Fuck.
"Mila, we need you to first understand that the note … it was not from me," Slade implored, sitting forward to try and hold my eye contact. "Gary had the penthouse rigged with cameras and was planning on using the footage to blackmail us. It's how he learned about your camera, because Drex was talking about buying you a new one even before …"
"Before I convinced you all that having a fiveway with a chick you'd barely met was a good idea?" I finished for him. My voice came out sounding weak and scared, and I realized suddenly I was on the verge of tears. How the hell had my life come to this?
"Hey." Slade reached out and grabbed my hand, tugging me back to him and pulling me into his lap. "There was absolutely no convincing required." He cupped my face with one hand and held my gaze for a long moment. "Do you believe me? That I didn't send that fucking note?"
"Yeah," I squeaked, "I'm sorry for thinking it was you … it just seemed like something the Winter Wankers would do …"
Slade's breath gusted out of him like he'd been holding it, waiting for my answer.
"Thank you. You have no idea how badly it's been killing me this week, thinking of you hating me."
He pulled me closer with the hand on my face and pressed his lips to mine in a sweet, apologetic kiss that I happily reciprocated.
"Okay," I said, a little breathless when we broke apart, "now tell me about what went down with Gary. You guys beat him up? Was this because of the cameras?"
"That fucking gutter troll had it coming," Blaze snarled, and I shifted in Slade's lap to look at him. "We probably would've beat the shit out of him regardless of the bribery. Rapist piece of shit."
"What Blaze is trying to say, Mila-elf," Ryder added, "is that he already had a target on his back after what he tried to do with you that night in the woods. But after we found out he'd been filming us …"
"It was well deserved," Drex finished.
"I see," I murmured, turning this new information over in my head while snuggling back into Slade's warm embrace. "But what about now? Surely he's going to sell those videos to the highest bidder? I know it's probably not terrible for your bad boy image, having sex tapes floating around, but I would really rather our first night together not be aired on TMZ …"
"First night?" Slade murmured in my ear and I slapped him in the leg. Damn if my pussy wasn't clenching and pulsing at the idea of another night with the four of them …
"That's why it took so long for us to get here," Ryder explained. "We wanted to locate his recordings and destroy them before he worked out we were onto him. Your friend actually ended up helping us on that one …"
"Sara?" I frowned. "How?"
"She's got some pretty mad investigative skills. Found his laptop set up in a cupboard and erased all the files while we kept old Gary entertained." Drex had a wild grin as he said this that left me no doubt this entertainment was what left Gary in hospital.
"So, it's done? He has no leverage against you?" It all seemed … too easy? At least for my life. Nothing ever seemed to play out quite that easily for me.
"Um, yes and no." Drex frowned, looking uncomfortable. "He'd already sent a couple of screen captures to someone else. We're still trying to work out who it was that received them, but don't worry. As soon as we do, we'll shut it down."
Ice pooled in my stomach.
"Why would I worry …?"
"They were stills of you … and us …" Slade responded, his arms tightening around my waist like he expected me to run away again.
"Babe, Gary knew who you were all along …" Blaze continued. "The files had your real name on them."
I froze.
"My real name?" I parroted, breathlessly. "I don't know what—"
"Mila-elf, come on. We're not totally dense." Ryder smirked, stretching out on my bed and giving me a look that was halfway smug and halfway … sweet? Kind? Loving?
"It took us a bit, trying to figure out why you looked so familiar …" Slade murmured from behind me, his arms still locked tight around my waist. This time, it was needed. I wanted to run, badly.
