Snow and the Seven Men: A Reverse Harem Fairy Tale Romance(3)

“Wonderful, Magnus, thank you,” Queenie said in a sickeningly sweet tone that made me cringe slightly. He got into the driver’s seat and drove off, a sea of luggage around us.

I turned away, another two bags in my hands but Queenie barked out at me, “You know, this is still a work expedition.”

My eyebrow raised in confusion, I looked back at her.

“I’m aware,” I replied dryly.

“You wouldn’t think so with that hair. You still need to be presentable, even if you’re not in the lab.”

My mouth gaped but no words came out. What the hell was wrong with this woman? We’d been traveling for almost a full day via plane and car. I was wiped and she was going on about my hair?

“What?” she sneered. “You have something to say?”

“No.”

I spun back around and stomped back into the structure, my breaths escaping in short, furious rasps.

Hunter looked up from the kitchen when I entered, the smile fading from his face when he saw my expression.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, wiping his hands on an apron he’d found from God only knows where.

“Nothing,” I huffed, shooting a look toward the door but Queenie still hadn’t followed me inside.

Slowly, Hunter ambled around the side of the counter and made his way toward me, looking into my face with concerned emerald eyes.

“Amanda?” he asked quietly and I exhaled in an exasperated puff of air.

“I don’t understand what I ever did to her,” I moaned, loathing that I was venting to him. I didn’t want him to think I was whiny but the stress of Queenie’s presence was already getting to me. I needed to let it out before I went crazy.

“I’m damn good at my job, I do what I’m told,” I rushed on, eager to spill it all before she could overhear.

Hunter nodded slowly, a bemused smile touching his lips.

“That’s the problem,” he murmured and I looked at him quizzically.

“What’s the problem?”

“She’s jealous of you.”

I paused, unsure if he was joking or not but I saw a wisdom in his eyes…along with something else.

“Jealous?” I laughed weakly. “She’s the boss. What does she have to be jealous of?”

The glint in his irises was unmistakable this time as his gaze raked over her face.

“Your beauty,” he murmured softly. My heart caught in my throat and I stared at him in disbelief but before I could muster anything clever to say, Queenie stomped into the building.

“Oh, how nice,” she growled caustically. “Is it break time? Why didn’t anyone inform me while I was slaving away getting your crap?”

The spell was broken between Hunter and I but the feeling of warmth which had exploded inside me remained.

Maybe this trip wasn’t going to be all stress after all.





3





Sasha





It took two days for us to overcome our jetlag and fall into a routine. I was grateful for the distraction of work after we organized our affairs and jumped into it. Even Queenie’s presence didn’t seem to faze me as much once I fell back into my research and the familiar juices started to flow.

It helped that whenever I looked at Hunter now, he was often looking back at me, a soft grin on his face.

Sure, I grunted to myself. Now he notices me. It’s not like I can pursue anything with Queenie in such close quarters.

Still, knowing that I had Hunter’s attention added a little spring in my step.

He thinks I’m beautiful.

I did my best to avoid speaking with Queenie but due to the nature of our work, it was inevitable. She still talked to me like I was a servant but she seemed as consumed with her tasks as I was with mine.

At the end of the third day, I sat back at my desk and rubbed my eyes. The whites were burning from all the intense scrutiny I’d been giving the old specimens. We were going to need to collect more samples soon.

A fission of excitement sparked through me as I realized that it might be my opportunity to be alone with Hunter, away from Queenie’s watchful eyes.

I wonder if anyone has ever gotten in on atop a glacier.

“All done?” Hunter asked from behind me and I looked up at him. He wore a boyish grin on his face like he was coveting a mischievous secret.

“For today,” I conceded. “You?”

He nodded and I realized he was holding something behind his back which he produced without prompting.

“Glenfiddich.”

My eyes widened at the sight of the bottle and he spun to show it to Queenie who wasn’t staring at us for once.

“What do you say, boss lady?” Hunter called. “You up for a little Scottish-Icelandic celebration?”

Queenie eyed him and I could see the wariness in her eyes.

