Chapter Five
“I can explain,”I say, trying and failing to hide my naked body from the three men, who seem to be having way too much fun watching me squirm. In the end, I give up, figuring they’ve seen it all already. “Fuck it,” I murmur under my breath. Deciding I’m likely going home anyway, I walk up the steps totally starkers and grab my towel, wrapping it aroundme.
All three men are looking at me with their mouths gaping open and I can’t help but feel secretly pleased by their reaction. I’m not normally this confident, but for some reason their arrogance pisses me off. I have these men marked; they love women and I am a woman. In this situation, I feel that my sexuality is the only power I have. Somehow, I know that being coy will give them one over on me and for reasons completely unknown to me, I do not want to give them the satisfaction of making mesquirm.
“Perhaps we misjudged you?” Max laughs. “Not so much the Ice Queennow.”
“We didn’t even have to chat you up or buy you a drink to get your clothes off…” Bryce smirks as he swipes a hand through his shoulder length hair, which is now hanging loosely around his face. “Really, there’s no need to leave on our account. We were just about to take a swim, weren’t we,Hudson?”
I gape at Bryce. What a prick. If he thinks I am getting back in the pool with them, he’s got another thinkcoming.
Hudson shakes his head as if coming out of a daze. He looks at me, his green eyesstormy.
“I think you should get some clothes on then meet us back upstairs in the kitchen. We should talk.” With that, he turns to his brothers. “Upstairs, now,” he says, and they file out behindhim.
I take a deep shuddering breath. What the actual fuck did I just do? My high quickly comes crashing to the ground when I realise I’ve just stood completely starkers in front of them all. I groan. One word pops into my head. Sacked. My mum will have a field day and Richard… Oh, god, Richard is going to be sodisappointed.
Resigned, I go back to my room, pull on my tracksuit, pile my hair up in a messy bun, pack my bag, then head upstairs to face themusic.
“What have you got there?” Hudson asks as I walk into the kitchen. There is a pot of coffee percolating on the counter, with four mugs set out beside it. The three brothers are sitting around the kitchen island, apparently waiting forme.
“My suitcase. I’ll arrange for a cab to take me to the airport. I’ll just hang about there until I can get a flight back home,” I say, all fight gone out of menow.
Bryce gets up and walks around the island towardsme.
“Give me that,” he says. “You’re not going anywhere. There’s heavy snowfall due. You wouldn’t be able to get a cab now even if you wanted to.” He places my bag back by the stairs, then sits back down on the stool. As he walks past I feel decidedly tiny against his tallframe.
“But, Ithought…”
“Look. So you used the pool, big deal,” Max says, shrugging. “Besides, it was quite entertaining,” he adds, giving me a wink. Bryce punches him on thearm.
“Ow, what was that for?” he says, shoving his brotherback.
“Pack it in you two,” Hudson says, giving them both a glare. He turns to me. “You’d think that now they’ve reached the grand old age of twenty-five they’d be a bit more sensible. Alas, I think the sight of a hot, naked woman in our pool has sent them spiralling back to pubertyagain.”
Hot, naked woman?I almost laugh out loud. Did he actually just saythat?
“Seems like we’re not the only one whose brain has been affected, or perhaps it’s another part of your anatomy,” Max says, laughing. Hudson ignores him and pulls out astool.
“Come and join us… we still don’t know what your name is, even though this is the third time we’vemet.”
“Isn’t that usual for you guys? I mean, get a woman naked first, ask names later, if at all?” I swear I have absolutely no clue what has come over me but, clearly, I’m determined to insult these mentonight.
Hudson’s gaze is heated with anger. Still, neither he nor his brothers try to deny it. Only Max has the decency to look a little sheepish. When I look at Bryce, there is a challenge in his hazel eyes, and I am not sure I likeit.
“Your name?” Hudson demands. This time the friendly tone is gone. I almost want to lie, but in the end figure it’spointless.
I take a seat at the island and lay my palms flat on the table. “My name’s Louisa, Louisa Budd. I’m your designated chaletgirl.”
“Well, we totally lucked out,” Max says, high-fiving Bryce. He holds his hand up to Hudson, who just rolls his eyes. “Ah, man, don’t keep mehanging.”
I can’t help it, I laugh. Max is clearly the joker of the family. If he wasn’t such an egotistical prick, I could get to likehim.
Hudson pours four cups of coffee and hands out one to each of us. “I thought it would help, you know, sober you up,” he says, nodding to thecup.
I frown. He clearly has no idea what pissed looks like. “I don’t need sobering up. I’m not drunk,” I snap, taking a sip of the bitter tasting coffee. I crinkle my nose, then in a saccharine voice say, “Can I have some milk and sugar, please.” I almost flutter my eyelashes at him, but don’t. I’m pushing my luckalready.
Hudson is staring at me as though trying to get a grip on how I tick. “Do you usually swim nakedthen?”