Free Challenging Saber by S. E. Smith Page A

heart, I have claimed you.
     
     

Chapter 9
     
    “Saber?” Taylor called out groggily the next morning.
    She reached out her hand to touch Saber’s side of the bed. Rolling to her side, she ran her hand over his pillow, a smile curving her lips. He had been –incredible. It was the only word that she could think of to describe their night together.
    Sitting up, she looked around the room. She grinned at the tenderness that she felt. It was just added proof that last night hadn’t been a dream.
    “Or rather, another hopeful one,” she muttered as she slid out of the bed. “It was a wonderful dream come true.”
    She walked around the bed and stepped into the bathroom. Taking a quick shower, she wrapped a thick towel around her before stepping out of the room to retrieve the fresh change of clothes that she had brought with her. Spying her backpack, she picked it up and set it on the couch.
    She pulled out a dark green pullover, jeans, panties, and the bra that she hadn’t bothered to wear last night. Glancing up, she saw Saber out in the garden. Sweat glistened on his body. He was only wearing a pair of long, jogging pants. He was moving in the familiar pattern she saw him, Hunter, and the other warriors doing during their training.
    His arms moved in a beautiful, fluid motion. He had built up his upper muscle strength since his injury. The year he had been confined to a wheelchair was probably the reason. He held a long pole in his left hand and was twirling it above his head. Her hand flew to her mouth to keep the cry from escaping when she saw him turn. His bad leg gave out on him, causing him to stumble. The only thing that kept him from falling was the pole in his hand.
    She saw his hand tighten on it until his knuckles shone white with his frustration. After a few moments, he straightened and tried the move again. Each time, his leg gave out on him, causing him to stumble. Her heart skipped with each move.
    Tears glistened in her eyes when he tried a different move. He staggered, this time unable to catch himself. He twisted as he fell, landing on the ground where he lay staring up at the early morning sky.
    Taylor dropped the clothes in her hand and walked slowly through the opened doors. Padding on bare feet, he didn’t hear her until she was just a few feet away from him. His head turned and their eyes locked. His were filled with anger, frustration and… regret. She knew hers were filled with tears. She hurt for him, with him.
    He rolled, grabbing the pole. She watched as he struggled to his feet. Something warned her not to help. Perhaps it was the rigidness in his shoulders or the tension in the air, but either way, it told her that he wasn’t in a good place right now.
    She waited patiently for him to straighten. Swallowing, panic began to build inside her when he wouldn’t look at her. Taking a step closer to him, she hesitated when he jerked backwards, stumbling again.
    “Don’t,” she whispered, reaching her hand out to him. “Don’t, Saber. Please… Don’t shut me out.”
    Saber turned to look at her then. Taylor shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes before spilling down her cheeks. The distant look in his eyes and the silence told her what he was doing. He wasn’t just closing her out… He was letting her go.
    “No,” she sobbed, her hand clenching and falling to her side. “You love me. I know you do. I’m your Amate . I belong to you. Last night….”
    “Stop!” His sharp order ricocheted through her.
    Taylor shook her head. “You love me,” she insisted.
    “I need you to leave,” he said, looking away from her for a moment before he turned back to gaze down at her with blazing eyes filled with pain. “I want you to leave, and not come back this time, Taylor.”
    “NO!” She cried in frustration, stepping toward him. “I belong to you! You are mine! You are my Amate . I claimed you last night,” she insisted, stepping up in front of him and dropping the towel.