Elle tried to remain absolutely still but couldn’t help but tremble slightly. It didn’t help when Jack used one hand to hold her waist as another slowly moved to hold the back of her dark head. All the while, his lips left cool, sweet touches against her flesh. She didn’t quite know what he was gaining by doing this, but Elle didn’t feel like complaining. Not just out of fear, but enjoyment. Jack’s lips drifted down lower onto Elle’s neck, finding a sweet-feeling spot just below her earlobe. Unintentionally, Elle released a small gasp as his cold lips trailed over the spot. She could feel Jack’s grin against her neck as he returned his lips to the soft spot to begin gently kissing the area.
Elle closed her eyes, ignoring all loud thoughts in her head screaming how wrong this was. He was supposed to be the villain; she had to remember that. Looks were quite deceiving for Jack Frost—he held the beauty of angel but the deviancy of the devil. He was cold, he was cruel, and he was absolutely unapologetic about it.
Jack’s icy lips gently sucked at the delicate skin on Elle’s neck before moving at a much rougher pace that caused her to squirm beneath him. It caused her to lean her forehead against the top of his head as she tried to catch her breath. Still, he didn’t stop the rough yet pleasurable assault of her neck. Elle found herself feeling an unexplained rush of emotions where even though Jack was one of the most irritating people she had ever met, he was also one of the most intriguing. She knew she should tell him to stop, but at the same time, Elle didn’t want him to. She liked Jack being close to her, and she liked his hands on her. Jack halted his movement after Elle gave another small gasp from how painfully he sucked the sweet spot he had found. Keeping his arm around her waist, Jack brought his head up to look Elle directly in the eye.
He watched her strangely for a few moments, his brows furrowing as his jaw clenched. Elle pressed her forehead against his, and then he closed his eyes. Jack took in a slow breath. It was only when he opened his eyes again that Elle noticed something was wrong. Jack looked timid as he watched her curiously.
“I’m unsure of what this is between us,” he said, not elaborating as he watched her with what she felt was a nearly untrusting look.
“I’m plenty certain it’s called attraction.”
“I suppose it should have been obvious to me sooner,” said Jack bitterly. “Eros did something to us.”
That was a comment Elle wasn’t expecting. She watched his heavy frown while she tried figuring out how Cupid came into the equation. “Eros? What does he have to do with anything?”
“It makes sense,” muttered Jack, seemingly talking to himself. “The protectiveness regarding you, the urges to touch you…Cupid did something,” he said quietly, sounding annoyed. “He enchanted us!”
“Wait…so you’re saying the only reason you kissed me now is because Eros did something…” Elle trailed off. “Are you serious?”
“Exactly. That would explain quite a bit. The anger I have at Apollo, the constant urge to watch over you…it’s Eros meddling around with our emotions!”
Elle stared. “If I have this accurately, you believe the only reason you would want to kiss me is because Cupid tricked you?”
“Precisely.”
“That’s a real confidence builder right there,” muttered Elle, closing her eyes. She felt a sweet sting at her neck where Jack had been nipping. She quickly walked out of his grasp and over to the nearest mirror decorated in icicles. She found her cheeks were flushed pink while there was a light purple and blue bruise forming where Jack’s mouth had been. Elle recognized the mark, but she had never had such a thing on her. She had never had a boyfriend to ever acquire one before.
This mark was quite evident where anyone who looked directly at her would see it easily. “You gave me a hickey,” said Elle, her confusion not hidden as she leaned closer to the mirror to investigate the marking. As she gently touched the bruising, it was absolutely cool to the touch.
Jack appeared behind her, using a pale hand to remove her dark hair from her shoulder to look for himself. A satisfied grin crossed his lips as he leaned in behind Elle to press a kiss against the marking. His cool hands gently held the top of her shoulders as a sinister smirk crossed his features. “Of course I did. I don’t want any other man touching you before I figure out whatever this is what is happening between us,” Jack explained in a husky voice. “Now, you’re marked.”
Elle gently shook under his cold touch, watching the decent-sized bruise with wide eyes. “W-why would you do that?”
