As Cold As Ice

by Mandy Rosko

  He seemed to be glaring at someone before he turned his eyes and noted Soren and Jessica standing there. His glare melted away, replaced by an immediate smile as he spotted Jessica.

  “You’re up,” he greeted, holding out his arms expectantly.

  Jessica grinned and went into them. The room didn’t spin as she bent down to hug him, so she was equally pleased by that as much as she was by the strength he held her with.

  His gunshot was clearly not bothering him too much. Maybe there was a healer in the building who was speeding up the process. It didn’t matter, though, because he felt strong and alive and real in her arms. She felt like she hadn’t seen or gotten a hug from her big brother in years. It was something Jessica had been aching for without even knowing it.

  “It’s good to see you,” Ethan said, the first to speak, breaking the silence they’d fallen into.

  Jessica’s eyes burned when she pulled back. She had to blink a lot to keep it from looking like she was about to cry, because she totally wasn’t.

  “Are you okay?” Ethan’s eyes had that ‘worried older brother’ look, and okay, maybe she was fighting the waterworks.

  Jessica nodded. “Yeah. Christ, I should be asking you that. You were shot.”

  “And you were in a lab for almost a month,” Ethan replied.

  Jessica laughed. “Soren made it not so shitty.”

  She looked over her shoulder. Soren wasn’t in the room with her. Neither was that other guy with the white patches in his hair.

  They must’ve stepped out when Jessica and Ethan were hugging, giving them some privacy.

  “He helped you out?” Ethan asked, and his gaze slid over to the door, as if he was trying to see Soren through it. “Okay, that’s good.”

  It sounded like he was grading Soren’s paper. Jessica was too happy to have her brother there that she was willing to let him do that to her lover, just this once. Ethan liked playing the part of protective big brother when Jessica gave him the opportunity, and she didn’t often do that.

  But Jessica needed to know some things before they could celebrate. “So, where are we?”

  “Just outside of Lincoln Peak,” Ethan said. “Bunch of vampires live here. They keep the building under a mirage. Looks like it used to be an old elementary school.”

  If that was true, the building had been modified for the sake of the windows, but once Ethan mentioned it, Jessica supposed it made sense.

  “You didn’t know about this place?”

  Jessica shook her head. “Christ, no. Never heard anything of it.”

  Soren had been right; there were always rumors, but Jessica had assumed that anyone actively resisting the government and Head Office was just hiding some paranormal relatives in their basement or something. Nothing like this.

  That was the idea behind the Proxy Project, pairing up paranormals with hunters to seek out and bring down safe houses. This place wasn’t so much a safe house as it was a tiny fortress.

  And if she didn’t know, that meant Ethan hadn’t known, either.

  “How did you find this place?” Jessica asked. She grabbed one of the plastic chairs in the room and pulled it over to his thin, steel-frame bed.

  And Ethan told her. He told her about how he’d been picked up with that man he’d been with. Jamie. Jack was there, too. His little fire-starting girlfriend had known something about this place, too, apparently.

  “Jack and I had to do a lot of begging and pleading before we could convince the people in charge to let us go after you. Had to do some groundwork, too.”

  “To prove you weren’t still a hunter?”

  Ethan nodded. “Pretty much. Fuck me, I hated it, going out there and helping other paranormals. Didn’t matter if they were women with kids, I didn’t care about any of them. It always felt like I was wasting my time until I could go and get you.”

  Jessica smiled. “I was fine.”

  If she ever told her brother about how those assholes had put her in a room, how they’d made her kill a few people just to see if she could, then it wouldn’t be for a long while. Ethan had clearly gone through a Hell of his own waiting to get his sister out of Head Office, and she didn’t want to put more on his plate while he recovered.

  They held hands like they were kids. When Ethan finished telling her everything he knew about the people there, which wasn’t much, Jessica shared everything she thought could be useful. The Proxy Project was a major one, and their new training for paranormals. She mentioned the ring in the basement where paranormals were expected to fight, though she got the feeling Ethan already knew what that room was for.

  She also left out the parts where she and Soren had sex.

  “You think if I tell all that to the people in charge here, they might be able to do something with it?”

  Ethan nodded. “Definitely. I can’t see them not being interested in knowing paranormals are being recruited to weed out hiding spots. Considering what this place is, they’re going to want to know that right away.”

  Because a mirage could only hide so much.

  Ethan didn’t mention it, but Jessica knew another benefit to telling her story to whoever it was that ran this place. Ethan had said it was a group of people, not just one leader. If those people had distrusted Ethan and Jack so much, and were hesitant to do the rescue mission, then Jessica needed to show them how saving her was beneficial to them. They wouldn’t have this information had it not been for Ethan and Jack taking that risk, if Ethan hadn’t been willing to take a bullet, and they’d better be damned grateful for it.

  “Do me a favor,” Ethan said, his voice dropping so low she almost couldn’t hear him.

  Jessica leaned closer as Ethan squeezed her hand. His eyes were as serious as she’d ever seen them.

  “Don’t give the people in charge here everything.”

