Soul on Ice E-Book

Mia Kingsley

• Herausgeber: Black Umbrella Publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 242

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

"If you're afraid of me, I'll take you home. You only have to say so." "I'd like to stay. You're a little intense, but I think I can deal with it."   I need a female companion to help me eliminate my latest target. My lucky candidate Pepper just wants a night filled with fun and adventure. She thinks I am a bit intense, but says my attractive face makes up for it. Pepper has no idea how intense I truly am. She could have left, but missed her chance—and now she is mine.   This dark and twisted romance is safe, with no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.

Leseprobe

SOUL ON ICE

MIA KINGSLEY

A DARK ROMANCE

CONTENTS

Soul On Ice

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

About the Author

SOUL ON ICE

"If you’re afraid of me, I’ll take you home. You only have to say so."

"I’d like to stay. You’re a little intense, but I think I can deal with it."

I need a female companion to help me eliminate my latest target. My lucky candidate Pepper just wants a night filled with fun and adventure. She thinks I am a bit intense, but says my attractive face makes up for it.

Pepper has no idea how intense I truly am. She could have left, but missed her chance—and now she is mine.

This dark and twisted romance is safe, with no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.

1

PEPPER

"Oh, Pepper." June was whining into the phone. "Come with us."

"Sorry, but I honestly can't. I have so much to do and I'm really tired."

As I wedged my phone between my ear and shoulder, I searched my purse for my keys.

"You say this every time, Sweetie. It's only 5:00 p.m. and you want to tell me you still haven't done whatever you think you need to do on a Friday night?"

"I fear that's exactly the case."

"You're such a drag und you know it. Well, if you change your mind—we'll be at the Coconut Craze on the corner of Sundrive Boulevard and Wilshire."

"Have a great night."

My best friend snorted scornfully before she ended the call, and I couldn't even blame at her for it. It had been months since I'd last gone out. Something always intervened. If I didn't have to work, I had to study or I was literally too burned out to go have fun.

In my apartment, I dropped the heavy bag and rubbed my stiff neck. Thanks to the homework I had to turn in by Monday, I had borrowed what felt like a full ton of books from the university library so I'd be able to support my essay with sufficient sources.

After missing the bus, and since I was late already anyway, I'd found myself dragging the bag over to the van Clerks, whose children I watched every afternoon. From there, the walk to my house wasn't too far, but it hadn't stopped snowing since this morning and it had taken me somewhat longer to walk back than usual. And during that entire time, I feared that my arm would pull out of its socket any second.

It was cold, and I immediately grabbed my thick, wooly jacket from the sofa. The heater in the living room—which also served as my bedroom and my kitchen—had broken down a week before and my landlord didn't really seem to care too much about fixing it in a timely manner.

I put the kettle on for a hot cup of tea before my hands could suffer from frostbite. I had to clean up, do the laundry, write my essay, and study for the other two courses. I wanted to get it all done by Sunday because then I was due to watch the kids again. This babysitting appointment had been an unexpected one, but they paid well—and if there was anything I needed, it was money.

As if on cue, my stomach growled, and when I glanced at the contents of my fridge, I also added shopping to my to-do list. What I had would get me through that night. But the next morning I would have no choice about taking a trip to the supermarket.

I stared out the window. The snowflakes were falling faster now, and I hoped it wouldn't keep snowing like this throughout the night. Then I would actually get the chance to go buy some groceries.

The hysterical whistle of the kettle on my stove tore me away from my thoughts and I walked into the kitchen to brew the tea. It would probably make sense to go down into the basement and load the washing machine to get that going.

As I searched for my dirty laundry, I wrapped a scarf around my neck, since it was even colder in the basement than it was outside, and walked the five flights downstairs. Fortunately, nobody else seemed to want to do their laundry at the moment, so I had both washing machines at my disposal. I wanted to take advantage of that—it would save me some time, and most importantly, I wouldn't have to run down to the basement four times.

Once I was back upstairs, I warmed my hands on my teacup before tidying up my manageable little apartment and sweeping the floor. I could have used the vacuum cleaner, but I didn't want to risk blowing a fuse, and during this month I welcomed anything that didn't add to the electric bill.

Oh, who was I kidding? I tried every month to use as little energy as possible.

A couple of hours later, I had scarfed down my meager dinner, put away the clean laundry and written the outline for my homework.

I'd really had enough of school for the night. I had already begun seeing little dots in front of my eyes and my right hand was completely cramped up from taking notes.

