Jump Zone: Cleo Falls Read Free

misjudged him? He didn’t look mean. He had a great smile.
    But just because he’s attractive doesn’t mean he won’t—
    He would have done it already if he meant to harm her.
    Maybe he already did, while I was unconscious. Maybe he’d keep me, bring me to others, then kill me…
    Something deep inside of Cleo started to unravel. If his intentions were benign, why did he truss her up? She was naked, wounded, alone. So very alone. There was no reason a man would tie up a woman unless—
    “Untie me!” She strained her neck as she lifted her head off the ground. The covering, silver and light as air, slid from her shoulders down to the rise of her breasts. Horrified, she slammed back down. “Untie me now!” Her demand sounded like pleading.
    Her quickened breathing made her pendant roll off her chest. The raging river that took everything else of value that she owned had spared her prize possession. Just knowing her mother’s crystal remained close to her heightened her resolve to survive.
    Instead of answering, her captor threw her leathers across the clearing. Cleo flinched, but they landed in a stiff heap on the ground next to her. He speared her with a curious look, the light in his eyes gone, along with his quirky smile.
    He continued mocking her, ignoring her outburst, “And that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, those chest compressions,” he said with a dry, humourless tone. “Where ever did you learn those handy little tricks?”
    She averted her eyes. He had saved her skinny little ass .
    She tried to swallow the lump at the base of her throat but it wouldn’t budge. Their eyes met as he pulled on a tattered grey shirt. Not that her judging-people skills were honed, but he didn’t look dangerous or mean. Just wary. She didn’t see anything in his pale eyes except a measure of disgust, which made her feel worse.
    “Thanks,” she croaked through a constricted pipe. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Thanks for pulling me out of the river, for giving me CPR, for holding my hair while I puked.” There. That wasn’t so bad. “Now untie me.”
    One of his eyebrows shot up.
    “Please.” Grandma would be so proud.
    “Are you gonna do something stupid?” His approach was guarded, which struck Cleo as rather ridiculous considering her current state.
    “Define stupid.”
    “Bite me, scratch me?”
    “What do you think I am, an alphakitten?”
    “I don’t know what to make of you, darlin’. You were ready for a fight last night.”
    “And I’d have kicked your skinny little ass if I hadn’t hit the ground again.”
    His widened eyes preceded a deep throaty chuckle. “Of that, I have no doubt.”
    Cleo braced as he approached. Maybe she wasn’t being fair? He hadn’t threatened her. Yet. But her head throbbed and she couldn’t think straight, couldn’t get an accurate read on him.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “Really.” Common sense said she had every right to fear him. But his cautious approach made her wonder if he was more afraid of her. “Here’s the deal, Mr. Knight. I won’t attack you if you don’t attack me.”
    “I realize you’re disoriented after what you went through, but I did jump in after you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to drag a water-logged corpse from the bottom of that river? I hardly went to all that trouble if I meant harm, don’t you think?”
    Unless you intend to use me first, like they used my mother.
    Before another bout of panic could render her stupid, she buried those thoughts under a ton of here and now. He carried no weapon, his expression remained guarded but focused, and she watched his eyes for any tell-tale flickers. The eyes almost always gave away an intended attack.
    “It’d be easier if you could slip your hands out the side of the blanket,” he said, dropping to his knees next to her.
    “Just give me a knife and I can do it myself.”
    He shook his head. “Not this time.”
    A girl had to try. She rolled sideways and slipped