ICE (The Benders Series) (16 page)

“It’s okay,” Kenna smiled. “For now, we can just watch
The Jungle Book
from a more innocent standpoint.”

He didn’t reply as he was obviously disappointed as well. But as the evening began to wind down and the movie concluded, both Jon and Kenna found themselves quite content with the other’s company, even if it was at a safer distance.

“Well, that was tiring,” he joked as he stretched out his muscular arms and placed one around her shoulder.

“You are such a pansy,” Kenna retorted as she rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s only nine o’clock. Are you really going to send me home early?”

“Ha. No,” he laughed. “Do you want to cozy up in my room for a bit before you go?” he asked with a smirk.

“Well, that’s all we can do, but it’s something I guess,” Kenna agreed with raised eyebrows and a slight smile.

That said, Jon stood up and guided the girl to his icy fortress- and icy it was. Kenna glanced around the dark room. Had it not been for its freezing temperatures, it would have been normal, a bed, a dresser, clothes strewn about the room. It was about what you would expect from an adolescent male.

With little to see, Kenna hopped in bed next to her date.

“A blanket?” she questioned as she placed her head on the cold pillow. “This seriously takes the term ‘cooler than the flip-side of my pillow’ to a whole new level,” she mumbled as Jon went out of the room to grab the blanket she’d had previously.

“Sorry,” he said as he threw it over her and jumped over her to the opposite side of the bed. “I suppose this is kinda cold for you fire people.”

Kenna rolled her eyes but didn’t care to retaliate against the comment. She pulled the blanket close to herself and heard herself sigh. At first, both had real intentions of simply curling up for a nap together. Kenna even set an alarm on her phone to wake them in an hour. But as they got close again, their magnetic pull became almost too much for either of them to bear.

Despite her literally aching body, Kenna did what she could to control her urges. As they rested there, she snuggled in close to him and laid a hand softly on his chest. She placed her head alongside his neck so that her not-as-hot hair could prevent their faces from making direct contact.

With his arm around her, Jon pulled her in tighter, so tight that she was forced to swing one of her legs above his to stay comfortable.

“So a nap it is?” she wondered out loud as he took a long breath.

“For now,” he confirmed with closed eyes and relaxing muscles.

For several minutes, the girl did her best to find sleep, but it was as difficult as a paraplegic otter trying to swim. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself in any other place than his perfectly manly arms. Unfortunately, every thought made its way back to him and forced her even more awake and more alive.

But Kenna knew that Jon was far from sleep as well. His breathing was far too fast.

In an effort to determine just how awake he was, Kenna rolled onto her opposite side and away from him. Just like she’d hoped, Jon rolled as well and made himself the big spoon in what was the ideal cuddling position. Kenna smiled as she lay there. She wasn’t sure if it was his size or his strength or a combination of the two that made her feel so perfectly protected and safe. Though his body was cold, she felt a warmth from within her that made her feel completely contented.

And what was better was that he seemed to have equally strong feelings for her. As they lay there, he became suddenly active again as his hand reached daringly inside her shirt to sit defiantly on her bra. At the touch, she moved in closer and his grip became tighter. She could feel his icy breath against her neck, and it sent the shivers once gain down her spine.

“I’m not sleeping,” she noted as she felt him tremble.

“Me either,” he replied casually.

“So what do you want to do?” she asked, turning to face him.

“We both know what I want to do,” Jon said, pausing for a moment, “but I don’t know if it’s a good idea, Kenna.”

Before he could go on, Kenna lifted herself up on her elbow and went in for another round of kissing.

“Kenna,” he protested, pushing her away gently. “I can’t.”

“How do you know? Can you try?” she asked a little desperately.

He sighed. “I don’t know that it’s worth the risk.”

She kissed him again, and this time, he reached for her face with his hand to keep her close. With Jon doing the guiding, he managed to get her on her back once more, but this time, he was soft, subtle, and tender as he kissed her. Doing his best to maintain control, he let their lips meet in slow, long, and light embraces. As for his hands, he kept them above her shoulder to stroke her face and dance in her soft hair.

Kenna, however, was having difficulty maintaining a similar restraint. She wanted him. Badly. Even with their shirts between them, being so close was the ultimate temptation. As she slid a hand from his chest and downward, she could feel every ridge and dent of his godly sculpted abdomen. And she crept further upon its slow descent until it finally reached a very private and very firm place.

Jon seemed to grimace at the touch at first as he parted her lips from hers. “Kenna,” he scolded in a harsh whisper.

But before he could proceed, she removed her hand and swung her legs around him in one effortless motion. Her arms flung themselves around him and pulled him downward so that his lips- and the rest of him- were entirely against her.

Once again, his kisses became heated and passionate as their mouths met in zealous thrusts. In the moment, everything seemed easy and right and exhilarating. Jon quickly moved his mouth to her neck as he nipped and tugged at her flawless and tingling skin. His hands, too, began to lose their innocence as one found a place on her breast and the other underneath her round lower cheeks.

Kenna couldn’t hear her orgasmic gasps as he touched her and kissed her. She was hardly in a state of consciousness.

Just when she thought she might explode with ecstasy, Jon made an abrupt and painful bite to her clavicle. She almost jumped away from him as a reaction to the unexpected action.

“Jon, not so hard,” she whispered. But as she said it, his teeth came down again, biting her just underneath where he previously had. Kenna immediately winced in pain and tried to push his face off her. “Jon,” she cautioned more seriously. “Okay, I get it. We’re done.”

Her words didn’t have any sort of impact on the Colewell as he continued on his ravenous pursuit. The girl realized, now, that she had made a very grave mistake as adrenaline and fear began to surge throughout her body.

