As Cold As Ice (9 page)

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you
worry."

Soren's thumb traced over her cheek. "Well,
yes, you did. That was something of the point to get me to
cooperate with you, but that's fine. It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't?"

Soren shook his head. "No, and neither does
Charles. I know you're only doing what you feel you have to do to
get out of here. You wouldn't be the first attractive paranormal
female to try and take advantage of that."

Hearing that, regardless of how true it was,
pissed Jessica off to no end. "I'm not going to be sleeping with
him. Ever," she stated vehemently.

Soren looked at her like he didn't quite
believe her. "Then why are you letting me touch you like this?"

Her eyes widened, but she recovered from her
shock quickly. "This is a test?"

"No, not really. I guess I just wondered if
you would let me do it, and I had to."

Jessica's face heated. Yeah, that made
sense, she supposed. "Because you like my face and body."

The picture of her on his computer was proof
enough of that.

The romantic thing to do would have been to
tell her no, that wasn't the only thing he liked about her. That he
liked her personality, liked how she could be tough but kind
whenever it was necessary, that she only brought in paranormals who
actually were a danger to society.

That would have been the romantic thing to
say, fitting for a scene in a romance novel.

Not there. Not in this
place where underhanded business deals took place, and bored
billionaires watched paranormals use their powers to kill each
other, because they couldn't be bothered to watch the latest
X-Men
movie
instead.

Soren just nodded, the gold in his eyes
darkening. "Yes, I do like your face and body."

Jessica didn't pull away from him. His was
the first comforting touch she'd had in so long. She didn't care
how real it was, if it was fake, whatever. The point was that she
believed in it enough in that moment to allow herself to be
consoled by it.

She wanted more of it. It didn't matter if
it was the wrong place and the wrong time, and she didn't care what
it made her to want it. All she could think about was that it might
be months more before she could ever feel this good again, this
safe, and this normal. Soren was her jailor, but he did that for
her.

Jessica slid her hands away from his wrists,
up his arms and around the back of his neck, touching the soft,
auburn hairs growing there.

He tensed, as if expecting her to do
something, like attack him. But Jessica didn't move. She waited for
him to relax, to realize she wasn't about to sink her nails into
his skin, or launch herself at him in a flurry and just battle it
out.

She stood there, looking up at him. He was
tall, at least five inches taller than she was. She liked that,
liked men who weren't just taller than her, but noticeably so. It
made her feel dainty and feminine, which was something she didn't
often get to feel.

"Do you want to have sex with me?" she
asked.

That was beyond not romantic, but it was an
honest enough question. She wanted to know if he did.

Soren's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed
hard. He was good-looking, really good-looking, though he hid that
away when he kept his head constantly down, refused to socialize,
and sometimes didn't leave his office for days on end.

The shy routine didn't seem like an act, and
it appeared to take him a lot of genuine effort to nod. "Yes. Do
you want me to?"

"To what?" Jessica asked, playing with him a
little, wanting him to answer her. "Be specific, please."

A touch of color bloomed on his cheeks. He
looked adorably embarrassed and uncomfortable. “Do you want me
to…to fuck you?"

She didn't hesitate. It was like she'd been
waiting for him to finally ask her that ever since she'd grabbed
him and kissed him in her cell. "Hell yes."

Jessica pulled his mouth down for another
kiss. A softer one, their mouths coming together easier that time.
They opened for each other quickly and easily, soft and warm
tongues coming together in a fluid motion.

This was a real lover’s kiss. Jessica pushed
forward, again and again, until her tongue was exploring inside
Soren’s mouth. She liked that, liked that he allowed her even that
much control. It was the control she craved, the feeling of finally
being able to make even the tiniest of decisions for herself.

That was what she wanted, what she’d
desperately been needing this entire time. But it wasn’t the thing
that sent jolts of pleasure shooting down her throat, like balls of
crackling electricity firing rockets through her nerves as it
rushed down her spine. It budded and pleased her nipples on the way
before touching base at her sex, making it swell and fill with
warmth and slick fluid then falling the rest of the way down her
legs, slower that time. It finally stopped at her toes, making her
curl them as she moaned.

And then another ball of
lightning fire fell through her again, touching different nerves
and making more hairs on her body stand on end. She felt kind of
like one of those
Plinko
games from
The Price Is
Right
in that moment.

Jessica let her hand slide up the back of
Soren’s hair, loving the feel of it, gripping it just tight enough
to hear him moan for her. Also, she needed to get the weird
thoughts out of her head. That wasn’t helping her.

Soren let her have her way with him. He
allowed her hands to roam, her tongue to push against his. He
barely touched her in return. His hands were light on her body,
sliding down to her shoulders then to her hips in such
feather-light touches she barely registered them. Had it not been
for the fact that her tongue was in his mouth, she might’ve thought
they weren’t touching at all.

And that irritated her. It seemed wrong on
so many levels, like he was insulting her by not touching her, and
she needed to do something about it.

Jessica did the only thing that came
immediately to mind. It wasn’t too original, but it got his
attention for sure.

She let her hand slide down his white lab
coat, her fingertips pressing against his chest just hard enough so
he could feel the stimulation beneath the rest of his clothing.

The lab coat was clean and felt recently
pressed, so the material was stiff as it went midway down his
thighs, but she knew full well he felt it when her hand came to
rest against his cock.

Even through the material of the coat and
black slacks he wore underneath, she could tell how hard he was.
She also felt the immediate throb as she put just enough pressure
against his erection to make him shiver.

