INTO THE FROST
1315 Words
The cold was alive.
It spread in jagged veins across the glass, over the floor, wrapping the room in a brittle shell of silence. The air thickened until each breath felt heavy, each second stretching thin, time itself beginning to stall.
Frost kissed the tips of Kaia's lashes. Her breath hung between them in a pale ghost of vapor.
And then...
The world stopped.
Not slowed, stopped. The crackle of ice froze mid-snap. Frost shimmer hung suspended like silver dust. Even Kaia’s startled step backward halted, her heel hovering just above the polished floor.
Eagan moved.
His control slipped.
Frost flared white-hot along the veins in his wrist and erupted outward, slicing across the floor in jagged veins of ice. It moved like a living thing, twisting and branching, shards singing in the air with a brittle hiss.
The cold swelled as it neared her, sharp, and heavy enough to steal her breath. Frost crystals spiraled upward, catching the light in a thousand glittering fragments, each one hanging for a fraction of a heartbeat as if time itself had bent to watch.
The ice reached for her ankles, so close she could feel the sting against her skin.
Boom.
The conference room door swung open without warning. Smashing the walls.
The frost recoiled in a violent curl, retreating toward him as if dragged by invisible chains. He forced it down. Forced everything down.
Kaia staggered one step back, the chill gone but the trace of it still clinging to her skin. She blinked, masking her surprise with a quick, sly smile.
“Wooow… scandalous,” Leroy drawled, savoring the word like it was a fine wine. An affair in broad daylight? Bold choice. Or… he widened his eyes in mock shock, tilting his head with an exaggerated gasp.“ Is this something darker?”
His brows bounced once, a ridiculous parody of concern, as if to say I’m implying something awful, and I know you caught it.
Because if it is, that makes you the perpetrator, Miss Keen.”
He grinned, shameless and amused, clearly enjoying every second of his own theatrics.
Knowing he’d stumbled onto the plot twist of the year.
“Hmph. The rich—always finding the most creative ways to cause a scandal. Honestly, you people treat crime like performance art.”
“You look pale, Mr. Eremon,” she said softly. “Am I making you nervous?”
Eagan said nothing. His jaw was locked, his eyes darker than before.
Before the moment could twist tighter.
Leroy’s voice cut through the cold, “Eagan, You’re frosting again.”
Kaia blinked. “He’s what?”
Leroy Eremon leaned against the door frame like he owned the place, a half smile tugging at his mouth.
His presence was all heat and easy charm, but his amber eyes were sharp, assessing.
He wasn’t just looking at his brother. He was looking through him.
“And are you…?” Kaia asked.
“Well, you can call me your savior, love,” he said with a smirk.
Strolling inside the room like he owned it, without hesitation he dropped into Eagan's chair. Leaning back, stretching his legs on the table as if it were a throne.
“Someone who knows when my brother’s about to turn this place into a winter wasteland.”
His tone was playful, but as he passed, his hand brushed Eagan’s shoulder in a way that was anything but casual, like grounding him before the frost could bite again.
Eagan stepped away from Kaia, the frost retreating completely now, hidden in the shadows of his composure.
“It’s under control.”
“Sure it is,” Leroy said,
Glancing at the glass desk now spotless, no trace of the ice that had been there seconds ago.
Kaia gave a polite smile, pretending she hadn’t noticed anything unusual. But her eyes lingered on Eagan’s, and he knew she’d noticed everything.
“Miss Keen was just leaving,” Eagan said, his voice clipped.
“Oh, was she?” Leroy’s smile stayed, but there was a flicker of something harder in his gaze when it shifted to Kaia.
“Shame we were just starting to have fun.”
Kaia’s lips curved, as if she understood the game. “Another time, perhaps.” She gathered her clutch, her heels clicking softly on the floor as she passed Leroy.
But as she reached the door, she glanced back at Eagan just once, long enough to let him see the glint of knowledge in her eyes. She knew he wasn’t normal. She knew she’d gotten under his skin.
“You don’t remember me”
“Mr. Eagan, I always get what I want.”
The door clicked shut behind her.
Outside the office,
Kaia descended the sleek marble hallway, her expression cool, almost bored. But inside, her mind was alight.
She’d seen enough to confirm it: Eagan Eremon was exactly what she thought he was.
She allowed herself a small smile as she stepped into the elevator.
Back in the office, Leroy’s smile faded.
“She’s dangerous, isn’t she? I mean yeah, she’s a fine piece of art… with a dash of trouble.”
Eagan didn’t look at him. “I can handle her.”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” Leroy said, stepping closer.
His tone dropped, serious now.
“I’ve seen you in boardrooms, at galas, in bed with women who’d sell their souls to make you stumble” a faint smirk touched his mouth “and not once have you lost control. Not even close. Until now.”
Eagan, keeping his composure, “I said it’s under control.”
Leroy stopped in front of him. “Don't tell me you're crushing.”
Eagan’s eyes flicked to his brother, cold and unyielding. “Stay out of it.”
In the elevator, Kaia leaned against the mirrored wall.
Her reflection stared back at her, calm and composed, but she could feel her pulse racing in her throat.
It had been years since she’d seen Eagan Eremon. A different city. A different name. She remembered champagne, music that vibrated through her bones, the heat of his hand at her back, and a kiss that had tasted like trouble. It had ended before sunrise, messy, surreal and unforgettable.
She had wondered if he’d remember. He didn’t. Good. It would have been awkward. She smiled faintly at her own reflection.
Outside,
Kaia stepped into the afternoon sun. The warmth on her skin was sharp after the chill inside. She tilted her head back for a moment, closing her eyes, letting the heat soak in as if it could burn away the memory of that creeping ice around her ankles. She opened her eyes and slipped on her sunglasses and into her Cadillac.
Back in the office,
Leroy studied his brother. “You’re thinking about her,” he said.
“I’m thinking about the deal tomorrow,” Eagan replied, his voice flat.
“Liar.”
Eagan’s eyes cut toward him, icy enough to bite. “Careful.”
But Leroy just grinned, tossing a pen onto the desk. “I’m not the one freezing glass with my heartbeat, brother.”
Eagan turned away, brushing at his cuff as if that could erase what had just happened. “Why are you even here?”
“That,” Leroy said, “is the part you’ll love.” He leaned casually against the desk, but there was tension under the surface. “She came by the Ice Tower.”
“Miss keen?” Eagan answered swiftly, turning to his brother.
Leroy’s brows lifted.
“Oh, absolutely. Because the moment you meet a mysterious woman who nearly makes you frost the building over, the logical next step is for her to drop by our home uninvited. He shook his head, chuckling under his breath. “No, genius. Not her.”
Ivy Sinclair.
- Writer
