Cloud Riders (Lord of the Planets) (3 page)

Cassie was on edge, wondering if wasting the food he had cooked for her would be enough to tip him over the edge and make him cross at her again. He’ll most likely stomp out to the stables without me, she thought. Tears sprang to her eyes that she tried to wipe quickly away.

Cassie heard his paper move and his eyes peered around it at her. ‘What’s wrong now?’

‘My stomach, I still don’t feel well. I know you hated having to cook it for me and now I’m wasting it.’

He shrugged and went back to reading his paper.

Damn. He’s so hard to fathom. She dropped her shoulders and breathed out heavily. Now she realised how tense she was, she really had to stop feeling so uptight. Maybe it’s me and not him at all. She leaned back in her chair, drinking her juice and looking outside. The tree near the window had lovely lilac flowers that lifted in the breeze, making a carpet of petals around the trunk. Yes, it was beautiful here.

She picked up the dishes. One thing she did know was how to wash a dish: she had seen that done plenty of times when she was a child.

Cassie followed Kayden out to the stables when he was ready and he sat her up on a bale of hay, putting a hand on each side of her and leaning in close. She could smell the delicate spice of his aftershave and his body, so near, was a bit unnerving. His eyes closed as if he too was taking her into the depths of him. Cassie heard the horse make a weird noise and with a quick movement he stood up, glancing towards the noise. The moment was gone and his old self was back.

‘Remember, one peep out of you and you go back inside,’ he warned. ‘Sit still and don’t move.’

Cassie watched as the horse dropped onto the floor, obviously in a lot of pain. Kayden was at its side within seconds, sliding a big long glove onto his hand that went all the way up his arm. Then to her surprise, he slipped it inside the animal. She was horrified for the poor thing.
God she’s making the worst noises!
Even though she was unsure of this strange procedure, she kept herself perfectly still and quiet, her eyes barely blinking as she observed a miracle: a foal slid out and lay with its mother.

It wasn’t long before it tried to stand. Not even a human baby is this smart! Tears ran down Cassie’s face as the little fellow wobbled and tried to get its balance. Kayden looked around and she felt his eyes on her for a minute as her heart went out to the tough little fellow. By the time she’d ripped her eyes from the newborn, Kayden had turned back to the mother and continued working on her.

After it was all over he led them both into a clean room and hosed the little one down. Cassie watched as the mother nudged him to keep him moving. When Kayden finished, he said they needed to leave them for a while; that the mother needed rest.

It was well into the afternoon by the time Kayden woke Cassie, asking her if she’d like to go for a swim. She was glad to go and cool off but after checking her watch, she wondered what had happened to the last forty-eight hours or so. She recalled that the paddock had been covered in fog when they took one of the horses back and after they returned home, Kayden had made her a hot drink.

Did he drug me?
Thinking she had lost her marbles, she put the thought aside. She must have her days mixed up. One seemed to run into another on the farm. She smiled and took up his offer. It was stinking hot inside and sweat had dampened her hair and pyjamas so she quickly changed and bounced out the door, excited to be doing something other than sitting there in the heat.

At the waterhole, Cassie looked up at the rock wall that stretched far above their heads. The sun was in a perfect position to highlight the ferns that grew from the crevices between the big boulders. Closer to the water’s edge she could see reeds growing, staining the water yellow. Farther out, the water seemed to change to a royal blue that ran into indigo in the depths. The water smelled clean and was lovely and refreshing to wade in. She had to suck in a huge breath to stop from shrieking after jumping in as her still-bruised and aching body hurt with the pressure against her skin.

Kayden picked that moment to move past and he accidentally rubbed against her. She flinched and groaned.

‘Sorry,’ he apologised, looking down at her bruises. A look spread across his face: a mixture of pity and horror. She looked down at her body and could hardly blame him if he thought she looked disgusting: she felt ugly.

