Page 15 of Jilted By Jack Frost

He stares at me for a long moment. Sighs. “My day was and continues to be long and unhelpful in the grand scheme of things.” He pauses then, as if it’s an afterthought and perhaps a way of signaling a truce, asks, “How was your day?”

“How sweet of you to ask, Jack.” I bat my eyelashes at him with a shit-eating grin on my face. “It was probably one of the most boring days of my entire life—but getting the chance to speak with you has really turned that all around for me.” My tone is dripping with sarcasm.

His tone is flat when he speaks. “You’re the one who insisted we speak at all.”

“And it’s been riveting, really. But I’m hoping we might move on to more interesting topics before I jump off the balcony.”

“Like?”

“Like…” I pause, debating for a long moment on whether or not I reallywantan answer or not.Fuck it. “What, exactly, is a mate?”

Chapter eight

Jack

Istare at Violet for a long, quiet moment in time that seems to stretch on for hours. Days. Weeks. Eons.

Her lovely green eyes flash with defiance, daring me to keep my silence. The air between us crackles with unspoken words and barely contained frustration. My jaw clenches as I struggle against the urge to tell her everything—about the prophecy, about what she means to me, about why I must keep my distance.

Really, it’s likely only mere seconds before she urges, “Well? Spit it out.”

I frown at her and turn away to look out the window, my shoulders rigid with tension. The words taste bitter on my tongue. “It’s not important. You don’t need to worry about it.”

My chest tightens at the lie. Of course it’s important. She’s the most important thing in my entire frozen realm, and that terrifies me more than I can admit. But I can’t tell her. I won’t risk the consequences of what knowing the truth might bring.

The temperature drops several degrees around us as my control slips. Ice crystals form on the nearby furniture, spreading in delicate patterns that mirror my growing frustration. I can feel her eyes boring into my back, demanding answers I’m not prepared to give.

“Excuse the fuck out of me, Jack Frost, but if you’re going to go around with that stick up your ass calling meyouranything, then I damn well deserve to know what it means.”

My lips curl with distaste. “Your mouth is filthy.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

I know she can’t possibly mean it how I take it—Violet is referring to all the foul words and phrases she conjures up like a necromancer would a corpse.

And yet I imagine her on her knees before me, her mouth open wide, jaw nearly unhinged as she tries to handle all of me so that not a single depraved thing might leave her mouth—including my cock.

Then I’m myself once more, remembering my place and hers and everything at stake, every little reason why fisting my hand in her hair and showing her the true meaning of a dirty mouth is the worst possible thing for my realm.

Though my imagination does have me wondering if it’s worth it, to tempt fate in such a way.

Not that I would. Not that I’d ever risk my realm for any mortal woman, much less the mate who is prophesied to ruin the kingdom I have spent my lifetime nurturing.

Violet is a summer storm.

I need to ice her out.

I turn back to her stiffly and straighten the lapels of the suit jacket I’m wearing. “I’ve had enough of you for today,” I say, voice hard. I head for the door without looking back.

“Where are you going?” she calls after me.

I pause, hands coiling into fists.None of your business, I want to snap. But I suspect she’d find a way to argue with me over that, which is exactly what I’m trying to get away from. Instead, I fight the urge to look over my shoulder as I mutter, “Away from you.”

I slip out of the library before she can summon a worthwhile response.

I stalk through the castle halls, my footsteps echoing against the crystalline floors. The temperature drops with each step, frost spreading in intricate patterns beneath my feet. My jaw clenches as memories surface, unbidden and unwanted.

The ancient scroll had crumbled at the edges as I unrolled it in my private chambers almost 3 decades ago. Gabriel stood beside me, his silver eyes gleaming as we read the prophecy together again.

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