Page 14 of Trapped with the Ice Queen

Vivienne’s throat worked, but no words came out. Her mind scrambled for an explanation, a way to spin this moment into something less damning, but the flush of heat still coursed through her.

"What are you doing?" Alex’s voice was calm, steady, but there was an edge to it—dark, dangerous.

Vivienne’s lips parted, but the air in the room felt too thick, choking off her words.She sat up abruptly, pulling the blanket tight around her shoulders as though it might shield her from Alex’s piercing gaze.

"I—" The words caught in her throat, tangled with shame and something else. Something raw and hungry that she couldn’t quite name.

Alex didn’t press. She simply watched, her eyes unreadable. The weight of that silence, that gaze, was too much to bear.

"I thought you were asleep," Vivienne managed at last, the words tumbling out in a rush, as though that might absolve her of what had just transpired.

Alex tilted her head, her expression unchanging. "Clearly."

The word hung between them, sharp and cutting. Vivienne’s skin prickled with embarrassment.

"I wasn’t—" she started, but the lie died on her tongue.

Alex’s eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in something that made Vivienne’s stomach twist and her pulse race. "You don’t have to explain," Alex said finally, her voice low, almost a murmur. She leaned back against the sofa, her gaze never leavingVivienne.

The words should have been a relief, a reprieve. But the way Alex said them, the way she looked at Vivienne, sent a jolt of something electric down her spine.

For a moment, neither moved. The fire crackled as the room settled into an uneasy quiet once more. But the air was different now, charged, alive.

Vivienne clutched the blanket tighter, her skin still burning white-hot from Alex’s gaze. She didn’t know what to say or do. All she could feel was the weight of her own vulnerability and the undeniable pull of the woman lying across the room from her.

The room felt alive, thrumming with an unspoken energy that pressed down on Vivienne like a physical force. She couldn’t look away from Alex, whose gaze was locked on her with an intensity that made the firelight seem dim by comparison.

There was no more pretense now. No masks, no games. The distance between them felt impossibly small, and yet it buzzed with tension so thick it seemed to vibrate in the air.

Vivienne’s breath hitched as Alex moved, the subtle shift of her body breaking thefragile stillness. Alex sat up on the edge of the sofa, unhurried but deliberate, her eyes never leaving Vivienne.

“You’ve been holding back,” Alex said, her voice low, each word precise and weighted.

Vivienne’s throat tightened. She couldn’t find her voice, couldn’t summon a sharp quip or cutting remark. Instead, she was acutely aware of her own uneven breathing, the way her chest rose and fell too quickly.

Alex stood, each step measured as she closed the distance between them. She looked sexier than anything Vivienne could imagine as she pushed her messy waves of blonde hair out of her eyes. Vivienne’s pulse raced, and the heat in her body coiled tighter with every second.

“You think I didn’t notice?” Alex murmured, stopping just short of the bed. She leaned down slightly, her hands braced on the edge of the mattress. Her presence was overwhelming, her voice curling around Vivienne like smoke.

Vivienne couldn’t answer. Words felt inadequate, irrelevant. She wascaught, pinned beneath the weight of Alex’s gaze, her body blazing.

Alex reached out, her fingers brushing Vivienne’s cheek. The touch was light, almost gentle, but it carried an unspoken promise that made Vivienne’s stomach twist.

“Tell me to stop,” Alex said, her voice softer now, but no less commanding.

Vivienne’s lips parted, but no sound came out. The air between them seemed to crackle, every second stretching into eternity as she grappled with the question.

Stop.

She should say it. She should push Alex Carter away, reassert the boundaries that had already blurred too far.

But…she didn’t want to. She wanted more. Much more.

Instead, she leaned into Alex’s touch. Her breath came out in a shaky exhale, her eyes fluttering closed as she let herself fall into the moment.

Alex’s hand slid to the back of her neck, her touch firm but careful, grounding Vivienne as she moved closer. The kiss, when it came, was inevitable—slow at first, a test, a question.

Vivienne’s breath caught, her fingers clutching at the blanket she still held around her shoulders. Alex’s lips were warm, insistent, drawing her into a rhythm that left no room for second-guessing.

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