by Jenika Snow
“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.”
Oh. God. He was too much for her, saying things that she couldn’t handle, and too male. He didn’t mince his words, and made no apologies.
He stared into her eyes for several long seconds and then let his hand drop from her cheek. He gently gripped her arms and slowly eased her away from him as he stood. For a moment all Kenzie could do was stare at his retreating back. Immobilized from her lust and disappointment at their almost kiss, she felt like a puddle of liquid on the ground. Right before he stepped into the hallway he stopped, keeping his back to her. The light created shadows across the muscular, inked expanse.
“And, Kenzie?”
Blinking past the haze that had overcome her, she slowly stood. He looked over his shoulder at her.
“I’m not letting you run from me. I want you here. I need you here.” He pierced her with his striking blue eyes. “I can keep you safe, and I know you know this, too. You’re mine, Kenzie.” Her chest rose up and down frantically. “You know it, and I know it, and before this is all said and done I’ll have you under me, my cock buried in your sweet little body, and my mark covering your flesh.”
Her hand landed on her throat at his blunt, distorted, and obscene words. At that moment she was looking at the animal, speaking to his bear, and he was letting her know that she was his. That should have scared the shit out of her, had her running in the opposite direction, and reminding her of the horrors she’d faced at the hands of Rook, but she didn’t move a muscle. This was nothing like what she felt with the panther, because Bram was nothing like Rook. There was so much truth in his words that her knees threatened give out.
“Come on, little deer, and let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”
He turned fully around and held his hand out to her. Kenzie looked at it then back in his face. She took that first step toward him, knew this was wrong on so many levels, but couldn’t stop herself. Her deer was taking the reins, following its instincts and going toward the first person she’d felt safe with since she was a little girl.
What in the hell was she doing, and would she come out of this unscathed?
Chapter Four
Bram watched the change of emotions go over Kenzie’s face. He should have been gentler with her, not so demanding and possessive, and should have bitten his tongue, but dammit he wasn’t going to let her run from him or her past, and he had seen that she was going to do just that. He didn’t know what that motherfucker had done to her, but his instincts told him she had been harmed beyond words. Yeah, he may have been too coarse, but he didn’t know any other way to be. Bram had never had a mate, had never wanted to care for another person as much as he wanted to take care of her. He didn’t know how scarred she really was, and what unspeakable things that fucking panther had done to her, but he would find out, and then he would hunt the prick down and kill the motherfucker.
The shifting emotions in her could have brought Bram to his knees.. What he needed to do was go slow with her, ease her into the fact that they were mates. She might know that they were meant to be together, and that his bear wouldn’t let her go, but he didn’t think she truly knew the lengths he would go to keep her safe, and to make sure that she never felt pain again in her life. This was fast, intense, and like nothing he had ever experienced, but that was the way of mating, and he wasn’t going to let it pass him by. For the first time in his fucked-up life Bram was slowing down and embracing what was right in front of him.
Hell, he had lived a life of violence, getting drunk, and fucking random females to pass the time. He wasn’t proud of his life, especially not when his girl was standing right in front of him smelling of her sweet and innocent desire for him.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to frighten you further.” Running a hand over his jaw he waited for her to make another move. She affected him like no other, made him want to do unspeakable acts, but it had only taken a couple of hours for him to fall to his knees and give her the world. She looked down and smoothed her hands over the remains of her shirt. He told her he would wait until she was rested to know what had happened, but maybe she needed to tell him. “Do you want to tell me what happened with him?” Smothering her was not what he was going for, and a surefire way for her to book it out of there was for him to push her too fast and too hard.
“I—” She took a deep breath and lifted her head and looked up at him. There was indecision and hesitance written across her face.
“Listen, you don’t have to say anything right now. I know I can be an assertive ass on the best of days, but I am a male of my word, and I will protect you and keep you safe until I can’t breathe any longer.” Bram hoped she would eventually trust him enough to tell her what the shifter had done to her, but he didn’t blame her for her uncertainty. Just thinking about the male had blind fury coursing through him. Taking a deep, somewhat calming breath, had him relaxing enough that he didn’t want to rush out of the house and find the fucker.