"Blaze was the one who worked it out first," Ryder said, rolling his eyes, "which he won't let us forget. Although I suppose it makes sense …"
"What makes sense?" I squeaked. "Why … how …"
"Because I had a pretty big crush on you in your former life," Blaze muttered, and a pink blush stained his cheeks. "We all met you at the Vancouver Winter Olympics … It was our first games and probably your third? Maybe?" I nodded. I couldn't have spoken if I'd tried. "Anyway, we watched you get your gold in partners figure skating and afterwards I asked you out. You said no, of course, because you were already dating… well. You know. Anyway, we were all pretty obsessed with watching your performances so when it all went to shit … ah no offense." He gave me an apologetic smile and I shook my head. I wasn't offended; it really had all gone to shit. "Well, we were pretty sad to see you leave the sport. But then you just … disappeared from the media too …"
"Ah, yeah," I coughed nervously, but Slade's fingers stroked a soothing pattern over the back of my hand. "The press was all just so bad … One day I just kind of lost it. Packed up my shit and disappeared … New name, new life … new look …" I gestured at my hair. In my former life as Caitlin Rose, Australian darling of figure skating and all around good girl, I had been a natural blue-eyed blonde, with a sensible shoulder length haircut that could easily be twisted into a bun for performances.
Now, with my long black and purple ombre look and colored contact lenses, I was different enough to not be recognized. Or so I'd thought.
"If this gets out … if those pictures make it back into the media …" I swallowed the lump of terror in my throat as I ran through the ramifications in my mind. Those weeks of press clawing at my door, unable to leave my house for fear of being harassed … I couldn't go back to that. Not again.
"It wont," Blaze said firmly, and the other guys all nodded.
"We'll make sure it doesn't," Slade assured me, pressing a kiss to the bend of my neck. "But will you tell us what happened back then? Does it have anything to do with how much you disliked us when we met last week?"
"Uh." This time it was my turn to blush. "Yes. I feel really stupid about that all now. I'd been harboring all this blame and anger, when really it wasn't your fault at all. You were just the catalyst so to speak, and then with this bad boy image you were putting out there … you were easy scapegoats."
"We get it," Drex laughed. "No judgements here …"
"Um, it was a combination of things. My parents had just died in a car crash, so I was already struggling a bit from that, and then one night during the X-Games we got invited to a party …" I chewed my lip nervously. Remembering that period of my life was like picking at a scab that had never really healed.
"And by we, you mean …" Ryder prompted.
"Myself, and my boyfriends."
"Plural?" Ryder raised his eyebrows, then I saw it click. "Ah. Your partner and coach."
"Yes, Christian and Scott. We'd been in a committed ménage for going on three years at that point." I gritted my teeth together. It still hurt to say their names.
"Three years? But you must've only been sixteen when it started? Wasn't that like … illegal or something? At least for your coach …" Drex sat forward on the edge of the bed with his chin propped on his hand.
"Sixteen is age of consent in Australia, and Scott was only five years older." I shrugged. "Anyway, that night I went straight back to the hotel and they went to your party. When I woke up in the morning it was to a reporter knocking on my door and asking how heartbroken I was that my boyfriend, Christian, had been caught cheating on me at a party thrown by the Kings of Snow. What they didn't realize though, was that both of my boyfriends had cheated on me at your stupid party." I sucked in a breath, and felt Slade's arms strong around me, reminding me that this shit was in my past. It was done.
"I was fucking ruined. Two men who I'd loved with my whole heart had just betrayed me, so
I blew off the rest of the games. Next thing I knew, Christian and Scott had sold my story to the tabloids, talking all about how my parents had forced me into my life of competitive figure skating. They made out as though I was some sort of slave, brought up with the sole purpose of winning medals. It hadn't even been a full month since they'd died, and they were getting their names dragged through the mud."
"Shit, Blitz," Drex apologized, "that seriously sucks. I'm sorry for our part in it …"
"It's fine; it really wasn't anything to do with you guys. I just blamed you because they had this … hero worship thing for you all …" I blushed again. "It sounds really stupid now that I'm saying it out loud."
"Not stupid at all," Slade rumbled. "We get it, and we're sorry. Maybe we can start fresh?"
"How so?" I asked curiously, turning my face to look at Slade.
"Drex," he prompted, nodding at the blonde snowboarder, "get the thing."
"The thing?" I repeated as Drex bounded up off my bed and took off out to their car to get the thing. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't both intrigued and a little turned-on. Call it making up for lost time, but I honestly just could not keep my mind out of the gutter where these four were concerned.
