ICE (The Benders Series)

by B. T Hoax

  Good night? She thought. Cause I’ll be able to sleep with a murderer in the house. She took a few deep breaths and marched to her room. How could she possibly trust her father?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Bedrooms.

  Whether the average teenager wanted to admit it or not, bedrooms were a very “exciting” place to be.

  And with that thought in mind, Kenna was bent on getting into Jon’s. At least for a few minutes. Having been together for over three months, she figured she was entitled to a little messing around. Jon seemed to have been getting used to the sting of their kisses as he’d been more physically affectionate than usual lately. He didn’t even really blister anymore, which to Kenna meant that he was adjusting quite quickly, quickly enough that she felt comfortable pushing things a bit if given the opportunity.

  Kenna ran her fingers through her hair one more time as she exited the bathroom and made her way downstairs.

  “Awfully low cut, don’t you think?” her father asked as she walked into the kitchen for a drink of water. Kenna decided to take Jon’s advice and had let go of her ill feeling toward her dad shortly after she’d felt them. After all, he was good now so why incriminate him about the possibilities of him having a bad past.

  Kenna looked down at the rather modest v-neck sweater she was wearing. “Not really,” she laughed as she sipped happily on the drink.

  “You’ll behave yourself and be home by eleven?” he clarified as he put away a few more pots and pans.

  “Yes, Dad,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I told you, Jon wants to wait on all that.”

  “Mhm,” he said, obviously unconvinced. “Well, I’m trusting you,” he added, with a forced parental confidence.

  “Awesome,” Kenna replied. “I’ll be home later,” she promised as she galloped out the door and into her vehicle.

  The five-minute drive was about all she could handle, her joy making her glow as she stepped out of her vehicle and into the front yard of the Colewell residence. Jon was waiting outside like the arrogant gentleman that he was and walked up to her to take her arm.

  “So where is everyone today?” Kenna asked anxiously, hoping the answer was far away.

  “Oh, everyone’s around,” he answered, his words forcing a look of disappointment to come across her face. “I told them we were going to watch a movie downstairs this evening, so they’ll all be hanging out upstairs for the most part hopefully,” he went on to say, apparently having read her mind.

  Kenna immediately smiled. “Perfect,” she said. “It’ll be nice to have a little bit of privacy indoors for once.”

  “If you say so,” Jon replied as they strode into the house together.

  Kenna took a good look at the Colewell as he climbed the front steps. He was wearing a wonderfully thin shirt and casual black athletic shorts. His biceps and deltoids clung tightly to the short sleeves, and his butt wasn’t the only bulge she could see from her current view of Jon’s toned and masculine bottom half.

  She swiftly reverted her gaze to the door in front of them before she could start drooling.

  “Checking me out, huh?” he chuckled. “I hope you like what you see.”

  Kenna’s face immediately went red when she realized she’d been caught. She rolled her eyes and gave the boy a hard push, enough to throw him off balance and off the first step. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she shot, though her blushing face was another give away of her feelings of attraction toward him.

  Jon, of course, took the push as a challenge and came barreling back at her. He crouched down and lifted her by the waist and over one of his solid shoulders.

  “Jon, knock it off. Put me down,” she demanded though she was laughing at the same time.

  He opened the door and continued to carry her as she beat on his back to be let down. “Jon, my butt in way up in the air. Your family is in there!” she said more seriously this time.

  “Perfect. They can enjoy the view, too,” he said as her gave her heinie a little tap with his other hand.

  Having no more time for the games and growing increasingly embarrassed, Kenna forced herself to resort to warlike tactics. She quickly lifted his shirt and pressed her hand hard on his cold back. The skin to skin contact would surely be enough to catch him off guard.

  And it did. He immediately arched his back and flung her around, mistakenly dropping her to the ground in the process. “Not fair,” he cried as he fixed his shirt and rubbed the spot on his back where she’d burned him.

