Billionaires, Boarders, and Bastards: A Limited-Time Collection of Reverse Harem Romance Novellas

by C. M. Stunich

  "Wait." Blaze frowned. "This is the elf you almost killed yesterday?"

  "It sure is." Drex was staring at me with his ice-blue eyes, like a hungry wolf. Or maybe a dog. A cute little puppy even.

  "Drex, I was actually looking for you. Thanks for saving me the trouble." I flipped my long hair over my shoulder and cringed a little when it stuck to the sweat rolling down my neck.

  "Him?" Blaze snorted. "He already has his night’s entertainment lined up, sugar. So did I, really, but the twins don’t mind sharing."

  "Gross. Not what I meant at all. I came to give you this." I whipped the invoice out of my back pocket and slapped it onto Drex’s chest, desperately trying not to notice the rock-hard surface and blocking the mental image my brain was trying to supply of what he might look like shirtless.

  "And this is …?" He laughed like he thought I was messing with him but took the paper before I let it go.

  "The invoice for my camera repairs. My bank details are listed and I request that you remit payment immediately. Thank you!" With that, I whirled on my heel, deliberately letting my hair slap Blaze in the face, and stalked off the dance floor.

  When I'd almost made it to the exit, I indulged myself with a quick glance back. Both snowboarding dicks still stood there with their jaws flapping like a naked grandma on a bicycle.

  Score one to Mila.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Sara had seemingly disappeared into thin air, but after checking with the girl in coat check, it sounded like she'd left with Alex the Bartender during his smoke break. I was hardly surprised. I mean, I really didn’t know the girl all that well so I wasn’t exactly offended that she’d ditched me.

  Tugging my short fur-lined jacket tighter around me, I carefully made my way back to The Ridge’s staff housing building. Spike heels and ice did not mix well, so I had to take it slowly and my teeth were chattering hard by the time I came within sight of my 'home'.

  The long, two story block was located in the forest behind the main hotel, with a small winding path through the trees connecting the two. During the day it was a beautiful area, but at night there was something … ominous about the shadows.

  Sighing through my chattering teeth, I began picking my way up the trail, careful not to get my heels caught on any forest debris. If it hadn’t been below freezing, I would've taken the damn shoes off and gone barefoot.

  As it was, I was so damn focused on my footing that I didn’t even see the person step out onto the path until I ran straight into them.

  "Shit, sorry," I gasped. "I didn’t see you there …"

  Glancing up to see who I’d run into, my blood ran cold.

  "That’s not a worry, Sweet Thang." Gary, the pervert Santa, grinned. He rubbed a hand over his scruffy stubble while narrowing his eyes at me. Something in his gaze frightened me, and I backed up a step and then wobbled dangerously.

  Damn tequila.

  "And just where have you been, all dolled up like this?" he asked, his mouth curving into a sleazy smile which made my skin crawl.

  "Just been down at Scruffy’s with Sara," I answered curtly, not wanting to encourage conversation. "She’s right behind me."

  His grin seemed to spread wider and he took a step closer to me.

  "That’s funny," he whispered, his sour alcoholic breath fanning my face, "because I just saw her head inside not five minutes ago with some guy … meaning you’re all alone out here, pretty girl."

  "Gary," I warned, "get of my way, please."

  "No, I don’t think I will," he leered, stepping closer and pushing me back a step. "You’ve been teasing me for weeks, in that skimpy little dress every day …" He took another step, running his tongue over his lower lip and raking his beady eyes over my body. I backed up another step, but my fucking stiletto caught on a tree root and sent me stumbling.

  "I’ve got you," Gary chuckled, grabbing me around the waist and saving me from landing on my ass. "Have I mentioned how sexy you look tonight, Sweet Thang?"

  "Gary, let go of me," I muttered, trying to pry his fingers from my waist. They only clutched tighter, biting painfully into my sides through the fabric of my corset.

  "Let go?" he parroted, a slimy smile curving his lips. "No, I don’t think I will. You don’t want me to either, do you … Mila?" The way he said my name made it sound like a dirty word and a shudder of revulsion rolled through me.