“Get off, now!” she hollered. When she spoke, a hand came and covered her mouth and pushed her head downward into the bed. Instinctively, she began to kick and flail about, but as she did, he bit at her harder and squeezed her face with almost enough force to dislocate her jaw.

Luckily, Kenna was able to pinch his side hard enough so that he had to remove his hand from her face to better control her more punishing limbs.

“Jon!” she pleaded helplessly.

With no reply, she knew that he was gone and that her chances of escaping him had just dramatically declined.

“Help!” she screamed as loudly as possible. Her only hope was that her cries might reach an ear of someone upstairs.

Her fear was becoming powerless to the physical pain she was in as she felt blood dripping on her neck and shoulder where he continued to growl and gnaw at her. But that was the least of her worries. One of his powerful arms had savagely torn her shirt and was now working on the button on her pants. She was crying and screaming and thrashing as he continued to barbarously charge her more exposed body. With every effort she had, she twisted her legs together, praying that her strength might prevent him from getting what he was after.

But his mass was too great, her power no match for his. As he finally undid the button and began to tug on her jeans, someone came bursting through the door.

Jon didn’t even flinch at the entry, but Kenna screamed, “Help me! Please help!”

Before she could say anything else, Bryce barreled at his brother, knocking him off the girl and onto the other side of the bed.

“Run!” he instructed as Kenna rolled off the bed and onto the floor. As she got up, though she heard Bryce hit the wall hard, and Jon came back at her, throwing her down against the hard ground as he asserted his supremacy once more. Kenna became lightheaded from her head whipping back against the ground, so much that the dark room became blurry giving her even less a chance to fight him off.

Bryce was quick to his feet though and charged his brother again, able to knock him off Kenna and onto his side.

“Run!” Bryce hollered again. This time, Kenna was able to make it to her feet and out the door. She ran and stumbled against the walls as she climbed up the stairs and toward the front door. Just as she made it out the door, she felt the house shake and heard a blood-curdling yell from inside the house.

She didn’t know who it was. Bryce or Jon.

Could she really just leave Bryce there defenseless against his older brother? She looked to see if Elisa’s vehicle was in the lot and it wasn’t. Feeling the terror and panic take control over her limbs, Kenna dove into her car, certain that if Jon had defeated his brother that he would come after her next. With distress overwhelming her thought process, she sped out of the driveway and into town, where she parked a few blocks from her house.

She looked at her hands that gripped the wheel tighter than ever before. Her breaths came fast, and she shuddered at every exhale as she attempted to come to terms with what had just happened. Kenna glanced down at herself. With nothing on but a black bra and an unbuttoned pair of jeans, she knew she couldn’t simply waltz into her house and give her father a good explanation. As she continued to stare at herself, she noticed the bruises forming around her collar bones, the scratches down her sides, and the blood that sat smeared across her chest.

She closed her eyes, hoping that it was just a bad dream that she might snap out of. But when she opened her eyes and glanced in the rearview mirror, Kenna knew that the incident was very real. She got closer to the mirror. Several purple circle and popped blood vessels were making home to her neck and a blue marking formed on her jawline where his hand had gripped her face so strongly.

As her breathing steadied, she felt tears begin to form in her eyes. Immediate guilt and fear of her father began to engulf her.

It was all her fault. Jon had given her several warnings, but she pressed on… and on…and even again testing him at every touching of their lips. She was asking for it to happen. She practically begged for it to happen. And what was worse, she’d put Bryce in imminent danger.

Kenna reached for her pocket, but her phone had been left behind. She had no way to reach Bryce or contact anyone to ensure his well-being.

She didn’t know what to do. As her problem-solving skills returned, she reached for the sweatshirt that sat under her back seat as part of her winter safety kit and drove to the only place she thought she could go.

When she rang the doorbell, a curly-haired young man answered. Kenna could hear the laughter and crying and chaos beyond the doorway as he left to retrieve Kenna’s friend. And so she sat at the doorway of the big blue house with her sweatshirt hiding her nakedness and woundedness until Britney came through the entry with a startled look on her face.

“Hey? What’s up?” she asked with a pleasantly surprised expression.

“We need to go somewhere private. Now,” Kenna said with great urgency as she grabbed her friend by the arm and dragged her past her family and up the stairs.

“Whoa what’s going on?” her friend questioned as Kenna flung her into the bathroom and closed the door quickly behind them.

“Call Bryce,” she instructed as she faced her perplexed companion

Britney didn’t think twice as she pulled out her phone and made the call. “No answer,” she said when she reached his voicemail.

“Shit,” Kenna muttered angrily.

“Kenna, what is going on?” Britney demanded now, growing more confused and concerned with every passing moment.

The blond bit her nails as she thought. “Text him,” she ordered. “And his mom and brothers. Whose ever numbers you have. Just say hey. Just try to get a response.”

Britney once again followed the orders without hesitation. But after messaging both Bryce and his mother, she could no longer go without answers. “Tell me what’s going on. Now.”

Kenna looked away from her as she began to pace the bathroom with anxiety.

“Now,” she demanded again as she crossed her arms with authority.

Deciding that she had no choice, Kenna lifted off her sweatshirt to reveal herself. Britney’s hand went immediately to her face as she gasped in shock. “Oh my- Kenna!” she shrieked, horrified by the sight that lay before her. “What happened?”

“I…” Kenna choked. “I don’t know.” She said, realizing that she hadn’t come up with a good story yet. “There was an accident,” she started in what she thought might have been a convincing enough lie.

“Accidents don’t leave FREAKING bite marks! Did Jon do this to you?” she fired back.