“I was jealous,” Elle murmured, her eyes still sparkling with fresh tears as she covered her eyes. “I…I hate her. And I know hating someone is wrong, and it’s not like I haven’t said things like that before, but I think I mean it. I really, really hate her. She just went on and on about how she wanted to touch you and have your kid, and…why are you smirking at me?” Elle suddenly huffed, dabbing at her tear-stained eyes.
Jack was grinning wildly as he watched her, to the point of smugness. Elle tried to be mad at him, but she couldn’t help a smile from threatening to take over as he watched her with what was an uncharacteristically goofy grin. She hid her face against his chest to hide the fact that her eyes watered at the very thought of Voluptas touching him.
A soft, velvety chuckle escaped Jack’s throat while rumbling through his chest. Elle was surprised that leaning against him she could feel a heartbeat. She placed her hand on his chest, momentarily forgetting she didn’t ask permission. “Er…sorry…” she broke off, watching Jack observe her curiously. “You have a heartbeat.”
“I knew you thought I was heartless,” he muttered, watching her with a loving gaze. Elle blushed, leaning her head against his chest once more.
“No…it’s just…you’re immortal.”
“Elle, simply because I’m immortal doesn’t mean I’m not still a man in every sense of the word,” he teased, running a hand through her braid. Elle was about to ask what he was doing until he seemed to be hastily undoing the messy braid to allow her wild mane of dark hair to hang free. Jack grinned. “I have a heartbeat, and I still breathe, eat, sleep. The only exception is I cannot die unless a magical dagger is stabbed through my heart.” He nodded seriously.
They were both quiet after that. Jack soundlessly watched her, and she watched him. Elle soon tried to move, only for Jack’s hand to return and hold her gently in place. “I’ve now decided you no longer get a say in wanting to be with me. You obviously hold strong feelings for me. If I leave the decision all up to you, we’ll never get anywhere.” Jack grinned, leaning his lips closer to Elle’s, only to frown. It was her casting her brown eyes downward that caused him to speak again. “Please don’t tell me you believe Voluptas.”
Elle found herself surprised yet again he said the word please. “I…I was just jealous.”
Jack’s brows furrowed. “Do you believe her?” Elle shivered underneath his hard gaze as she nodded. He growled once more. “Do you truly believe I have ever sat on a shower floor in a bid to get a woman’s temperature down?” Jack questioned quietly. As she thought about it, Elle didn’t feel he had ever done such a thing in his life. “This is a first.” Jack nodded, as if reading her thoughts. “I’ve never given a damn about a woman’s needs physically or mentally. Voluptas could cease living for all eternity, and I would not spare it a passing thought.”
Elle felt strongly he was being honest. “Then why me?” Jack’s head swiveled down to stare at her. Even she was surprised she’d asked him such a blunt question. “What makes me special?”
Even though she felt strongly she was putting him on the spot, he was the one who threw out the word love. To her surprise, Jack grinned as a cool arm wrapped around her lower body, and he brought his nose to her neck to kiss once more.
“You have a beautiful soul,” he said quietly, a cool kiss being placed on her neck as he spoke. “Without even a thought of your own well-being, you choose to save a life even though it has no benefit toward your own.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” Elle said, feeling hurt he felt he had no benefit to her life. Jack shook his head.
“My ferocious kitten, I’m talking about Voluptas. You do realize if the situation had been reversed, not only would she have allowed me to kill you, she would have been finding me supplies to get the job done,” he explained, leaning down. Jack placed a chaste kiss against her forehead. “I’ve never met someone who has a light in them, where they want to see the good in situations and not just what would benefit themselves.”
Elle stifled a breath as Jack’s mouth placed lovely kisses down her collarbone. “You’ve never met someone else where you’ve felt that way?” she asked, near breathless over his well-placed kisses.
“No,” Jack mumbled into her skin, his mouth now finding the hollow of her throat. “You’ll find almost every immortal alive cares only about what benefits themselves for the most part. It’s an instinct, a survival of the fittest, if you will…” He trailed off, looking deep in thought. “You are not like that. It amazes and scares me.”