Actually, I would have liked to go to bed, but for some reason I didn't quite understand, it was still early and I wasn't tired at all.

I quickly assessed my options. My TV had broken down six months before and I had gotten rid of it. And since I didn't have the funds to buy a new one then, I hadn't. Due to the lack of time this week, I hadn't managed to get to the little library two blocks down from my apartment, so I had nothing new to read. If I didn't want to read that historic romance novel I'd borrowed for the third time, there weren't many other options.

I pressed the home button on my phone and the screen lit up. It wasn't even ten o'clock yet and my friends were probably just on their way to the Coconut Craze.

I realized I only had twenty dollars to my name. But if I walked there and back, and maybe found some cute guy to buy me a cocktail, there was no reason not to go out and join them after all. It had been ages since I'd seen June and the others. Maybe I needed a change of scenery.

Excitement began to spread inside me. The longer I thought about it, the better the idea seemed.

Inside my closet I even found a dress I hadn't worn yet, one I had originally bought for a wedding. Shortly before their big day, the couple had split up, and my daily routine didn't exactly call for a knee-length, dark gray shift dress.

I chewed my lower lip as I pondered whether I should really risk going out in this weather in a short dress, stumbling through a snowstorm.

Uninspired, I scanned my other outfits and realized that, unless I wanted to show up in that bar in jeans and a Chicago Bulls basketball jersey, there wasn't much else I could do but freeze my butt off.

Also, I was very much in the mood to dress up for once. If I was going out at all, then it should at least include the full program.

I would jump into the shower, curl my hair and put on so much makeup that my own mother wouldn't recognize me.

Okay, maybe not that much. But just for this one night, I wanted to slip into the role of an elegant lady in her mid-twenties, someone who had her life completely under control.

It was simply a more pleasant thought than the unpaid bills, the piles of schoolwork, and the endless hamster wheel that was my reality. Spontaneously, I even decided to shave my legs. I was feeling somewhat adventurous.

It had been six months since my last boyfriend and I had ended things, and since then I'd had roughly as many orgasms as functioning heaters: not a single one.

The thought of an uncomplicated one-night stand with a man who knew what he was doing and could give me an incredible orgasm made my blood grow so hot that I had to peel myself out of my thick cardigan.

Maybe this was the right approach: On my way to the bar, I would think enough naughty thoughts to keep me warm. Then I could forget about the fact that the temperatures were still well below freezing.

My determination held up until I finally stood on the sidewalk outside. The cold immediately started to penetrate the naked skin on my legs, and I began walking in hopes that I would be able to warm up as long as I walked fast enough. According to the GPS, the walk to that bar would only take ten minutes—I should survive that.

Hopefully.

I wrapped my arms around my body, purse tucked under, hands shoved under my armpits. It was ironic that I already knew how annoyed I would be in less than an hour, when sweat was running down my back because the bar was way too hot.

To my utter delight I managed to reach the Coconut Craze without incident and, even though I was wearing high heels, without slipping once. Maybe the minimum criterion for the guy I was planning to hook up with should be that he had to have a vehicle to drive me home in later.

That was definitely a brilliant idea.

I pulled open the door to the Coconut Craze and a gush of warm air, impregnated with too much perfume and cigarette smoke, blew over me.

"Pepper! Pepper! Guys, Pepper is here! I can't believe it!" June was generous enough to tell everyone in the bar that I had arrived. She was screaming so loudly that despite the level of noise, she almost blew out my eardrums.

Promptly, I turned bright red and raised my hand to wave her off, slightly embarrassed. I unbuttoned my coat and wondered why I'd thought it would be a good idea to come here.

Next to the door, the coat hooks were already overloaded. I eyed them suspiciously and decided to hang my coat on the middle one. At least it looked as if those hooks would be able to hold the additional weight for a little while longer.

"Pepper!" June hugged me from behind and almost squeezed me to death. "You look incredible. Where did you get that dress?"

She always spoke without taking a breath, all the while gesturing wildly. I pulled her toward me, but the waitress who had appeared behind her with a fully loaded tray, seemed to be used to this. She ducked effortlessly beneath June's arm before moving along.

"It was for Nadine's wedding. I haven't had a chance to wear it until now."

"You mean the wedding that was supposed to happen a year and a half ago? Lady, you are definitely not getting out enough."

I sighed. "No kidding."

