Melting the Ice Queen ✔️

~1~

Hmm.

Alicia Carroll stretched and sighed, winding her body more closely around Scott Armstrong's, and relaxing into the melted tangle of their arms and legs. Beneath her fingers, she felt the vibrating purr of his satisfaction rumble in his chest, and she grinned. He grinned, too. She felt the curve of his cheek against the top of her head.

Just for fun, she ran her lips and then her tongue over his flat nipple, absorbing the sudden catch of his breath into her body. When she nipped, he shuddered, and the cycle began again. Like the rising of the sun in the east and its setting in the west, or like her need to breathe in and then out again, when she and Scott touched each other, that desire burned again. Hotter. Always hotter. It never seemed to cool, even minutes after they'd just come together. Even after two years together.

A niggling reminder wormed its way into Alicia's contentment, returning her to earth with a nasty thud.

They were together, yeah, but they weren't together together. They were lovers, but not mates. Friends, but not partners. Friends with benefits, maybe, but that was a juvenile term. Meant only for kids who used text messages to arrange their hookups.

She and Scott weren't kids. They were adults, lawyers who understood each other perfectly. She helped people get divorced, and he sued people and corporations who needed suing. Their agreement going in was that they'd keep it casual—no expectations, no pressures and no hard feelings. No commitments, ever, because if there was one thing she'd learned as a divorce lawyer, it was this: relationships never worked, and marriage was as inevitable a recipe for disaster as a bleach-ammonia broth.

Hell, she'd learned that lesson in the nursery.

Thankfully, they were on the same page. Having both survived law school, they respected rules and boundaries. Their non-relationship had several—all of which were clear and simple. Sex was always okay, but sleepovers were only for weekends. Dinners were better delivered rather than eaten in a syrupy romantic setting, but if there was an acceptable reason to celebrate—such as, say, a thrilling court victory—then a small but elegant night out was fine. Birthdays, Valentine's Day and Sweetest Day were to be firmly ignored. Spending Thanksgiving and Christmas together was fine, but only if their families were out of town.

Their conversations also had to be strictly monitored: no emotions allowed. Talking about feelings in the context of a powerful movie they'd just seen? Fine. Sharing memories about things such as, say, her parents' horrendous divorce? Uh-uh. Phone calls and texts during the day were no problem, as long as there were legitimate informative or housekeeping purposes behind them (What time will you get here? or: Guess what? We settled the case!), but out-of-the-blue I missed you communications were out, as she had quickly reminded Scott the time or two he'd tried that nonsense.

It worked beautifully because they followed the rules and didn't rock the boat.

And that was why it was time for her to go home.

She felt too wonderfully drowsy in Scott's arms, too warm and safe. Too delicious. But the rules were clear. No exceptions—period. No sleepovers during the week, and this impromptu Tuesday night visit was only because she'd won a huge appeal and wanted to tell him.

Time to go.

Moving with more reluctance than usual, she disentangled her body from his, which took a little doing because she felt so mellow, and she only ever felt that way with Scott.

Which was another reason to leave.

"Uh-uh." Nailing her with that wicked gaze, he grabbed her wrist in a gentle but unbreakable grip. "I'm not done with you yet. Not even close."

----------------

Hi, This is Gayathri, Adri's Cousin. I'm writing this alone as my cousin is busy sleeping. How's my first chapter? 

*Vote*

*Comment*

*Follow*

~Gayu