  Jessica opened her mouth to ask why. The look in Ethan’s eyes, that tight squeeze of his fingers, though, stopped her.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Someone knocked on the door, interrupting her reunion with her brother. Some guy with black hair and piercings up his ears. She didn’t recognize him from her rescue. Soren was right behind him, along with the man with the white splotches in his hair. Jamie, she assumed.

  “Hi there. Sorry to intrude, but we thought we might get to ask your sister some questions now that she’s awake.”

  He sounded like he was trying to be nice about it, in the way that suggested Jessica didn’t have much of a choice.

  Soren glared at the back of the man’s head. “Just because she’s awake and I didn’t have to carry her here doesn’t mean she’s well enough to be interrogated. For Christ’s sake, what are you thinking?”

  The guy actually looked embarrassed, his pale face flushing pink.

  And Jessica had never been more turned on in her life. Shy, gentle Soren had just spoken with such authority on her behalf that it made her go all warm and tingly behind her belly. That was…incredibly sexy.

  He wasn’t just a dragon shifter; he actually did have something of a dragon personality after all.

  “I’m very sorry about that, but she was on the inside of Head Office for a while. The sooner my bosses can hear everything she knows, the better. I don’t exactly want to be bothering her either, you know.”

  He looked like he meant it, so Jessica couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him.

  Had Ethan not given her that warning, she might have taken pity on him and gone with him wherever it was he wanted her to go.

  Not now, though. Jessica looked to Soren then brought her hand up to touch her forehead. “Actually, I’m not feeling so great right now.” The fact that she had a major headache and honestly did still feel weak from the short walk from her bed to Ethan’s was something she used to her advantage, and she let it be obvious in her voice.

  “I want to help out as much as I can, though,” she continued. “Do you think I can go back to bed? I can tell you whatever you need to know ther
e.”

  The man with the black hair smiled. Soren and Jamie looked worried behind him. “You can rest up a little more. I’ll send someone to check on you tomorrow. Until then, I’ll have food brought over for you and Mr. Birgir.”

  Jessica smiled as sweetly and gratefully as she could, purposely keeping her voice sounding tired and small. “Thank you so much.”

  The man nodded. “Not a problem. My name is Leo, and if you or Mr. Birgir need anything, I’ll be right around the corner. You only need to ask.”

  Soren stepped around Leo, coming to put his arm around Jessica’s waist. It felt good having him touch her. It felt even better to let him use his strength to lift her into a standing position.

  Jessica could still stand and walk on her own, but something stirred inside her to have Soren hold her and keep her up with the strength of his arm.

  Okay, yeah, she was purposely playing up the weak and defenseless woman thing, but considering how nice it felt to lean against Soren like this, she was willing to go along with it.

  And it seemed to make Leo genuinely worried. “Can I get you anything?”

  Jessica continued with the act by letting Soren speak for her.

  “Do me a favor and bring a bucket of ice chips, if you could. I’ll need it to help bring her fever down.”

  “She’s got a fever?” Leo asked. “I thought she had ice powers.”

  Soren started speaking to the man like he was simple. “Yes, and you know how using powers and abilities can tire some people out, right?”

  “Oh, yeah, right. I’m sorry. I’ll get the ice right away. I’ll be back.”

  Leo walked quickly from the room, off in whatever direction would get the ice Soren asked for.

  Soren looked at Ethan, gesturing to Jessica.

  Ethan nodded as Jamie came around the other side of the bed, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together.

  That seemed to be all Soren needed. “Come on, I’ll take you back. We need to talk.”

  Jessica nodded, looking back to her brother. “Glad you’re all right, Ethan. I’ll come talk to you later, right?”

  She glanced to Soren when she asked that question. Not that she needed anyone’s permission, but she would need to know if anyone would be giving her trouble if she tried later on.

  Soren nodded. “Yeah, you will. Come on, you’re shaking on your legs.”

  She wasn’t, so he was probably saying that just in case someone was still nearby, listening in on them.

  Jessica went with Soren, sparing one last backward glance at her brother.

  As they rounded the corner and left the room, Jessica caught sight of Jamie rubbing his hand through Ethan’s hair, and she felt a little better about leaving her brother alone with him.

  When they made it back to the tiny room where Jessica had been sleeping, Soren helped her sit on the bed before shutting the door. He didn’t say anything right away, and Jessica didn’t try to engage in conversation either. Not yet.

  Soren sighed and eventually came to sit next to her. “Did Ethan tell you anything?”

  Since he was whispering, Jessica whispered, too. “Just that I shouldn’t give too much away. Can the people here be trusted?”

  Soren rubbed his jaw. “I spoke with Jake and Ethan for a while, got what they’d been hearing around the building. Some people can. Leo and Dylan seem genuinely here for the sake of helping other paranormals, but for now, we just have to be careful.”

  Made sense. Jessica was used to living her life as carefully as possible. It wasn’t like having to continue to do so was something that shocked or upset her.

  “Ethan told me not to give the people here everything I know. What doesn’t he want me telling these people?”

  Soren rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. “I don’t know. There’s nothing specific. He probably thinks you know more about Mark Layton than you actually do.”

