Page 13 of Bound By Love
Despite trying to keep her distance and knowing her relationship with Saber could never be like that, she still longed for it. It was still early in their relationship, and they were getting along better than when they first met; she would have to be patient and hopeful.
Patience had never been one of her virtues, but she could do it for him because whatever happened back then was bad. She also had to face the facts that he might never tell her, and this was as close as he would ever let her get.
It’s not so bad,she told herself as she turned away from the window.You’re happy.
And shewashappy, but if he kept a barrier between them for the rest of their lives, she didn’t know if it would last. It sounded incredibly lonely, especially when she was starting to care for him more than she’d ever wanted to.
With a sigh, she finished drying off, hung the towel, and crawled into bed. She was exhausted, but sleep wouldn’t come easy tonight.
She was still awake when he returned, removed his clothes, and crawled into bed. They didn’t speak when he drew her into his arms and kissed her shoulder. Didn’t talk when she guided one of his hands between her thighs.
A barrier might always remain between them, but she could have these moments of joining and opening to one another. It might not always be enough, but for now, it was.
CHAPTERTEN
A few days later,when Caro finally finished forging the third of the first four swords, she set it down on her workbench. She planted her hands on her lower back and stretched to work out the knotted muscles there.
Like always, Saber stood alone in the doorway, but Declan, Willow, and Asher had left a few minutes ago. She’d seen little of their visitors over the past two weeks, but they stopped by a few times a day to check in with Saber, say hi, and ask if she needed anything.
She didn’t know them well, but they were nice. Having them here wasn’t as bad as she’d originally thought it would be, yet it was still weird to have strangers in her home.
She didn’t know Brie well either, as Caro spent most of her time staring into a fire and hammering swords, but she visited the most. Brie would often come by herself, and while she and Saber barely spoke to each other, she’d sometimes stay for hours.
Caro didn’t have time to look at them often, but she sometimes caught the surreptitious glances Brie gave her brother. She sensed Brie’s longing to connect with him, but Saber barely acknowledged her.
Caro had debated talking to him about it, but after he walked out on her the other night, she decided to let it play out between them. If she got involved, it would only be one more thing he wouldn’t discuss with her.
As she hammered the blade of sword number four, Brie appeared in the doorway. The siblings muttered hi to each other before falling silent.
Caro tried not to watch them, but she kept rooting for Brie to break through the nearly impenetrable wall Saber had erected around himself. Brie clearly wanted a relationship with her older brother, but he wasn’t giving her an inch. She wasn’t quitting, though, and Caro inwardly smiled over Brie’s persistence.
Caro suspected the main reason he remained so unbending with her was guilt, even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself. He believed he’d failed his sister and hadn’t been there for her when she needed him most.
He couldn’t figure out how to handle that, so he remained closed off to her. It was easier to stay distant than to face his emotions and past. She should know; she’d slammed up against that same wall more than a few times.
Saber had become far more tender to her than she ever would have believed possible when they first met, but he didn’t do emotions or, heaven for-fucking-bid, deal with the past. Every mule in the world, combined, was less stubborn than him.
Caro gave the sword another whack before lifting it to examine the blade. The metal shone in the fire, as did the orange stone she’d set into the hilt.Herorange stone.
Twisting the sword, she turned it to look deeper into the stone. She felt almost as possessive of it as she did Saber, but whereas he washers,so was this stone.
When she glanced over at him, some of her irritation softened. Despite being almost impossible to deal with sometimes and incapable of expressing himself, his good heart and innate kindness sometimes shone through his rough exterior.
He’d deny there was anything good about him, but he’d be lying. A truly horrible man wouldn’t be working to save the world and wouldn’t take care of her as well as he did.
Caro was doing everything she could not to fall for him; she’d end up with a shattered heart if she gave him her everything. Loving someone incapable of loving her in return would be an awful way to go through life.
She started sharpening the blade while she watched the two siblings from the corner of her eye. She bit back her impulse to tell them to leave.
She was tired of being the center of attention while they held their strange, mostly silent vigil. If she kicked them out of here, they’d go their separate ways, and though this was odd and stressful, it was good for Saber… or so she hoped.
When the sun started to set, Asher came to get Brie. They said their goodbyes, which Saber returned with a small bow of his head. Caro waved and smiled as the couple went off to hunt.
She turned her attention to sharpening another blade as night descended. With fall creeping in and the air growing colder, the crickets and peepers had stopped singing. Thankfully, her fire staved off the increasing chill of the night air.
“I can help you sharpen the blades,” Saber offered.
“Once they’re officially out of my possession and in the hands of their rightful owners, they can take care of them. Until then, these are still mine to finish creating, and I’m the only one who will touch them.”
