Fighting Dirty for His Girl (Wylde Bears) (4 page)

He was her mate.

That epiphany came at her like a freight train derailed. Her pulse increased, and her palms became clammy. Never in her life did she think this would have been possible, especially since she had been with Rook for years.

Bram
lowered himself to his knees and then turned and grabbed something on the ground. Although he had pressed his back up to her at the bar, she hadn’t even realized his back was covered in tattoos. The intricate, swirling designs were masculine, yet looked fluid against his tanned skin. When he turned back around he held a first aid kit. Even on his knees he was a large man, and Kenzie lifted he eyes over his abs, up his pecs, and stopped at his face. The towel that had covered his head now hung loosely around his neck, and his dark hair was messy. He was watching her as intently as she watched him, and she knew his decree of ownership over her had meant so much more. He had known what she was to him from the moment he saw her, but it had taken all this time, and all this drama, for her to realize.

“Kenzie.” He licked his bottom lip
, and she dipped her gaze to watch the act. She sure as hell shouldn’t be thinking about things like this after the life she had led and what she had just done. Rook may or may not be dying right in front of that bar, yet here she was picturing herself under Bram, his big body tensing as he braced himself over her and thrust all those hard, long inches into her
very
willing body. He closed his eyes briefly, and his nostrils flared slightly. She knew he could smell how wet she was, and that had heat rising up her neck and covering her face.

Without opening his eyes he said, “I think you tore a stitch.” His words were gritty, like sandpaper along her body, and all they seem
ed to do was heighten her arousal instead of dim it.

“W-
what?” Kenzie licked her lips.

He opened his eyes
and this time he was the one to watch the act. Setting the first aid kit beside her, Bram leaned in so close that she could smell the soap he used, and an involuntary moan left her. He must think she was insane for her response to him. Despite his close proximity he didn’t do anything but hold his place. Her face was right by his throat, and Kenzie saw the muscles of his neck work as he swallowed. It seemed grossly inappropriate for him to tend to her while he was only wearing a towel, and when he was extremely aroused. Although honestly, how could she complain?

“I’m just going to check your sutures, because I think you pulled some of them. I can smell fresh blood.” He swallowed again
, and Kenzie tried to focus on other things. That was easier said than done. He pulled off the bandage, and she was thankful for the small distraction.

“I can’t believe you actually stitched me up.” Talking about something safe sounded like a good idea.

“I had to. I couldn’t stand looking at you hurt, Kenzie.” Hearing him say her name was an auditory orgasm,
and caused tingles to start in her toes and go all the way to the top of her head. How strange was it that she had only known him for a few hours but already felt more connected than she ever had with anyone else?

Bram turned his head so they were facing each other
, and she held her breath. Their faces were so close that she didn’t doubt they breathed the same air, or that if she just leaned an inch forward their lips would touch. He looked at her lips again, and Kenzie knew that if she didn’t put some space between them she would end up doing something foolish and far too reckless.

“Did I mess it up too badly?”
Keep with the diversion. It was the best tactic, especially when her hormones were in overdrive, but then again she had never been around her mate before. She could remember her parents talking about when they first met each other, how the attraction was instantaneous and powerful, but she had been so young then and hadn’t really understood. Now, as she stared into Bram’s strong, handsome face, she knew exactly what they had been talking about. The only problem was Kenzie couldn’t allow herself to be with Bram. That was far too dangerous, and if she wanted to live, and keep Bram safe she would have to run as far away from him and Rook as she could.

For a moment all she could do was hold her breath and pray he didn’t push
her for more, because God help her she would have bent to his will and given him everything. Clearing his throat and looking back down at her side had a sigh leaving her.

“I think it’ll be okay. I just have to fix the popped sti
tch, and you’ll be good as new.” He tilted his head to the side and glanced at her. The corner of his mouth kicked up, but she could see that he didn’t find anything humorous. The tension rolled off of him and saturated the air, and his lust was just as strong as hers was. Nothing more was said as he went to work on her side. He was only fixing one stitch, but it felt like he was sewing up the whole length again. Kenzie refused to show any outward pain, but she knew he was aware of her discomfort because he stopped and let her breathe it out. When he was finished he applied a new bandage and stood. Kenzie averted her eyes when she saw he still sported a massive erection, and her cheeks heated uncomfortably.

“Are you hungry or thirsty?”

“No, thank you.” She refused to look at him again, not because she was trying to be rude, but because she was just too damn embarrassed by the turn of events. Clearly things needed to be said in regards to the whole mate thing, but she didn’t know where to begin or how to even proceed with starting a conversation like that. Playing ignorant was not an option, because even though she had been under Rook’s thumb for the past eleven years she had always been true to herself, even if she
had
been too much of a coward to stand up for herself.

“Okay, well let me get dressed and I’ll be right back.” She looked up just as he turned to leave and watched the play of muscle on his body
as he moved.

“Wait.” Kenzie stood and gripped the edge of her shirt, pulling the two ends together tightly. Bram turned around, and her face heated even further when she realized
he clearly didn’t care that she could see how aroused he was because he made no move to cover it up. “Your, uh.” She gestured to his chest, and he glanced down. “Can I return the favor and patch you up?” Surprise filtered across his face, and after a second he nodded.

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that. Let me just slip on some sweats.” He disappeared down the hallway
, and Kenzie sat back on the couch, breathing out deeply. A moment later he was back in the living room. She stood and tried to avert her eyes, but of course he hadn’t put a t-shirt on. The sweats he wore hung low on his waist, and that delicious V of muscle stood out starkly. “Where do you want me?”

On top of
me, naked and sweaty.

