"Welcome to the Magical Enchantment Ski Resort, I am Aaron Hotchner. I hope you enjoy your stay with us. If you need anything all you have to do is ask one of the staff or me personally. Please sign the register."
The register was old fashioned book where you signed your name. It was made of high quality leather in a golden brown that simply said in the middle of the front cover Registry in elegant golden letters in some kind of fancy font.
Once Cassia was done writing her signature Aaron then pulled the book towards him. "Cassia Jasperson?"
"Yes, that's my name," Cassia said blushing at the look Aaron was giving her.
"Your room is on the fourth floor," Aaron said handing her an old fashioned key. "If you need to be escorted the first time let me know."
"No thank you, I believe I can find it," Cassia assured Aaron.
Cassia handed over the credit card and Aaron ran it through the register.
"I hope you enjoy your vacation," Aaron said.
"Oh, I intend too. I have been looking forward to this trip for awhile," Cassia said smiling, as she headed towards one of the elevators that was available.
~~~Dave, Sabella, Aaron, Cassia~~~
"So what's got that goofy expression on your face?" Sabella asked Aaron, as soon as entered the home he shared with her and Dave.
"Oh, nothing really," Aaron denied, his expression turning innocent.
"Hmm, Hmm, tell it to the judge," Sabella said with a disbelieving expression. "You can try to tell that to Dave and see what he says."
Aaron said nothing, but knew Bella was right. The three of them simply knew each other to well so a lie was nearly always caught. The three of them had been lovers after all for a very long time.
"You'll have to wait until Dave gets here," Aaron said finally with a mischievous smirk, since he knew Bella hated waiting for information, especially the kind of information he had.
"Oh, come on!" Sabella protested. "Dave likely won't be home for hours."
"I don't want to have to repeat myself," Aaron said truthfully. While what he said was true he also liked Sabella to have to wait for information, especially on something like this.
While Sabella could understand that she still looked rather disappointed and pouted hoping to change Aaron's mind.
"That nearly never works on me, Bell. You know that," Aaron told the woman before him.
"Used to," Sabella said.
"That was a very long time ago, Honeybear, back when we first became lovers," Aaron reminded her.
Sabella gave up with a sigh knowing that Aaron give in no matter what she said...or did. Even if she tried to seduce him it likely wouldn't work. They'd been lovers for centuries so he was mostly immune to her methods of persuasion.
"The time will pass faster then you think Honeybear," Aaron said feeling just a tad sympathetic, though not enough to give in to Sabella wish to know, not the info he had
Sabella agreed, but said nothing and Aaron just chuckled already knowing what she was thinking.
~~~Dave, Sabella, Aaron, Cassia~~~
"So what's this rumor I've been hearing?" came the voice of David Rossi. "Something about a guest and you. Something about sexual vibes between you."
Aaron shook head, as it had always astonished how fast rumors could spread.
"Let me guess. We exchanged a wet sloppy kiss at the front desk in full view of half a dozen people," said Aaron.
"Or were about to tear each other's clothes off and have sex on the floor while the guests watched," Sabella suggested with a twinkle in her hazel eyes once she'd gotten over her shock at Dave's words.
"That's pretty accurate," Dave said amused.
"It amazes me how rumors can get so inaccurate, especially in a matter of hours," Aaron said.
"So what did happen precisely?" Dave asked, even as he sat down in a very comfortable chair facing the other two.
"Basically, this beautiful woman showed up to check in," Aaron explained. "I was shocked because I have never been so attracted to anyone other than Sabella, at least not so strongly. I mean this woman is drop dead gorgeous."
"So basically you think she's another mate for us," Sabella commented.
"Probably, but it was only a brief meeting," Aaron said. "Probably no more than a couple of minutes at most, as all she did was sign the register and then pay with her credit card.
"Which wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been shorthanded," Dave commented. "Our regular person on the front desk is out because of a family emergency. We hadn't decided we were going to hire anyone from a temp agency or not."
"We probably need to do that," Sabella said. "I mean if Aaron is going to get to know this..."