She beamed at me, obviously thrilled to see me, and I couldn't keep from smiling back at her. I eyed the table she had jumped up from and leaned closer. "Tell me—which one of these guys I don't know has money and the potential for a decent one-night stand?"

"Whoa! You're coming on strong." June whistled through her teeth and turned around to have a look at the table's occupants.

"Well, just so there's no misunderstanding, I'm broke and need to find someone who'll buy me a drink. And please don't think I would take money for sex."

My best friend laughed. "Don't worry, I get it. You should go for Kenneth."

"Kenneth?"

"The guy in the dark blue shirt. Somebody should tell him that there really is such a thing as too much blue. Blue shirt, blue jeans, and blue shoes with a brown belt . . .” June shook her head and grinned.

"Okay. Kenneth is my man."

"He's a friend of Daniel's, I think. Wealthy parents, and I'm almost certain I saw a black credit card in his wallet. Nice guy, little bit nerdy. I'm sure you'll get along perfectly."

I smacked her gently with my purse on her upper arm. "Hey! What does that mean?"

June just winked at me, hooked her arm through mine and pulled me toward the table. She gestured to our friends to make some room and placed me directly next to Kenneth.

He gave me a shy smile and I relaxed.

"Hi."

"Hey," he replied, and ran his hand through his hair to hide the fact that he had already risked a glance at my legs.

He seemed nice enough, and when the waitress walked by our table again, he promptly asked, "Would you like a drink? The other girls told me the Mai Tai is good."

"Then I should listen to them. A Mai Tai would be great." I presented him with my best eyelash flutters.

He turned toward the waitress, which allowed me to quickly study him a little closer. Broad back, nice biceps, a little five o'clock shadow on his face—definitely something I could work with for one night.

My mood soared higher and higher, and I was glad I'd dared to step out for the evening.

Until the cocktails arrived, I talked to Kenneth and corrected my first impression of him. He was actually very pleasant. Either June had mercilessly exaggerated his nerdiness or I was such a nerd myself that I didn't even notice.

We talked about how nerve-wracking our university coursework was. It was mostly memorizing stuff, regurgitating it during tests, and then forgetting it again. The waitress showed up with our drinks.

I took a sip of my drink and almost choked. As much alcohol as this Mai Tai had, I would really only need one drink for the whole night. Holy shit—was I really so out of practice?

"Everything okay?" Kenneth gently touched my forearm.

"This drink is pretty strong, but otherwise everything's okay."

"Would you like me to order you some water with it?"

He was so very attentive, and I smiled, starting to like him.

"That's not necessary. But thank you anyway."

We talked for a little while longer, until the rest of the gang demanded our attention, too.

June was smoking, but when she offered me a cigarette, I shook my head. It had been too long since the last time, and I already needed all my concentration to handle my cocktail.

One of the guys brought a box of cigars from the bartender and everyone took one, but I declined once more.

It felt only natural that I ended up talking almost exclusively to Kenneth and yet time seemed to fly by. My stomach fluttered as he slowly moved closer to me, pressing his thigh against my leg.

Unless I was completely misunderstanding his signals, he was just as interested in me as I was in him.

I gathered all my courage and laid my hand on his thigh. Kenneth grinned at me, leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss.

It ended much too soon and when he leaned back again, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back to me.

"Don't stop," I whispered and opened my lips.

I had anticipated almost anything, but not that the cigar taste in his mouth would be so extremely bad. Since I was already a little tipsy and overly sensitive, I immediately felt nauseous and pulled away from him.

Kenneth looked at me in surprise, then moved away. Presumably, he thought he had pushed me too hard. I wanted to tell him that it wasn't because of him—at least not directly—but I felt too nauseated.

Everything around me started to spin. My stomach cramped up a second time and I already knew I was about to throw up. Without apologizing, I jumped up and ran toward the door. At least I still had the presence of mind to grab my coat so I wouldn't freeze to death, and I ran outside.

The icy cold air slammed into me like a shock wave, its tiny needles driving into my skin, and as I greedily fought for air, my insides finally calmed down. Although I could feel the rush of alcohol in my veins, out here the world wasn't spinning as badly as it had inside.

The nausea subsided and I walked a couple of steps to keep from getting too cold. The snow had piled up so high that I found it difficult to distinguish between the sidewalk and the road. There were high snow drifts everywhere and the snowflakes continued falling relentlessly.

I looked up at the sky and stretched my tongue out, catching snowflakes to alleviate the disgusting taste in my mouth.

