"I want it to happen again," she murmured. Part of it had been a dream, part of it she'd felt drugged, but part of it she was fully in her senses, and that part had been so hot, so exciting. "Oh my God," she breathed.
"Your clothes are dry beside you," Alex's voice called from outside the tent.
"We need to get going and get you out of here," Nick said.
Clare looked at the clothes lying next her wondering why they stayed outside the tent and didn't come in to give her kisses.
When she dressed and exited the tent she found out why, it seemed they were both in survival mode. Very serious, looking at her as if she was a hard deal being negotiated in their empire. She didn't know what to think of it, but they gave her no time, they just started hauling her through the snow.
She was getting angry that they didn't even acknowledge what happened last night. It was monumental — how could they act so cut off?
"What was the address of that property you were decorating," Alex asked, as they clomped forward through the snow that was seeping through her, improper for hiking in snow boots, but killer cute.
She told Alex the address, of course she'd hoped for a big commission so she'd had everything about the property memorized, and then she watched him typing it into his blackberry.
"We are not going back there!" she exclaimed.
Nick's brown unreadable eyes looked over his shoulder back at her as he continued to tug her forward. "The helicopter crashed. We need to get your car to get off this mountain." Curt to the point, nothing extra.
She looked to Alex and his green eyes were troubled. "If that creep guy isn't gone we will deal with him," he said, and then he pointed to the right. "That way."
She was upset they were going back to the pervert guys place, and maybe more upset the guys seemed to want to act as if they hadn't had a threesome to end all threesomes last night. Even without direct intercourse. Were they regretting it? It seemed so, no sweetheart's and baby this morning.
The way they were acting she was embarrassed to bring it up, so she just slogged through the snow with them. Her hunky, but moody billionaires. They reached the multimillion dollar mountain mansion a couple hours later. Luckily, the evil dude was gone. Nick broke a window so they could get inside and she went to take her inadequate boots off and try to get her feet warm.
She didn't know what the guys were doing ... looking for her car she hoped. But thirty minutes later, Alex appeared.
"We got a copter for you and once you get back to Manhattan you can report your client for kidnapping and stolen vehicle."
"A copter for m-me," she stuttered. Then she heard it.
"Come on, Nick's waiting," he said grimly.
Clare was beginning to think this was the biggest kiss off of all kiss offs and she threw on her, still wet boots, with tears in her eyes. The copter landed out back with snow whipping around as she ran with Alex towards it. It was weird for her to get into a copter, but it was Nick and Alex's favorite way to travel.
Just before they reached a frowning Nick, Alex grabbed her into a hug. "Sorry, sweetheart."
She was going to exclaim, "Why?" but then Nick had her, hugging her tight.
She heard him barely over the turning blades, "Sorry, baby."
"What?" she exclaimed, but Nick lifted her up into the copter, and when she expected them to follow, the door slammed shut and she watched them run back toward the mansion. Tears burned her eyes and she turned away from their horrible brush off.
Thank god for Penny.
Penny was Nick and Alex's executive secretary and surrogate mother, but a hot grandmother, for sixty plus years. Actually, the guys kept Penny in an easy job just so she could keep busy and they had mountains of secretaries to do the hard stuff. But Penny was outspoken and Penny was deep in the loop where Alex and Nick were concerned.
So the phone call that came from Penny, two days later, after Clare's world changed forever was surprising and very informative. Clare still hadn't gone back to work yet, so when Penny called she was sitting on her couch, wearing the same Kitty Couture sweats she'd had on for two days.
"They what?" Clare exclaimed. Because Penny had just told her the guys thought they took advantage of her.
"You know Alex cannot keep much from me, honey" Penny said.
"But they didn't drug me," Clare expelled, exasperated.
"But you know they love you, honey," Penny replied. "And while I don't know the details of what went on up that mountain, just by the way they are acting now, I know it was significant."
Significant was such a small word for what she felt happened, Clare thought, with just the beginning glimmers of hope — except being pissed off was eclipsing that hope.