"Cassia, Cassia Jasperson," Aaron supplied with a rather dreamy expression.
It was such a unusual expression for him as he never got that stunned look no matter how gorgeous a female was, as both men had been sharing Sabella for decades. Not even those that flirted with him. He never flirted back and simply said that he wasn't available, which left a lot of ladies disappointed, but that wasn't his problem. There had been a few very persistent ones however.
"That's a very pretty name," Dave said.
"I think so," Aaron agreed.
"So what room is she in?" Sabella asked.
"Fourth floor, room 435," Aaron said.
"So I'm guessing you plan to woo her," Dave said.
"Well, yeah, because if she is our mate..." Aaron's voice trailed off, but the other two got the picture.
Dave was nodding because he completely agreed.
"I think it's a good idea that you're the only one she has close contact with, at least until you can assess the situation," Dave said. "Bella and I can meet her casually at some point. I should be attracted to her as well just like you were."
"So should I, even if that's through our bond with each other. I have no intention of having a physical relationship with her," Sabella said.
"That's not required. You know that," Dave reminded Sabella.
Sabella simply nodded as she did know that.
"So how do you plan to approach her?" Dave asked his friend.
"Well, that kind of depends on her," Aaron said. "I'm assuming that she came here to ski, though I know not everybody comes for that, as they just like the winter atmosphere. They come for the other activities in town, but not to ski."
"And there are plenty of activities that someone can do," Sabella added. "Yes, this is mainly a ski resort..."
"She may have decided to stay here because she had heard about it. We have a good reputation," Aaron said. "In any case, I could reintroduce myself on the slopes."
"It's possible that she's going to sign up for lessons if she doesn't already know how to ski," Sabella said
"That's a possibility," Aaron said. "I'm just going to have to wing it."
"So she didn't come with anybody, a girlfriend, boyfriend, husband?" Dave asked and Aaron shook his head.
"She was totally alone and she wasn't wearing a wedding ring," Aaron said.
"That doesn't mean she's not involved with someone," Sabella pointed out. "None of us wear wedding rings either, though we've been together for a long time."
"They're reasons we don't though," Dave said.
"While that's true the same might apply to Cassia," Aaron said. "I'm just going to have to play it by ear, as there is nothing else I can really do at this point."
"Unfortunately, you're right," Dave said. "Once you meet her, other then briefly, we can start making some plans."
"At least meeting this Cassia will break up the monotony," Sabella said. "I mean we've been running this place for how long?"
"Over 50 years," Aaron answered.
"Things have gotten rather routine," Dave admitted.
"You mean boring," Sabella corrected pertly. "If we aged like humans we would be retired by now or at the very least in our late seventies. I'm not saying that it hasn't been fun and challenging, but we have been at it so long that the entertainment value or the challenge of running this place has disappeared."
"So you're saying it's probably time for us to move on," Aaron said and Sabella nodded.
"While I love winter, particularly the Christmas season, I'm ready to go somewhere warm and sunny for the next few decades."
"I won't say I disagree," Dave said finally. "First though, our priority is getting to know this Cassia. We'll have to see where that goes before we even consider moving on."
"Well, yes," Sabella agreed. "I didn't mean we had to move on right this instant. I mean sometime in the next year or so."
"It's up to you then, Aaron, to feel her out," Dave said. "Really, having more than one partner isn't so unusual in this day and age. Of course, most of those are mortal, but that doesn't mean that she's one of those that's ever had more than one guy at time."
"There is also no guarantee she isn't married," Sabella added. "Or at least engaged."
The three of them contemplated that for a few minutes, before putting the subject aside for the moment.
~~~Dave, Sabella, Aaron, Cassia~~~
The next day
"Hey! I didn't expect to see you this morning!" Cassia exclaimed, as she recognized the tall, handsome form of Aaron Hotchner.
"Well what a pleasant surprise!" Aaron grinned at her, even as he casually held his ski poles. Aaron, like Cassia was dressed in a ski outfit. While Cassia's was black with purple stripes on both the jacket and pants Aaron's were mostly red with silver stripes down the sides of the pants.
