Page 41 of Kiss of Ice

With a thought he sent out curls of white smoke, gripping the gown on either side. The coils flexed and the dress ripped apart.

Ren stood in her silk slip, her body trembling from a cocktail of rage and humiliation. Colour flooded her cheeks.

“You can’t do this!”

“Disobedience has consequences, Ren. Something you’d do well to learn.”

“I hate you,” she hissed. “I hate you with every fibre of my being.”

“Just as long as you remember you belong to me.”

“I’ll never belong to you, you bastard.”

She spat at him and the froth landed on his cheek. He wiped it away, eyes blazing.

“If you wanted to exchange bodily fluids, why didn’t you just say so?”

He thrust a hand into her hair, yanking her scalp painfully as he angled her head. And then suddenly he was crushing her mouth with his.

There was no gentleness. His lips scorched hers with bruising intensity – a deliberate plundering that left her in no doubt. This wasn’t a kiss, it was punishment.

Kam forced her lips open and savagely invaded her mouth with his tongue. He knew he was taking out his anger on her but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to show her who was in charge. He wanted to make her submit.

Ren tried to struggle but his grip tightened and he held her immobile as he ravaged her mouth mercilessly. She was powerless to stop him. In all the times she’d imagined her first kiss with a man, it had never been like this. Devoid of a single shred of tenderness, affection, or even lust. Kam was simply marking her as his territory.

And yet incredibly, despite his cruelty, something inside her was responding. The realisation hit her like a sledgehammer.

No. I’m not going to let him do this.

With a thought, she made her body as cold as ice.

Kam felt the change immediately. The temperature drop was so intense that his mouth burned. He jerked his head back to find Ren glaring at him.

“What’s wrong? Too frigid for you?”

Her body was a block of ice pressed against him. Wherever his flesh touched hers, it began to turn blue. Even through his clothes, the cold seeped into his bones and made his joints ache. He had no choice but to let her go. Ren smiled triumphantly.

“I told you what would happen. If you want to avoid frostbite you’d better keep your hands off me.”

Kam narrowed his eyes.

“You think that will stop me?”

With a thought, he sent out tendrils of white that bound her wrists and pinned them to the wall above her head. With a sinking feeling, Ren realised his power was impervious to hers. She raised her chin defiantly.

“Maybe not. But it won’t be as much fun.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Unfortunately for you, cold does something rather wonderful to certain parts of a woman’s body.”

Careful not to touch her skin, he tugged the top of her slip down. Ren tried to twist away but his bonds held her steady as he bared her to the waist.

“You’re a bastard,” she spat.

He raked his gaze over her naked breasts. They were full and rounded, the tips standing out proudly – a pale blueish-pink colour that made his mouth water.

“Your nipples are beautifully hard, my Lady. I wonder if they taste as good as they look?”

“You… you wouldn’t dare.”

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