His comment held so much seriousness, he stared off into space as if reliving an ugly moment. Elle found herself giggling as she allowed her hands to run through his feather-soft hair. “So the thing that makes me special also scares you, huh?”
Jack snapped out of his trance to watch her with disappointed eyes. “You jumped in front of Apollo to save me. You cannot even fathom how dangerous that was.”
“I wasn’t in any danger. I mean, fire can’t hurt me, right?” Jack’s cold hands scooped her closer to him as he stood up from the floor. He motioned so Elle could look down and see the very wide burn mark that ripped through her dress. She frowned. “I find it odd that I didn’t burn the dress when I caught fire, but Apollo’s fireball burned through it…”
“Moving in front of me was about the dumbest thing I have ever seen you do,” Jack said, his teeth gritting as a crease built on his forehead. “Gods forbid he had a knife on him!”
Elle’s eyes widened as she watched him worriedly. “If he did, you could’ve gotten hurt!”
“Stop saying that!” Jack ordered as his finger gripped her tighter. “I cannot die. Why can’t you understand that? Apollo wasn’t aiming to kill me. He’s plenty talented in that art; he would’ve been able to succeed just fine if he wanted to. Gods forbid he threw a knife. What would I have done if that hit you instead of a ball of fire? Styx! I hate that I am actually relieved to find a ball of fire hit you,” he scowled. “Think of how insane that is! I’m relieved that flames hit you!”
“I’m fine!” Elle said, gently cupping the back of his head to make him look down at her. Jack watched her, his face still holding a heavy scowl as he looked her in the eye. “I’m okay,” she said again, feeling elated that he watched her with such a protective stare.
“I hate Apollo,” he muttered, almost so quietly Elle wouldn’t have been able to hear him if she wasn’t less than a foot away from his lips.
“Well, I hate Voluptas.” Elle nodded seriously, trying and failing to keep the smile off her lips.
Jack smiled briefly, shaking his head. “How about we kill them both to take them out of the picture?” He looked hopeful.
“You can’t do that!”
“You and your rules,” Jack muttered. “No killing, no disfiguring…I’m truly starting to believe you’re no fun at all.” He grinned impishly.
“I’m just…sorry,” Elle said quietly after a moment. “For ignoring you…for…well, trying and failing to beat up your ex at your dad’s funeral…” She frowned, feeling awful as she realized her horrible timing with the impromptu fight.
“It was only the ignoring me that I didn’t appreciate,” he replied, allowing Elle to sit herself up. “Why did you say no?” Elle had no idea what Jack was referring to until he brandished the familiar ring box he had used earlier. “You have to learn to reconcile the fact that you have feelings for me, Elle. That’s the only explanation for why you throw yourself in front of gods along with terrorizing my past flings…”
Elle gaped. “She started it, technically!”
Jack nodded. “So if Voluptas and I were to engage in some of the behavior you witnessed at the ball that one time, you wouldn’t have a problem with that?”
Elle’s memory burned with reliving that moment she walked in on them in such a compromising position. A sharp sizzling noise caused Elle to see their skin was sizzling again as Jack’s hand held her bare arm. He grinned mischievously, leaning in to pr
ess a soft kiss against her mouth. She gently kissed him back, causing a smirk to cross his pale lips. “I’d be jealous,” she admitted, covering her eyes with both hands as the sizzling stopped.
Jack sighed, tightening his grip on her. “I would feel the same way if I saw Apollo lay a finger on you,” he said quietly, causing Elle to watch him with sad eyes.
She was torn between being happy in the moment and worrying about the lingering prophecy. “What if you, Pele, and Voluptas are right and I…die?”
“What happened to the ever so self-confident I’m-living-forever Elle?” Jack shot back, his eyes narrowing.
“You’re the one who so eagerly wrote my death out! What happens if it comes true?”
