Fighting Dirty for His Girl (Wylde Bears) (6 page)

Chapter Five

Kenzie sat up on the edge of the bed and looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It was six in the morning, and after a somewhat restful sleep, nightmare free, she had woken up with the intent on leaving. She hated just running out on Bram, especially when he had been so kind to her, but it wasn’t just about her
. She was helping to protect him as well. When Rook came looking for her, which she knew without a doubt he would, Bram would be caught in the middle of it. The shirt she had been wearing at the bar was a tattered mess, not something she could wear again, but her jeans were intact, albeit dirty as hell. After slipping those on and tying the t-shirt in the front enough that it didn’t resemble a sack of potatoes on her, she slipped on her shoes and opened the door as silently as possible. A little voice inside of her told her she needed to tell Bram she was leaving, if only to thank him once more for his generosity, but she couldn’t because in all honesty she was a coward and just wanted to slip away without any complications.

Bram was the type of male to get what he wanted, and he
’d made it clear what he wanted was her. A shiver worked up her spine at that thought. The sound of a clock ticking in the background didn’t drown out the noise of her beating heart. Kenzie felt like she was doing something horribly wrong, and when that thought hit her she stopped in her tracks.

No, she couldn’t just leave, not without at least giving him some kind of explanation why she had to go. Glancing over her shoulder she saw that the hallway was dark and all the doors were closed. Which one was his? She would just wait in the kitchen until he woke up and everything could be aired out, the dirty parts as well.

Kenzie rounded the corner and stopped abruptly when she saw Bram sitting at the table in nothing but a pair of track shorts and running shoes. A light sheen of sweat glistened on his ripped chest, a chest that was now healed and only showed raised, red lines from his fight last night. Her own wounds were healing, but with the factors of stress, and her continued abuse at the hands of Rook, it would take much longer for her wounds to close. He wasn’t out of breath, and the clear fact he was already healed after the fierce fight he had been in last night was a testament to the fact he was in optimal health and vitality. Touching her side all she felt was a slight twinge of discomfort. Her wounds probably wouldn’t be healed like his until nightfall, but by tomorrow the sutures wouldn’t be necessary.

A newspaper was spread out before
Bram, and he held a glass of milk in his hand. The sight of that milk had a smile forming on her lips.

“I wondered when you were going to wake up.” He looked up at her and grinned, flashing his straight, white teeth. “Thought you could sneak out on me?” He was still grinning
, and humiliation and shame filled her. “I always get up at four and go for a run through the woods.” Leaning back in his chair he brought his glass to his mouth and drank half the milk.

Who would have ever thought watching a man suck down a glass of milk was sexy as hell? His dark hair was wet from perspiration, and she started her appraisal there and worked her way down. Everything about him was magnificent, but the most monumental thing out of it all was the fact she felt no fear around him. There was this calmness that started in the pit of her belly and pushed outward. Her inner deer had never been so affected, had never felt the need to just sit back and let the human side of Kenzie take control.

“I’d like to make you some breakfast right after I take a quick shower.” Bram stood and lifted his arms above his head to stretch. Dear lord, her mouth started watering as she took in the full display of his muscles contracting from the movement. “Yeah, Kenzie?” He dropped his arms and moved closer to her. The scent of his clean, male sweat filled her nose, and she forced herself not to groan like some kind of nympho. What kind of female would he really think she was if she told him all about her past and the way she was feeling toward him?

As she stared into his eyes she knew that those specific questions would be answered soon enough because she was about to give him the gritty run-down of
who she really was. Most likely he would want to run in the other direction, because no sane man would want to get involved with someone that messed up, mate or not.

“That sounds good, Bram.”

He didn’t move, but that was okay because she loved the feel of his body heat and scent surrounding her.

“Good.” He brought his hand up and ran it over the back of his neck
, and Kenzie couldn’t help but watch the way his bicep flexed. “I’ll be right back.”

When the bathroom door shut behind him and Kenzie was seated at one of the dining room chairs, she let her head fall into her hands.

“Get a grip, girl.” One minute she had been ready to bolt out of here, and the next she was sitting at his table waiting for him so she could tell him what a fucked up relationship she had been in. Glancing at the front door, she contemplated just leaving. The sound of the shower running confirmed that she had a good five to ten minutes of a head start, but she pushed that thought away as quickly as it had come. No, Kenzie had been a coward all her life, and she wasn’t going to ditch the first person she felt connected with, and that had saved her. Not because of Rook.

Bram came back into the kitchen less than ten minutes later
, and damn did he look good in a pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt. She went to stand, but he shook his head and placed his hands on her shoulders to gently ease her back in the seat.

“Please,
relax and let me fix you something to eat, okay?”

Kenzie looked up at him and nodded. For the next twenty minutes Bram hovered over the stove. He didn’t force a conversation on her, and for that she was thankful. It was cute to see him going back and forth from the fridge to the stove to the sink. He even hummed to himself on occasion, and she wondered if he was aware of that. When he set a heaping plate in front of her of eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. Her embarrassment intensified when Bram chuckled at hearing the sound.

“Milk, juice, or water? I don’t drink coffee, but I can always run into town and grab some if you’re going to go through withdrawals.”

Kenzie laughed out loud and shook her head.
“I hate coffee actually.”

He slapped a hand on his chest
and took a step back. Worry filled her at his sudden reaction.

“Beautiful, killer curves, and my girl isn’t a coffee drinker. I hit the mate jackpot.” He gave her a wink, sat in the seat across
from her, and started tearing into his own plate of food.

