BEARing it All (Wylde Brothers 3)

14Kenzie 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 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 that he was already healed after the fierce fight he had been in last night was a testament that 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 that 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 those specific questions would be answered soon enough, because she was about to give him the gritty rundown 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.