Free Challenging Saber by S. E. Smith Page B

“I gave myself to you, Saber. I gave you more than my body. I gave you my heart,” she whispered, tilting her head to look up at him with desperate eyes.
    His hand rose. For a moment, she thought he would admit that he was wrong, but instead, his fingers wrapped around her wrist and he lifted it between them. He shook his head as he stared down at her. Her lips trembled at the harsh coldness that clouded his eyes.
    “You do not wear my claim upon your wrist, just as I do not wear yours,” he said, releasing her wrist as if the touch of her skin burned him. “And we never will.”
    Taylor watched in disbelief as he awkwardly bent down and picked up the towel that she had dropped. He carefully wrapped it around her, before using the pole to step back. She turned her gaze away from him when he looked back at her with a blank expression.
    “Tell me,” she whispered, looking back at him once again. "Tell me that you don’t love me, Saber. Tell me that you don’t love me and that you want me to leave and not come back, but look me in the eye when you say it.”
    Taylor braced herself for the wave of pain that she knew was about to hit her. He was going to do it. She could see the resignation in his eyes. He was going to let her go, whether she wanted to go or not.
    “I don’t love you, Taylor. I want you to leave and not come back,” Saber said in a quiet voice, never breaking eye contact with her.
    The pain was worse than she ever imagined it could be. It felt as if someone was ripping her heart out of her chest. Swallowing, she tilted her head, but didn’t scream.
    “You’re a terrible liar, Saber,” Taylor whispered, staring back at him before she lowered her head, letting her hair fall forward to conceal the fresh tears running down her face. “I’ll leave, but there is something you need to know,” she said, looking up again. “I love you. I have from the moment I met you. I’m going to go away for a while. There is an aid mission that I was asked to go on. I wasn’t going to go because….” She paused, clamping her lips together to get control of her composure before continuing. “I’m giving you three months to think over whether you really want me out of your life. When I return, I’ll come by one last time. If you want me, place a yellow ribbon on the tree in the front courtyard. If I don’t see it, you’ll never see me again. I won’t chase you, Saber. I love you for you, not your body. I love the man inside, but I need him to love me, too.”
    Turning on her heel, she walked back into the house. Dropping the towel, she pulled on her shirt and pants and slipped on her shoes. Grabbing her bra and panties, she stuffed them back into her backpack. Picking it up, she walked out of the house without a backwards glance. She didn’t want him to see the utter grief that was tearing her apart.
     
    *.*.*
     
    Saber watched as Taylor walked back into the house. From where he was standing, he could see her getting dressed. His fingers gripped the pole in his hands until he felt sure that it would crumble under the pressure of his grasp.
    His eyes burned when she turned and walked out of the house without a backwards look. Shaking, he heard the sound of her transport as it started. A moment later, it flew over his house, heading back in the direction of Hunter and Jesse’s house. It was only when she was out of sight that he gave in to the grief. A loud gasp escaped him as he sank back down to the ground. The pole clattered against the tile and he leaned forward, rocking as pain exploded through him.
    Sitting back, he tilted his head back and roared in rage. His body shook with the force of his pain. It was far worse than what the doctors had told him yesterday.
    “You are lucky to still have your leg,” the surgeon had told him. “There is nothing else we can do. The damage was too great even for the bone regenerator to repair. The nerve damage is irreversible. I had to remove almost an inch of