  "Let. Me. Go. Or I swear I will scream." It wasn’t exactly the best threat, but it was all I had in the position I was in. The staff housing was still a decent distance away, but hopefully there might be some guests out that would hear me?

  "Scream all you want, girly," Gary sneered, "there’s no one out here, and you know it. Hell, maybe I’d like your screams …" His hands slid from my waist down to my ass and hauled my body against his.

  "Gary!" I snapped, my palms pressed to his chest in an attempt to push him away, but I was no match for his strength. Not only was he more than twice my bodyweight, he was completely wasted. His sour breath fanned my face with a potency that could fuel cars, and at such close distance I could see his eyes glazed and unfocused.

  "You know you want it, Sweet Thang. You’ve been begging for it since the day you started here." His mouth descended towards my face and I reacted on instinct, pulling my hand back and punching him hard in the nose.

  He jolted backward with an outraged yell as he clutched his face in pain, and I used the opportunity to try and dislodge myself from the tight grip his other hand still had on my hip.

  "You fucking bitch," he spat, spraying blood at me. The murderous look on his face was my first clue that maybe I'd just made this whole situation worse. He lurched toward me and I reeled my fist back to hit him again, but he clearly wasn’t as drunk as I'd assumed. My punch was stopped abruptly by his iron grip around my wrist, and he hauled me into him, plastering his body down the length of mine.

  "Gary! Stop it!" I shouted, desperately trying to free my wrist from his fingers. "Let go of me!" My voice was raised enough now that hopefully a passing guest might hear me and come to help. Maybe. Probably not, but I had to try.

  "Stop fighting it, Mila. You’ll enjoy it so much more if you just relax." He was breathing heavily now, and when his hand moved from my hip to my zipper, I lost it. The force of my scream made him hesitate and flinch, but he recovered quickly, spinning me to face away from him while one hand covered my mouth and the other went for my zipper again. His grip felt less sure though, so I began kicking and throwing elbows like my life depended on it.

  Hell, maybe it did?

  All of a sudden there was a blur of shadow and a rush of air as Gary disappeared from behind me. My knees hit the ground hard and my hands shot out just in time to save my face from hitting a rock. At the last minute, the left one rolled on a tree root and I hissed in pain as I twisted onto my butt.

  "Don’t you ever fucking touch her again, you sack of shit!" a man growled, punching Gary solidly in the face, then letting his limp form drop back to the ground.

  "Are you okay?" another voice asked from the shadows near me and I yelped, jumping in fright.

  "Jesus, you scared the shit out of her, you fucking creeper," the other guy, the one who had just punched Gary unconscious, said. He stepped forward into the moonlight and I sucked in a breath of relief.

  Ryder.

  Fuck I really hadn’t been paying attention when he and Drex had run into me because my heart almost stopped when he met my startled gaze.

  "Slade," he whispered fiercely, darting his eyes to the shadow beside me, "get out of the fucking dark so she can see you."

  The man stepped closer and I scooted away from him in an awkward sort of crab walk. It occurred to me that I was possibly just out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  "Relax, woman," the shadow man chuckled, and my anger flared. Obviously, this must be Slade Knightbridge, oldest and most successful of the Kings of Snow, and the leader of their merry little band of misfits. But that didn’t give him a
ny right to be a dick.

  "Relax?" I spluttered, outraged. "Relax? Are you seriously fucking telling me to relax when I was just assaulted by my boss and am now standing in the middle of the fucking woods with two scary ass fucking dudes?" Slade took another step forward, and I could finally make out his face. In contrast to his buddies, he had ditched the shaggy snowboarder hair for an edgy, shaved up the sides look, leaving his short ink black hair on top in messy spikes.

  "Yep. That's what I am telling you after said scary ass dudes just saved you from getting raped. Thank you is usually appropriate here." He raised a pierced eyebrow at me, and I could see amusement tugging at his mouth, which just made me madder.

  "Slade, cut the shit," Ryder growled at his friend, turning to me with his hand held out. "Sorry about him, elf girl; he’s an ass. Let us get you home in case this dickweed wakes up."

