Page 26 of A Vow to Set the Virgin Free

Hours went by, and he did not greet her. He did not contact her.

A strange sense of disquiet started to fill her, and for the first time, she felt as though she might actually be alone.

The feeling of abandonment, stark and upsetting, shocked her. To her core.

He could not be gone. The very idea was a loss, deep and aching.

It went beyond her need for him to protect her. It went beyond anything rational. It had nothing to do with what he might do for her when they left here, or how her marriage to him would insulate her.

The idea of not seeing him, not ever, made her feel devastated. The idea of not hearing his voice...

Of Cameron McKenzie remaining a mystery she could never truly unravel.

That all but destroyed her.

And something called her. Beckoned her. Toward the north tower. The place that she wasn’t allowed to go. She was curious. But more than that, she was compelled, as if by his very voice. Why did he not wish for her to go there?

Because it’s where he is.

And she was propelled by that.

She began to walk toward that tower. Cautiously taking the winding stairs that would carry her up, up to the very top.

A strange sense of unease filled her as she moved slowly up the staircase.

Surely he had cameras. He would see her if she was approaching.

He would stop her. Call out if he needed to.

But he didn’t. So she kept on going.

At the very top of the stairs was a door. She pushed it open slowly. And she sighed... Everything.

Cameras. Video screens filled with different views of the property. Everything that she already knew he could see. And, true to his word, her bedroom was not present.

“At least there’s that. At least he’s... Well he’s not a pervert.”

She turned around the space, trying to find some identifying feature. But the place was Spartan. There was nothing to be gleaned from it. There was technology, but she already knew that. About this place, and about him. It was other things, about him as a human being, those were things that she didn’t know.

And she could not find...

She turned in a circle, and then she saw a huge piece of metal, twisted and set up on a shelf, underneath a glass case. And then, on the other shelves...

Rocks. Coins. Gems.

His collection.

The thing he said she was part of.

She reached out, curiosity directing her movements before she could think it through.

“What are you doing?”

She turned around and jumped back. Because there he was, standing in the doorway, his hood over his head, casting a shadow over his features.

Her heart contracted, then leapt into her throat.

“I told you never to come here.” That familiar voice was so close now, and it was all ice.

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