“Let me show you where you’ll be sleeping,” he said again. For a moment he thought she might object, and he felt another flash of fear. It was a strange emotion, and one he didn’t care for, but his mate brought out a lot of unusual emotions inside of him. He couldn’t help but be protective of her, but even if she wasn’t his mate, he would have taken care of her given her past. He was glad she didn’t put up fight because he could see the exhaustion on her face, and he was hanging on by a thread himself.
He pushed one of the guest bedroom doors open and turned the light on. It was the smallest room in the cabin, but it was the one right next to his, and if she wasn’t going to be sleeping in his room tonight he wanted her as close as possible to him.
“I have a pair of sweats and a tee you can wear tonight, but tomorrow if you’re feeling up to it we can go into town and get you some clothes.”
Maybe it was presumptuous of him to assume she would just stay with him, but he was fucking serious when he said he wasn’t going to let her go. Finding a mate was a big fucking deal, and he had been graced with having Kenzie walk into his life. That didn’t happen every day to a shifter, and he was grateful fate had given him to her. She may have had a broken past, but he was going to make sure she had a bright future, whether she wanted to believe him or not. He left her in the room long enough to grab some clothes and headed back to the guest room. For a moment all he could do was stare at her as she sat on the edge of the bed. The scent of her tears was profound, and he found himself moving forward and kneeling in front of her. She didn’t pull away when he grabbed her hands and covered them with his.
“You have nothing to be afr
aid of, not now, Kenzie.” He wanted her to trust him, to open up and let him carry the weight of her burden, but he also knew he was asking a hell of a lot. When she lifted her head, and he saw the product of her sorrow, he couldn’t help himself.
Bram leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. She moved her head away from him, and her surprise slammed into him. After a suspended moment she relaxed, and now it was his turn to be surprised as hell. She didn’t move for several long moments, and just stared at him. There was clear shock and uncertainty in her eyes, and it was the latter that made him feel like a bastard for even trying anything on her. But then he had seen her broken expression, and all he had wanted to do was take that away from her and replace it with something softer, sweeter.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was low, filled with curiosity and apprehension.
“I just want to make you feel better, Kenzie.” He leaned in again but she stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Not like that. I would never take anything from you that you don’t willingly give.”
He kept his eyes locked on hers, trying to convey with his eyes that what he said was the truth. She was a scarred and scared little deer, and even though he could smell the reality of what he knew to be a painful life, he also scented a very strong female, one that could hold her own if given space and encouragement. She was a fighter, his little fighter, and pride filled him that she had survived. “I just want to take away that sad look, Kenzie. Just a kiss. Nothing more, nothing less.”
If she turned him away, slapped his face, and screamed that he had no right to ask her for anything, Bram would understand fully. But Bram could scent that although they had just met, she knew his words, his actions, and everything he did toward her was all with the best of intentions. He just wanted her safe and sound beside him, and that she was his mate had him wanting to do it at lightning speed, but he could and would be patient with her. After a long moment she took a deep breath and smiled hesitantly at him.
“You’re nothing like him.” Her words were low and filled with emotion, and before he could stop himself he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb back and forth over her soft skin. She didn’t lean forward and allow his kiss, but that was okay, because she was letting him have this one joy. She melted against him and closed her eyes. He may not know the pain she had endured, whatever it was, but he knew the feeling of hopelessness inside, the emotion that ate away at a person until he didn’t think there would be anything left.
“I’m so, so sorry, little deer,” he whispered, and his heart broke as he saw the lone tear slip down her cheek. When he pulled back and cupped her other cheek in his hand, he was somewhat relieved to scent not just sorrow anymore, but relief, too.
“Thank you.” She closed her eyes, and her dark, long lashes created crescents across her creamy cheeks.