Jack moved his mouth from the sweet spot to hover close to her earlobe. He pressed the sweetest of kisses against her ear. “When something belongs to me, I don’t like sharing,” he explained coolly. He was gone in the short time it took for Elle to turn her head to look at him.
Chapter 9
“Does that look as though it is a scallion fork?” said Madam Hoorish hotly. Elle was deeply aggravating her instructor this evening. The elfish woman’s beady eyes were narrowed so far it was a wonder she could see out of them. The plump fingers of her hands were tightly clasped together as she seemed to be trying very hard to hold her patience. She was failing. Elle took note of the crease built between her forehead as her lips pursed in a very tight line.
She slowly set down the fork that was apparently not used for scallions. Thus far, Elle had survived a monstrous lion, fighting in an arena, and even Jack Frost attempting to kill her. Yet she found she was most afraid of the three-foot-seven deity that was in charge of teaching her proper mannerisms for queenship. Madam Hoorish never seemed to show any sign of happiness and almost always had a scowl on her face. Whether this was because she was simply an ugly elf or just didn’t appreciate Elle’s inability to understand the proper way to eat in Winter’s Kingdom was unknown.
Slowly setting the fork down, a weary Elle started to reach for another, only for the deity to slap her hand with a white whip. “That resembles a salad fork, in my opinion,” she sniffed, her tiny eyes narrowing once more. This was now three times in a row Elle had been wrong.
Elle stared at the table in front of her, trying hard not to lose her own temper. They had been at this for over an hour, dealing with too many ridiculously stupid things at once. There were apparently four different goblets to use at certain meals, along with four different spoons and five different knives. It was maddening how much attention was supposed to be cast into learning how to eat properly. It was watching Madam Hoorish glare at her that caused Elle to start rambling before she could stop herself. “What’s the point in knowing what fork I should use? Oritya and Khione have people feed them! What’s the point in learning this when they don’t even use eating utensils…ow!” Elle snapped, annoyed the tiny woman once again slapped her hand with the whip.
“You shan’t refer to the Queen and Princess of Winter’s Kingdom without their proper titles,” the woman sniffed.
“Still! They have people feed them their soup!” Elle protested. “Why do I need to know the proper…ow!” She cried as her hand got whipped again. “Will you stop hitting me? Why do you even have a whip, anyhow?” she yelped as the woman slapped her hand again. Elle rubbed her sore hand. The flesh on the back of it was now beet red.
The old woman breathed deeply through her nose. “Are you trying to test my patience, child?”
“No. I just seem to be really talented at doing it unintentionally…ah ha!” Elle said in triumph, grabbing the whip as the woman once again attempted to slap her hand. A small tug of war took place before Elle ultimately won. There was only so much strength a tiny woman such as Madam Hoorish could muster. “And you’re not getting it back,” said Elle firmly, carefully holding it away from the small yet frightening woman.
Madam Hoorish scowled. “How do you believe you will make a proper queen without knowing something as simple as which fork to eat with? ’Tis an embarrassment you grew up among mortals and not among the gods!”
“Well, if you guys have such a problem with my fork usage, I suggest finding ano
ther long-lost fire princess to marry Prince Popsicle,” Elle sassed back, crossing her slender arms after tossing the whip a decent distance away.
Madam Hoorish was fuming. “You are a tragic embarrassment, even for a mortal! Typical American!” the woman grumbled, turning on her heel and angrily stalking out of the large dining hall. “You classless creature. Why couldn’t have Zahara or Azmuel been the future queen? Now they hold class! You are nothing but a half-trained demigoddess that holds the grace of a slag!”
Elle rolled her eyes as the old woman hurriedly exited the room. “Just an FYI, if I’m stuck being the queen of the frozen land, you’re the first person I’m firing!” she shouted, disappointed Madam Hoorish seemed to have left too fast to have heard her. “Do you hear that? First person!”
The laughter of the newly arrived Apollo caused her to smile. “Does threatening to fire the staff mean you’re warming up to the title of Queen of Winter?”
