Page 25 of A Vow to Set the Virgin Free

She was somewhat ashamed to admit that she was beginning to have... A strange sort of attachment to this man that she had only ever spoken to remotely.

His story about his childhood had left her feeling raw. Sad.

He was... An extremely tragic figure, that much she knew. She couldn’t remain unaffected by his story, though why it should feel like grief she had no idea.

Why she should feel compelled by his dark voice and tragic circumstances when he had told her she was an object, she could not say.

Any more than she could understand why he wouldn’t face her, when it was inevitable.

If they were to be married...

The word made her take a swift, indrawn breath.

She also realized that he moved around the grounds much more often than it seemed.

He had to. He had arranged for her to get the horse. He seemed to observe things that would be outside the purview of his tower.

He went to the kitchen, obviously, though she could not figure out the pattern of his movements.

And whatever his voice came over the intercom, her heart gave a little jump.

The sound of his voice was soothing. It made something warm expand in her chest.

My goddess.

She should not like him calling her that, and yet she did. She rode harder, faster, to get away from herself. To find the edge of this cage.

It was only another cage.

She should not allow herself to have grown so content here.

She should not let herself feel anything for him.

This was not the world. It was just more walls.

On and on she rode. Until she saw the edge. Until she came to the wall.

At the far end of the grounds. Kilometers away from the house.

It was vast, and tall.

And yet... She took the horse down to the other side of the perimeter, and saw that there were loose rocks.

She would be able to climb over that. It would take hours for her to get here without her horse but...

It would be possible. For some reason, her own line of thinking frightened her, and she turned the horse and raced back to the castle.

She was surprised when she came back in and Cameron didn’t speak to her.

“Cameron?”

She said his name, and received no answer.

Was he gone?

It seemed nearly impossible.

He didn’t leave. He’d said so himself, and yet...

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