Jessica pressed her body closer, wanting to
feel that pleasure with him. She pushed her chest against his.
Jessica’s bra wasn’t anything special. It held her tits up well
enough, but there wasn’t a whole lot of padding, either. Mostly it
was lace, which allowed a lot more shocks of pleasure to light up
through her nipples. It moved down to her clit when they were chest
to chest, even with the rest of their clothes separating them from
a more intimate contact. Lace against bare skin always did that to
her.

But she wanted more. Once she’d gained some
control, she wanted to feel what it was like to give up the tiny
bit of power she did have to someone else, to Soren. She coaxed his
tongue forward, abandoning his cock so she could hold onto his
cheeks with both palms, her ultimate goal clear. She made sure he
couldn’t mistake her intent.

He pulled back before she could lure his
tongue into her mouth.

“
Are you sure?”

“
What?” she sputtered. It
was rare for a guy to ask if she was sure, especially when she very
clearly was. Plus, the smell of sex in the air was thick enough to
cut with a knife.

“
You don’t have to be a
gentleman about this. Trust me, I want you to fuck me.” She wanted
it so damned bad her hands shook as she worked the buttons on his
lab coat. She moved fast, her fingers trembling a bit, as if both
their lives depended on being naked, like their clothes had caught
fire.

Something had caught fire, all right.

Soren frowned then shook
his head. “No, I…I’m not going to fuck you. I can’t
fuck
you.”

Jessica’s fingers instantly yanked away from
the buttons of his lab coat, fire or no fire. “What?” That time,
the word left her mouth on a croak. She didn’t get it. Why change
his mind? “Are you kidding?”

His frown deepened. “I don’t fuck a lot of
people. I mean, I do, but I don’t want to do that with you. Not
like that.”

The heavy sigh she heaved was so massive
that Jessica’s throat and tongue hardly worked when she spoke, like
everything was too swollen and dry to get out real words. “Oh! Oh,
you’re talking about… oh…” She trailed off at the look on his
face.

Soren really was a gentleman. He wanted to
have sex with her, but not hard, fast and rough. He didn’t like it
when it was called ‘fucking’, either apparently.

Considering the situation they were in, what
else could there be?

Only one thing came to mind, and she knew it
wasn’t right. Despite how much she liked him, there was no room for
that. Not when her life was on the line.

“
Soren, I know you like
me—”

“
I more than like
you.”

She pretended to not catch that. “But I
can’t just act like I’m in love with you. There’s too much going
on.”

Soren was shaking his head even before she
finished. “I’m not asking you to love me. Just to not use that word
so much.”

“
You used it.”

Soren rolled his eyes. “For Christ’s sake, I
know. It’s not like I can’t stand ever hearing it, just not so
much, and not when I want to be with you.”

Jessica blinked twice before she was able to
respond. That had sounded…so very sweet. “Oh. Well, okay, that’s
doable.”

And it was. Even though several weeks spent
inside of a cell made her want to feel good, want the release that
came with sex, it didn’t mean she wanted it to be crass. Part of
her liked to think she had that much control over the situation,
and if Soren was willing to give it to her, then why not?

“
All right then, Soren. I
want you to have sex with me. Can you do that?”

Soren didn’t hesitate. He nodded, and
something glinted in those blue eyes that made Jessica shiver.
“Most definitely.”

Chapter Nine

It was a nice, solid reminder of Soren's
strength when he put his arms around her waist and lifted her into
the air, swift and clean. He had no trouble holding her weight at
all.

She wasn't a big girl by any means, and so
long in that cell with minimal exercise meant her muscle mass had
diminished, but a hundred and twenty pounds wasn't anything to
sneeze at, either.

Most guys who could lift that weight still
did it with some effort. With Soren, though, it was like there was
none at all. There was no hesitation in the way he pulled her
up.

Jessica liked strong guys, but she wasn't
into overly muscled ones, either. She preferred that in the men
she'd dated because it left her feeling that, if she was ever found
out as the goddamned snow queen, or if the guy she was with turned
out to be abusive, she could at least handle herself, defend
herself.

Soren was just perfect

Jessica's thoughts immediately moved away
from that line of thinking when Soren brought her over to a table.
It was long and wide, made of steel. Probably the sort of thing the
refreshments were served on while the very rich watched their
entertainment.

Soren laid her on the metal surface. It was
so cold she could feel the chill through her clothes.

"You jumped," Soren said.

"It's cold."

Soren's eyes widened. "I didn't think the
cold would affect you."

She shrugged. "I can handle more than most
other people, and my own cold hardly bothers me at all, but I still
notice it."

Soren's lips thinned, and she could see he
was thinking about what she'd just said. "Don't ever tell that to
any of the handlers, or to any of the doctors who work in the
building. They'll probably think of some way to use that against
you."

Jessica nodded. She already knew that. Which
was why it was confusing as hell to her that she'd blabbed it to
Soren.

Despite her limited amount of trust for him,
she still knew she shouldn't have told him something like that.

Though it bothered her that she had let it
slip, she allowed that worry to melt away when Soren's fingers
touched her. At first, his fingertips came into contact with the
buttons of her shirt, like he was about to slowly unbutton her
blouse and reveal her lacy bra.

Jessica's breath hitched and held when his
hands moved down, down, down, until his palm was cupping her
between her legs, over the jeans she wore. He applied enough
pressure that Jessica's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in a
shaky, nearly silent gasp.

Soren's mouth descended on hers when her
lips parted, kissing her, claiming her, showing so much more
courage and command than he had when they'd kissed not two minutes
before.

And it was fucking unbelievable.

Jessica's hands trembled. They barely worked
for her, despite the signals her brain sent to the rest of her
body. She grabbed his shoulders after what seemed like several
minutes of trying, gripping him tight.

She held onto him like he was a lifejacket
and she was out in the water, unable to swim, like he was the only
person who could chase away the dark and scary things that
surrounded her in the night.