All Kenzie kept hearing in her head was Bram calling her “his girl”. It felt good to hear him say those two words, but at the same time so very bad. She could see herself getting attached to him
. Hell, she already was feeling lightheaded in his presence and couldn’t stop thinking about him in every way possible. When he noticed she wasn’t eating and could probably feel her stare he lifted just his eyes to look at her.

“I know you’re hungry.” He gestured to the plate of food in front of her. “You need protein to help heal your wounds, and you’re gonna hurt a guy’s feelings
by not eating what he cooked for you.” With one more wink he went back to eating.

Kenzie picked up her fork
, speared a chunk of scrambled eggs, and brought the fork to her mouth. He was gorgeous, and he could cook.

They ate in relative silence, but she could feel every time he looked up at her. It was like a physical touch, and she wondered if she was this
aware of his every move because they were mates, or if it was just because she had been sheltered so much that any kind of kindness and wanted attention made her more conscious of his actions. Once they were done eating Bram pushed a full glass of orange juice toward her.

“Vitamin C and all that.” The corner of his mouth kicked up
, and her heart rate did the same. “So drink it up.” What a pushy alpha bear, but Kenzie smiled nonetheless. Once she had finished the juice she leaned back in her seat, her belly full for the first time in as long as she could remember. Rook had never wanted her to gain much weight, because she was already on the thicker side. That wasn’t common for her shifter genes seeing as deer were more svelte, but her mother had a more curvy, size sixteen body, and Kenzie had taken after her in that sense. Rook had cut her deep verbally because of her appearance, even going as far as controlling what she ate and how often. A bitter taste settled in her mouth, and her stomach roiled at the thought of him.

It’s only been one day since you have been away from him. Give it time, Kenzie, and stay strong.

“So, how about we start at the beginning so I can get even more pissed at this asshole.”

Although Bram’s expression was serious and harsh, his soft words were phrased in a way he was trying to ease the situation. Kenzie looked down at her empty plate and knew she just needed to get this over with. When it was all said and down he would probably
look at her differently, but of course that was to be expected. Who wanted a mate that was both mentally and physically scarred?

The best place to start was
from the beginning, and so that is exactly what she did.

****

Bram forced himself to give Kenzie the time she needed to tell him what he wanted to know. He knew this had to be hard for her, could smell her emotions as if they were a fresh rainstorm. He took on a relaxed position against the back of his chair, yet he felt anything but. His bear was a manic fucker inside of him, pacing and growling, wanting to lock her away and keep her safe while he extracted his vengeance on the panther. He had always felt this instability inside of him, but being around Kenzie calmed the frantic need to deliver pain and receive it. But knowing what he was about to hear from Kenzie was probably filled with horrors, he felt the calmness dissipate and rage take its place. What he felt right now was like nothing he had ever encountered.

“My parents were mugged and shot right in front of me when I was ten. I ran away after that, because there was no way I wanted another family to raise me. I just couldn’t deal with any of that, and so I took to the streets and lived like that for only a month before I knew I was going to die right there beside the filthy dumpsters.” Her throat worked when she swallowed. “I would eat out of
trashcans and sleep hidden in alleys, afraid that I would be killed or raped by the vagrants that surrounded me.”

Her cheeks heated
, and her embarrassment smelled like a blooming flower.

“I realized death wasn’t the end of existence, and that I would reunite with my family, so I welcomed
it.” She lifted her gaze to his, and his heart clenched at her dejected look. “That was how Rook found me, dirty and hungry, but willing and ready to die. He took me into his home, lavished me with parental affection and made sure I never wanted for anything, but I should have sensed none of that was genuine affection. He was just biding his time. It wasn’t until I turned eighteen that he started to change. He finally showed me who he really was.”

Bram didn’t need her to go into detail about what she meant because he had a pretty good fucking idea on what that was.
The bear in him started to force his way out, to take control and end all of this, but no way in hell he was going to shift in front of Kenzie, not when she was opening herself up to him like she was.

“At first he was gentle and considerate, but with each passing day he started being rough and sadistic.” The pain in her eyes as she stared at him was tangible, and he wanted to go to her, pull her into his arms and kiss her until she never thought of that motherfucker again. “I tried to escape once, but that didn’t end well
, so I never tried it again until last night. I was a coward, still am.”

Bram gripped the edge of the table, leaned forward and let the growl that was poised in his throat out with all the ferocity he felt. The wood beneath his hands cracked and crumbled
, but the discomfort wasn’t enough.

“Did he…” He couldn’t even finish that statement, but it didn’t matter anyway because he knew that fucker had raped and tortured her. She nodded, confirming what he already knew.

“Sometimes, if I resisted, but struggling against him was fruitless, so I just accepted whatever he gave.” A lone tear slipped down her cheek and he rose to go to her, but she lifted her hand to stop him. “Please, just let me finish.” Wiping away the tear she held his stare and continued. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all of this. I’ve never uttered any of this to a living soul.” She closed her eyes and continued. “I quickly realized Rook enjoyed the fight, and so when I wouldn’t resist him he would hit me to get a reaction. It was a never-ending cycle of pain and degradation.”

She stood and gripped the edge of her shirt. He wasn’t sure what she was doing, but when she revealed her belly and the jagged scar that ran beside her belly button sickness took over him.

“This was my punishment for trying to get away. He took a knife to me while he took me in other ways.” She lowered her eyes and let her shirt drop back in place. “My other wounds have healed, and the bruises have disappeared, but I will never forget what he did to me, and I wanted you to know the truth because we are—”

“Mates.”