Drex came rushing back into my room and deposited a large box, wrapped in Christmas paper, into my lap.
"What … is this?" I wondered aloud, and the boys all beamed.
"Merry Christmas, Mila-elf." Ryder smirked from his position on my bed. "Or should we be calling you Caitlin now?"
"Mila is fine," I clarified. "Caitlin Rose no longer exists."
"Open it, babe," Blaze coaxed, nodding to the box in my lap.
Each of the Kings of Snow watched me eagerly, so I slid my fingers under the sticky tape to free the wrapping paper and reveal what was inside.
"You didn't …" I breathed in awe as I saw the writing on the box. "But … this is way better than my camera."
"We know, love," Slade chuckled into my neck.
"We wanted to get you the absolute best and the dude in the shop almost creamed himself over that one so …" Drex shrugged, then grinned. "Do you like it?"
"Like it? You guys … this is …" I gaped at them all like a damn goldfish before looking back at the thirty thousand dollar camera equipment in my lap. "This is too much; I can't accept this. You have to take it back."
"Mila." Slade turned on his authoritarian voice, the one he used on the guys when he was taking charge. "Say thank you and then kiss me."
"Thank you, Slade." I smiled, then did as I was told and kissed him. Thoroughly. And didn't stop until one of the guys cleared their throats behind me.
"Pretty certain I speak for all of us when I say we, too, will accept some of those thanks." Ryder smirked, waggling his eyebrows at me suggestively.
Snorting a laugh, I placed my new baby down on the carpet and scrambled out of Slade's lap to approach Blaze sitting on the corner of my desk.
"Blaze," I murmured, a small smile playing at my lips as his tongue licked a slow path across his own.
"Yes, babe?" he replied.
"Thank you." I grasped his waist and leaned in to meet his kiss. His hand slid up the length of my back and tangled in my hair possessively while his mouth dominated mine. When he eventually released me, I could feel the heat in my face, his hardness pressed against my crotch.
Pulling back from him, I gave him a cheeky wink before turning to the dynamic duo stretched out on my bed.
"Drex … Ryder …" I purred playfully, crawling up from the foot of the bed to squeeze in between the playful puppy and the nice guy of the bunch (nice being a relative word). "Thank you for my camera."
"You're welcome, Mila-elf." Ryder grinned, turning my face toward his and claiming a sweet, unhurried kiss.
"I feel like I want to get you another one now, Blitz," Drex muttered, whacking Ryder in the arm and turning me toward himself to claim a kiss of his own.
"We got you one other thing," Slade added, standing to lean on the desk beside Blaze.
"The deal with Inked Pages for their new music video went through and we wondered if you might be willing to photograph it? They wanted some behind-the-scenes shots for a book they're putting together and we needed more recent pictures for our portfolio so …" Blaze shrugged. "It's a paid gig, of course. And if you happened to get a good shot for your competition, well that's cool too."
For a moment, I was stunned into speechlessness once more. Then my eyes welled up and I held out my arms for the two dark and brooding boys leaning on my desk.
"You guys are unbelievable, you know that?" I whispered as they complied with my unspoken request for a group hug.
"Can we please pack you up and take you somewhere nice now?" Ryder asked, with his face buried in my hair. "This bed isn't nearly big enough for all of us …"
Early morning sunlight streamed in through the open curtains and woke me well before I had any right to be awake. Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, I saw it had only been less than an hour since we'd all finally succumbed to sleep and the guys were all out cold.
For a moment, I just lay there. The warmth from Ryder and Blaze was enough that I didn't even have any blankets on my naked body, and they must have felt the same. Slade and Drex were in there with us too, all curled together like a teaspoon set, and I basked for a moment in the feeling of happiness.
Driven by my urge to document this serene moment, I carefully peeled myself out of bed and tiptoed over to my new camera sitting on the dresser. I'd spent far too long setting it up, changing settings and taking test shots when we'd arrived at the hotel, before giving in to my four new lovers' advances.
Luckily though, it meant it was all perfectly set up now and only required a few minor adjustments to cater to the light.