  “Gotta play to my advantages,” Kenna laughed as she brushed herself off and found herself once again standing next to her date.

  “Whoa, what’s all the commotion over here!” came Bryce’s voice as he came into the entry area.

  “Just asserting my dominance,” Kenna rejoined.

  Bryce raised both eyebrows. “And that was too much information.”

  They all laughed a little as they made their way to dinner. For the first time since she started dating Jon, they actually sat through a smooth and delightful dinner with his family. Though she still felt like Bryce was the only one who completely and truly accepted her, the others seemed to be trying to wrap their heads around Jon dating a flame moiety.

  After they all wrapped up the dinner and chatted for a bit, Jon announced that he and Kenna would be headed downstairs for a movie date and were not to be disturbed unless necessary. Elisa, of course, shook her head and gave her son a very stern and warning glance.

  “We will behave,” Kenna assured them. Hating to lie, she quickly added, “Let’s face it, we can hardly touch each other, what could he possibly do?”

  Jon’s mother seemed unconvinced, just as her father had been, but agreed to let them have a bit of privacy, though she added that she’d be checking on them on occasion.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Jon said once they made their way downstairs and out of earshot. “She actually has to go shopping this evening. She always goes shopping on Sunday evenings.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive,” he guaranteed. “My mother is a woman of routine. And quite frankly she knows that we can hardly touch. She’s not that worried.”

  “You do seem to be in less pain though,” Kenna noted. “Are you getting used to this hotness or what?”

  At the comment, Jon rolled his eyes and proceeded to take a seat on the couch. He patted the seat next to him to indicate where she should sit.

  “So what movie would you prefer, your royal hotness?” he asked after giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Yeah, I am getting used to you,” he agreed as he reached for the remote. Kenna tried to hide her excitement as he asked again. “So what movie would you like?”

  “I’m okay if you’d rather just watch ESPN. Otherwise, I like probably every Disney movie in the book,” she answered honestly.

  He turned to her with a look of dread. “You want to watch a Disney movie? Hardly a romantic date if we are watching Disney.”

  “How about Frozen? You could probably relate to those characters,” she taunted as she curled her head into his chest.

  “Here,” he said, placing a pillow on his lap so she could rest her head there.

  Without hesitation, she placed her head on the pillow and fell into a very comfortable rest. Jon grabbed the blanket he had set out earlier and pulled it over her.

  “Now all we need is some Disney,” she commented. “But I’m good with ESPN too. Whatever you want, I’m comfy.”

  “Let’s face it. When a woman says ‘whatever you want’ it means ‘whatever I want, or you die’,” he joked as he scrolled through the Disney movies on Netflix. “I suppose The Jungle Book isn’t that bad,” he admitted, turning on the movie and making himself comfortable as well.

  At first, he kept one hand resting on the blanket where Kenna’s waist synched in underneath it and the other on the armrest to his left. But as the movie progress, his left hand began to play with her natural blond hair
and the other slid under the blanket and caressed her waist with only her pink shirt between their longing skins.

  “I haven’t seen this movie in forever,” Kenna commented, trying to keep things somewhat casual. She could tell Jon was nervous by how he was breathing and by how timidly his right hand held her.

  “Yeah,” he agreed, not seeming too interested in conversation.

  His lack of response was quite flattering as his hand slid ever upward until it sat gripping the collar of her v-neck shirt.

  Kenna could feel her heart racing. Technically he wasn’t even touching her, but she could feel his coolness through any layer of fabric, and it was beginning to make her lose it. She swallowed hard as if it might hide the power of her pounding heart or decrease the rate of her loud and quickening breathing.

  “You have no idea,” he said as he swallowed as well. Kenna had been so busy focusing on herself that she hadn’t noticed how deep Jon’s breathing had become or how he was almost shaking beneath her.