Cassia thought that the guy she had met behind the desk yesterday looked incredibly handsome, more handsome in fact then he had yesterday when he had checked her in. When she had met him yesterday she had had a stronger bodily reaction then she ever had around a handsome guy. That didn't mean she hadn't dated plenty of handsome men, just that it had never gotten to serious at least on her end. With Aaron Hotchner though she could easily fall in love, the only problem being he was probably married, though she hasn't seen a wedding ring so he might not be.
"So want to ski together Ms. Cassia?" Aaron inquired with another cheeky smile. "That is if you don't have any plans to meet someone?"
"That sounds great," Cassia said blushing, as she gazed into Aaron's dark eyes
"So what slope you heading for?" Aaron asked.
Cassia told him and he nodded. "That's one of the most difficult courses. You need a lot of experience before you try or you'll end up with at least a broken limb," Aaron said impressed despite himself.
"I've been skiing since I was eight," Cassia said grinning adorably. "I would never try such a difficult course without a lot of experience."
"That's sensible if you ask me," Aaron said. "A lot of people have been seriously hurt, even killed trying such a course that is way above their skill level."
"I might like to ski, but I also know better than to take on a course I'm nowhere near ready for. Might never be ready for come to that," Cassia said, even as they got into an empty seat on the ski lift Aaron joining her.
"I wish everybody had your common sense. We've had accidents over the years, when people try one of the more difficult courses. Ones, that they are nowhere near ready for. We've even had a couple deaths, though not in years."
"That is so tragic," Cassia sympathized. "If those people had only had a little more sense..."
"Exactly," Aaron agreed. "It was mostly men that were competing against each other, though I won't say women aren't guilty of that occasionally, but they tend to have more sense. There was this one time that this woman ended up in the hospital. She was lucky, as she could've ended up dead."
"So I assume there was a police investigation into the deaths?" Cassia asked.
"Of course, there was," Aaron said truthfully. "It was found to be death through misadventure, though personally, I would have labeled it as death through stupidity."
Cassia had to chuckle at that, but couldn't really disagree, as most men couldn't resist a challenge. Of course, the man that was challenged also bragged about his skills beforehand and therefore, had to prove themselves or everybody would know that they were a liar and a braggart.
"It is called Diablo's Run for a reason," Aaron said. "You know what Diablo means don't you?"
"Devil," Cassia answered immediately. "So that basically means Devil's Run."
"Exactly, so anybody who does that course had better have the skills to back it up as there are rocks sticking up just a little out of the snow and there is also the threat of avalanches. It's also much colder up on Diablo's Peak, because it is the highest peak in this area."
"I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to try it," Cassius said shaking her head. "I'm a good skier, but I also know that my skill level isn't that high. I'm not courageous enough to risk my life just to show off. I would say someone would either have to be very brave or very stupid to try Diablo's."
"You might be right," Aaron chuckled appreciatively. "We make people sign a waiver, that basically says we are not responsible if they get hurt and that way they can't sue us if they break a limb due to their own stupidity or if there is an accident. Skiing can be dangerous, as I'm sure you know."
"Yes, it can so long as you take the proper precautions and don't try a slope that's beyond your skill level..." Cassia agreed. "It's as safe as any other sport. I had to sign a waiver before they rented me some skis."
"That's standard," Aaron said.
The ski lift finally arrived at their destination and the two of them hopped off.
"Let's get started," Cassia said eagerly, as she watched the other skiers race down the slope.
"Eager, are you?" Aaron asked with the delighted smile. Cassia was so full of energy she was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Of course I am, as it's been awhile since I've had a chance to ski on an unknown course," Cassia answered before she was gone skiing down the slope. "Catch me if you can!" The words were issued as a challenge
Aaron just chuckled, as he loved a challenge and followed her, determined to catch up with her.
~~~Dave, Sabella, Aaron, Cassia~~~