Page 57 of Frost
I choke out a laugh and grab the plushie from him. I then take the bags Mom dropped off into the kitchen and unload them. She brought chocolate chip cookies, strawberry cupcakes, and a selection of apples and oranges. She always adds fruit to make it seem healthier.
“That was nice of your mother,” Jack says, opening the container of cookies and eating one. He moans as he chews. “She does this for you every Valentine’s Day?”
“Yeah,” I answer, grabbing a cookie. “She never wanted me to feel left out in school when all the other kids were getting stuff, so she always sent a stuffed animal with a balloon and a box of chocolates attached. Once I graduated, she changed it to a sweets and fruit basket.”
“She’s a lovely woman. Kind, just like you.” Jack moves his gaze to the window, and a distant look appears in his eyes. “She knew I was here.”
“I could never pull one over on my mom,” I respond, shaking my head. “She has eyes like a hawk. I should’ve known she’d put two and two together.”
“But she can never meet me,” Jack softly says, moving his sad blue eyes to mine. “What are you going to tell her? You’ll run out of excuses eventually as to why I’m never available for dinner or parties.”
My chest squeezes. “I don’t know.” I hate the look in his eyes. It looks too much like he’s giving up. In a single stride, I have him in my arms. “No relationship is easy, but we’ll figure it out.” And then, the words I’ve struggled to say for so long come spilling out, “I love you, Jack Frost.”
He stills in my arms, much like how my heart does in my chest.
“You love me?” he says as his eyes fill with tears.
Too overcome with emotion, I can only nod.
His lips slam to mine, and he runs his hands beneath the hem of my shirt and up my stomach. Jack’s always been weird with expressing his feelings. For so long, he walked away when things got too intimate. And now he attacks my mouth and fucks me senseless to show how much he cares. That’s exactly what he does now.
“To the bedroom,” he murmurs against my lips.
I yank him with me up the stairs, and we bump into the wall as we heavily make out and tear off each other’s clothes, discarding them in the floor on the way to our room. I just had him not even an hour ago, but my cock fills and my pulse quickens. Heat spreads from the top of my head to my toes, as does an electric current that intensifies with each pressing of our lips.
Jack pulls me on top of him once we’re in bed, and after using lube, he guides my cock into him. He wraps a leg around my thigh and rolls his hips up, meeting each of my thrusts. My body’s on fire. And so is my heart.
I have no fucking idea what we’re going to do about us, but I can’t lose him.
Not again.
***
Jack’s been gone for hours.
I glance outside at the falling snow before checking the time. It’s after ten o’clock. He took off right when it got dark and said he’d be back later. I understand he has to leave every night, so even though it sucks sometimes, knowing he’s coming back makes it better.
But still. I can’t shake the sense that something’s off.
A week has passed since Valentine’s Day, and Jack hasn’t said a word about how we were going to work through the bumps in our relationship. In fact, he’s been overly cheerful lately.
Maybe he’s just happy.I know I am.
It explains why I have a feeling of doom in my gut. Things are going great, and I’m just bracing myself for when it all goes to shit.
While I wait for him, I straighten up my office. Which shows exactly how bored—and worried—I am.
A notification dings on my laptop. A message from my editor.
Oh my god, Luka. This book gave me all the feels. I’m going to go over it a second time before sending it back to you!
I smile and type back a response.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I appreciate how down to earth my editor is. She’s professional, but she also doesn’t hesitate to let me know when she absolutely loves something. When she sends back my manuscript, it not only has a crapload of corrections, but also a ton of comments about her reactions to certain scenes. It cracks me up.
The clock hits eleven, and my eyes start to get heavy. I shut down my laptop before brushing my teeth and getting into bed. Once under the warm covers, I turn my face toward the window and watch the snow continue to fall.