  She closed her eyes and pressed his hand against her shirt so that it caressed one of her breasts. They sighed simultaneously at the touch, her breast fitting perfectly in his rough and icy hand. He didn’t move his hand at first but began to stroke his thumb over her perfect little curves.

  “Just kiss me,” she blurted, unable to control her progressively dirty thoughts.

  Jon, however, didn’t think twice about her words as he threw the pillow to the side and practically lifted the girl to sit next to him. Before either of them could form another rational thought, Jon’s mouth was on hers as if two magnets being held apart were finally able to physically connect.

  Even if she wanted to, Kenna couldn’t form a rational thought. His cold hands were clinging desperately to her face, their touch sending euphoric shivers down her spine. Her hands became suddenly alive as well as she began to tug on his shirt, pulling his body ever closer to hers. As if practiced, Jon then swung an arm around her small waist and forced her against his masculine form. He leaned closer and closer until he had her laying on her back where he could position himself more securely on top of her.

  Kenna felt her arms reach around him, and her fingers begin to dig into his muscles. His lips were coming harder now, stronger and wilder than before. With each striking of their lips came more passion, more heat, and less control.

  Just when Kenna became satisfied with how things were going, Jon abruptly pushed himself off of her and shriveled away from her as if scared.

  “What gives?” Kenna asked, hardly able to form words through her heavy breathing. She hadn’t sat up to observe him, but if she had she would have thought twice about asking such a question. When he didn’t answer, she lifted her head to see that Jon had curled up on the opposite side of the couch and was hiding his face in his hands.

  “Are you okay?” she asked apologetically this time. “Was it hurting you?” He shook his head no as Kenna took a sit next to him. “Then what is it? Was it that bad?” she shrugged, starting to feel a little embarrassed.

  At this, Jon removed his face from his hands. His face had become freakishly pale, and his eyes had begun to turn white as well.

  “I suppose now is a good time to get something off my chest,” he said, his breathing still heavy.

  “Or get onto mine,” Kenna mumbles inaudibly. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I have a bit of a temper problem,” he explained, too ashamed to make eye contact with the girl.

  Kenna laughed. “Yea, you couldn’t get that one by me. Though I’m not sure what that has to do with anything at this particular moment,” she replied, doing her best not to be too disappointed with their cease in kissing.

  “Well, it’s not a normal temper problem, Kenna,” he said very seriously. “I go into these manic rages where I lose control over myself.”

  “Like when your eyes go all white and creepy?” she asked, still attempting to add some levity.

  Jon, however, didn’t appreciate her jokes. “This is serious, Kenna. I’m one outburst away from being sent up North. I could really hurt someone, even you.”

  At this, she became gravely serious as well. “Can I do something to help?” she asked. “I’m just not sure what you are getting at.”

  Jon shook his head again. “I don’t know if we can kiss. I’m too attracted to you,” he admitted, looking downward. “Even now, I’m sure I haven’t returned to normal color. I can’t overheat like that. I can’t. I’ll lose it, and I could hurt you.”

  Kenna nodded, doing her best to understand. “Well, what exactly happens when you go into one of these rages?” she inquired concernedly as she inched closer to him to add some comfort.

  He sighed, still unable to look at her. “I start bending. Usually, I have some kind of target. Like if my mom and I argue I bend ice at her. I can’t control it when I’m too emotional. I just can’t. And kissing you… it’s just too much I think,” he tried to explain, clearly disappointed as well. “I thought maybe I could. But just that two minutes was almost too much.”

  She wasn’t sure how to respond or how to comfort him as she was quite saddened by such news.

  “How do you come out of a rage then?” she inquired, hoping that conversing would ease their pain.

  “My body temperature has to return to its cold self, and my emotions have to settle. It’s not an exact science. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of people like me to experiment on to find the best method,” he said, lifting his head as he took a few deep breaths.

  “It’s okay,” Kenna smiled. “For now, we can just watch The Jungle Book from a more innocent standpoint.”

