Page 12 of Jump or Fall
“Thank you.” She hoped Asher hadn’t been given a stripe.
Dawson tilted her chin up and nipped at her bottom lip. “I liked watching you fight.” His voice was low and possessive. “Defending what’s mine.”
“I would never let someone else touch me.” The words tasted like bile, but she knew they would please him.
A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face. Lust darkened his eyes, but something pulled him from the moment. He checked his watch. “Asmuch as I’d love to bend you over right now, I have a date with Nella. You may be my best girl, but I can’t have her getting lonely.”
He’d been mentioning the new girl more often. Well, not so new anymore since it had been at least a year. Mara had never met her since he liked to keep his women separate now.
Karena had been his favorite toy when Mara came into the picture, but her obsessive jealousy cost her everything. Mara had a feeling he was trying to provoke that same possessiveness to fuel his ego. But she wasn’t going to bite.
She hated him.
Obviously, she couldn’t say that. So instead, she offered a quiet, obedient nod.
Dawson waited for a second longer, then turned on his heel and left.
The smell of him lingered, making her nose wrinkle up. She hated his colognes. They were almost as suffocating as him.
She crossed the room and cracked open a window, inhaling the fresh, albeit dense breeze.
A buzz came from her secret tablet.
She frowned, glad Dawson had already left. Who could it be? No one had the contact information linked to it.
G
Are you available to meet tonight? Messages are secure.
M
Yes. When?
G
Now. Downstairs.
She set her main tablet on the couch, not wanting Dawson to track her. She already knew he monitored her. There had been too manymoments when he brought up something she’d never mentioned and only searched on the tablet.
The secret device was registered under a pseudonym that she’d purchased with a credit key that wasn’t tied to her account. A small attempt at privacy from the person who controlled her entire life.
She slipped into a black hooded coat then adjusted the edges to make sure it concealed enough of her hair and face.
Her heart pounded. She’d never snuck out like this before.
You can do it. He’s fucking Nella tonight. He won’t be back.
Trembling, she cast a final glance at the quiet apartment, and stepped out.
Dawson wasn’t waiting for her in the hallway, or in the stairwell. By the time she reached the door to go outside, she had almost stopped shaking.
The night air hit her like a damp wall. The smell of the flowering tree in front of the door filled her nose, a pleasant and familiar thing.
She stood still for a moment, unsure of where to look.
Please don’t be a trap.
Before she could decide to search or go back inside, a figure stepped out from behind a hedge.