Elle discovered Jack had found a really nice way to shut her up. He pressed his cool mouth to hers, kissing her deeply. Feeling soft tingles from the way his cold lips worked against her own caused Elle to sit up to help properly participate in kissing him back. His lips moved feverishly against hers, causing Elle to feel almost breathless from how strongly he was kissing her. His hands snaked around her waist, causing the ring box to fall onto the floor as he pressed her closer against him. “I will do everything in my power never to lose you, kitten.”
“Why do you call me kitten?” Elle laughed as Jack hugged her close. He gently tugged on her hand to lead her out of the bathroom.
“You feel you’re a tiger, and yet you hold the tenacity of an itty bitty kitten.” He nodded, grinning broadly as Elle kissed him once more. He tried kissing her deeply before she playfully pulled away.
“With how many names someone could use on you, Jack Frost, you really shouldn’t name call…”
“Oh yeah?” he said, kissing her once more. “Unfortunately for you, my dear, I believed you have exhausted your arsenal of name calling since we first met.”
Elle raised her eyebrows skeptically. Jack’s playful expression suddenly dropped as he watched her with a dumbfounded look. Elle couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she gently entwined her arms around his neck once more.
“You are an evil little vixen,” he said, a groan escaping him. Elle smiled up happily at him, feeling completely content with staying like this all night. It was amazing how he could generate so many mixed emotions from her. Even though there was a very decent-sized part of her that felt terrified Jack could change his mind regarding his feelings at a moment’s notice, she felt too satisfied with being in his arms to care at the moment. She leaned in to kiss him once more, inwardly hoping with all her might Jack didn’t feel differently about this tomorrow.
“Gods, you are beautiful,” he said quietly, kissing her again. Elle tightened her arms around his neck only for him to pull away. “Bedtime for the mortal,” said Jack, bringing her to the bedroom courtesy of the wonderful art of teleporting. He easily escaped Elle’s grasp and even gently dodged her advance to keep a hold on him.
“Believe it or not, I was once a gentleman.” He nodded seriously.
“You’re right, I don’t believe it.”
Jack grinned. “Once upon a time, I had a mother and stepfather who instilled morals into the young man I was. ’Tis improper to stay inside a woman’s bedroom at night when unwed.”
“You don’t have any morals!” Elle accused with a laugh. “You watch me while I sleep!”
Jack airily waved this information off with a pale hand. “Regardless, I cannot stay in your bedroom and kiss you senseless. At least, not until we’ve wed.” He grinned mischievously.
“So…this means goodnight?” asked Elle, still not being able to hide her disappointment.
Jack openly laughed at her disappointed expression. “I’ll still be here in the morning, Elle. Maybe…you should spend your night thinking about something.”
Jack set down the familiar ring box on the bed as he watched her with a disappointed expression. “I understand your concerns for not wishing to be married because you are worried I’m using you. So let us try something different. Tomorrow, I wish to see if you would like to give me a chance. If so, I want to see you wearing the ring. It doesn’t mean marriage; it means you’re simply providing me a chance to prove to you I want to be serious. If you’re not wearing it in the morning, I won’t push you anymore,” he finished quietly, an inhumanly blank expression crossing his face. It showed Elle the very thought of her denying him a chance pained him.
Before Elle could even think about a decision, Jack disappeared.
Chapter 8
It had taken Elle less than a moment to slip the oversized ring on her finger and a few seconds later for her to go running into the next room to inform Jack of her decision. The next two weeks passed by blissfully for the new couple.
Elle and Jack read together and cooked together and even binged old television shows together. They spent the next two weeks living peacefully where they thought of nothing but each other and their relationship. The two of them were wrapped up in their own cocoon, not polluted by the outside world.
Elle grew to appreciate having Jack in her life the more time passed, but she was truly unused to what he referred to as courting. Elle had never before had a boyfriend, so having one as an immortal god who felt content spoiling her was not something she was used to.
