Free Cursed by Ice by Jacquelyn Frank Page B

time he did not return. This time he waited for her response. Waited to hear her rebuff him again.
    “No,” she said. They both immediately knew the difference between the first denial and this last one. This time she was saying no to his no. As in yes. Yes, she wanted him to kiss her again. She didn’t know why, but she wanted more. She knew there was something more to be had, and she wanted it.
    It was crazy. Daring. She didn’t know him. Didn’ttrust him. But there was something to his strong, handsome features that just drew her in.
    This time it was she who moved forward to touch her mouth to his. Suddenly his hands were up and closing around her head, pulling her tightly to him as his mouth slanted fiercely against hers.
    She had been kissed before, but it had never felt like this. Stealing kisses with a kitchen lad had never felt like this. Poor Toaw, young boy he had been, had no hope of competing with this man’s kiss. Drawing in a deep breath, he coaxed her mouth open with his and introduced his tongue. Shocked, she drew back. He saw her confusion and smiled. It was a warm smile. An expression she had not seen on him before this. It creased across his face and lit humor in his eyes, making him even more compelling.
    “Have you never been kissed like that?” he asked her gently.
    She shook her head.
    “Have you never been kissed?” he thought to ask then.
    She nodded. “But please don’t tell. I’ll get in trouble.”
    “With whom?” he said, a gentle reminder that she no longer had to worry about the rules of slavery under her Kithian masters. “Why would you get in trouble?”
    “We’re not allowed … unless our master says we can. And the bennesah would never risk me becoming pregnant and dying in childbirth. I was more valuable to him locked up in this room. He kept me here, hid me from his enemies … and everyone else.”
    “Well, that’s over now. If you want to kiss me, you can.”
    “I …” She dipped her head and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, a pretty violet blush tingeing her cheeks. “I think I do.”
    He smiled again and pulled her close once more. She moaned softly at the immediate feel of his mouth, athow good it felt. She had been afforded so few pleasures that this one hit her hard. This time when he touched his tongue to her lips, she opened her mouth for him willingly and without question. And she was glad she did. The way their tongues touched—the erotic, wet warmth of it—was like nothing she’d ever felt before. She followed his lead with ease, his actions slow and purposeful. She felt heat begin to spread throughout her body, in certain places more than others.
    When she drew back, she put distance between them, as much as the narrow bed would allow for. He let her go, not forcing her to his will in the least.
    “I-I think I’d like to stop now,” she said, holding up a hand as if to ward him off.
    “Then we will stop,” he said simply.
    The reaction surprised her and she knew it showed on her face because he said, “What did you think I would do?”
    “Become angry,” she said honestly.
    “No,” he said with a shake of his head.
    “Oh. Well, thank you.”
    “For what?” he asked, amusement in his eyes. She liked the way his eyes lightened with the emotion. When he had been kissing her they had gone dark, but now they were the lightest, fairest green. She had never seen eyes that color before. All Kithians, including the scourge, had blue eyes. Differing shades, but all blue.
    “For the kiss. And for not becoming angry. But now …”
    “Yes, now we have to get back to the business at hand,” he agreed. “Do you think you can ride again?”
    “Do I have a choice?” she asked wryly.
    “No, I suppose you don’t. We won’t find him without you.”
    “No. And even if you could, he’d run away in fear.”
    “In
fear
? That big thing would fear
us
?”
    “He’s still just a baby,” she insisted.
    “That is a very big