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Chapter Three

Most of Jade’s friends back on her hoaer, she’d spent her free ti her acrobatics It beat getting wet any day She loved spinning or sohtless Short spells were fun, but long durations s

Mason wasn’t quick enough The ravity stability system had malfunctioned, she pushed off the wall and shot down the corridor She immediately lost the towel It didn’t matter as she only had a s to lose it If she ht be able to disable the lock and free Stealth

She dived forward, using any available surface to propel herself forward Keeping her body flat and streaoodthe interceptor Her friends thought her fascination for spacecraft and ers and concentrated on learning what she needed to know

One last corner and she’d be there Her jaw dropped in horror as she flew into the docking area Waiting for her was Mason He bobbed up and down, one hand gripping part of the ceiling, the other pinching his hipbone in a display of displeasure He’d beaten her to it How?

“Ventilation shaft,” he answered her silent question He’d crawled in a direct line from where they’d parted co nearby

Jade cursed She’d forgotten about the network of tubes infiltrating the walls Mason, even with his bulk, had used the bay first She tried to pivot but inertia had drained her ain e He easily grabbed her ankle and dragged her back toward him

“I thought you understood the arrangeitive There is nowhere for you to run”

“Get off me, you… you… jumped-up bounty hunter,” she snarled

His eyes narrowed into slits “Don’t cos This is my job I’m not a hunter”

“It’s what you are”

Mason gathered her around the waist and drew her closer In the rush to escape, she’d forgotten her nudity, but not any longer She was conscious of her skin brushing against his jacket, the closeness of his breath on her back and the loose strands of her hair fl

oating past her face He tipped her over his bent knee, which he’d drawn up, and held her fast with a giant loop of his arm The pair of the unproductively in the weightless air

“Keep still,” he barked

“Why?”