmm, he had a point. Tight jeans were an absolute bitch to sleep in.
"Sure, sounds good." I nodded, and he led me into one of the bedrooms and rifled through a drawer.
"Here." He handed me a pair of soft grey sweatpants and a T-shirt. "They're clean; I promise."
"I trust you." I rolled my eyes, taking the clothes, then realized what I'd just said. Strangely … I did trust him, for more than just clean clothing.
"Shower's through there and I'll give you a yell when the food arrives." He indicated the door behind him and moved to get out of my way.
"Thanks, Blaze." Without really knowing what the hell possessed me, I pushed up on my tiptoes and pecked a quick kiss on his lips before ducking into the attached bathroom and locking the door behind me.
CHAPTER SIX
Slade hadn't been joking when he said room service would only take twenty minutes. I had barely stepped out of the shower when Ryder tapped on the door to tell me it'd arrived.
In the three weeks I'd worked at The Ridge, I had yet to actually try the food, but holy crap it lived up to expectation. The steak was cooked to perfection and by the time I'd finished sampling all the desserts my stomach felt like it was about to burst.
"Okay, Mila. Truth or dare?" Slade coughed, having just completed his dare of drinking a Tabasco sauce shooter. We'd been picking mainly truths or easy dares while everyone ate and now we were all laying around in various versions of a food coma.
"Um … truth." I was facedown on the couch with my feet in Drex's lap. He'd been rubbing them with his strong fingers for a good five minutes already and I had no intention of moving.
"Okay …" Slade stared up at the ceiling while he pretended to think. "Tell us about your last threesome."
"My last threesome?" I snickered, already a bit tipsy. There had been a few hairy questions about my past already which I'd opted to take a shot for rather than answer.
"Your last one before today," Slade corrected, realizing the loophole I was about to take. Damn.
"Wait, what?" Ryder interrupted, sitting up from where he'd been lying on the floor. "You had a threesome today? With who?"
A laugh bubbled out of me as he speared Blaze and Slade with a glare that said he already had a fair idea with whom. His gaze was just a little bit this side of glassy, as I wasn't the only one opting for shots. None of us were drunk, but neither were any of us sober anymore.
"Barely," I replied, groaning as Drex's skilled fingers worked the ball of my foot. "It was only a fraction more than a make out session … right, Slade?" I tilted my face on the couch so I could meet his heated gaze, and fuck it if my pussy didn't clench a little.
"Right …" he murmured, holding my eyes until I looked away first. "So tell us about your last one before today."
My last threesome … I turned it over in my mind, debating whether this was a topic I really want
ed to discuss with the Kings of Snow. On the one hand, I was burning to know why they'd never shared a woman before and if they ever would, but on the other hand it opened me to more questions about my past and my old life which I wasn't ready to answer.
"I'll take the shot," I replied, pushing up from the couch just enough to take the little glass of amber liquid Blaze was holding out to me. Our fingers brushed as he handed it over and I met his eyes flirtatiously while I threw the shot back.
"There's definitely a story there, Mila-elf," Ryder grumbled, reclining onto the floor and looking up at me.
"That there is," I murmured, lying back on the couch and wiggling my toes for Drex to keep going.
"Your turn, Mila," Slade prompted, sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, only inches from my face.
"Hmm," I pondered, trying not to groan aloud again when Drex's finger's hit a good spot. "Ryder … dare?"
It didn't need to be an either or scenario. He had picked dare every time and only turned down the ones he couldn't be bothered doing. It gave me the distinct impression he was a man with many secrets, but also not afraid of a challenge.
"You know it," he replied and I chewed my lip while I thought. On the one hand, I could get him to do something outrageous. Now that we were all finished eating, he'd probably do it too. On the other hand, if he didn't want to do it, then he just got more shots.
"I dare you … to … streak the length of the hallway." I paused, thinking. "Twice."
Ryder was quiet for a moment while he stared up at the ceiling then pushed up off the floor and grinned at me.
"Done." He whipped his shirt over his head and threw it at me.
"Seriously?" I scrambled to sit up, but he was fast and by the time I'd righted myself and yanked the warm, man-smelling shirt off my face, he was already out the door and running.
"He's quick," Slade snickered. "Let's hide his clothes while he's gone."
Wow, Slade was evil. I freaking loved it. Tossing him Ryder's shirt, he quickly threw it all into one of the bedrooms then used a little set of keys to lock all of the bedroom doors.