Page 58 of The Devil's Ice

She giggled. Ice smiled back at her, opened the wine and poured some into a plastic cup. She looked at him seriously, and he paused.

“What’s up, Vix?”

“Does it bother you to be around alcohol? If it does, I don’t have to drink. It’s no problem for me, I’m not a big fan of it.”

“Aw, c’mon, baby.” Ice handed her the cup. “I’m around booze every time I’m at Satan’s, and I throw drunks out of the bar on the regular. I’m surrounded by the stuff, and I’m never tempted.”

“No?”

“No.”

“OK, if you’re sure.” She took a sip. “You know, I think the last time that I drank wine out of a plastic cup was back in high school.”

“It’s pretty fancy, huh? Only the best for my girl.”

She choked. “Your –yourgirl?”

“Isn’t that what you are?”

“I – I –”

Vixen stared at him, standing there so calmly, like he hadn’t just lobbed an emotional grenade at her, and exploded yet another one of her ideas about this man. Ice was thawing at roughly the speed of light, at least with her, and it seemed that he was determined to surprise her several times an hour. She wondered what else she was going to find out about him over toasted marshmallows.

“So?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Areyou?”

“I am.” The words fell from her mouth without any thought whatsoever. “Yes.”

“I thought so. I mean, Ididpromise to tell you if Scars sends me anywhere, and I kinda thoughtthatwas because we were together.”

“We – we –”

He sighed theatrically. “Mind blown, baby?”

“It sure is.”

“In a good way?”

“In the best way.” She watched him gathering some sticks and she sighed a bit at his ease of movement, thinking how weird it was to just miss nodding or turning her head. “I wish I could help. I’m not used to everyone else doing everything – especially when it comes to food and drink prep.”

“Relax, Vix. I got this. Ifanyonedeserves to sit on her cute little ass and drink some wine, it’s the woman who faced down a speeding van.”

“Fair point, sexy.”

“SexyunlessI put on the slippers.”

“That is correct.”

She snuggled down in her big coat, watched as he started to set up the wood into a teepee shape around the kindling, then light a match. The kindling caught immediately, and as they waited for the sticks to catch too, he put two marshmallows on each fork. The whole time, she just watched how he moved, marvelling at yet another new side of this man.

Ice was normally like a jungle cat: patient, dangerous, predatory. His every movement felt cold and calculated, like it had a specific purpose, and that purpose was undoubtedly about catching someone unaware, then utterly fucking that someone up. She’d seen him move like that for years now, even in the back rooms when he’d advanced on her before hauling up her skirt to palm her pussy, her arousal pooling into his hand as she gasped and moaned, or when he’d effortlessly picked her up, thrust inside her quivering body, and fucked her standing.

He moved like a force of nature, and there had been quite a few times when the combination of cat-like stalking and ice-cold eyes had taken her breath as he’d walked towards her. She’d known that she was safe with Ice – despite himnotbeing a safe man – but there was always that edge. That chance thatthistime, he might fully embrace his primal side and sink his teeth into her throat. She’d loved that edge, it had been a huge turn-on, and she knew it was still there; it was a part of him that ran so deep, it was forever.

But now here he was, pottering around the fire and pouring wine and moving the bench closer to the fire so she could reach it with the fork without straining. The way that he switched gears with her was nothing but a miracle, and Vix wasn’t sure what she’d done right in her life to have received it. Received him.

“OK, so,” he said, topping up her plastic cup. “Can I ask you something?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course. You can ask me anything.”

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