Page 71 of Brutal Legacy

It was a gentle movement. Gentler than I’d ever expect a man as hard as him to be capable of.

My breath caught when his fingers brushed my ear. It felt shockingly good. I was so touch-starved, my whole body thrummed with life at the meager contact. The pleasure he’d given me only hours ago rushed back, sitting in the air between us. We’d crossed a line there, in that luxurious little bedroom, high above the world, and we couldn’t go back.

His gaze dropped to my eyes and fell, down and down. He looked me over with a darkness in his eyes that stole my breath. It was like we were caught in a spell for a long moment, and I didn’t want it to end. Right here, it felt like time had stopped and tomorrow might never come. I wanted that more than anything. His gaze ran down my body, and he seemed to sway imperceptibly closer for a second, before catching himself.

He took a step back and then another.

“It fits.” His voice was a low growl.

It took a second to remember what he was talking about.

I glanced down at myself. Ah, yes. The dress.

I smoothed my hands down the beaded corset. It was lovely.

“Yes. It does. It’s very pretty for a prison uniform,” I said.

My mercenary just stood there, silent. I wanted to know what was going on behind his taciturn facade more than ever. I wanted to open his head and pick out his secret thoughts.

Like always, he gave nothing away.

“Be good until the ceremony. Don’t do anything to the dress… I’m warning you, or you’ll be getting married in front of a roomful of people in your underwear.” He headed for the door.

“I wouldn’t… not something so lovely. I could never hurt it,” I said, looking up and catching my mercenary’s eyes.

He watched me for a second and then spun on his heel and left.

The lock twisted with a sharp click behind him.

I founda full-length mirror inside the closet. It was the sight of myself standing there in the sweetheart-neckline gown, the white satin giving my skin a glow, that convinced me.

I had to get away from here. Earlier on the plane had been a moment of delusion, and it had given me the strength for one last stand. I couldn’t stay here, with my mercenary, marrying some stranger. This was my last chance to grab for freedom.What about the other guys… the ones following you? The Ravellis. The other men my father was threatening to squeal on.

I was in New Jersey now. What were the chances that they’d already caught up? I could disappear here, somehow… I had to try.

It didn’t matter what it cost me; I wasn’t marrying Jimmy Sleazeball De Luca.

I’d die first.

After half an hour of wriggling about to loosen the corset ties, I changed back into my borrowed outfit and got into bed. I waited until the house went to sleep. I lay fully dressed, not that I had an option for changing, until the grandfather clock in the hall chimed three a.m.

I got up. I’d already gotten a good look around the room. The only possibility was the window. I was surprised to find that the lock opened easily. The room had been very nice for a prison cell, so I was starting to think it was a place for guests and not prisoners. I strapped my bag onto my back. It was time to get the hell out of here.

I opened the window and stepped out onto the wide stone ledge that hugged the building and ran around the side. There was a tree not too far out from the ledge. Some of the wider branches were within touching distance. All I had to do was make it along the ledge to the tree.

And then across the guarded grounds and over the fortified walls.

One step at a time,I told myself. The ledge was firm. The night was cold, a big difference from the balmy evenings of LA. I edged along the ledge, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. I shuffled past a window next to me, and then the end of the building came into sight. Thank God.

I continued my graceless shuffle toward the place where the ledge passed close to the tree. I finally reached it and had to stop, taking deep breaths and trying to calm myself down. My hands were shaking terribly, and I felt sick. But just the thought of Jimmy De Luca waiting at the end of an aisle for me was enough to steel my spine.

I had no choice.

I reached out for the tree and grabbed it easily enough. When I brought one foot to rest on it, the whole branch swayed. Okay, so maybe I was a bit heavier than I’d allowed for, but I could make it work.

I pushed my weight toward the tree and used the momentum to grasp a branch closer to the trunk. Slowly, I worked my way down the tree, only putting my feet on the biggest branches I could find. When I got near the bottom, I slowed, as the branches were sparser. I really had to reach carefully, feeling for a foothold.

I was only about ten feet from the ground at this point. I could just jump. I was facing in toward the trunk, my hands digging into the rough bark, while I tried to feel for one last foothold.

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