  I eyed his hand suspiciously, then realized what I was doing. If they wanted to attack me, they could've easily done it by now. There was no way I was outrunning them either so …

  "Thanks," I muttered, cautiously taking his hand and letting him pull me back to my feet. Once I’d regained my balance, he slowly … almost reluctantly … withdrew his hand from mine. My near assault must have fucked with my head because I almost didn’t want him to let go.

  "We didn’t properly meet yesterday when Drex almost killed you." He smiled. "I’m Ryder, and the grumpy one over there is Slade."

  "Mila …" I responded, involuntarily returning his smile.

  "Mila the elf, huh?" He grinned. "I like it. Now, which way are we heading?"

  Pointing in the direction of the staff housing, I tried desperately not to feel the flutter of something in my belly when Ryder placed his hand on the small of my back and fell into step beside me.

  "What about him?" I asked, jerking to a halt and looking at Gary’s unconscious form.

  "What about him?" Slade replied in a sort of growly, menacing tone as he stepped closer on my other side. "The dude was blind fucking wasted; I’d be amazed if he remembers any of this tomorrow."

  "He’s right." Ryder nodded confidently. "We should call the cops, but …"

  I was already shaking my head; Gary's family owned this place and I did not want to get fired. It was a bit of a cowardly move, I knew, but I couldn't risk the new life I was trying to build for myself.

  "Okay, well, it's not like he's going to call us out for stopping him from raping you," Ryder continued, his voice soft.

  He had a point …

  Surely this wasn’t the sort of thing Gary was going to admit to in the light of day. Right?

  It only took a couple of minutes to reach the staff housing, but it was more than enough time for shock to set in. By the time I reached my door, I was shaking so much that I missed the handle.

  Slade reached over and opened the door for me while Ryder grabbed my shaking hand. Without a word, they led me into my room and Ryder sat down on my bed, tugging me to sit beside him.

  "Are you okay?" Slade asked, kicking the door shut and slouching against my desk, facing the bed with a heavy frown.

  Not trusting my voice, I nodded. He stared at me hard as Ryder linked his fingers in mine, and before I knew what was happening, there were hot tears sliding down my cheeks.

  "Babe, it’s okay to not be okay," Ryder said softly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear in a gesture so sweet it almost made me cry harder.

  What the fuck, Mila? Pull your shit together! You are not a crier.

  I bit down hard on my lip and closed my eyes for a moment to get a grip.

  "Okay, I’m fine."

  Slade was still staring at me intently when my eyes reopened and I shifted nervously.

  "Seriously, I’m fine. Thank you for, um, you know …" My cheeks flamed under the scrutiny of both men.

  "For saving you from getting violated by some sleazy fuck?" Slade Knightbridge was clearly not one to mince words. Fucker.

  "Ah, yeah, that." I stared down at my fingers linked with Ryder's, but couldn’t seem to make my hand disengage with his.

  "You want us to stay for a bit, in case he comes looking for you?" Ryder asked and a shock of panic ran through me.

  I hadn’t considered that. Would he? Surely not …

  "No, thank you, I’ll be fine," I whispered, not totally trusting my voice.

  They both watched me for a minute before Slade shrugged and opened my door.

  "Suit yourself, but you really should think about reporting the incident to the local police or some shit. Dude can’t be allowed to just get away with crap like that." Slade’s gravelly tone made it sound almost like a threat, but maybe that was just his voice?

  "Uh, yeah no. Gary’s cousin owns the whole village so … that’s not happening." I carefully extracted my fingers from Ryder’s grip and stood to usher them out.

  "Okay, well … lock your door." Slade tucked his hands into his coat pockets, gave me a curt nod and then left me alone in my tiny bedroom with Ryder.

  "You sure you’re okay?" He frowned, standing as well and sort of crowding me given how little floor space my room had.

  "Uh-huh," I nodded tightly and dodged eye contact. Being so close to these drop-dead gorgeous men with their intense gazes and strangely caring behavior was totally confusing my deep-seated hatred towards them.