It wasn’t that Elle did not appreciate that Jack was trying to hold down the semblance of a regular human boyfriend; she simply felt uncomfortable with his constantly trying to shower her with exuberant things she had no real need for. His latest surprise that morning had been a large tennis-ball-sized ruby that was apparently a hair clip. Instead of a hair accessory, Elle looked at the large rock capable of doing some serious bodily harm if ever thrown at someone.
Even though it had been a while since Jack had gifted her the extravagant diamond ring, Elle didn’t know how to broach the topic with Jack that the ring was too much. It was too flashy and far too extravagant. Watching herself in the bathroom mirror that morning as she wore pajamas seemed awkward when she had a too-large rock sitting a top of her hand.
The next awkward part of having an immortal as a boyfriend came with not quite knowing how to handle their new living arrangement. Elle found she quite enjoyed having Jack as a roommate. He was neat and plenty tidy, just about the opposite that her friend Lucy was when the two would have sleepovers. Jack was also very content on not sharing a room with Elle given they were unwed. But strangely enough, he held no qualms over watching her sleep.
Jack would always be the one to abruptly cut off the kissing, leaving her alone after teleporting to the far side of whatever room they were in. Elle at first assumed it had been not wanting to engage in activity of an adult nature because he thought she wasn’t ready, but it did not matter how many times Elle quietly hinted she wanted more, Jack would continue his behavior of disappearing before things became too serious.
The night before was no exception. Hands wandered as kisses intensified. Right before things could take off further, Jack kissed the tip of her nose before bidding her a goodnight. Elle couldn’t understand whether he was simply taking the relationship slow or he was truly trying not to get too attached to her due to the lingering prophecy.
Every morning he would take off for work until late into the afternoon, and every day, Elle would wonder what their relationship meant for her old life. It was far too easy to miss her family in Jack’s absence. Just thinking of leaving everything behind in her life seemed impossible to reconcile. She wanted to keep Jack in her life wholeheartedly, but she also wanted normality back. Could she ever have both?
Trying to pass the time reading wasn’t helpful that particular day. It had been two hours since Jack left, and Elle’s mind was unable to remain focused on the folio of Shakespeare that was lying around. The more time she got to know Jack, the more she feared every morning he would leave and venture out into the world that held people who hoped for his demise.
That brought her mind to thinking about where her feelings were regarding Jack Frost; she couldn’t bear the thought of someth
ing happening to him—her feelings for him were too strong. He loved her. But that realization brought great difficulty with it; did Elle love him back? Would she even know what it felt like if she were in love with him?
Elle realized there was only one man in her life who could help her figure that out: the man she once thought she was in love with—Apollo. The problem would be calling him. Jack didn’t leave a cell phone, or any phone out, for that matter. Still, Elle strongly felt conversing with Apollo would help her figure out what she felt she loved about him. That way, she could figure out her feelings for Jack.
Elle set to work on finding a phone to call him. Twenty minutes went by where it was proven that Jack believed in absolute isolation in the cabin. He didn’t own a computer, let alone a phone of any type. After another twenty minutes went by, Elle decided to switch on the TV to watch the news. Maybe seeing a normal major news network would provide a stronger reminder of the life she left behind. She pointed the sleek white remote to channel surf when a sharp knock startled her.
Elle jumped up from the couch, going to the door before checking the peephole. Seeing Jack’s pale face made her smile as she thought of slightly picking on him for his not possessing a phone anywhere inside his cabin. Right as she was about to unlock the door, a bad feeling suddenly filled her, a silent warning that she shouldn’t open it. Jack took full advantage of teleporting himself anywhere he wanted to go; why suddenly start knocking? Elle couldn’t quite figure out if it smart or simple paranoia that she didn’t immediately let him in.
Jack knocked some more. The sound of his knuckles hitting the door was loud and rough. He was soon looking annoyed as Elle watched him through the peephole. “Open up.”
It was his voice, and it looked exactly like him, but Elle still felt this wasn’t Jack. It was the memory of how adamant he had been on her staying inside that had her frowning. “Er…Jack?”
Betrothed To Jack Frost Box Set Page 43
