Trace opened the freezer, and I was about to give him shit for leaving a job half finished—but before I could, he was already walking back toward me, something glinting in his hand.
When the cube of ice met the skin between my breasts, I hissed a breath, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. Trace grinned wickedly, then slid the piece of ice in a broad circle around my breast, tracing a spiral pattern until the cold, wet cube brushed against my nipple.
I half sat up, a tortured groan bursting from my throat, and he chuckled softly as he pushed me back down.
“I love you, Snow. Let me take care of you.”
As I sprawled back out on the table, it occurred to me that Trace’s definition of “take care of you” might be something along the lines of “make you pass out from pleasure.”
Not that I was complaining.
Little trails of water slid down the side of my breast from the melting ice cube, and I did my best to hold still as Trace moved it over and repeated the spiral pattern on the other side. But my breath was coming in short gasps, and although he hadn’t even touched my lower half yet, my clit was throbbing in time to my heartbeat, a steady ache building in my core.
He looked up at me through his lashes as he trailed the ice cube down my stomach and over the dip of my belly button. When he reached my soft cotton pants, he trailed the ice cube over the skin just above the waistband, and when I growled in frustration, he laughed. But he gave me what I wanted, sliding my pants and panties off with one hand while the slowly melting ice cube traced pathways over my hips and upper thighs.
My clothing fell to the floor as Trace brushed the piece of ice over my folds, then between them, just inside my pussy.
The feel of the cool slickness against my hot, swollen core was more than I could take, and I tossed my head back and forth, gasping and panting.
Another low chuckle rumbled in Trace’s chest, but when I looked down my body at him, he looked like he was torturing himself as much as me by dragging this out. His cheeks were so flushed I could see the tint even in the shadowy kitchen, and his hair was mussed from my fingers, sticking up at odd angles.
It was hot as hell. I wanted to ruin him, to make him unravel completely.
Before I could sit up and try to reach for the bulge straining his pants, he pushed the ice cube a little deeper inside me, finding my clit with his thumb at the same time.
My world spun, seeming to collapse in on itself and then expand as a burst of sensation surged through me.
“That’s it, Ari. Come for me. Come, baby.”
Keeping his thumb on my clit, Trace withdrew the ice, and as the orgasm continued to roll through me, I watched him pop the melting ice cube into his mouth. The feral, hungry grin on his face as he tasted it—tasted me—made me groan.
“You sure you aren’t… trying to kill me?” I panted, and Trace laughed softly as he chewed the remainder of the ice.
Then he licked his lips, hooking my thighs and pulling me closer to the table’s edge. I caught sight of his thick cock springing free as he pushed his sweats down, then his broad head nudged my entrance.
“Never, Snow,” he said softly. “In fact, one of my main goals in life is to keep you alive.”
I would’ve laughed at his comment, but there was a sincerity in his tone that made the sound die in my throat. And then he surged forward, filling me in one deep thrust, and I forgot everything but the feel of him.
He draped his upper body over mine as he began to fuck me hard and fast, and when he caught my mouth in a deep kiss, his tongue was still cool from the ice. We kissed until every last bit of the chill was gone, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him, holding him close as he drove into me over and over.
When I came again, it was with a scream that might’ve woken up the entire school if Trace hadn’t swallowed it with his kiss, absorbing my pleasure and feeding me back his own like a feedback loop.
With one more hard thrust, he froze inside me, his hips pulsing against mine as he emptied himself in my channel.
As my body finally began to relax, tension seeping from my muscles, Trace gathered me in his arms, lifting me off the table with his cock still buried inside me. My arms and legs wrapped around him automatically, and he held onto me just as tight, our chests pressed together as we breathed in sync.
“We should go upstairs,” I finally murmured sleepily against his skin. He had to be getting tired. I was exhausted, and I wasn’t even the one holding up another person.
“We will, Snow. Soon.” His fingers ran through my dark hair, and turned his head a little, pressing a kiss to my jaw. “I just need another minute. Just like this.”
Chapter Nineteen
Despite the fact that I’d barely slept the night before, I was up early the next day.
Turns out, there’s something extremely motivating about knowing a bunch of gods plan to kill you and all your friends.
Trace rolled me over on the bed for a deep kiss that made my toes curl a little, memories of last night invading my thoughts. I let Merrick and Lachlan kiss me good morning too, basking for just a few short minutes in the bubble of happiness that seemed to fall around us every time the four of us were together like this.