  "Alright well … if you need anything, we’re in the presidential suite." Ryder started to leave then hesitated in the doorway and turned back to me. "Maybe you should take my number … just in case?"

  "No," I snorted, "thanks but no thanks. Your reputation precedes you, Ryder Bailey, and I have no interest in becoming one of your booty calls."

  "Ouch, that was harsh." He raised his eyebrows at me in surprise but I rolled my eyes. He didn’t honestly think I was falling for his innocent nice guy routine, did he?

  "Whatever, you’ll live. Thank you for saving me and shit." I held my bedroom door open, indicating that I wanted to close it, but he ignored my hint and squinted at me.

  "Uh-huh. You’re a strange girl, Mila the elf." He rubbed his chin, then shrugged. "I’ll catch you around."

  "Not if I can help it," I muttered, but he was already moving down the hallway to where Slade waited. Despite my best intentions, I may or may not have let my eyes linger as they left the building.

  Ugh, cut it out, Mila. They’re hot. Big deal. Their physical appearances did not change the fact that those assholes were responsible for ruining my life.

  Sleep. Sleep would help this all make more sense. Thankfully, I had the next two days off work, so wouldn’t need to deal with Gary until Monday.

  I crawled into bed, but lay awake for hours.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  When my alarm went off, I felt as though I’d slept for all of five minutes. Groaning, I slapped at my alarm to turn it off and dragged a pillow over my head.

  Why the fuck am I awake so early on my day off?

  Oh, that's right.

  I’d been planning on spending the day working on my photography … except now my camera was broken. Fucking Winter Wankers. Hopefully Drex would pay my invoice or else I was seriously fucked.

  Heaving a sigh, I dragged my tired ass out of bed to get dressed. If nothing else, I could take some shots on my phone and go back to recreate them when I could sort out a new camera. It was a beautiful day, so maybe I’d head up to the summit on the gondola and take some scenic shots?

  Rushing through a shower, I tried not to look too carefully at the bruising around my wrist. The whole ugly scene with Gary was better left forgotten, and hopefully he would feel the same way.

  Dressing warmly in jeans, boots and a woolen coat, I grabbed my phone and staff pass then headed out to the gondola. The weather had said there would be a snowstorm later in the day so I wanted to make the most of the sunlight while it was there.

  Tugging on my gloves, I quickly made my way to the gondola and arrived just as it was opening for the day. There was already a line of skiers and snowboarders
waiting to get up the mountain for first tracks, but I was able to cut the line using my staff pass and hopped into one of the first gondolas all on my own.

  "Don't stay up too long, Mila," one of the operators advised, as he slid the door closed. "Forecast is for a huge dumping of snow this afternoon, so we'll be shutting the lifts down early."

  "Good to know…" I subtly checked his name badge, "…Ben. Thanks!"

  He dipped his head in a nod and jogged back to the line of waiting boarders while my gondola reached the end of the turn, then began its ascent to the mountaintop.

  I sighed and sat back on the little bench seat to enjoy the ride. Chairlifts were shitty, cold things which generally required passengers to be on skis or snowboards, but gondolas were awesome. A fully enclosed capsule with a semi-comfortable bench seat, it was perfectly acceptable to walk on and off. Despite my years and years of competition figure skating, I'd never learned to ski, so my only option if I wanted top of mountain photos was to take the gondola.

  Should have grabbed coffee for the ride.

  A heavy yawn escaped me and I scrubbed at my tired eyes with my hand. Sleep had definitely not come easily after Ryder and Slade had left me. All I could think about were Gary's sleazy hands on me, my mind consumed with worry about whether he would remember what happened when he woke up. Not that I could do much about it if he did.

  Shaking my head to clear it of those depressing thoughts, I took out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures as the little bubble carried me higher and higher up the mountain.

  Rolling black clouds and a crack of thunder were my first warnings that I'd spent far too long absorbed in taking photos, and was about to get caught in a snowstorm.

  Shit.

  Quickly stuffing my phone back in my pocket, I yanked my gloves back over numb fingers and hurried my freezing ass back to the gondola station.