Page 5 of Dragon Touched
A smile of either lust, anticipation, or triumph—possibly all three—adorned thin, bird-like lips.
Nausea roiled in her stomach and cold sweat covered her skin. A wave of dizziness made her head swim and her knees tremble.
Her father released her elbow, and Lorenzo offered sausage fingers in her direction.
Terror and sickness gripped her, and the air in the room was stale and thick. She couldn’t take a breath.
Trapped, I’m trapped. Need to get out of here, need fresh air, need freedom.These wild thoughts ran through her head. She lunged toward a side door, which led to outside—to liberation.
“Sacha Shepperd Ninette—” Her father’s tone was harsh, and his thundering footsteps rang out in the large chapel of the mansion.
Any minute, she was sure a rough hand would clamp onto her shoulder and wrestle her back into a pretty cage.
“Stop this nonsense.”
Her fingers gripped the cold metal of the smooth knob like a lifeline. When she pulled the door open, muffled gasps from behind broke the silence.
“Matteo, don’t let her leave.” Her father’s voice boomed.
His words spurred her to lift long, loose skirts and run faster.
When she crossed the threshold, she flew past Matteo.
She felt the pressure of his fingers when they snagged the skirt of the dress, but she jerked the slippery material from his grasp.Rip.Thin and delicate, a top layer of the fabric tore.
“You’re only making things worse, Sacha.” His rough voice followed.
Matteo was so close, she could hear his labored gasps with each step of pursuit. Gravel crunched when each strike of his shoes hit the pathway.
“Get back here, or he’s gonna kill me and you both.”
Her eyes darted ahead, trying to scan everywhere at once.
The driveway was filled with shiny, expensive cars. Being much smaller than Matteo, she shot through the enclosed spaces.
The sound of his harsh breathing began to fade.
Blind by fear and burning with fight, freedom had never tasted so sweet.
She veered to the right and the stupid designer heels slapped against the pavement with each stride.
Clip clop, clip clop, clip clop.
“Screw you.” When she reached the end of the half-mile driveway, she slowed enough to rip the veil from her head and threw it to the ground. “I can’t live this life. Iwon’t.”
Faint voices trailed behind, and it was a matter of moments before a security detail would drag her back. Fear spurred her into action. The shoes landed on the lawn, and she pounded the asphalt with bare feet, now unhindered by ridiculous footwear. Terror drove her onto the main road leading away from the house.
Large, ugly clouds covered the sunlight. Fat globs of rain fell, but she didn’t care.
Lighting flashed, thunder roared, and the tops of trees swayed as if in a hurricane.
She sprinted. Her body plunged through the artificial darkness like a wounded rabbit evading a hungry wolf.
The clouds released their burden.
Squinting into the deluge, she narrowly avoided stepping off the road and into the sharp slope of a bar ditch.
Water soaked into her pores and gave the dress an extra ten or fifteen pounds.