  He didn’t reply as he was obviously disappointed as well. But as the evening began to wind down and the movie concluded, both Jon and Kenna found themselves quite content with the other’s company, even if it was at a safer distance.

  “Well, that was tiring,” he joked as he stretched out his muscular arms and placed one around her shoulder.

  “You are such a pansy,” Kenna retorted as she rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s only nine o’clock. Are you really going to send me home early?”

  “Ha. No,” he laughed. “Do you want to cozy up in my room for a bit before you go?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Well, that’s all we can do, but it’s something I guess,” Kenna agreed with raised eyebrows and a slight smile.

  That said, Jon stood up and guided the girl to his icy fortress- and icy it was. Kenna glanced around the dark room. Had it not been for its freezing temperatures, it would have been normal, a bed, a dresser, clothes strewn about the room. It was about what you would expect from an adolescent male.

  With little to see, Kenna hopped in bed next to her date.

  “A blanket?” she questioned as she placed her head on the cold pillow. “This seriously takes the term ‘cooler than the flip-side of my pillow’ to a whole new level,” she mumbled as Jon went out of the room to grab the blanket she’d had previously.

  “Sorry,” he said as he threw it over her and jumped over her to the opposite side of the bed. “I suppose this is kinda cold for you fire people.”

  Kenna rolled her eyes but didn’t care to retaliate against the comment. She pulled the blanket close to herself and heard herself sigh. At first, both had real intentions of simply curling up for a nap together. Kenna even set an alarm on her phone to wake them in an hour. But as they got close again, their magnetic pull became almost too much for either of them to bear.

  Despite her literally aching body, Kenna did what she could to control her urges. As they rested there, she snuggled in close to him and laid a hand softly on his chest. She placed her head alongside his neck so that her not-as-hot hair could prevent their faces from making direct contact.

  With his arm around her, Jon pulled her in tighter, so tight that she was forced to swing one of her legs above his to stay comfortable.

  “So a nap it is?” she wondered out loud as he took a long breath.<
br />
  “For now,” he confirmed with closed eyes and relaxing muscles.

  For several minutes, the girl did her best to find sleep, but it was as difficult as a paraplegic otter trying to swim. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself in any other place than his perfectly manly arms. Unfortunately, every thought made its way back to him and forced her even more awake and more alive.

  But Kenna knew that Jon was far from sleep as well. His breathing was far too fast.

  In an effort to determine just how awake he was, Kenna rolled onto her opposite side and away from him. Just like she’d hoped, Jon rolled as well and made himself the big spoon in what was the ideal cuddling position. Kenna smiled as she lay there. She wasn’t sure if it was his size or his strength or a combination of the two that made her feel so perfectly protected and safe. Though his body was cold, she felt a warmth from within her that made her feel completely contented.

  And what was better was that he seemed to have equally strong feelings for her. As they lay there, he became suddenly active again as his hand reached daringly inside her shirt to sit defiantly on her bra. At the touch, she moved in closer and his grip became tighter. She could feel his icy breath against her neck, and it sent the shivers once gain down her spine.

  “I’m not sleeping,” she noted as she felt him tremble.

  “Me either,” he replied casually.

  “So what do you want to do?” she asked, turning to face him.

  “We both know what I want to do,” Jon said, pausing for a moment, “but I don’t know if it’s a good idea, Kenna.”

  Before he could go on, Kenna lifted herself up on her elbow and went in for another round of kissing.

  “Kenna,” he protested, pushing her away gently. “I can’t.”

  “How do you know? Can you try?” she asked a little desperately.

  He sighed. “I don’t know that it’s worth the risk.”

  She kissed him again, and this time, he reached for her face with his hand to keep her close. With Jon doing the guiding, he managed to get her on her back once more, but this time, he was soft, subtle, and tender as he kissed her. Doing his best to maintain control, he let their lips meet in slow, long, and light embraces. As for his hands, he kept them above her shoulder to stroke her face and dance in her soft hair.