“You brought booze?” she sighed but she didn’t refuse his offer. Instead, she rose and made her way over to us.

“It’s Halloween,” Hunter reminded her and I chuckled. I hadn’t remembered.

“Is this our candy?” I asked. Hunter held my gaze and winked slyly.

“This is one treat I have in store,” he said and a shiver of pleasure slithered through my body.

Is it getting hot in here or is it just Hunter?

“Come on,” Hunter urged us and we followed him to the kitchen where he’d put together a smorgasbord of snacks. I cast him a look through my peripheral vision, wondering when he’d managed to put the platter together.

“Fill me up,” Queenie sighed, flopping onto the sofa. “I earned it.”

She gave me a cold smile.

“I’ve been working on the prototype. What have you been doing?”

Is that wench implying I haven’t been working? She’s got some nerve, considering she’s coat tailing off my idea!

“We’ve all been working really hard,” Hunter interjected, placing a full glass of scotch into Queenie’s outstretched hand. “We’re a team, remember?”

I waited, fully expecting my boss to make some cutting remark but to my surprise, she only gulped back a huge sip of the liquor and smiled.

“I remember,” she replied, an almost dreamy beam on her lips. Hunter gave me a glass, not nearly as full as Queenie’s and he brought out the charcuterie board to set on the coffee table for all of us to eat.

I realized I was famished and I reached forward to snatch a piece of cheese and pop it in my mouth.

“This is nice, right?” Hunter said, settling into the warped winged chair across from Queenie. “It’s not trick or treating but it has its charms.”

Queenie said nothing and I saw that she’d almost finished her drink. She held up her glass and Hunter jumped up to refill it.

She better slow down.

Of course I said nothing aloud and a part of me relished the silence emanating from her for once.

Oddly, she wore a serene, almost peaceful expression and I almost couldn’t reconcile that she was the same woman who had terrorized me at work for the past two years. She seemed more innocent, as if the liquor was a magic potion, erasing all her evilness.

Note to self: Keep Queenie drunk.

Hunter handed her the refill and she accepted it, bringing it to her lips instantly.

“Are you going to have something to eat?” Hunter asked her but she shook her head.

“I’m good,” she purred in a breathless voice which made me arch my eyebrows. “This was a really good idea.”

Hunter seemed to swallow a smile.

“I thought you might like it,” he replied. We exchanged a look but Queenie was floating away somewhere and I could see that her eyes were growing heavier. She downed her drink again.

“Hit me again, Sam!” she giggled. I’d barely taken one sip out of my drink. I had no idea how she had managed to chug back all that but one thing I was certain of—she was going to be feeling the aftereffects in the morning.

I just hoped she didn’t take it out on me. It was a foolish wish—of course she would but I’d take the night of peace while I had it.

“You better catch up,” Hunter teased me and I wrenched my eyes away from the train wreck my boss was becoming. I put the glass to my mouth, more to keep my disbelief inside than because I wanted to feel the burn of the alcohol down my throat. Yet as the scotch made its way down my esophagus and into my stomach, the warmth was very pleasing. I could feel the tense muscles in my neck relaxing and I permitted my body to sink back against the loveseat.

“There you go,” Hunter murmured. “Isn’t that better?”

I nodded in agreement, a lazy smile touching my mouth.

“My hat is off to you,” I said lightly. “I didn’t think to bring any party favors.”

Hunter chuckled lightly and rose from his chair toward me. He sat at my side and I shot a nervous look toward Queenie but to my absolute shock, she had passed out.

“Woah,” I muttered in disbelief. “That didn’t take long.”

Hunter laughed and the sound filled my ears deliciously.

“I have a confession to make,” he whispered, bringing his face close to my ear. The heat of his breath sent goosebumps over my skin.

“What’s that?” My voice was barely audible in my nervousness. He couldn’t kiss me right there, could he? Not when Queenie was five feet away.

Then why did I want him to so badly?

“Amanda is a binge-drinker. I’ve known that for a couple years.”

I pulled my head back to look at him, stunned.