Out loud, I list the incredible authors, and their classic tellings displayed proudly on the shelf. Some I’ve had the pleasure of reading, others I’ve only dreamed of. My finger hovers over volumes I’ve been dying to get my hands on. “You read philosophy?”
He clears his throat. “Those are new.”
Well, that explains the lack of dust.
I place my hands on my hips, cranking my neck to scan the rest of his collection. “Huh. I’m surprised.”
“That I read philosophy?”
“No, that you can read.”
“I could say the same about you,” he says.
I whip my head toward him and chuckle, “Of course I can read. I’m a rogue, not illiterate. I can also spell. Would you like me to spell ‘stereotype’ for you?” I smile sarcastically at him.
He laughs, a genuine one that isn’t laced with a menacing promise. “Okay, I deserved that.”
“Most of us had a pack prior to becoming a rogue.”
“And did you have a pack before?”
No one’s ever asked me that. No one’s ever cared to.
I pause. “Maybe when I was a baby. My parents probably did.”
“What happened to them?”
“I don’t really know. I think they abandoned me. To be honest, I don’t really remember much about them...” I shake the thought. “Anyway, I didn’t really have much of a choice, but there are some who exercise their choice and choose to be a rogue.”
“Why would anyone voluntarily become a rogue?”
I pull a book off the shelf, running my fingers over the embossed text on its cover. “Not everyone born into families are as wonderful as yours seemed to have been.”
Caleb’s lightheartedness is gone, and he becomes quiet.
Way to dampen the mood, Jay.
“Sorry . . . That got dark really quick.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “It’s not. It’s real.”
I give him a sympathetic smile and put the book back in its place and grab another.
He stands and sucks in a breath. “You can, uh... borrow them. If you want.”
“Really?” I perk up.
He rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah... It’ll give you something to do other than hiding behind house plants until I can move you to Jemma’s.”
No one’s ever allowed me access to a personal library before. I won’t have to steal. I can’t help my joy. I squeal and rush him with a hug. “Thank you!”
Taken aback by my embrace, he stills. “Oh!”
I pull back, resting my arms on his, beaming. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
He grins. “Just... Make sure you put them back where you found them, alright?”
“Oh, I will... Thank you.” I stare into his blue eyes with unbridled heat.
