Free As Cold As Ice by Mandy Rosko Page A

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