At least I had learned another valuable lesson: although Kenneth was a great kisser, men who smoked cigars obviously weren't for me.

A car approached and I listened to the interesting sound it made as it drove through the snow.

Only when the headlights started to blind me did I realize that I was standing in the middle of the road. The car was racing straight toward me.

2

ADRIAN

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Annoyed, I straightened my back and began to disassemble the Remington MSR. For over an hour, I had been sitting here on this damned roof, waiting for the snowfall to stop as the weather report had predicted earlier.

Although I felt cold, I had been sitting underneath a small roof and only a little bit of precipitation had reached me. But I was still mad about all this wasted time. I should have hit my target long before now—but in these weather conditions, that was easier said than done.

I threw the large canvas bag over my shoulder, which didn't really match the black suit and dark, open coat I wore, and pushed open the door to the staircase.

Fifteen floors later, I stood on the street and stared at the only white front door among otherwise all black ones. The Glock 26 sat in its holster on my right ankle, and for a moment I contemplated simply ringing the doorbell and shooting the owner of the house as soon as he opened the door.

However, he had children and a wife, and the possibility that one of them would open the door instead couldn't be entirely ruled out. This was an unnecessary risk and, apart from that, not really my style. I would simply have to wait until Chester Hamilton left his house again to complete my contract.

Today, the snow had prevented me from sending a bullet straight into the back of his head, as I had originally planned.

My Audi was parked by the side of the road and didn't raise too much suspicion among all the other higher-class vehicles. Thinking of how much it had cost, I wasn't surprised.

I stuffed the canvas bag into the trunk and closed it. Despite the thick blanket of snow, the sound echoed loudly in the street.

Once I was inside the car and had started the engine, I connected my phone to the hands-free system and called Samson.

"Boy, that took forever," he greeted me. "Contract completed?"

I rolled my eyes. "Have you looked out your window?"

"Please tell me you've dealt with this like a pro. You'll get a ton of money, regardless."

"A ton of money from which you'll receive a hefty percentage, you mean."

"Answer me, Adrian."

With a snort, I pushed the gas pedal further and set the windshield wiper mode to its highest setting. I hated winter. If it were up to me, it would be illegal.

"I can't perform miracles, dammit. Do I look like some shaman to you? I froze my ass off for an entire hour before deciding I had to give up. Will we have another chance to get him tomorrow?"

Although he didn't say anything at first, I could almost hear Samson start to sweat through the phone. He feared he could lose that money. "Give me two seconds."

I heard the rattle of a keyboard and then a satisfied grunt. "Actually, you can try again tonight. He has an invitation for the Ardeur for midnight, for its grand opening."

"Never heard of it. What is it?"

Samson sighed. I knew this sigh. I heard it constantly when he needed to make me feel like some uneducated farm boy. "Ardeur is French for passion. It's a rather exclusive sex club where you'll almost certainly be able to sneak up on him and do whatever you need to."

I didn't like to kill in close proximity, but I would do it just to get this contract finished. "All right. Send me the address."

"Oh!" Samson exclaimed, and the scraping sound meant he was scratching his close-cropped hair.

So there was a problem.

"Problems can always be solved, buddy. Just tell me what it is and I'll come up with something."

"Only couples are allowed inside the Ardeur."

"Is there a way to break into the place?" I inquired.

"Can't you just find yourself a date?"

"It's Friday night and almost 11:00 p.m. Where do you suggest I find an attractive woman in a miniskirt within the next sixty minutes who I can convince to visit a sex club with a stranger?"

"You could hire a hooker."

"So it'll cost even more money?" I was peeved that he had even suggested it. Not to mention that I would need to find a high-class prostitute just to be able to get into the Ardeur if it was really as exclusive as Samson made it out to be. Something also told me this expense would be deducted from my portion of the money.

I shook my head. "Maybe I'll get lucky and the perfect woman will fall from the sky into my lap. Otherwise, I'll think of something else. Just make sure you send me the address and that my name appears on the guest list."

"Consider it done. Talk to you later."

I hung up without another word and turned onto Sundrive Boulevard. Were there any bars around here where I could pick up a girl?

I saw the lady, who stood in the middle of the street under the streetlight, at the very last second. She wore an elegant dress, held a coat in her hand, and stared up at the sky.

As I frantically turned the wheel, hitting the brakes at the same time, I realized that she really was sticking out her tongue, trying to catch snowflakes. Was she suicidal?

Then she finally heard me and spun around. Her eyes widened. She was frozen on the spot, not moving an inch out of the way.