She swam away to hide from him behind some reeds and lay back, floating in the cool water, relaxing her mind, trying not to think about looking like an elephant lady. They will heal, she repeated, trying to console her vanity. She remembered that she was with a person who really didn’t seem to like her very much anyway. She had to stop worrying. All I have to do is be good for a little while and not anger him. Then once I get stronger, I can just disappear into the night and his life will be back to normal. Happy with her new thoughts, Cassie closed her eyes and imagined her room at home and her wardrobes of clothes and shoes. If only she had been good then she would not be here in pain, trying desperately to survive.

She felt a splash. Kayden was trying to get her attention. ‘Do you swim?’ He splashed her again playfully, appearing to be in a happier mood.

‘I’ll race you to the other side,’ Cassie challenged him, lifting her head out the water and eyeing him competitively.

‘Let’s see what you’ve got.’

Making it to the other side was easy but coming into the last couple of metres on the way back, Cassie slowed. She had nothing left. Kayden flew past her and stopped. He was looking back as her eyes started to close and she slipped under the water. Cassie could feel him grabbing her and lifting her out and even though her body had let her down, she still felt and heard everything going on around her. It was somewhat scary not being able to open her eyes and she hoped the feeling would pass quickly. She felt him throw a towel around her, place her in the truck and put something under her head before it all went black.

It was dark and she was back in bed when she woke. Damn it, not again. This guy’s going to think I’m such a girly-girl, fainting all the time. Way to go and make an impression, Cassie girl! She sat up with a start, wondering what was happening to her and felt two arms pull her back down. Kayden had been lying with her and was still holding her. Mm, nice.

‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so sorry,’ she apologised in a whisper.

‘You’re still weak and just overdid it.’ He was leaning on his elbow, watching her. ‘I hope you didn’t mind me staying with you until you woke but you gave me quite a scare.’ His voice rolled over her like warm honey.

She smiled shyly. ‘I um …’ She wanted to say she had never lain with a man before and that it was nice but the words were stuck in her throat.

He reacted to her blubber as if she did not want him there and he mumbled a curse, getting off the bed. ‘You’re right, of course. I shouldn’t have presumed. I’ll keep my distance and take you home as soon as you’re okay to travel.’ He stood at the door for a minute, maybe waiting for her to respond, but she was speechless.

That isn’t what I meant it to sound like at all.

‘I guess you’re hungry. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready, seeing as you can’t do anything for yourself.’

Cassie wanted to crawl back inside of herself. Kayden glared at her before shutting the door and leaving her on her own. She lay for a while thinking, pushing aside his cutting remark.

She had woken up in his arms. He was holding me. Me. At that moment a horrible thought changed her happy mood. It dawned on Cassie that he might still think she was a whore. Maybe he had wanted to have his way with her, only she had rejected him. No wonder he was cross. A woman rejecting him he could handle, but by a would-be tramp? After all, that’s how he saw her. She couldn’t lie there thinking of what he thought of her any longer. It was making her nuts. She flung the blanket off getting up. If he wants me gone tomorrow, then maybe I should make a run for it tonight while he’s sleeping.

With this new plan in mind, Cassie decided to go all-out to be polite and throw him off the trail.
Not that he’ll care when he wakes and finds I’m gone.

Kayden turned around as she appeared at the door, looking her up and down with an almost-smirk crinkling the sides of his mouth. Cassie looked down and saw that she had only one of his T-shirts on.

‘I didn’t know where my clothes were,’ she said timidly.

He returned his gaze to the frypan. ‘You’re not anything worth looking at, girl, so don’t kid yourself. It hardly worries me what you wear. Anyway, I had to wash your clothes. They should be dry soon—and don’t say it,’ he said sarcastically, ‘You have never washed clothes before.’

This man sure sounds as if he dislikes me. So why is he cooking for me if he really feels that way towards me? Why am I still here? None of his unusual behaviour was making sense and even if it did, she had no answer for him. Cassie was ashamed to tell him she had never had to wear anything twice. She just walked over to the table and sat down quietly. ‘I’m sorry,’ she apologised and hoped he wouldn’t growl anymore.