  “I don’t know much of anything about him,” Jessica stated. “The only think I know that isn’t common knowledge is that he’s got a sick fighting arena for him and his billionaire buddies to watch paranormals kill each other.”

  “That should be fine to talk about,” Soren said. “They asked me every question they could think of. I told them as much as I thought they needed to know. To be honest, they seemed more interested in asking if I could fly, or breathe fire.”

  Jessica had never thought to ask those questions. “Can you?”

  She’d for sure seen wings on him at one point.

  Soren’s lips pulled up in one of his trademark soft, sad smiles. “No. I could never breathe fire. That’s rarer than just being a dragon. And my wings were clipped a long time ago. I might be able to glide, assuming I was ever up high enough and felt like jumping off a building or a cliff.”

  “Well, please don’t ever do something like that,” Jessica said.

  Things were almost starting to feel normal between them, like they could be talking about anything in the world other than what they were. Jessica could be sitting with a boyfriend, the both of them back at her apartment, not in this tiny room that looked like a redone storage closet.

  But Soren was looking at her with an expression Jessica was starting to know well. It was the one he got on his face whenever she worried him.

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” he countered with a shake of his head.

  Jessica bit down on her lower lip. She wanted to give him what he wanted, but they both knew that wasn’t going to happen. “You know I can’t promise you that.”

  Soren nodded. “I know. Figured I would try anyway.”

  Sailing off into the sunset wasn’t going to happen for them. Jessica was going to stay with her brother, and if there was something wrong with this place, she needed to find out what it was. Any resistance could start off with the best of intentions then turn into the thing they’d been fighting against.

  Her brother and best friend had become involved with these people in order to save her. She couldn’t just walk away.

  Jessica reached out, found Soren’s hand, and laced their fingers together. She was reminded of the first time she’d tried holding his hand, how he’d pulled away. He didn’t pull away anymore; instead, he gripped her tight.

  “What will you do, now that you’re out of there?”

  Soren frowned. “I’m staying here.”

  “Here?” Jessica cocked her head to the side a little. “I thought this place was trouble.”

  Soren shrugged. “Still trying to figure out how much trouble, but yeah, I’m staying here.”

  Jessica didn’t get it. “Why? You’re out. You can go wherever you want.”

  He could flee to Canada and have more privileges there. He’d at least still be protected by their code of human rights.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” He looked at their joined hands.

  Jessica should have pulled back, but she couldn’t. “You could be making the biggest mistake of your life because of this. You barely know me. We’ve fucked a couple of times, but that was it.”

  “I never fucked you,” Soren said, leaning so close Jessica could feel the warmth of his body. “It wasn’t just sex for me, either.”

  Jessica allowed that to sink in when his mouth touched hers.

  He was in need of a shave. She could feel the coarse prickle of the whiskers that grew in. She loved the feel of the scratch when his mouth moved, loved the warmth that settled in her belly, the desire that came rushing right behind it.

  When it felt like Soren was about to pull back, a little too soon for her liking, Jessica reached out and curled her arms around the back of his neck, holding him in place. She felt that moment of surprise from him just as she pushed her tongue into his mouth, and then he seemed to settle, to accept, and it was wonderful.

  When they moved away from each other, Soren had a dazed smile on his face. He blew out a satisfied exhale, grinning from ear to ear. “Wow. I’m kind of shocked my breath isn’t steaming up.”

&nbs
p; “That would only happen if warm breath touched cold air. Not the same as in the movies.”

  Soren touched his mouth. “No, but I like that tingling, cold feeling I get when you put a lot of effort into it.”

  Jessica laughed. So did Soren. They kissed some more, until Jessica’s mouth started to tingle, as well. She felt good. Better than she’d ever felt in a long time, and she wanted to keep Soren with her, in this room.

  “Did they give you a room of your own?” she asked, pulling Soren on top of her.

  She didn’t have to pull hard; he came easily. “Yeah, but I’ve been spending most of my time in here.”

  Jessica nodded. “Okay, good. Will you stay in here with me?”

  He brushed strands of her hair away from her cheek. “For as long as you want me to.”

  Her heart swelled and ached in her chest. “Would it destroy the mood if I told you I loved you? For absolutely everything?”

  Soren’s eyes widened a fraction, but any shock he felt must have left quickly if the happy expression on his face was anything to go by.

  He shook his head. “That doesn’t destroy a damned thing. That…” He laughed a little. “That’s the best thing you could’ve ever told me. Would it be too creepy if I said I loved you, too? For a long time now.”

  Jessica shook her head frantically, and that sweet aching and swelling feeling inside her burst wide open in the best possible way. “No! Not at all!”

  She pulled him down for another cool, tingling kiss, both of them smiling through it, trying not to laugh.

  If there was something off with this place, Jessica would worry about it later. For the time being, she wanted to bask in the fact that she was free and in love. She could finally admit it to herself when she couldn’t before. She was in love, and she was going to savor that for as long as possible.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  There was a healer in the building. Not a skilled one, but any paranormal who could heal even the tiniest of scratches was beyond rare. Jessica thought it had to be even rarer to have one living and working in an underground resistance. Healers were one of the few paranormal types who were considered an asset to society, rather than a danger.