Free Jump Zone: Cleo Falls by Wylie Snow Page B

boyfriend,” she replied, burying a hand in her hair.
    “Really? A strong woman like you, who can take down a big cat with a little old knife in a single throw?” He shook his head with mock surprise. “You’d make someone a great husband.”
    Cleo crossed her arms and cocked her hip. Squinting through the curtain of smoke that blew between them, she challenged him. “How does your girlfriend feel about your sexist attitude?”
    “You’ll be surprised to learn that I don’t have one.”
    “And yet… I’m not so surprised.”
    “Ouch,” he winced.
    “Just returning the compliment.”
    “You misread me. Mine was a compliment. I’ve nothing but admiration for you.”
    His unwavering stare trapped her like bluebottle fly in a garden spider’s web. Her temperature began to rise from the inside out.
    “Ha.” She rubbed her palms on her upper arms, wondering how goose bumps could form on skin that felt afire.
    “No, really. The Taiga obviously breeds you gals tough.”
    “I suppose a city girl would have screamed until a big strapping man like you came along to save her?”
    “Doubt a cat would stalk a city girl.” He surveyed her again, trailing his gaze down her body, sending waves of heat over her. “Not enough meat on their bones.”
    She took a step back from the intensity of the fire, then laughed nervously at the absurdity of his comment. “And you want me to let you sleep on the ground? Your sensitive little city ass wouldn’t last a minute.”
    Libra smiled. A full mouth one, not just a half. She had to lock her knees to keep the joints from folding.
    “Really?”  He walked around the fire, his eyes not leaving hers, until there were only inches between them.
    Cleo’s heart felt like it did when he touched her by the river earlier; livelier and a bit scared. “And what would you know about my ass?”
    I know I’d like to run my hands over it, squeeze it, feel the muscles clench—
    Cleo cleared her throat and swallowed. He was standing too close, and she couldn’t find one damn pithy reply in her vast repertoire of sarcastic comebacks. Nothing. She continued to look at him like a deer caught in the shine of a camp light. And the look on his face, the bemused smile, told her he knew exactly what she was thinking.
    “What’s the matter? Swallow a bug?”
    “The only bug around here, urbanite, is you.”
    “You’re right. I am a city boy, used to creature comforts like soft beds. But I also was raised with manners,” he said. “You take the bed.”
    “Absolutely not.” She could be stubborn all night if she had to.
    “Fine. We’ll share.”
    “I… uh…” Oh for the love of quivering porcupines! “I… uh…” She closed her mouth and swallowed, an embarrassing, audible gulp that made her eyes slam shut.
    He leaned in close, so close she could feel his body heat. “Another bug?”
    She inhaled sharply, catching his sent. Libra-saturated oxygen zipped through nasal passages, setting off tiny atomic explosions in her head and causing butterfly tingles to shoot back through her limbs.
    “Fine.” Her mouth said the word before her mind could filter her response. “We’ll share.”

 
    Eleven
    L ibra breached the surface of the deep pool with a gasp. He dove again, under the pounding spray of waterfall, as far into the icy depths as he could stand. It was just what was needed to clear his muddled head. He couldn’t dawdle much longer but couldn’t leave before retrieving the item he came for. He floated on his back for a moment to catch his breath and watched the sky turn from deep purple to indigo. The sky was identical to the night he’d jumped. It felt like forever ago, but only a couple of days had passed.
    The cascade of water calmed him, its steady tempo reminiscent of the wind turbines back home. He never gave a conscious thought to the low-level thrum that accompanied his life in the city, but when he was thrown into the isolation cell his first night at the prison,