Elle didn’t need to look at the spot across the table to know Apollo was now taking up residence in the chair. “Don’t joke. I’m not finding any of this funny. Well, I take that back. The amount of forks these people use is pretty hilarious. Seven? Why does someone need seven forks at a meal? I don’t even need two forks when I eat. And what are you laughing at?” Elle snapped impatiently.
Apollo was gently shaking with laughter as he watched the cold look she cast him. “It’s been three months and you still haven’t adapted to the idea that you will be the forever Queen of Winter’s throne.”
Elle scowled as she tilted her head back to stare at the glorious wintry ceiling. “Being here causes me to wonder what type of girl spends their time daydreaming they were a princess. There’s nothing fun about this. It’s a nightmare!”
Apollo listened to her, a slow frown playing at his lips. Within a nanosecond, he was kneeling next to Elle’s chair, gently touching the gauze pad that was on her neck. “You are hurt…” he said, his blue eyes holding heavy anger. “Who did it?”
Elle flushed. The memory of the hickey was still fresh in her mind even a full day after it happened. Cover up did not seem to do a proper job hiding the mark. Only an incredibly large gauze pad in the first-aid kit her bathroom had taken care of it. Apollo made to remove the large gauze pad only for Elle to grab his hand. “Please don’t.”
“I can heal what’s under there,” said Apollo, gently rubbing her hand with the tips of his warm fingers. “It comes attached with partially being the god of medicine.” He nodded seriously.
“I don’t want you seeing it,” Elle mumbled.
“Why ever not?”
Elle closed her eyes, remembering the things Jack revealed. “Because he did it so you would see it. I don’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that you did.”
With a pair of narrowed eyes, Apollo released Elle’s hand to pull the gauze pad off of the hickey. Apollo’s warm fingers gently grazed her skin, causing a hot tingle to consume the area before cooling off fairly quickly. Elle assumed he just healed it. “Is that what I think it is?” Apollo asked carefully, his jaw setting as he tried to keep a straight face.
“That depends on what you think it is.”
“I think that’s a mark Jack intentionally put on you,” Apollo said with a low hiss.
Elle blushed from his annoyed gaze. “He might have…wait, where are you going?”
Apollo had abruptly stood from his kneeling position to begin to pace. “Did he give that to you without your consent?”
Elle blinked, surprised by his sudden anger. “Why are you so mad?”
“Did he give that to you with or without your consent?” demanded Apollo, his eyes deeply narrowing in a dangerous nature.
“Well, let’s put it this way…” Jack Frost suddenly drawled, his voice echoing around the large dining hall. “Not once did Evangeline ask for me to stop. Did you?” he asked Elle, a mischievous grin on him.
Glancing up in the direction of the voice, Elle found Jack was sitting on top of a very large white pillar overlooking the dining hall. He was dressed in his familiar navy attire, his pale hands clasped together. A satisfied smirk was on his lips. How long he was just sitting there watching their exchange Elle couldn’t tell.
“Touch her without asking one more time and I shall make you suffer.”
“And what shall you do, Lord Lightbulb?” mocked Jack before vanishing. He next reappeared sitting across the large dining table, an amused look on his face. “Whose future kingdom are you inside at the moment?” said Jack, placing his fingers together as he leaned back in his chair. “She’s my betrothed. Thanks to the oracle of Delphi—your oracle—I get to touch her anytime I want because she belongs to me.”
“What am I, your toy?” snapped Elle, her disgust not hidden. “Don’t talk about me like I’m an object!”
“Ohh, stop pouting. You enjoy me around, and you know it.” Jack grinned cheekily.
“Did immortality give you that enormous ego or has it always been an active trait?” said Elle, crossing her arms over her annoying peach tunic dress she was given to wear today.
Jack gave an amused laugh as Apollo looked rather awkward over their petty arguing. “There’s that sharp tongue. I was wondering when it would make another appearance—”
“I clearly recall you’re the god in charge of winter, Frost,” Apollo said, his jaw tightly clenching once more. “Don’t you have a job to get to?”
“You really wish to talk to me about godly duties when you’re chatting up my betrothed instead of focusing on what places need sunlight at the moment?” Jack shot back, twirling his icicle staff in his hands. “You should get going. Your stepmother—the goddess of marriage—wouldn’t enjoy the fact that you’re fooling around with an engaged woman, would she?”