Shaking her head at her ludicrous thoughts, she gestured to the spot she had just vacated. He leaned back and threw his arms over the back of the couch.
Bram’s legs were slightly parted, and he took on a totally relaxed stance. She wasn’t about to stitch him up, because honestly she had no clue on the first thing about that, but she could at least clean the wounds and put dressings on them. After grabbing what she needed from the kit sitting beside him she sat on the couch and leaned forward. The position was awkward and didn’t give her enough room to work, so she got down on her knees in front of him. Bram opened his legs a little more, and she flicked her eyes to him. His lids were lowered at half-mast, and the blue irises seemed to glow.

“I won’t bit
e, Kenzie.” He said the words low, and her temperature rose. Moving closer so that she could fit her body between his thighs, she quickly went to work on cleaning the wounds. It helped somewhat to keep her mind off the obvious erection he still had. The cuts and gouges were horrendous and numerous. She couldn’t dress them all, but she got the bigger ones covered and went to work on cleaning the smaller claw marks.

God, look at what they did to him.
When she had first seen him he had cuts and bite marks all over his body, but after the fight with Rook his chest was now riddled with them, so much so that it made her lightheaded to even look at them. For as horrifying as this situation was, and seeing as her future was on a ledge, she wanted to talk about how she was feeling. This had never happened to her, and she had never wanted a male. It was exhilarating to actually feel comfort and desire instead of fear and revulsion. Even after realizing what he was to her, and wanting desperately to just enjoy this moment, this time with him, she had to tell him she couldn’t stay.

“
Thank you for saving me back at the bar.” She looked up at him to find him staring at her. “And thank you for tending to my wounds. A lot of people would have just turned the other way.” She poured some peroxide on a square of gauze and pressed it against one of the longer cuts. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move, and she didn’t even think he breathed. “It isn’t safe for me to be here. If Rook is still alive, which I’m sure he is, he’ll come for me, and I don’t want you put in any more danger.”

A low growl left him
, and she snapped her head up, surprised at the primal, possessive sound. Aside from that he didn’t respond, just continued to look at her, and so she went back to tending his chest. The minutes ticked by, and the silence descended on them. Clearly he didn’t want to talk about what she just said, so she’d let it go … for now.

“Do they hurt?” She ran
the gauze over a set of nasty looking teeth marks and winced when it started bleeding.

“I’m used to it.”

For some reason she wasn’t surprised, but then again her first impression of him had been raw, animalistic, and commanding. “Why are you used to it?” He shifted on the couch, and his thighs brushed along her hips. A gush of wetness immediately spilled from her, and she prayed like hell the smell of the peroxide masked the scent of her arousal.

It took him a minute to answer, but when he did his voice was clear, and without a hitch in it.
“It’s just what I do.” She looked up at him, but before she could question what he meant by that he continued talking. “I get into a lot of fights because I like it. It makes me feel good.” Kenzie focused on mending him, although his words had a strange feeling moving through her. Rook had liked fighting as well. Were her instincts wrong about Bram? Could he be just as unstable as Rook? What person enjoyed fighting and getting hurt?

“One of these times you might not walk away.” She didn’t know why she had said that, because really it wasn’t her business
.
He
wasn’t her business. Even thinking that last part had a sour taste forming in her mouth. Her deer wanted to curl up beside this primal animal, become vulnerable, and let her trust go totally into him. He was the alpha to her submissive, and she wanted the protection and safety she knew he would give her. Kenzie could feel that coming from him, and it took her breath away. Those were scary and dangerous thoughts, and Kenzie wouldn’t think about them any longer. None of that stuff was what would be in her future, and pretending like she didn’t have a shitty past and an even shittier present wasn’t an option. Bram had saved her life, taken her into his home even though he didn’t know her or the ruined background she carried. She needed to leave, disappear and go under the radar so Rook could never find her.

“That won’t happen.” His cockiness wasn’t that much of a surprise, but she still looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, and why is that?” She could hear the breathy way she phrased the question and quickly cleared her throat. Kenzie would be lying if she didn’t admit that his masculinity wasn’t a turn-on. He slowly leaned forward so their faces were once again only separated by inches. Kenzie forced herself not to move. She wasn’t scared of him, which was shocking. It was strange that her deer wasn’t cowering, but then again she assumed that was one of the gifts of a mate. He showed outward signs of his interest for her, but he still kept this stoic expression in place. He lowered his eyes to her chest and then slowly lifted them back up to her face.

“Because, little deer
.” He moved in another inch, and she swore his lips brushed gently against hers for the briefest second. She should move away, feel some kind of terror that this unknown man was in her personal space, that for all she knew he could hide who he was from her, but all she could do was grip the edge of the couch and wait for him to continue. “I never lose a fight. Ever.”

He sounded so sure, so positive that there was no doubt in her mind he told the truth. For a pregnant pause neither of them spoke
or moved, and she found herself closing her eyes and waiting for the inevitable kiss. She waited and waited, but instead of his lips pressing against hers he said, “You should get some rest, and when you’re feeling better I want to know what the panther is to you.”

She opened her eyes
and got lost in the blue pools.

“And if he is still alive, I’m going to hunt him down and rip his throat out.” He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek.
“And do you know why I want to kill him?”

She shook her head, not knowing what he would say since he knew nothing about her.

“Because he hurt what’s mine, and you’re mine, Kenzie.” He looked down at her mouth, and she licked her lips, which had him groaning deeply. “But you know you’re mine, don’t you, little deer.” He didn’t phrase it as a question. “Yeah, you know it. I can smell your realization on that fact as well as I can smell how much you ache for me.”