Page 40 of The Lord who Seduced Me
Cabe had enough and stood, walking up next to them, “I second what she said.”
Brooks looked up at Cabe and scoffed, “You won’t even tell your woman what is going on in your life. She deserves more from you. So, what makes you think I would take any advice from you?”
Cabe growled at him, the truth of his words making him angry and wanting to lash out.
It hurt more than Brooks knew to keep her in the dark, and it needed to stop.
He walked down the hall and then down the stairs.
He could not face anymore. Not Rose, not her family, no one.
He needed some space and to go over everything that happened.
Cabe walked home, not bothering to get his horse. He needed the fresh air and even though he knew he was most likely being watched, he knew no one would touch him.
Cabe got back to his house and walked up the stairs to his room.
He stripped out of his clothes once again and took his prosthetic off, dropping it to the floor with a thud.
He grabbed his crutch and walked over to the lit fireplace. He stood in front of it nude and ran a hand over his hair.
He knew Brooks was right, that he could see Rose whenever he wanted. And the fact that he only had so much time left before he had to leave was the worst thing for him.
He knew that she would most likely not be attending any balls for a few days, and he understood it.
Sighing, Cabe wanted to kick himself for being so stupid. He knew he was scared and that was why he had not claimed her again.
He did not want to put her in the Renegade’s path again, did not want to subject their family to that horror.
He also did not want her to see his scarred and deformed body. The one that made him less of a person.
He looked down at it now. The scars from the knives that were used to mark his skin, the marks from being beaten with a club, the webbed skin that had been caused from the explosion that sent him flying off the ship and the one that took his leg.
Cabe did not want her to see him and think less of him for it. He knew deep down that she was not the woman to act that way, to think like that, but it was his darkest fear.
Cabe ran a hand through his hair again and went to his bed. The sheets and blankets beckoned to him and he wanted nothing more than to answer their call.
Lying down, Cabe rolled onto his back and made a plan.
He would try his hardest to see Rose over the next few weeks before he had to leave. But it had to be in secret.
Making a mental note to send a letter to Aidan in the morning asking for any information about Rose and when she would go to her next ball, Cabe finally shut his eyes.
He would take her like he did at the first ball.
He still had that piece of paper he had taken off the desk. The one stained with her virginity and his seed.
He would open it and look at it and keep it in the pocket right next to his heart.
It would be his reminder of all he was doing to protect her, and her family when he was gone, and it would be the piece of her he would take with him when he left this world.
Sleep overtook him as he recalled their time together.