Brushing his thumbs across her cheeks and gathering her tears, he said, “For what, sweetheart?” He leaned in and kissed each of her closed eyes, and his heart slammed hard against his ribs when he saw her lips tilt in a smile.
“For everything. Protecting me, fighting for me, and now taking me into your home.” Kenzie opened her eyes, and he was once again struck by the gorgeous color. “No one has ever showed me so much kindness.”
Bram wasn’t going to remind her that she was his mate. She could deny it, push it away, and try to avoid the truth of the matter, but in the end it wouldn’t make one difference because she was his.
“I wouldn’t have done it any other way, especially when that person is you.” He leaned in and kissed her once more. His body was on fire for more, but now was not the time to let his bear have control and do whatever the hell it wanted. She was hurt, and she needed her rest. “The bathroom is just down the hall, second door on the left.” He stood and grabbed the clothes he had set on the bed for her. “If you feel like getting cleaned up that’s fine, but don’t take a shower since I just stitched you up.” She stared up at him, and he handed her the clothes. “Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat.”
She shook her head, and a tendril of hair fell forward. Bram reached out and brushed the blonde lock away from her forehead. Her flesh was butter soft, and he forced himself to pull his hand away or he would never stop touching her. When she didn’t say anything in response he nodded once and turned to leave her in privacy, but her soft voice stopped him right before he stepped back into the hallway.
“Thank you again, Bram.”
He curled his hands into fists and hung his head. Eyes closed and breathing now increased from hearing her say his name, Bram cleared his throat and walked away before he stepped back into that room and did something that would ruin everything before it even got started.
****
Kenzie watched Bram leave the room and shut the door behind him. For several moments all she did was sit there and stare at the wall. Looking down at the clothes Bram had given her, tears welled in her eyes. He was a good male, a very good male, and the longer she stayed with him the worse things would get. This was not a time to be selfish and jump in the arms of another shifter. Kenzie needed to be independent and stand on her own two feet, run far from Rook, and lead him away from her bear.
Her bear.
It was easy to think about that when in the comfort of his home, but ultimately he wasn’t hers, not really. She would take his hospitality and spend the night, but in the morning she would leave the town of Sweet Water and Bram Wylde behind, the bear shifter that had turned her world upside down in a matter of hours, and that was not a good thing, at least not at this point in her life.
Kenzie stood and walked over to the door. There was no noise coming from the other side, and when she opened it and looked down the hallway she saw the lights had been dimmed. After slipping quietly down the hall and to the bathroom, she leaned against the closed door and closed her eyes. What she wouldn’t give for a hot shower to wash the blood, sweat, and stench of Rook off of her. She didn’t want to risk opening up another stitch, so she cleaned up as best she could in the sink, and put on the sweats and t-shirt Bram had given her. The clothing smelled like him, and even though they were three times too big for her, she felt as if she was wrapped around him.
Once she was back in her room and under the covers, she thought she would have fallen right asleep, but every time she closed her eyes all she could see was Rook coming after her with that evil glint in his eyes. There were too many times to count when she had woken up from nightmares. There had never been anyone there to comfort her as she wiped away her tears and tried to realize she was no longer trapped in her dream. Would she dream about her parents being shot to death right in front of her? Would she dream of Rook’s cruel form of sexual sadism that left her body covered in bruises and his bite marks covering her skin?
“Why didn’t you leave, Kenzie?” She whispered softly in the night and covered her face with her hands. That was the same question she had asked herself over and over again, and quite frankly she was sick of it. There had been a lot of factors involved, but fear and lack of resources had been the main ones. What would she do out there in the world alone? A job was a first priority because without money she would be living beside a dumpster like she had been doing at ten years old. Letting her hands back on the bed and staring at the ceiling, she didn’t want to think anymore. All Kenzie wanted to do was go to sleep and pray that things looked clearer and brighter in the morning, but then again she’d always hoped that before she fell asleep, and it had never come true. Kenzie closed her eyes and silently asked whoever was listening that she have a peaceful sleep for once in her ruined life.
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.
