Page 53 of Bound By Blood
“How long will ittake you to create a sword for my stone?” Saber asked.
Caro shifted herattention away from the window and focused on the quilt on the bed.It was a pretty, checkered pattern with little flowers on it. Shewas sure her mom would have known the name of the pattern, but shedidn’t have a clue.
She should havepaid more attention or asked more questions. She should have beenmore interested in the things her mom loved instead of obsessedwith her metal working. Now, she would never have a chance toremedy that.
She had to get outof this house. She could feel herself unraveling and refused to doit before him. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she focusedon the back of his head while she spoke.
“My father’sintricate process made it possible for us to forge things from hisspecial combination of metals in less than two weeks,” shesaid.
“I’ll let Ronanknow,” Saber said.
He’d alreadyexplained to her who that was. “Okay. I’ll get some rest before Istart working on it.”
With that, shestepped out of the room and closed the door. Saber didn’t lookback, but he felt the loss of her presence as if someone had takena piece of him with her. He absently rubbed at his chest while hepulled out his phone.
Found someoneto work on a sword. Be in touch in a couple of weeks,he typedinto it.
He tossed hisphone on the bed before he received a reply and shifted hisattention back to the window as Caro exited the house and walkedtoward the barn. Her head was down and her shoulders were hunchedforward as she strode across the yard.
The small sliverof the moon and stars kissed her hair and skin as she walked up aset of stairs to a sliding glass door and disappeared inside. Saberwatched the door for far longer than he should have, but no lightscame on.
Finally, he turnedaway, pulled off his clothes, and collapsed onto the bed. At leasthe was finally free of her.
That was until shehaunted his dreams.
CHAPTER 40
Saber didn’t seemuch of Caro over the next two days, and he was fine with that,except when he closed his eyes at night… and then he saw her again.She haunted his dreams more than a poltergeist haunted a medievalcastle.
When he woke, herscent filled the room, even though she wasn’t there. That scent hadintegrated its way into his cells and followed him everywhere.
Sometimes, when hewoke in the middle of the night, with his cock aching and his fangsthrobbing to sink into her flesh, it took all he had not to leavethis house and go to where she lived over the barn. During thosetimes, he gritted his teeth as he resisted the urge.
Herefusedto let anyone have this much sway over his emotions or control overhim.Refusedto give in to his impulses.
He’d traveled thatroad before; he wouldn’t do it again.
Instead, he jerkedoff the first night until his hand and dick were sore, and he stillhad to restrain himself from going to her. The second night,knowing masturbation was useless, he took an ice-cold shower andcursed his way through the misery.
When that stilldidn’t work, he decided to go for a run. He didn’t know how far hetraveled through the woods or how many deer he hunted, but the skywas still inky black, the moon a sliver, and the stars out as thepeepers sang.
He heard the ringof Caro’s hammer hitting steel and the anvil before he saw thehouse. He couldn’t see the shop from here, but he smelled thefire.
She’d been up lateevery night but wasn’t in her shop when he went for his run. She’drisen before the sun. When he asked her to make his sword, hedidn’t realize she would push herself to the brink of collapsing toget it done. He wouldn’t let this continue.
He glided throughthe trees as he headed for the concrete building a hundred yardsaway from anything flammable. Charles wouldn’t take the chance anerrant spark might escape the forge and destroy everythinghere.
Heat blasted himin the face when he stepped into the open doorway, as did the scentof the fire, melting metal, andher. Caro stood at her forgewith her back to him. The large stone creation where she workedlooked like something out of the sixteen hundreds, a time whenCharles would have been a child first learning how to bendmetal.
A fire burnedhotly in the forge, and a leather apron covered her legs and chest.A single strap ran across her neck. She’d rolled up the sleeves ofher long-sleeved shirt until they were above her elbow.
Sweat beaded thelean muscles of her arms as they flexed and bunched with hermovements. She’d tied her hair into a ponytail that bobbed againsther nape while she moved.
He didn’t knowwhat to make of this woman who haunted his dreams. Watching her,something stirred inside him. It was something unfamiliar but verytreacherous if he didn’t get it under control.
Whatever she didto him, it evoked emotions better left buried. But as he tried tokeep everything reined in, the ever-present lust she awoke with herkiss roared to the forefront.
And so didsomething unfamiliar and unwelcome. He couldn’t quite put hisfinger on what it was, but he didn’t like it.
