Page 20 of Bound By Love
However, Saber wouldn’t leave her, he would tell Brie to stop coming, and Caro didn’t want that. It would upset Brie if he did, and no matter what he said, Caro believed he should have some relationship with his sister. They probably wouldn’t ever be as close as when they were kids, but something was better than nothing.
So, she sweated over her fire and listened to the sound of metal ringing against metal while they continued their awkward dance. She imagined Asher was as frustrated by all this as she was, but he didn’t try to intervene either.
At least he didn’t interfere while they werehere. He’d most likely said something to Brie about it since arriving here and was probably greeted with the same rebuttal as her. Although, Brie was probably nicer about her fuck off than Saber.
Asher stopped by every hour or so to check on Brie, but whereas she used to go with him after a little bit, she’d started sticking around more. Caro suspected Saber’s grunts and his few words of response encouraged her to believe she was making progress with him.
It had encouraged Caro too, but it was an excruciatingly slow progress that made her yearn to scream at her mate to stop being so ridiculous andtalkto his sister. She’d also considered slapping him upside the head, but violence, no matter how warranted, wasn’t the answer here.
When she pulled the next blade from the fire and stuck it in a bucket of water, it sizzled as Brie discussed the birds she’d noted around here. Saber looked as enthused as a man walking to death row, but that didn’t dissuade Brie as she chatted about the cardinals and blue jays.
This conversation had to be irritating Saber, but she didn’t feel that through their bond. They’d both shut down their open connection; she couldn’t have it and focus on work. And Saber would never allow something that intimate to remain open.
It should have hurt her, but it didn’t; she needed her alone time too. Plus, it reopened every time they reestablished their bond, and even with the main connection closed, she sensed him all the time.
Caro glanced at them as the sun hanging behind them highlighted their figures. She shifted her attention away after taking in Saber’s impassive face and Brie’s almost hopeful expression as she discussed hawks, robins, and goldfinches.
Caro regretted shutting the connection down; she’d love to know what he was thinking about his lesson into birdlife. She hid her smile as she examined the blade before deciding it needed more time in the fire.
Saber had expected Brie to give up by now, but she’d dug in her heels about trying to create a relationship with him. He should tell her to go away but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
However, he couldn’t be held accountable for what came out of his mouth if she talked about one more fucking woodpecker and how to tell the difference between a downy and hairy one.
Is she trying to bore me into talking to her?
Caro lost track of their conversation as she plunged the sword back into the fire and tuned out the bird talk.
It was a while later before Saber said, “I always preferred standard.”
“Oh, me too,” Brie gushed. “What’s the point of having a fast car if you don’t have complete control? I never understood the humans who did that.”
“I never understood humans.”
Brie chuckled. “Me either.”
Saber grunted in response, but that was the most Caro had heard him say so far. Progress, wasn’t it grand?
But over the next few days, Brie made more headway. Caro eavesdropped on their conversations about whether they preferred cats or dogs, which breed of dog, if they liked horses, their favorite cars, favorite bands, singers, and on and on about small, simple things.
They should all be bored by now, but she wasn’t, and they didn’t appear to be either. Saber softened a little more with every passing day, and Brie became happier.
This wasn’t what he wanted, or at least that’s what he told her at night, but Caro suspected he was starting to enjoy it. He hadn’t stopped it yet, which he could easily do. To her, that said more than his words about how he felt about this.
His answers remained mostly clipped, and sometimes all he issued was a grunt, but the siblings were learning about each other again and developing a new relationship. If something happened to Brie, it would devastate him, but Caro was sure he needed this.
When Brie yawned, Saber told her, “You should get some sleep.”
“I’m okay.”
Saber almost said more but decided against it. She was a grown woman, and years ago, it stopped being his place to take care of her.
Still, he couldn’t help feeling protective of her; she was his sister, and….
When he realized the direction of his thoughts, he cut them off. This wasn’t his business; Asher would take care of his mate.
“I thinkshe’sready for bed,” Brie said and nodded toward Caro.
Her shoulders hunched forward as she leaned against the wall near her forge and dipped a sword into water. He couldn’t see her face, but the slump of her shoulders and more sluggish movements emphasized her exhaustion.
