Cloud Riders(3)

Cassie shot him a heated look and threw off the rest of her clothes without care. He had made her so cranky she would let him look at what they’d done to her! She turned and he had a full view of her.

‘Happy?’ she scowled.

Cassie heard him swear. ‘Where the hell are all those bruises from? Jason said he didn’t hit you with the car.’

‘What do you care how I ended up with them? Leave me alone.’ She turned her back to him. She wanted to tell him how she really ended up so banged up but was angry at his reaction. The look on his face made her feel ugly and instead of confiding in him, she just wanted him gone.

He stomped out cursing. It confused him. She’d looked so innocent as she stood naked in front of him but her refusal to answer any of his questions infuriated him. What was she playing at? Cassie dressed, slouched against the wall and closed her eyes.

Damn it. I passed out again. Why? She wondered.

She woke up in a bedroom this time, her stomach rumbling from hunger. Cassie had no idea how long she had been asleep but she needed to find some food. She went to get up but her legs were tired and could not keep her in an upright position. She collapsed onto the floor with a thud. ‘Cripes,’ she groaned.

The door flung open and Kayden came in and lifted her back onto the bed.

‘You’re weak. How long has it been since you ate?’ he asked impatiently.

She gestured that it had been maybe two or three days.

He seemed irritable that she had barely spoken two words since she arrived. ‘Look, I’m still not sure if this is all just an act and I’ll definitely not play bloody nursemaid to a whore. If you want to eat, the kitchen’s outside this door. You might as well quit the performance and go get it yourself or starve.’ He stood looking angrily down at her. He made Cassie so mad that she swung her legs over the bed, attempting to stand again and … whoops!

Cassie woke up back on the bed. There was water and a sandwich next to her that she choked down, ignoring her dry throat and gulping water with every bite. She lay back, thankful that at least her hunger was satisfied. Feeling better, she gingerly moved from the bed and headed for the bathroom. Out in the main room it surprised Cassie to see Kayden reading in an armchair. She thought he hadn’t seemed educated enough to be reading with all the cursing he did.

Kayden looked up.

‘Can I use your bathroom?’

He pointed to a door and Cassie nodded. She looked back at him as she closed the door. Immersed in his novel and he took no notice of her. He looked different under the light shade: not so cruel at all.

The toilet led into a shower. Cassie found a clean towel. She looked in the mirror and was shocked at her appearance: the hose-down he gave her didn’t clean her face or her hair very well because she had rolled herself into such a protective position. Red dust had caked onto every strand of her hair and Cassie’s normal golden-blond colour was dirt-stained a reddish-brown. Her face had red dust patches and her clear hazel eyes looked dark and dull from the mascara that had run from her tears. She could see why the men had thought she was a whore. She looked a fright.

She turned the tap and scrubbed herself clean. The spray bit into the cuts and battered against the bruising on her skin although just to feel dirt-free was worth it. It made her feel much better. Reaching for a towel, a wave of light-headedness came over her and she leaned against the wall. Exhausted, she slid down the tiles and sat on the floor, hugging the towel, waiting for her energy to kick back in.

Did I faint again? Maybe I did. She heard footsteps and the voice of Kayden cursing her. He stood Cassie up and she could feel him shake her and curse some more. She remembered very little after that.

The room glowed with the first signs of dawn. She pulled back the covers and noticed she wore a big shirt that Kayden must have put on her. She also noted she was still alive which proved it was unlikely he intended to hurt her.

At least she now knew why she kept passing out. When Cassie had washed her hair she had felt a big lump and a cut on her head that stung under the water. I must be concussed.

Her body still felt tender and sore, yet she felt stronger since the pain in her head had eased. She padded out into the kitchen in bare feet and made a cup of coffee, and the call of fresh air had her walking outside to drink it. The porch had a chair that she bypassed, preferring to walk out into the yard to have a good look at her surroundings. Kayden’s farm wasn’t fancy—nothing like the immaculate gardens and grandeur of the castle Cassie had once called home—but it was quaint and peaceful. There were dirt tracks leading away from the house in different directions. The trees and shrubs were sparse and the red dirt and big boulders that covered the landscape reminded her of her first look at this country in which she had been dumped. Kayden had the largest barn she had ever seen and a few horses were nibbling on feed behind a high-gated fenced area. How long has it been since I’ve done this? Not in many years had she been able to stand out in the fresh morning light and view anything. From her bedroom her view had been very limited and even the open window never gave her such a complete feeling of freedom and love for what she was now seeing for the first time. Even though her parents were not there, she still felt a little nervous about being outside. At home she would have been beaten for an action such as this.