When he made no further comment, she glanced up to watch him as he confidently moved around the kitchen. He was so big, well over six feet, yet seemed so graceful. His hair was dark brown tonight, yet in the sunlight it had red highlights. His eyes were hazel and changed colour with his moods. He had the longest eyelashes Cassie had ever seen on a man. Sometimes he watched her through them and she felt like he could see right into her very soul. His features were strong and masculine but when he smiled, which was not often, he looked so very young.

Tonight he had his shirt off and wore only his singlet because he had been with her. She smiled as she realised she was wearing the shirt he must have had on. Somehow it gave her a warm glow as she imagined him taking it off and carefully putting it on her to get her warm. They had been swimming so he would have had to remove her wet clothes. Cassie shook the silly thoughts from her mind, knowing he would never really care about her like that. Maybe he just thought that I’d reward him with sex if he was nice enough to me.

A sneak peak revealed his tattoos. One looked like Pegasus, the mythical flying horse, which didn’t surprise her, seeing as he liked horses so much. He bent into the drawer to pick out a pair of tongs and his masculine body rippled as he moved. For a nice-looking man, he was sure angry towards women. What a total waste! Oh well, not long now and he will be on his lonesome again.

The sound of a motor disturbed Cassie’s thoughts and she looked out the window and saw a four-wheel drive pulling up. Doors opened and closed. She heard a couple of voices: one was very familiar. They were joking around as they walked towards the house.

Kayden moved as quick as a flash at the sound of them. He threw a steak sandwich in front of her and shot her a look that told her to stay where she was as he went out to talk to them. Cassie ate quietly and when she finished she put the plate in the sink and went back into the bedroom.

Kayden must have taken them to see the new foal as it was quiet for some time. When they finally came into the house, she could tell they must have been drinking because there seemed to be a lot of staggering and slurring going on with the one she did not know. As the night progressed they started playing cards and taking shots, getting noisier and noisier. Cassie pulled the covers over her head. As inexperienced with people as she was, she knew it wasn’t right for a young lady to be in a house with drunken men.

She drifted off to sleep but woke as the door flung open. She saw Jason gawking at her and laughing. ‘Kayden, you should have told me sooner you still have her. Seems that as I found the whore, I should have a piece of her as well,’ he said, lunging at her.

He flopped on top of Cassie and she tried to pull away from his drunken breath. He had a firm grip on her though and started to kiss her, muffling Cassie’s screams with his lips. His hands went straight down to where she did not want them to go. She pulled away, screamed and hit him across the face.

‘Come on, whore! What’s your problem? Like it rough, do you?’ He grabbed her again.

She yelled at him, ‘Stop! You don’t understand. I’m not from here. Please don’t do this.’ Cassie was now begging. She called out to Kayden but he ignored her, making her so mad she shoved his friend up against the wall, smashing a stand, just about putting him through the plaster and brick partition.

She ran out, noticing Kayden was lying on the couch, practically passed out. The other one was asleep at the table. She heard Kayden cursing as he stomped in to see what she had done. It’s time for me to find other living arrangements. Not only was she in a house full of men who drank and thought she was a whore, but she had just hurt his friend. Cassie bolted out the door and kept on running. Somehow she ended up on the track that led to the horses. At least there was water there and she could freshen up and get a drink before she found her way back to the highway.

It took a while but she finally made it. The big one with the sore hoof was lying on the ground and didn’t move when she went near him, so she curled up against him and cried herself to sleep.

It was daybreak when Cassie woke to the sound of an engine and froze as the horse stood up and left her exposed. She darted over to the river, tried to cross the slimy rock surface and slipped, cutting her foot and squealing out in pain. She kept moving until reaching the other side and then ran again. She was just about to look behind to see if she’d been cunning enough to get away when hands grabbed her roughly and swung her up into a pair of arms.

‘What the hell are you playing at? Stop struggling or I swear I will tie you up.’

Cassie realised that Kayden was holding her and the fear subsided. She stopped fighting to escape as he carried her back over the creek. At the truck he grabbed a bag from inside the cab, sat her on the back and patched up her foot. He was very gentle and careful with her and Cassie calmed down and started to breathe normally again. When he had finished, he lifted her chin and put some cream on her split lip where Jason had backhanded her.