Page 16 of Don't Bait Me (Nora Jacobs 3)

“Extra egg rolls.”

“You got it.”

Cecile pushes him toward the stairs and leans in to give me a hug. “Try not to stress, darling. Everything will work itself out. You’ll see.”

I really hope so, though I have no idea how it will.

After a quick good-bye, I turn to face the room. Only Oliver and Parker remain. Terrance is clanking around in the kitchen. Oliver is plunked comfortably on the couch with his shoes off, since he’s staying until he has to go to work on Saturday. Parker looks torn. I can tell he really doesn’t want to leave, even though he thinks he should. I decide to make it easy for him. “Oliver and I are going to binge-watch TV all night until we can’t keep our eyes open any longer. Would you like to stay with us? You can leave before sunrise or crash here in a guest room in the morning to sleep off the day tomorrow.”

Surprise flitters across his face, and he smiles. “If you don’t mind. I’d like that very much.”

“Great.” It’ll be interesting to just hang out with Parker. We’ve never done that before. Any time I’ve spent with him has been either on a nerve-racking quasi date or in the midst of life-threatening situations. We’ve never been able to just chill. It’ll be a nice change. “Make yourself at home, then. I mean, it’s your home now, too, after all. I’m just going to go help Terrance with the dishes, and then we can—”

I feel Terrance’s huge body behind me before he interrupts. “Not a chance. I can do the dishes.”

“Terrance. It’s a mess. I’m not going to let you clean it up all by yourself.”

Terrance scowls at me. “You go in there and relax with your men.”

“They’re notmymen.” I groan. “Aren’t you my big, bad protector? Aren’t you supposed to scare away all of my suitors?”

Terrance shrugs. “They’re all good men. I know they’ll take care of you. I’m happy for you.”

I smirk. “As long as they don’t all kill each other.”

Terrance shakes his head. “They’ll learn to share.”

Agh!Why does everyone seem to think I’m going to keep dating all of them? With no good response, I shake my head and stomp over to the couch, ignoring Terrance’s chuckle as I go.

Panic flares up inside me. I suck in shallow breaths and start to tremble. The weight of the man pinning me to the floor is all I can think about.

“Work through it,” Rook urges softly. “Start with a deep breath. You can do this. You can take back control, but you need to clear your head if you want to get away.”

Flashes of my old foster father, my attackers in the park, and my ex-boyfriend fill my mind, making it near impossible to think. So many men have held me in this position, pinned beneath them while they straddle me and hold me down.

“Breathe, Nora. One good, deep breath. Then hold it for a count of three. You have to think. You can’t let the panic overtake you.”

I suck in a deep breath and hold it until my lungs start to burn.

“Good. Now let it out slowly, and take another one if you need to.”

I do it again, and some of the terror starts to fade.

“You don’t have to be completely calm. You won’t be if you’re truly being attacked. But the adrenaline and fear can work to your advantage as long as you’re still able to think. Now. What’s the first thing you do when in this position?”

I take another deep breath, but it’s hard to focus. He’s on top of me. He’s pinning me down. I feel helpless.

“What’s the first thing, Nora?”

“Maybe you should let her up,” Oliver calls out from his seat on the bleachers. “Let her calm down before you try it again.”

Rook shakes his head. “An attacker’s not going to go easy on her. She needs to learn to work through her fear.” Rook’s eyes fall to mine. “You can do this. I know it’s hard, but you need to get control of your fear. Unless you can do that, none of what I’m teaching you will do any good. You’re perfectly capable of getting out of this hold. What’s the first thing you do?”

He’s right. I’ll never protect myself if I can’t control the panic. And I want to be able to protect myself. Ineedto be able to. Every time I’ve been attacked, I’ve ended up in this position. If there’s truly a way out of it, then, damn it, I want to know it.

“Nora!”

His shout snaps my mind into focus, and I use the moment of clarity to reach up and wrap my arm around his neck. “I pull him in close,” I say, dragging Rook’s face into my shoulder. It gives me a tiny sense of control, and I take another deep breath.

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