Fire and Ice: A New Adult Erotic Romance Read Online Free Page A

and the sound is completely at odds with the intricate lace and seed pearls of her gown.
    “Don’t worry,” she says. “I think George has taken on the Caleb-containment mission as his own.”
    “What?” I scan first the head table, then the guests assembled below. I spot neither Caleb nor George, and a pang cramps my stomach. “That can’t end well,” I mutter.
    “Caleb might be an asshat, but George is a big boy. He can handle himself—and Caleb, if it comes to it.”
    This is what I’m afraid of, I think. Other people handling Caleb. George has already stepped in, more than once. He is a classic knight in shining armor. I am not a girl who deserves that. Not now, anyway. Maybe not ever.
    Besides, I long for a sword; I want to fight my own battles.
    I remain in glorious isolation at the head table while David and Athena dance their first dance, then trade partners, bringing David’s family and Uncle Jaffrey to the floor. I rest my chin on my hand, a drowsy warmth flowing through me—one that’s helped along by the hot chocolate a waiter has brought me, but that I suspect George ordered.
    Then his hand is there, next to mine, palm up.
    “Shall we?” he asks.
    I take his hand, and he leads me to the dance floor. I don’t feel that burn on the back of my neck or a paranoid tingle in my spine. I can’t detect a single sign that Caleb is still here, and I’m so grateful that when George pulls me close, I melt into him.
    He doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, his hand, at the small of my back, draws me closer still. My face can nestle perfectly in the crook of his neck. I breathe in aftershave—for he did take a razor to all that stubble—and soap, and something about the way he smells reminds me of warm milk and nutmeg. Then there are his hands, strong and steady, the sort of hands that might lift you up but never hold you down.
    If I know one thing, it’s that.
    Who starts the migration, I can’t say, but the circles we make around the dance floor grow larger, and larger, until we’re dancing at the very edge. Then, it’s just a matter of George twirling me into a dark hallway.
    And then he is everything I’ve wanted since seeing him on the plane. His mouth finds mine, mine finds his. His breath is heavy, mine light and fluttery. We take nothing slow. We both know there is nothing but this night, these next few minutes, and we will make the most of them. We will make a memory to last a lifetime.
    We both know how to deal.
    At least, that’s what I believe. I believe up until the moment George takes my chin in his hand. His voice ragged, he says, “Slow. Let’s take this slow. I have a redeye in the morning, so I’ll understand if you don’t want to take this anywhere at all.”
    “Slower?” I suggest, because I don’t want to slow down, not now, not when I know it’s for only this night. I can have this wonderful man for this one night. That is more than enough, more to hope for, even.
    “All right then. Slower.” His laugh is warm against my ear. His forehead comes to rest on the wall next to my head. He doesn’t pull away, but his hands have slowed their journey along my sides.
    “I have a confession,” he says.
    I brace for the worst.
    “I’m feeling slightly perverted, like a dirty old man.”
    “Dirty old …”
    “The little sister of my best friend’s wife?” He exhales.
    “I’m not little.”
    His lips rim my ear; it’s a tender, sweet caress that speaks of what this man might do to me with the rest of his body, if he so chooses.
    “It’s the way Athena talks about you, David too. Plus, I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t notice the resemblance, but I should have. On the plane.”
    I shake my head. “Most people don’t. It’s the skin color—”
    “It’s no excuse. You both look so much alike, both so stunning.”
    “Our mother was beautiful.” Or had been, until the alcohol had stolen it away from her, along with her soul. I release a tiny sigh, try to