Chapter 9
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The grating sound of something heavy being dragged along the ground grew louder in the suffocating darkness. Natalie’s eyes darted frantically, her chest tightening with fear as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings.
Suddenly, a faint beam of light slashed through the void, illuminating the scene ahead. A towering figure emerged, hauling something behind him.
Natalie’s instincts screamed at her to retreat, but before she could act, a pair of piercing sapphire eyes locked onto her, freezing her in place.
Relief washed over hci, si and “ceting, as she forced a trembling smile. Then her gaze dropped to his dangling arm–and the limp figure it dragged. It er father.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips, a heart pounding against her ribs.
hat instant, her eyes snapped open. She jolted awake, her breath hitching in panic, her
The dim environment around her blurred the line between dream and reality, leaving her disoriented and paralyzed with lingering dread.
“Awake now? Then get out of the car. What’s the matter–starting to get addicted to me carrying you?” Jonas’s voice, low and velvety, usually had a cadence that could make anyone’s knees weak. But to Natalie, in that moment, it was the most chilling sound she’d ever heard.
Her body jolted involuntarily, a shiver raking through her as she scrambled to shift away. The seatbelt caught her abruptly, digging into her chest with a dull ache, snapping her back to reality. ‘It was a dream. Just a dream!
But Jonas wasn’t oblivious. He noticed the crack in her composure, the faint tremor in her breathing.
Standing by the open car door, his tall frame bent slightly, he leaned against the edge with casual dominance. His right hand rested against the doorframe while his left toyed idly with the silver bracelet around his wrist, the faint gleam catching the dim light.
His deep voice rolled out slowly, teasingly. “What’s the matter? Seen a ghost?”
Natalie shook her head quickly, her instinctive reaction laced with urgency. She dared not anger him, yet her gaze refused to meet his. ‘Not a ghost–but something worse.‘
Jonas raised an eyebrow. “Bad dream, then?”
His tone held no warmth, no concern, but Natalie wasn’t about to provoke him by pointing that out. She nodded obediently, her head lowering slightly.
“Hmm.” His response was a low hum, his lips curling faintly as he snapped the bracelet back into place. Straightening his posture, he made a motion as though to leave.
Natalie exhaled in silent relief, her tense shoulders loosening–only for him to shatter her hopes with a single sentence. “Don’t tell me you dreamed I was hauling your dad off to watch the sunset.”
Her head shot up in stunned disbelief, her wide eyes betraying the thunderclap of panic inside her. ‘What? How does he know?‘
Jonas’s sharp brows arched lazily, his smirk deepening with a knowing, almost predatory amusement.
Natalie’s stomach churned as she averted her gaze, her head ducking like a frightened bird. She shook her head vehemently, desperate to deny it. But the quick, evasive movement only made her look guiltier.
Her reaction amused Jonas further. To him, she was an open book. Her clear, expressive eyes betrayed every thought, every fragile attempt at hiding her true feelings. And he read them all with ease.
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151 Fft 11 Apr N
Chapter 9
He thought to himself, ‘She woke up and looked at me like she’s seen a monster. She met ve had a page de nightmare for sure, something awful.
But who gave her permission to dream about me? She clings to me like some kind of permanent fixture in redkey, and then dares to dream about me without my say so, and about something like this?
His hand, which had been absently toying with the silver bracelet, suddenly froze, www utrymmened, his tall frame tooming over Natalie, casting a shadow as he looked down at her.
“So it was a dream, huh?” he drawled, his tone biting. “I’ve got a hobby of dismembering bodies, but I’ve never bee interested in carrying bodies around”
The harsh, cold sarcasm in ms V words made her hesitate, and
Her mind raced back to the mo
sent a shiver down Natalie’s spine. She nodded quickly, but then something, desex vis ickly shook her head. She knew she had once again graten under his skin.
before she’d fallen asleep and her body instinctively recomed
Though Jonas had never once show any sign of wanting to take things further, she wasn’t sure she could handle that Kind ch kiss again.
“I’m sorry.” Curled up in the seat, wrapped in the camouflage jacket that was too large for her, Natalie looked uttery helpless. Her long lashes, wet with a hint of unshed tears, fluttered nervously as she glanced at him, her expression one ch palpable distress.
Jonas watched her from the corner of his eye, his lips curling in amusement at the way she seemed to shrink into herself He couldn’t help but think, ‘Well, at least she’s quick to apologize. But now it’s just boring
At that moment, Myla called out from the other side, her voice light and brisk, “Boss, it’s all set up”
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