But he doesn’t answer, just grins as he begins hauling me over the snow. I get the feeling he’s really enjoying this: acting like a draft horse in a fairytale.
And I have to admit, I am breathlessly impressed. His coat heaves, bits of snow flying here and there as his powerful muscles churn relentlessly forward, dragging us through the pristine, beautiful snowbanks that wind through the trees.
I don’t know how far it is, but it seems to be completely uphill and he doesn’t seem to mind one bit. Far above me, I can see birds circling, and the thin white line of an airplane far above that. Other than that, we seem almost to be the only two people in the world.
The mountain air is refreshing and bracing, cleansing me from the inside out. I can barely remember my injury as I sit in the lap of luxury behind my fairytale hero.
Eventually I get used to the undulating rhythm of our trek. Just as we round a corner, an enormous house appears as if by magic. It’s set back among
the trees, nestled against the mountain itself. I get the feeling that if we weren’t directly facing it, it would be all but invisible. Towering timbers line either side, with just a narrow path winding up to a outcropping of stone. I can see the rotors of a helicopter outlined against the sky, and the dark shapes of half-buried buildings of some kind.
“Is that it?” I ask pointlessly, because what else could it be? A fairytale castle?
I get the feeling I’m not far off.
Soon I hear the whine of a motor, and shapes moving quickly back and forth across the steepest part of the hill. In a couple of minutes the snowmobiles reach us, circling us as the drivers whoop and wave maniacally at Jake, who seems to practically ignore them.
One pulls up next to me, the engine almost idling as it matches our pace. He pushes the visor away from his eyes, revealing the same sort of silvery-gray eyes Jake has.
“Carty said you were bringing a stranger to the house,” the man says breathlessly, a lopsided grin curling one cheek into a set of dimpled ridges. “Is this her?”
The other snowmobile pulls along the other side of me and when he pulls his scarf down, I see the exact same lopsided grin on his face.
“I’m Liam!” he announces, grinning, before speeding off again.
“I’m Kill!” says the first one. “Jake, why don’t you give me that rope? I can tow her back to the house.”
“Yeah, why don’t you do something useful?” Jake snarls, holding the tow rope out. He loops it over the back of the snowmobile as Liam circles back, then climbs behind Liam on the snowmobile.
“Not too fast now!” he calls out.
Kill looks back at me, grinning. “Oh, I promise not to dump her in the snow, Jake! Not yet, anyway!”
Despite their rowdy nature, we set off at a very calm and safe-seeming pace. The snowmobiles sound like they could go a lot faster, but we just head toward the house, not too fast.
When we reach the stone outcropping, Jake dismounts the vehicle and comes back to me, lifting me off the sled before Kill even cuts the motor. It’s as though he didn’t want to give the other guys a chance.
Protectively, he holds me across his body as we walk toward the house. I loop my arms behind his neck and hold on tight, though I really don’t have to do anything. He’s so big and strong, I could just let him do everything.
The house practically takes my breath away. Windows that reflect the sky reach three stories in the air. I don’t even see the door until it opens for us, and then we all enter a foyer with racks of outerwear, gear, boots, coats, and such. Jake sets me down lightly on the floor and unzips my coat, his brow furrowed with concern.
“You’re going to be okay here,” he murmurs confidentially. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. I just want you to know that.”
“Why would I worry?” I ask, realizing suddenly that I wasn’t worried at all.
As he slips my jacket from my shoulders, he shrugs slightly. “I guess… You shouldn’t. Like I said. We are all very nice. After you get to know us.”
“All of you?” I repeat. “Like, how many…”
“Five,” Liam interrupts. He hangs his coat on a wrought-iron hook and stretches his arms over his head. Like Jake, he is broad in the shoulders and narrow in the hips, a perfect lumberjack specimen. With just a dusting of stubble, he doesn’t have quite the same wild look about him, but he does have the same mischievous glint in his eye.
“Five… What?”
“Five brothers,” Kill announces. “Carty and Timothy are waiting for us in the study. Let’s do this!”
Grinning, Kill and Liam look me over as I stand in my nylon top and ski pants. It’s the only outfit I’ve got, though I did manage to wash my panties in the sink. I feel less than glamorous right now, to tell you the truth. Still, my heart is racing. Who are these men? Why do they seem so excited to see me?
“Is his name really Kill?”