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CHAPTER ONE
“Remind me again what we’re doing here?”
Natalie Moore looked over at her twin brother, Nathan, as they unloaded their luggage from the SUV which had brought them to this brand new, exclusive mountain retreat, and smirked.
“We won a prize, remember?”
“For a competition I never entered,” Nathan remarked wryly. “Did you?”
Natalie shook her head and grinned at his obvious discomfort. “The ‘rents have contacts, you know that as well as I do. This is part networking, part scrutiny, and one hundred percent fun.”
“For you perhaps,” Nathan snarked. “It’s a BDSM resort, and while I have nothing against the lifestyle, the one thing I don’t want to see is my sister parading around naked or getting plowed by some guy.”
“Would a woman be preferable?” Natalie asked innocently, deliberately pushing his buttons.
Nathan sucked in a slow, deep breath and closed his eyes, like he was taking in the crisp mountain air, his clenched jaw, and fisted hands the only outward signs that he wasn’t quite as composed as he seemed.
“Come on Nath,” she retorted, elbowing him in the ribs. “Don’t be such a prude. There are individual cabins, private playrooms, and personal bedrooms. You won’t need to worry about a thing. There’s more than enough privacy for the short time we’re here.”
Nathan turned his head and looked up at the massive lodge which had once been a ski resort, and which still retained all the original outdoor pursuits.
It had one distinctive arched roof above the main entrance which led to a vestibule which was clearly for patrons to remove and store their wet and muddy boots and coats. At this time of year there was always the threat of snow so there was the added benefit of keeping the cold mountain air out of the main building.
Natalie led the way through to the reception area, leaving her brother to bring the biggest of the cases while she held the heavy oak doors open for him.
The building had a secure sturdiness that Natalie appreciated. She knew the weather could get rough in this region of Colorado, though she’d never visited the area before.
A pretty woman, probably in her mid-twenties, beamed at them with a wide, friendly smile. “Welcome to Red Hills Resort. I’m Jessie and I'll get you checked In."
Natalie returned her smile, forcing herself not to grin when she noticed the receptionist was surreptitiously checking out her twin. “Pleased to meet you. “I’m Natalie Moore.”
“And I’m Nathan Moore,” her brother added, giving his own introduction.
“I have you right here on the list! Your room is ready, so as soon as we get you booked in, I’ll show you where it is," Jessie assured them.
“Room?” Nathan repeated, all the color appearing to drain from his face. “Don’t you mean rooms, plural?”
His eyes were wide and slightly terrified, and Natalie wished she had a camera handy to capture the expression.
Poor Jessie looked from one of them to the other, a look of genuine confusion on her face. “You don’t want to share a room?” she asked, uncertainly. “Umm… did you have a spat, or are you… umm… you know, in an open relationship?” She seemed to recover herself because her smile was back. “Because we can cater to every kind of scenario, it’s not a problem at all. But you don’t need to forgo your personal space, because we have plenty of play areas to choose from.”
Nathan made a strangled, gurgling sound in his throat, and Natalie couldn’t help herself and laughed out loud.
Poor Jessie looked uncertainly at the pair of them, and Natalie made an effort to recover herself quickly. “What Nathan means is that we’re brother and sister, not a couple,” she explained.
Jessie sucked in a gasp and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my goodness,” she flustered. “I’m so sorry! I simply saw the same surname and assumed you were married. Don’t worry, it’s not a problem. I’ll reassign you straight away. I really am sorry.”
But maybe not completely sorry, Natalie thought, with a quiet smirk, if the renewed interest that lit Jessie’s eyes now she realized Nathan was single was anything to go by,
From behind her another woman had just moved into sight and cursed. It was low, obviously meant to be under her breath, but still audible. "This is my fault, Jessie. Don't worry, I'll get them set up."
"I'm so sorry Margo I didn't know," Jessie was saying as she stepped out of the way. Margo flashed her a tired, but genuine smile. "I didn't either until last night. Tobias forgot to mention it.
Margo turned her attention to the twins and tucked her shoulder-length blond hair behind her ears in a quick nervous gesture. "I really am sorry. Things have been so busy here that Tobias only remembered to mention your situation yesterday. And then we had a few last-minute issues today and I forgot to inform the front desk. Please forgive us, it's the first day." Margo was babbling a bit, but then this was their grand opening week, so it was obvious she wanted it to be perfect and impress all their guests.
Natalie leaned forward and covered her fluttering hand. “It’s fine, Margo,” she soothed. “It’s an easy mistake. We probably should have made it clearer ourselves.”
She decided not to mention that they hadn’t made the application themselves, so it wasn’t really their fault, but neither was it Margo’s.
