“Shit,” I say spilling half the beer down my top. I turn around and look up into a pair of familiar green eyes. “You,” we both saysimultaneously.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, the tone of my voice sharper than Iintended.
He looks me up and down, his eyes lingering on my chest. “Pink Floyd, eh? I hadn’t pinned you for an alternativechick.”
I am immediately offended by his assumption. The fact that he is wearing a tight fitted black shirt and expensive looking jeans, with his hair perfectly coiffed, is exactly what I expected from him. “Funny,” I say, waving my hand up and down at him. “I had you sussed from the moment I met you. There’s plenty of women here without any brain cells, so I guess this place is right up your alley.” I ignore the look of surprise on his face and peer around his shoulder. Walking towards us are his brothers, Max and Bryce. Bryce grins when he spots me, showing a set of perfect white teeth, and Max looks at me with one eyebrow raised, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Well, if it isn’t the Ice Queen,” hesays.
“Well, if it isn’t the Three Brothers Dim,” I quip, watching the smiles fall from their faces. I down the rest of my beer and slam the glass on the table next to me. “Night boys,” I say, turning my backs on them. I can feel the heat of their gaze as I walk across the dance floor and up the stairs to get my coat. I don’t give them a second thought as I head out of the club and back to thechalet.
A few slippery minutes later I am back inside. The place is as I left it, aside from a mug tipped upside down on the draining board. Funny, I’m pretty sure I put everything away after I’d made myself tea and toast earlier. Shrugging, I head to the lower ground floor past the long glass wall, on the other side of which is the pool, sauna and steam room, and head into my room. I peel off my clothes, and despite the freezing walk back, a light sheen of sweat is covering my legs. I remind myself never to wear those leather trousers again. As I undress, an errant thought enters my head. Feeling decidedly rebellious, I grab a towel from my en-suite, wrap it around my body and head out into the poolarea.
The pool itself has underwater lighting which highlights the expensive-looking blue mosaic tiles, and the room is lit a soft pink, giving the space a very exclusive spa-like feel. I walk across to the loungers and drop my towel on top of one, enjoying the warmth from the underfloor heating and the thrill of being naked. For a moment, I allow myself to imagine that the chalet is my own home and try not to squeal in excitement at how ridiculously happy that makes me feel. The locals were right, this placeisa palace. I step down into the pool. The water is like a warm bath and I sink under the surface gratefully. Once acclimatised, I begin swimming lengths, completely butt-naked. It is quite exhilarating. Up and down I go, concentrating on how the water feels against my skin. I’ve always been good at swimming and had been on my school swim team. At least I was until I had to pull out in my last year due to Mum becoming more of a problem. She would turn up at my club pissed and almost always caused a scene. I dropped out through sheerembarrassment.
After a good half hour of doing laps, I decide to test my underwater swimming skills. I manage to make it from one side of the pool to the other in one breath. When my head breaks the surface, I am startled to find myself staring up at Green-eyes.
“Well, hello again,” he murmurs, his eyes roving over my nakedness. My body finally catches up with my brain, and I attempt to covermyself.
“As much as I appreciate a naked woman as well as any man, do you mind telling me what you are doing in ourchalet?”
My mouth pops open as my brain struggles to find an answer.Our chalet?Eventually, realisation dawns. “You’re my designated family?” I say, just as Max and Bryce step into the room. They stop talking as soon as they seeme.
“Damn,” they say inunison.