Justice.”
“That
isn’t the same. You know who he is. You know it’s over. And you know it never
meant anything.”
“Do
I?”
“You’re
the one who banned me from talking about him.”
“You
said he was romantic,” Frost growled, tossing boxes of cereal and power bars
onto the counter. He wore only a loose pair of pajama pants, but she endeavored
not to get distracted by the man candy buffet, focusing on the actual food.
There
wasn’t much to choose from. That was one thing that hadn’t changed. Neither of
them had ever been able to cook worth a damn. If not for take-out they both
would have starved long ago.
“He
gave me a Taser. He trusted me enough to arm me. I thought it was sweet.” She
snagged a strawberry power bar off the counter and peeled off the wrapper. “Did
you sleep with DynaGirl?”
“Darla?”
he asked with a satisfying degree of shock and disgust. “She’s like my little
sister.”
She
was also the superheroic hottie who had been nicknamed the Jessica Rabbit of
Crimefighters and exuded unfiltered sex appeal as she saved the world. Kim had
always wondered if that was what Frost really wanted—someone superstrong, super
good, and supernaturally sexy. But they had grown up together, so maybe he
didn’t see her the way the rest of the slavering male population did. “So who?”
“There
wasn’t anyone else, okay?” he growled, ripping into an energy bar of his own. “No
one serious. I meant what I said about not endangering anyone with my
lifestyle.”
Somehow
that didn’t make her feel any better. Knowing the other women he’d been with in
the last five years were just scratching an itch, knowing that he hadn’t let
himself care about any of them just made it that much more likely that he
wouldn’t let himself care for her. Suddenly the energy bar tasted like sawdust.
“It
really didn’t mean anything with Justice?”
And
just like that the world had flavor again. He was jealous. She could work with
jealous. “Justice is a good guy and he was always there for me when I needed
him.” Unlike some people she could mention. “But it wasn’t true love or
anything. We sort of fell into a relationship by default. At first we were just
friends and everyone assumed we were dating, then it was almost easier to just
start dating than explain to everyone twenty times a day that we weren’t. We got
along well enough, but there was always something missing. Something that
wasn’t quite right.” She finished her energy bar and rounded the island to his
side. “Toward the end, we really only saw each other when we were doing public
appearances together. Dating for the benefit of our audience.”
“Did
you ever figure out what wasn’t right?” Frost asked.
Besides
the fact that he wasn’t you? “He’s a good guy. A great guy. A real knight in shining armor.”
Frost’s
expression darkened ominously. Kim smiled internally.
“But
it turns out I like my guys with a little more edge, a little more darkness
turning all that pure white honor into sexy grey ruthlessness.”
He
turned to her, caging her between him and the island. Her heartbeat instantly
accelerated in a conditioned response. Damn, this man turned her crank. Every
delicious, morally grey inch of him.
“Which
one are you, Trouble? White? Grey? Black?”
She
knew he wanted her to profess her innocence, promise that she was a good girl,
but the truth was more complicated. “I don’t know what I am. I’m still figuring
that part out.”
He
loomed over her. “You’re not supposed to tell the super enforcer that you’re
thinking of turning villain.”
“It’s
not like that’s my goal, but it isn’t as simple as what I want. It never has
been. I’m a reporter. I was never supposed to be part of the story, that was
never who I wanted to be, but I didn’t have a choice about that. So I learned
to deal to with it. Now everything is changing again and I’m just trying to
figure out where I fit. I’m
“That
isn’t the same. You know who he is. You know it’s over. And you know it never
meant anything.”
“Do
I?”
“You’re
the one who banned me from talking about him.”
“You
said he was romantic,” Frost growled, tossing boxes of cereal and power bars
onto the counter. He wore only a loose pair of pajama pants, but she endeavored
not to get distracted by the man candy buffet, focusing on the actual food.
There
wasn’t much to choose from. That was one thing that hadn’t changed. Neither of
them had ever been able to cook worth a damn. If not for take-out they both
would have starved long ago.
“He
gave me a Taser. He trusted me enough to arm me. I thought it was sweet.” She
snagged a strawberry power bar off the counter and peeled off the wrapper. “Did
you sleep with DynaGirl?”
“Darla?”
he asked with a satisfying degree of shock and disgust. “She’s like my little
sister.”
She
was also the superheroic hottie who had been nicknamed the Jessica Rabbit of
Crimefighters and exuded unfiltered sex appeal as she saved the world. Kim had
always wondered if that was what Frost really wanted—someone superstrong, super
good, and supernaturally sexy. But they had grown up together, so maybe he
didn’t see her the way the rest of the slavering male population did. “So who?”
“There
wasn’t anyone else, okay?” he growled, ripping into an energy bar of his own. “No
one serious. I meant what I said about not endangering anyone with my
lifestyle.”
Somehow
that didn’t make her feel any better. Knowing the other women he’d been with in
the last five years were just scratching an itch, knowing that he hadn’t let
himself care about any of them just made it that much more likely that he
wouldn’t let himself care for her. Suddenly the energy bar tasted like sawdust.
“It
really didn’t mean anything with Justice?”
And
just like that the world had flavor again. He was jealous. She could work with
jealous. “Justice is a good guy and he was always there for me when I needed
him.” Unlike some people she could mention. “But it wasn’t true love or
anything. We sort of fell into a relationship by default. At first we were just
friends and everyone assumed we were dating, then it was almost easier to just
start dating than explain to everyone twenty times a day that we weren’t. We got
along well enough, but there was always something missing. Something that
wasn’t quite right.” She finished her energy bar and rounded the island to his
side. “Toward the end, we really only saw each other when we were doing public
appearances together. Dating for the benefit of our audience.”
“Did
you ever figure out what wasn’t right?” Frost asked.
Besides
the fact that he wasn’t you? “He’s a good guy. A great guy. A real knight in shining armor.”
Frost’s
expression darkened ominously. Kim smiled internally.
“But
it turns out I like my guys with a little more edge, a little more darkness
turning all that pure white honor into sexy grey ruthlessness.”
He
turned to her, caging her between him and the island. Her heartbeat instantly
accelerated in a conditioned response. Damn, this man turned her crank. Every
delicious, morally grey inch of him.
“Which
one are you, Trouble? White? Grey? Black?”
She
knew he wanted her to profess her innocence, promise that she was a good girl,
but the truth was more complicated. “I don’t know what I am. I’m still figuring
that part out.”
He
loomed over her. “You’re not supposed to tell the super enforcer that you’re
thinking of turning villain.”
“It’s
not like that’s my goal, but it isn’t as simple as what I want. It never has
been. I’m a reporter. I was never supposed to be part of the story, that was
never who I wanted to be, but I didn’t have a choice about that. So I learned
to deal to with it. Now everything is changing again and I’m just trying to
figure out where I fit. I’m
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