Born of Ice

“How old were you?”


“Eleven. As punishment for cutting school with a friend, I’d been left at home with my nannies to do homework. I was messing around with my chemistry set when I ignited my dad’s desk and the chemicals spread like nothing I’d ever seen.”

A muscle worked in his jaw as he shook his head sadly. “It’s the only time I ever saw my mom cry. Not because of the house, but because she thought at first when she arrived that I was still inside it. When she found out I was safe, she held me and wept like a baby. Gah, I can still feel her shaking. I think that scared me more than anything else.”

Alix tried to imagine her parents being that protective. But honestly, her parents would have killed her dead for something like that. “My parents both had a temper. My dad a lot more so than my mom. But she’s always loved me and I know it. It’s why I’ve always been so protective of her.”

He scowled at her. “You mean until she ran off when you were little?”

Alix cringed as she realized her slip. I better be more careful before he kills me. “It doesn’t mean you don’t love your mother, Captain. When cruelty is all you know, you make allowances for people’s shortcomings. Even bad parents are better than no parents.”

He snorted. “My father would definitely argue about that and given what my grandfather did to him, I don’t blame him. But I won’t pry. I know from my parents how much those memories sting even decades after they’ve passed. You never really get over a bad childhood.”

He pulled a cold pack from the bag and activated it, then pressed it against her cheek. “Keep your cheek iced. I’m going to bed before I pass out.” He placed three more packs on her table, then took his leave.

It was only after he was gone that she realized the blood on the packs was from his injuries.

Injuries he’d gotten because of her . . .

She wanted to cry as she thought about the pain she was going to inflict on him and the terror of what his parents might do to her over it. If what he said was true, they wouldn’t just lie back and let her get away with hurting their only child.

They would come after her with everything they had and then some.

What am I going to do?

She would save her family. She had no choice. But first, she wanted to thank the man who’d kept her from being raped.



Devyn hissed as he poured an antiseptic over his bleeding knuckles. That one bastard had had a jaw like ragged steel.

“It’s what you get for being stupid.”

And he was still so hard, he could drive a nail with his erection.

Wasn’t alcohol supposed to dull pain? The fight probably sobered you.

Oh, goodie. Grabbing a bottle of Tondarion whisky, he went to sit at his desk. He started to get a glass, then decided it wasn’t worth the effort. He clicked back the lid and drank straight from the bottle while visions of Alix in his bed tormented him.

Why didn’t you take the redhead up on her offer? It would have at least sated you for a few.

Because I’m a fucking idiot.

Yeah, that would be it. He took another swig.

Suddenly there was a hesitant knock on his door. His cock jerked because there was no way it was Sway or Vik being timid or even knocking . . .

Just what I need. More torture.

“Come in,” he called, unwilling to get up and move at this point.

The door opened to show him the beautiful face of his worst tormentor. Damn, I need to be drunker.

“Did I forget something?” he asked her.

Alix hesitated as she saw him with the bottle in his hand. If he’s still drinking, you should run. Her father had always been so mean when he drank that it made her skittish around any man who imbibed. But she couldn’t. She owed him and, more than that, she wanted to do this. To have one moment with a man who didn’t make her skin crawl when he touched her.

What would it be like to sleep with a man she actually desired?

Just once.

Gathering her courage, she crossed the room and knelt in front of his chair.

Devyn frowned as he watched her. She looked up at him from between his knees and his breath caught. He wanted to ask her what she was doing, but the hungry look in her eyes squelched all rational thought.

And when she reached for his fly, he thought this might be another fantasy brought on by his drunken stupor. His heart pounded as he watched her slowly unzip his pants until his cock was free.

Without a word, she lowered her lips to take him deep into her mouth.