Page 26 of Frost
“Here we are.”
“Huh? Really?” I look around, seeing nothing but a million trees and rock. “It’s not as… um, I don’t know…homeyas I imagined?”
Rolling his eyes, he grabs the sleeve of my coat and tugs me toward a wall of rock. When we get closer, I find it’s not a solid wall at all.
It’s an entrance.
“That’s cool,” I say, amazed.
“Literally.” He arches a brow and guides me farther inside the cave.
Now I know how his home has remained undetected for nineteen years. Unless you knew there was an entrance, you’d never find it. The walls are a bit too close for my liking as we pass through the tunnel. I don’t even have claustrophobia and my heart’s racing a little. The feeling doesn’t last long, though, because within a handful of seconds, the cave opens up to a wide room filled with blue light.
Ice is everywhere. No wonder Jack saidliterallywhen I mentioned the cave was cool. Every piece of furniture is ice: the bed against one wall, a small table and chair, and a few cabinets. Ice also covers the walls and areas of the floor. The cave looks as if it was pulled from a fantasy movie. It’s magical and wondrous—a fairy tale come to life.
“You created all of this?” I ask, stepping farther inside.
“Yes.” Jack puts his hands behind his back and strolls beside me. “Do you like it?”
I turn to him, and my chest squeezes a bit when I see the anxious expression on his pixie face. “It’s amazing, Jack. If I wouldn’t freeze my ass off, I’d totally like to spend the night here, at least once.”
A smile breaks across his face. “I know a way you can warm up.”
“As much as I want to fuck you again, I don’t think I can get it up when it’s this cold.”
He laughs again, and the sound settles in the center of my chest. “My plandoesinclude taking your clothes off… but not for sex.” He leads me forward. “Come with me.”
“Do I have a choice?” I ask as he pulls me along with him.
“You always have a choice.” He whirls around to me and cups my cheek in his surprisingly warm palm. “Always, little light. If the moment ever comes when you wish me away, I will leave you be. You only need to ask.”
A lump lodges in my throat as I stare into his blue eyes. The ice around us reflects in them. “I don’t want that.”
His eyes soften, and he leans forward to press his face against my cheek. “I don’t want it either.”
I’m stunned by his confession. Maybe hedoesn’tview me as a passing fancy, someone he’ll easily move on from. I put an arm around him and rest my head on his. Seconds later, he pulls from me but grabs my hand.
“Let’s go.” He continues tugging me forward out of the cavern and into another narrow tunnel. The blue light fades the farther we walk, and if not for his hand in mine, I might have been a little unsettled. “It will be worth it, I promise.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
Something crazy? I really do trust him—not just with leading me to an unknown area of the cave, but in general. He earned my trust all those years ago when he flew me on his back, urging me to open my eyes and take in the breathtaking view from up above.
I hold his hand tighter, and he responds by squeezing mine in turn.
When the tunnel finally widens again, the room looks exactly like the one before it. Ice covers the walls, throwing off a blue aura, and ice sculptures line one wall. Very detailed sculptures too.
“Wow.” I approach them and notice how realistic the faces look. The attention to detail is incredible. One is a man standing tall with a hand resting on the sword at his side. The hard lines of his face give him an intimidating look, as do his large muscles, but there’s softness in his eyes. “The Spartan?”
“Yes.” Jack stands beside me and observes the sculpture with a somewhat pained expression. There’s tenderness too. “It’s my own way of making him immortal, for he’ll always be right here in my mind. In my memory.”
“Are all of these your past lovers?” I ask, moving my gaze down the long line of them.
“No,” he answers with a chuckle. “Some are people I’ve met during my life who made an impact: an older woman who baked me bread when I was hungry, a girl who braided flowers in my hair and said I was beautiful. People who’ve shown me kindness for no reason at all, and others are moments from my memory I never want to forget. You might recognize the last one.”
I step to the end of the line and feel my eyes prickle.
It’s the smallest of the sculptures, a little boy missing one glove. He’s smiling, though, as he stands on one leg and reaches toward the sky. He captured me perfectly.