Miraculously, the car stopped about two feet from her. I left it running, unbuckled my seat belt, and jumped out.

I was actually angry and wanted to scream at her, but when I approached the woman, I realized her whole body was shaking.

"Is everything okay?"

Her long eyelashes fluttered and she looked straight at me. Never before had I seen such unusual eyes. They seemed to be the color of lavender and stood in stark contrast to her fair skin and black hair.

She finally nodded. "Oh, my god. I am so very sorry! I'm such an idiot. Has something happened to you? Or to the car?"

Her speech was a little slow and fuzzy. Since she was standing in front of a cocktail bar, trying to catch snowflakes with her tongue, I assumed she'd been drinking.

"Everything's okay." I took the coat from her hand and draped it over her shoulders.

Confused, she glanced up at me and managed a smile. It was almost impossible not to look at her, and for the first time I had an idea of what it might feel like to be hypnotized by someone.

"I really am so very sorry," she mumbled and pulled her coat around her. Only when her fingers brushed against mine did I realize that I hadn't let go of her yet.

"I should go back inside. I just felt a little nauseous before."

I was finally able to release my grip and reluctantly took a step away from her. "You should do that. Before your boyfriend misses you."

Her cheeks blushed a pale pink and she shook her head. "No⁠—"

She didn't finish because the door to the bar swung open and a tall blonde called out. "Pepper?"

Pepper. What a beautiful name for this pretty girl with such unusual eyes.

She licked her lower lip. "I'm coming," she replied without turning around. Instead, she kept looking up at me. She just about reached my chin.

The door fell shut, and despite standing downtown in the middle of the road, we were alone. Nobody with common sense and in the right frame of mind would be out and about in this weather.

My gaze slid down her body. Were her legs bare underneath that short dress?

She would catch her death if she didn't go back inside that bar. For a moment, I played with the idea of offering her a ride home. The heated seats in the Audi worked like a treat. Maybe on the way there I could persuade her to come with me to the Ardeur.

No. That was a stupid idea. Even though everything in me urged me to grab her right there and then and kiss her, I forced myself to take yet another step back. "The sidewalk is over there. Take care."

"I'll try. I suppose I'm not really the adventurous type if I can't even distinguish between the street and the sidewalk and get it right. This was enough excitement for me, I guess."

"Bye." I spun around to avoid the danger of drowning in her eyes. Only when I sat back in the driver's seat did I allow myself to take a deep breath.

Through the passenger window, I watched her walk back to the bar, and then I hit the gas. What a crazy encounter.

The club's address appeared on the screen of my phone, which sat in the center console, and I knew I would have no other choice but to use an escort service after all.

To prevent a possible accident, I coasted rather than stepping on the gas. But after only a few moments, I steered the car toward the side of the road.

The encounter with Pepper had somehow agitated me and I couldn't shake this feeling I initially didn't even have words for.

Regret.

I regretted not asking her for her number. Even more, I regretted that I hadn't just kissed her. Before I could prevent myself from doing it, my mind spun the thought further. What would Pepper taste like? How would she sound when she moaned? Her voice had sounded pleasantly dark—a voice perfectly suited to whispering dirty things in my ear.

What the fuck was wrong with me? Usually, my job had the highest priority, but although I was on my way to finish a contract, all I could think about was following Pepper into that bar.

3

PEPPER

The warm air inside the Coconut Craze felt sticky on my skin now that I had been outside. The small snowflakes in my hair turned to water droplets and the magic of the winter's night evaporated.

But not entirely, because I kept thinking about the weird encounter. I probably should have thanked the stranger with a little more enthusiasm for not killing me with his car right then. What was wrong with me?

I had been reckless. And it wasn't the first time I noticed it since⁠—

Shaking my head, I forced the thought from my mind and walked back to the table. Smiling, Kenneth inched to the side, making space for me so I could sit down.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." I forced the corners of my mouth to curl upward, but deep inside, I already knew that I was long gone. Sometimes I couldn't even describe what exactly was happening with me. I was present, laughed at jokes, nodded and replied with automated answers—but in reality, I was miles away. It was as if I was watching myself from the outside. Regardless of how well I pretended to, I didn't feel I belonged.

Kenneth slid closer to me and rested his hand on my thigh. My skin must have felt icy cold, because he abruptly pulled his fingers back and stared at me.

"Aren't you cold?"

I pulled down the hem of my dress. "Not really."