Page 45 of Frost
Once at the cave, Jack leads me through the narrow opening, then takes the small ice chest from my hands and places it on the ground. I packed water and stuff to make sandwiches for lunch, as well as some fruit and more cookies for him. Fishing is fun, but I want us to be able to relax and spend every possible moment reveling in the taste and feel of each other. Plus, it’s too fucking cold today.
“Your skin is chilled,” he says, touching my cheek. “If only there was a way for you to warm yourself.”
“If only,” I respond in the same light tone. “Like a warm, steamy pool.”
“Hmm.” Jack arches a silver brow. “I think I might know a place. Come with me.”
He grabs my hand, and we walk through the small passageway into the room with his ice sculptures. The walls glisten as if made of crystals, and I marvel once again at how stunning it is, from his works of art to the natural blue light. We walk to the left and turn another corner before entering the room with the pool. Steam rises from the clear water, and the drastic temperature shift feels amazing.
“I can feel my nose again,” I say, wiggling it for effect.
“Damn that Jack Frost,” he says. “Always nipping at noses.”
“I wouldn’t mind him nipping at something else.”
Jack lightly laughs and pulls his sweater over his head, tossing it to the ground. Seeing his smooth bare chest heats me up more than the water ever could. I tug off my coat, then the layers underneath it, before pulling off my boots and jeans. I step into the water after him, and I catch him trailing his gaze up and down my body.
“Like what you see?” I ask, waggling my brows.
“Very much.” Jack presses against me, chest to chest, as we stand waist-deep in the pool. The aqua-blue light dances on his skin, and my breath falters a bit when our gazes meet. “I will never tire from looking at you.”
He doesn’t say it, but I see the adoration in his eyes—the love. It’s what I feel too. However, voicing the emotion will only make it harder to say goodbye. I want to ask him to come home with me, to live with me in Bedford even if we have to keep our relationship a secret… but I can’t do that to him.
Jack is a free spirit, a being who goes wherever the north wind takes him. And I refuse to take his freedom, the one thing that brings him joy in his cursed immortal life. It’s also cruel to ask him to love me when he’ll only lose me in the future—to sickness, to old age, to some freak accident, whichever comes first.
I close the distance between our mouths. My heart feels so damn heavy as we kiss. No tears, though. That was the deal. So I don’t cry. Instead, I kiss Jack like it’s the last time I’ll ever be able to. Then, I make love to him much the same, our lips joined just like our bodies—our hearts.
“Luka,” he moans as I move inside him. “More.”
I press my face in the crevice where his neck meets his shoulder, and I pump my hips into him faster, the water sloshing beside us with the quick movements. When he shudders around me and cries out in orgasm, my eyes sting with unshed tears, and I capture his lips again.
The spark I searched for my entire life is right here in my arms.
And now I have to let him go.
***
Jack and I spend the day fucking, laughing, eating, then fucking some more. Then we come back to the cabin, cook pork chops and roasted sweet potatoes for dinner, and eat it in front of the crackling fire. Wine is poured, and we turn on the TV. But our lips soon find each other again.
I then take him to our bed and spend hours worshipping every inch of him again. Kissing, biting, and banging until my muscles damn near gave out.
Afterward, I hold him in my arms, breathing in his woodsy scent. “Will you ever visit me?”
Jack shifts in my arms and peers at me through frost-tipped lashes. “At your home in Bedford?”
“Yeah.” It’s fucking stupid, but I let hope build in my chest. “I live in a suburban neighborhood. Not as much privacy as we have here, but you can pop in whenever you want. To say hi… or whatever.”
“That’s a tempting notion,” he says, running a finger down my belly. “However, I think it unwise. I told you before that I keep a distance from people. Growing attached to a mortal is much too painful. You and me, right now, are playing with fire. For someone made of ice, fire will do nothing but destroy.”
“You’re not really made of ice, though,” I point out, feeling my heart break more and more with each passing second. “You’re warm and kind. You’re my…”Heart, I almost say. “Friend.”
“Friend?” Jack smiles. “And here I just thought I was an elf you liked to bang.”
“Half god, half nymph,” I say as tears brim in my eyes. “Get it right.”
He laughs and buries his face against my neck.
We lie in each other’s arms, kissing between long stretches of silence. I don’t know what else to say. All the words have been said. Well, notallof them. But telling Jack I love him won’t do any good. It’ll only hurt us more.
