Page 18 of Trapped with the Ice Queen

The lights flickered once, twice, and then the cabin plunged into darkness.

For a moment, there was only the sound of the storm outside and their uneven breathing. Alex felt the shift in the air like a tangible thing, the weight of the darkness pressing in on them.

Vivienne broke the silence first. “Oh, great. Just what we needed. Can this day getany worse?” Her voice, sharp and accusing, cut through the blackness like a blade.

Alex closed her eyes, willing herself to stay calm. But the tension that had been simmering all day was too much, and Vivienne’s tone was the final spark that lit the fuse.

She spun on her heel, her boots scuffing against the wooden floor as she closed the distance between them. “You want to know what’s worse, Vivienne? You. You are the worst thing about this day.”

Vivienne gasped, the sound more surprised than offended, but Alex didn’t stop. “You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here. You rarely lift a damn finger to help, and you have the nerve to act like this is all some personal affront to you. Well, guess what? You’re not the only one stuck in this situation.”

The words tumbled out before Alex could stop them, her frustration boiling over into anger. She was aware of how close they were, aware of the warmth radiating from Vivienne despite the chill in the room. She was hyperaware of everything about her, from the sharp set of her jaw to the defiant tiltof her chin.

Vivienne’s lips parted, but whatever retort she had died unspoken. In the silence that followed, Alex could hear the faint hitch of her breath, could see the flicker of something vulnerable in her eyes.

Damn it. Why did this woman get under her skin like this? Why did she let her?

Alex stepped back abruptly, breaking the tension. “Stay here. I’ll check the generator.” Her voice was rough, clipped, and she didn’t wait for a reply before turning toward the door.

The storm outside howled as she stepped into the icy wind, but it felt easier to face than the storm brewing inside the cabin.

The storm tore at Alex as she wrestled the door shut behind her, biting wind forcing itself into every crevice of her clothes. The generator hunkered a few feet from the cabin, partially buried under a mound of packed snow. Cursing under her breath, Alex yanked on her gloves and stomped through the icy drifts, the cold stinging her face like a reprimand.

She bent low to inspect the generator, her fingers fumbling as she cleared ice from the casing. A quick inspection revealed theproblem: fuel lines were frozen. She sighed, muttering a curse into the night. If the storm didn’t ease, there’d be no fixing it until morning.

The cabin’s faint glow through the window drew her gaze back. She lingered a moment too long, the frigid air sinking into her bones as a far heavier thought pressed into her mind. Vivienne was alone inside—alone and furious, probably pacing the room and muttering about her misfortune.

The idea of going back in felt like stepping toward a fire, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to extinguish. But staying outside would accomplish nothing, and if she was honest with herself, the frost gnawing at her fingertips wasn’t the only reason she wanted to head back in.

Alex kicked at the snow, her jaw clenched as she trudged to the cabin.

Inside, the room was dim, lit only by the flickering glow of the woodstove. The warmth hit her like a wall as she stepped in, shoving the door shut behind her. Vivienne sat curled in one corner of the couch, wrapped in one of the blankets Alex had painstakingly retrieved the daybefore. Her dark silhouette stood out against the muted orange light, her features shadowed but unmistakably tense.

“You fixed it?” Vivienne asked, her tone clipped.

“No. It’ll have to wait.” Alex’s reply was as curt as her movements as she tugged off her gloves and stomped the snow from her boots.

Vivienne scoffed. “Of course it does. Why wouldn’t it? Just one more thing to make this entire situation more unbearable.”

Alex whipped her head around, heat rising in her chest. “You think it’s unbearable for you? I’ve been out there freezing my ass off while you sit in here?—”

“Freezing your ass off? You’re the one who chose to live out in the middle of nowhere like some recluse. Some of us actually enjoy civilization!” Vivienne’s words were sharp, like daggers meant to hit their mark.

“Civilization?” Alex shot back, her voice rising. “You mean your cushy life where you don’t have to lift a finger because someone else does it all for you? God forbid youshould have to learn how to survive on your own for once.”

Vivienne rose from the couch, the blanket slipping from her shoulders. Her face was illuminated now, the flicker of the fire painting her features in shifting hues of frustration and…was that desire?

“At least I don’t hide behind a wall of self-righteous solitude,” Vivienne snapped, stepping closer. “You act like you’re above everyone, like you don’t need anyone, but let me tell you something, Alex Carter—you’re just as human as the rest of us.”

Alex froze, her breath catching at the edge of Vivienne’s words. Her fists clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms as the tension thickened around them like the storm outside.

“Shut up,” Alex said quietly, the words less a demand and more a plea.

“No,” Vivienne countered, her voice trembling with both fury and defiance. “You don’t get to tell me to shut up. You don’t get to?—”

Alex moved before she thought, closing the space between them in twostrides. The heat of Vivienne’s body, the fire in her eyes—it all ignited something primal in Alex.

Her hands found Vivienne’s waist, and in the same moment, Vivienne’s fingers curled into the fabric of Alex’s shirt. Their mouths crashed together, teeth and lips clashing in a kiss that was more battle than surrender.

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