Snow and Seduction: A Steamy Reverse Harem Winter Collection

by Amanda Rose

"Because, for starters," she explained, "you won't make it past security unless they give the okay. And secondly, they’re not even here yet. But even if they were, you’re not getting in there with a sour look on your face and a freaking invoice in your hand." She flicked the folded piece of paper in my hand, which I’d just fished out of my pocket.

  Damn her, she had a point.

  My eyes flickered over to the conspicuously empty VIP area.

  "Okay, smart-ass, what do you suggest?" I slid the invoice back into the pocket of my skintight leather pants and folded my arms. Thirteen years of pro-level figure skating had permanently shaped my petite, slim figure and I’d made the most of my new, hard-won curves by pairing my leather pants with a strapless electric blue corset top and matching blue spike-heel shoes. It was something the old me wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing. Same went for my freshly dyed hair, which was a black to purple ombre type situation. Six years of growing it out had my loose waves brushing my lower back, and I absolutely freaking loved the new color.

  "I suggest we have some damn fun until they get here. Now, doesn’t that sound like a better idea?" She gave me a wicked grin and I groaned, rolling my eyes. She was right though … again.

  "Fine," I muttered, but a smile was pulling at my lips when she squealed and bounced on her toes.

  "Excellent! Okay, one more shot for luck and then let's hit the D…" she trailed off and I snorted. "…ance floor," she finished and winked at me. Cheeky minx.

  "Fine," I repeated, "but as soon as they show, I'm marching straight up there. Okay?"

  Sara glanced over at the VIP area, with its two Goliath bouncers guarding the entrance.

  "Uh-huh, sure thing, babe." She looked worried so I guessed she already had my number. If I threatened to force my way in there, I’d do it. Regardless of the trouble I could land in.

  Sara leaned over the bar seductively again, and I had another shot glass in my hand before I even saw the bartender pour them. We knocked them back and I led my bouncy friend out to the dance floor where we squeezed and pushed our way through until we reached a spot within view of the VIP area.

  "May as well put on a good show, babe. The Ridge appears to be under an invasion of sexy single girls this week …" Sara raised her eyebrows at the congregation of over primped females batting their eyelashes at the gatekeepers of the VIP lounge.

  "A show, huh?" I smirked to myself. That, I could do.

  Shaking out my hair, I turned my back on the VIP room—and its inhabitants—and focused on the music. It was some commercial pop house track that was probably hitting it big in the charts. I’d never heard before, but it had a decent beat and within seconds my hips were in motion.

  "Yeah, girl!" Sara cheered. "You’re getting it now!" She began shaking her own ample booty in time to the music and for a while, I almost zoned out. Dancing came naturally to me; it was ingrained in my bones from my years of figure skating. I found myself shedding a bit of the stress and anxiety I'd been wearing like a goddamn fur coat.

  I’d lost count of how many songs we laughed and grooved to, but soon I was breathing heavier and a thin sheen of sweat coated my skin. Despite the snow falling outside, the club was like a sauna thanks to the number of dancing bodies inside.

  "You want another drink?" Sara yelled, miming the drink motion in case I couldn’t hear her over the music, and I nodded. "Wait here!" she yelled, and disappeared into the writhing mass of dancers, making her way back to Alex’s bar.

  While I waited, I continued dancing on my own. Swaying my hips, I gathered my long hair into my hands and lifted it from my neck in an attempt to cool down a bit. Leather pants had been a bad choice.

  The music shifted into a new song, this one slower, more rhythmic and seductive, and a pair of hands slid over my hips from behind me. The tattooed hands tugged me back a step, bringing me in close to the guy’s body as he fell into time with my movements. Turning my head slightly, I could make out the vague outline of the guy who'd joined me and it confirmed my suspicion.

  "You girls seem to be enjoying yourselves," he murmured in my ear, his lips brushing my lobe as he spoke. Against my better judgement, it sent a shiver through me and I bit my lip.

  Snap the fuck out of it, Mila.

  Spinning to face him, I tossed my hair over my shoulder and cocked a hip in what I hoped was a sassy, confident sort of way. Holy fucking hotness, I had not prepared myself for this.

  Blaze Porter was dead set sex-on-legs. His shaggy snowboarder hair was a dark chocolate brown and swept back from his face, so there was nothing to distract from his piercing green eyes. A ring of silver pierced the side of his lower lip, and I needed to curl my nails into my palm to stop myself from grabbing it in my teeth.

  Shit.

  The last time I had seen these guys, they’d been brand-new to the snow sports circuit despite already being in their early twenties. But I could've sworn they hadn’t been this hot. Maybe it was the tequila affecting my vision? Earlier, with Drex and Ryder, I’d been so furious I'd barely even glanced at them, but I sincerely hoped they too weren't this goddamn smoking or life really wasn't fair.

  The lazy smirk on Blaze’s full lips made me realize I’d been staring like some sex-crazed fan. Shit.

  Panicking a bit, I spun and made to leave but once again barely made it two steps before getting stopped by a large tattooed hand wrapped around my wrist.

  "Whoa, sugar, where do you think you’re going?" he laughed. "I was going to ask if you and your friend wanted to join us in the VIP lounge …" He jerked his head to the raised area and the massive security guards watching us like gargoyles. Sara and I had been having so much fun we hadn’t even noticed they’d arrived, but sure enough the VIP area was packed.

  "Why?" I snapped, frowning. Something didn’t add up.

  "Why what?" He grinned. "Why do I want you to join me up there?" His tongue ran over his lower lip, pausing at his piercing while his eyes raked over me like I was naked.

  "No, I think that is fairly obvious. Why are you down here asking me, and not one of your henchmen?" I waved a hand at the bouncers and they just stared back with stone-like glares.

  Blaze cocked his head, watching me for a moment.

  "Maybe I just wanted to dance for a bit?" The way he said it made me not believe him, but I wasn’t sure why.

  "Oh yeah?" I challenged, and his eyebrows shot up. "Prove it."

  "Prove it?" he repeated, with a laugh. "Alright then, Blue, let’s dance."

  Using the wrist he still held captive, Blaze fucking Porter dragged me back to him so sharply that I lost my balance and stumbled in my sexy blue stilettos, practically falling into his arms. He barely gave me a second to regain my feet before draping my arms around his neck and dragging his fingertips down my skin oh so slowly until he reached my waist, resting his palms against my skin. Fingers splayed down over my hips, his hold almost possessive, and when he began to move I realized what a mistake I’d made.

  Blaze Porter could dance.

  Ugh, I hated him even more.

  Fuck him, two could play at that game.

  Finding my missing balance, I took advantage of the position he’d placed me in, threading the fingers of one hand into the back of his hair while the other gripped his shoulder and I bumped and ground on him.

  The wanker gave as good as he got though, and before long we were practically fucking with our clothes on which was totally contradictory to what I was there for in the first place.

  Ugh, damn sexy ass Blaze fucking Porter clouding my poor tequila fuzzed brain. Where the hell was Sara anyway?

  "Well, this was fun," I said, disengaging myself from his smoldering body and taking a step back, "but I’m done."

  "What do you—" Blaze’s confused protest was cut short by the arrival of one of his fellow Winter Wankers, who threw an arm over his shoulder.

  "Well, well, Blitzen." Drex grinned. "We meet again. I gotta say, I almost didn’t recognize you out of the elf getup." His gaze raked
over me and I groaned inwardly. When would I learn to stop jinxing myself? He was, as I’d feared, just as sexy as Blaze. Fucking hell, no wonder they had so many women falling all over themselves. The four of them together must be … something else.

  "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 any 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.