Free As Cold As Ice by Mandy Rosko

guards, even with your
powers."
    "Horse shit.”
    Soren lifted a brow at her.
    Jessica rolled her eyes, her anger not
leaving her. “Not the escaping part, but the part about doing any
damage to you. You’re a paranormal. I don’t know what you are, but
I know you’re strong as fuck.”
    Soren still didn’t say anything to her, and
Jessica realized her mistake.
    Which just made her want to hit him even
more. So she threw a punch at his cheek. He didn’t move, didn’t
lift his hands and cower, or make an attempt to duck out of the way
like any other normal person would when they knew they were about
to be struck in the face by flying knuckles.
    He just let her hit him. His head turned
under the force of the impact, but when he looked at her, blue eyes
still calm and unreadable, Jessica realized she’d made another
mistake.
    He seemed to stare right through her. A red
mark, a bruise, slowly bloomed on his cheek. It would worsen as
time went on.
    She thought so anyway, especially when the
mark turned a bright purple and blue, swelling in front of her
eyes. Then, just as quickly, it paled, transforming into yellow and
even a little green before fading away entirely, leaving only
clear, clean skin.
    The whole process took less than fifteen
seconds to complete. When it was done, Soren reached out and
grabbed her by the face. Jessica held perfectly still, waiting to
take the retribution that was probably owed.
    She hadn’t expected Soren’s revenge to be
his mouth descending upon hers.

Chapter Eight
     
    The kiss was rough, and at first, it could
barely even be called a kiss. It was more like their mouths were
just mashing together harshly. Since it was somewhat hard to keep
any kiss close-mouthed, their teeth also came into contact in a
violent way.
    The way their pearly whites knocked together
made pain flair all the way up into her head, not to mention the
rest of her mouth.
    She moaned from the pain and grabbed onto
Soren's wrists, and he let out a similar agonized sound and gripped
her cheeks even tighter.
    Neither of them tried to pull away.
    Not yet. Not just yet.
    Soren was the one to abruptly push himself
back, and his eyes were that same odd golden color, that same
glowing diamond shape she'd seen the first time she realized there
wasn't something entirely human about him.
    "Are you a shifter?" she asked.
    Soren licked his lips. "Something like
that."
    Okay, that wasn't what she'd been expecting
to hear, but it wasn't like she thought she was going to get any
honesty out of him anyway.
    "Are you a werewolf?"
    That might’ve explained why she was so eager
to spread her legs and grind against his thigh. All he had to do
was step a little closer and she'd do it. No second thoughts, no
regrets.
    Animal shifters did have the whole ‘animal
kingdom wildness’ about them. People around them tended to want sex
from them.
    A lot of good, hard, wild sex.
    Soren shook his head. "No. Nothing like
that."
    Jessica didn't know if she was disappointed
at that—because the excuse for guilt-free sex was gone—or
relieved.
    "You really didn't know what I was?" Soren
asked.
    Jessica bit her lips together and her eyes
pulled down to look at Soren's pink lips, lips that were slightly
glazed from their kiss, regardless of how rough it had been.
    "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