My mouth falls open then closes again as I try to respond. Jack smirks at me and pulls me into his space. Bending until we’re nose to nose.
“Try to deny it, Arden. I dare you.”
I nip at his nose, and he pulls away with a chuckle. “This is a set up. You can’t coerce confessions out of me when you’re not exactly sharing yourself,” I protest.
“Ah, I see what this is,” he teases as he grabs me by my hair. “This is one of those ‘who said it first’ moments.” I love it when he looks at me like I’m the most interesting person in the world. “Do you know why everything I make for you tastes so good?”
“No,” I say slowly, not knowing where he’s going with this.
“Because it’s all made just for you from me. It’s made with love, and while that is an expression mortals use all the time, it means something to us. You taste how I feel for you. Someone else could eat the exact same thing and not be as affected because it’s all for you. I love you, Arden Elisabeth Voss with your greedy, rude ass.”
Those very words except the insult at the end that I’ll beat his ass over later are the words I’ve dreamed about hearing from him. I try not to cry, but his admission can only mean one thing.
“First, there is no bigger asshole than you. Second, I love you…”
His lips capturing mine in a passionate kiss cuts off anything I was going to say. I return the kiss, not caring if we can be seen. Espen brings the recklessness out of me.
“Good,” he whispers against my lips. “I didn’t like the hours we’ve spent apart. I know I can do my job and keep my woman. Our love is worth fighting for; you’re moving in.”
“If I don’t want to move in?”
“I’d stalk your ass until you see it my way.”
I laugh despite knowing that his threat isn’t a complete joke. He grabs my hand and pulls me further into the woods.
“Want to see how I arrived?”
We’re in the air before I can answer, and I cling to Jack as if I’m going to die. “Oh, shit, Jack. You must warn black people about shit like this!”
Jack snickers as the wind whips by us. My hair is going to be a mess, but this is definitely a memory I won’t forget. It’s magical to feel like I’m flying, but I’m relieved once we land on Jack’s balcony.
“You have a lot of work to do after I fuck you,” he warns me. His hand is already snaking under my dress and pulls at my panties.
“Work!”
My underwear rip off as he balances me on the edge of the balcony. “Yes, how else will I be Mr. Winter if my home isn’t ready for New Year’s Eve?”
I’m both ecstatic that he came around, and contemplating harming him. “New plan, fuck, fight, then work.”
Jack is poised at my entrance teetering on the edge of stretching me to accommodate him.
“Hard-headed Arden, fighting me will only get you fucked more.” He sucks on my neck as he tortures me with the world's slowest penetration. “You’d be adding more fuck sessions. I can go all night. Can you?”
“Suck my dick, Jack Frost.”
He chortles and nods his head. “Sounds like you want me to test your limits.”
True to his word, Jack spent the rest of the night trying to kill me with his dick.
Epilogue
Arden
Even with a week's notice, the Winters’ mansion is decorated to perfection with a world-class caterer. Jack tries his best to host but constantly disappears leaving Edward and Lara as the fill-in hosts. He knows his butler and house manager knows all too well how to manage parties since they worked for his grandfather.
While I laugh at Mack for avoiding his date and ignoring his bitch of an ex, I suddenly catch a whiff of sugar cookies and cedar.
“You again,” I say before I take a sip of my winter martini. “By the way, your cologne doesn’t cover your natural scent. It’s time you accept that you smell like cookies.”