Apollo watched Jack with a steely gaze. He was trying too hard to hold onto his patience that was clearly waning. “My stepmother also isn’t fond of your fraternizing with the goddess of sensual pleasure,” said Apollo, a slight smirk to him. “I don’t feel she would mind my fooling around with my close friend compared to your indiscretions, Jack.”
Elle couldn’t help but notice Apollo’s words fooling around practically had proverbial quotations wrapped around them. Elle couldn’t be sure, but she suspected Apollo was purposely leading Jack on to believe more was happening between them than there actually was.
Jack held a mischievous glint to his grey orbs as he gently rolled his muscled shoulders. He gave a dark chuckle. “Would you like to know someone else who had a problem with my time with Voluptas?” he asked, nodding his head toward Elle’s direction. “The lovely Evangeline…my my, you really should’ve seen the hurt behind her eyes…” Elle cringed as Jack seemed to be enjoying causing Apollo’s teeth to grit together in anger. “I don’t feel she was happy again until she was securely close to me with her soft neck underneath my mouth.”
Apollo’s hand ignited in a strong flame until a sudden loud crack was heard. The god of the sun’s wrist was clearly broken just by a lazy flick of Jack’s pale hand. It was seeing the bone of Apollo’s wrist sticking up that caused Elle to gasp in fear. She covered her mouth to halt a scream as the bone and blood hung just a few inches away from her. Apollo did not blink. It was almost as though he had endured so many injuries in his three thousand years, this broken wrist seemed quite minor. It didn’t faze him.
“Hiding behind telekinesis, are we?” jeered Apollo, gritting his teeth as he snapped his wrist back into place.
Jack grinned as he suddenly appeared to be sitting in a chair at the long dining room table. “Who’s hiding? I don’t need my abilities to harm you, Apollo,” he replied lazily, placing his booted feet to rest on the large table. Jack placed his pale hands behind his frosted head, clearly wanting Apollo to make another move. Jack yielded full confidence on his beautifully pale face. A smirk lit up his features in a diabolical manner.
“Come and face me with no abilities and let’s see how long you last,” said Apollo curtly.
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Jack chuckled. “We both know I’ve bested you in the arena for the last, oh, I don’t know…twelve thousand times? Even pretending for a moment that you could outmatch me is a joke.” Jack swiveled his head just in time. Apollo had reared a fireball in his hands to launch directly at his face.
Elle jumped in her chair as the fireball hit the lovely icicle chair Jack was sitting on. It was a frightening move. Had Jack not moved out of the way, he would’ve taken the flames directly to the face.
“I go easy on you, boy,” said Apollo, his blue eyes narrowing. “I’ve known you’ve been a part of an important prophecy long before your great-grandparents on your mother’s side were even in existence. You are half of the reasoning a child from fire and ice is created. I could hurt you…I could terrorize you in numerous ways that would make you weep blood. I do not solely out of respect for the Oracle of Delphi,” said Apollo coldly, straightening his posture. “It would be in your best interest to halt your childish words—”
A snowball roughly cut Apollo off mid-comment. He shuddered as the ball of cold frost hit him in the face. Jack now stood at the entryway of the room, watching this exchange innocently. A low snarl escaped Apollo before he geared up a small ball of flame of his own. He quickly whipped it in Jack’s direction. Jack looked spooked as he fluttered around in place, trying to distance himself from the angry sun god as the ball of fire hit him.
Elle felt it was rather strange how fearful Jack suddenly looked. He didn’t seem to be someone who was afraid of anything. Yet as she watched him now, Jack looked truly concerned for his safety as he ran around the room, yelling out what sounded like Greek profanities.
“Hello, Elle,” said Jack, appearing in a kneel right beside Elle. She jumped in fright. She wasn’t expecting him to appear right beside her. There were now two Jacks. One was running from Apollo and one was sitting next to Elle. She alternated glances between the two individuals, confused as to what could be happening. “Jack?”
Betrothed To Jack Frost Box Set Page 26