I tiptoed back to the bed, and reclaimed my spot in the dead center before holding the heavy camera as high as I could and taking a selfie. Checking the result on the small screen at the back of the camera I bit my lip in nervous excitement. This was it. This was the one.
If, if, our new relationship had been outed by Gary's dirty pictures, then this would be the image I'd submit to Candid Moments.
It was raw, open, vulnerable, and everything a new relationship should be.
Four sleeping gods, and me—Mila the Elf.
Tate James
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Description
"Five hot billionaires, one fake fiancée, a very merry Christmas."
They were callous and kind, romantic and cruel.
Five billionaires with darkness in their pasts, they asked for the unexpected.
They demanded and commanded me, possessed my frozen heart in a way I hadn't thought possible.
I'd believed I was dead inside; they brought me back to life with the heat of their torrid kisses.
I woke them up with the fervency of my need.
My body wanted to give in, but my mind… and my heart wouldn't allow it.
Acting as their fake fiancée for a few days shouldn't have been enough to tear my fragile soul to pieces.
But this was Christmas…and anything was possible.
To Caitlin Morgan. There isn't a single other person I would ever dedicate my first completed story to.
CHAPTER ONE
“Let's go out to celebrate, have a few drinks. Maybe get a little action?” My sister's vivacious and carefree voice comes through the speaker of the phone. I don't tell her, but the last thing I want to do only a couple of weeks before Christmas is go out and party—whether we land the gig or not.
“It's just a consult, Lucia. You don't even know if we're going to get this account,” I reply as I pull into the parking lot of the sleek, modern NHI corporate headquarters. Wow. Most of the cars parked here cost more than the condo. Suddenly, I'm feeling self-conscious of my twenty year old Ford Focus. Let's j
ust hope no one notices my car until after I land the event—otherwise they'll know we're just starting out, and that they're our first prospective clients.
“Don't worry, you'll get it. There isn't a single event planner in the state that has even half your skill,” she says. I'm glad Lucia's so confident because I'm not. The building is so grand and impressive I feel suddenly out of my league. “You love Christmas, Natalie. There'll never be another gig more suited to your talents than a Christmas party for a company that basically supplies the world with Christmas everything.”
“I better go, but maybe after I'll grab some baking supplies and some eggnog, and we can make cookies?”
“Fine, but don't forget the champagne. You are such a boring workaholic—and you aren't even thirty yet,” Lucia adds with a sigh. “See you soon.”
“Love you, hun. See you later,” I say, right before I hang up.
I frantically rifle around in search of my portfolio. Locating it in the mess of my car takes way longer than it should. Oh, god, I can't be late. I take one last look at myself in the rearview mirror, making sure my red lipstick is still in place and that I haven't messed up my hair. I had, after all, spent an hour taming my long locks into classic blond waves so I could look perfect for this meeting.
I stand up, running my hands over the simple white shift dress that I'd splurged on for this meeting. I adjust the small gold holly pin that goes perfectly with my eye shadow and classic pumps. Satisfied that I look festive—but still classic and elegant—I hurry towards the imposing front entrance of Northington Holiday Industries.
I feel something cold land on my cheek as I walk. Holy crap. It's snowing. Big flakes drift down, falling on my hair and on the shoulders of my navy blue jacket. I'm so engrossed in looking up at the majesty of white falling slowly from the heavens that I don't see the small patch of black ice on the sidewalk in front of me.
I slip, falling unceremoniously to the frozen earth. My portfolio flies through the air and lands next to a pair of sleek black Oxford Brogues. From my vantage point, sprawled out on the icy ground, my gaze has to travel up, up, up to fully take in the sumptuous lines of a muscular body draped in an opulent three-piece charcoal suit. Short ebony hair and stylish glasses rest on the elegantly chiseled features of the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on. The masculine beauty of his perfect face may be breathtaking, but there's something hidden in the cold gray depths of his steely eyes that truly rips the breath from my lungs.
Billionaires, Boarders, and Bastards: A Limited-Time Collection of Reverse Harem Romance Novellas Page 19
