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Kenzie could look into Bram’s eyes and see the worry that she would leave him. She had woken up a few times in the middle of the night to see him staring at the ceiling wide awake.
When she questioned him, he hadn’t lied or held anything back. He had been honest with her about his fears. Right here was where she was meant to be.
She heard the sound of the door opening behind her, and her smile grew. “I told you I’d be okay, Bram. You don’t have to keep checking on me, although if you want to keep me company—”
The chair she was in was spun around violently, and she stared wide-eyed at Rook. Marek and Tank were nowhere to be seen, and that brought a fresh wave of fear inside her. Was Bram okay? What about the other men?
“Well, well, well.” Rook let his eyes travel down her body and lifted his eyes to hers again. “It looks like it took less than two weeks for you to give yourself to the bear.”
She saw no wounds on him, verifying that he had been hiding out long enough so he could heal. He was just waiting for the right moment to get her alone, and here she was, right out in the open yet closed off from others. She went to stand, but Rook’s sharp voice stopped her.
“You’re going to sit right there and do exactly what I say. Do you understand?” He placed his palms flat on the table and leaned in so his face was right in front of hers. “You’ve been a very bad girl, Kenzie, and caused me a lot of pain.” His eyes searched her face, and she was paralyzed under his stare. “You’ve become tainted by that fucking bear. His scent is all over you.” He looked at her throat. “And his fucking mark is on your neck.” In a voice menacingly low, Rook said, “If I can’t have you, no one can.” He reached behind her, grabbed a chunk of hair, and pulled her head back. A cry left her, and she gripped his hand, hoping to ease some of the pain, but only finding more agony. “Get the fuck up.”
He yanked her up by her hair before she could do as he said. Eyes watering and heart plummeting that she was back in this situation, Kenzie was pulled roughly toward him. Rook brought her close to him, and she instantly repelled against his touch. He smelled nothing like Bram’s addictive scent. Instead, Rook smelled like death and decay, pain and degradation.
“Did you actually think I wouldn’t come for you?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer as he held her head back so she was forced to look at him. “No, you knew I’d come, and you knew I wouldn’t let you get away again.”29Bram yelled at Zac, who was hauling a thick piece of lumber over to the foundation. Luckily, there had been an easy enough solution to fix the problem, but now it was just a matter of getting all the shit straight before they could resume with the construction of the Hampton building.
He watched a few more of the guys level things off before he turned to Charlie and Ford, and said, “I’m gonna head out early, since everything is good to go. I am taking Kenzie to that Italian restaurant right outside town.”
Ford grinned, and Charlie slapped him on the back.
“I am still stunned to shit that you found yourself a mate, brother.” Ford crossed his arms over his chest and looked pleased with his statement. Bram scowled at the middle brother, which only made Charlie and Ford laugh harder.
He knew his brothers meant well. They had their mates, a little ocelot and a red fox shifter, and Charlie’s mate was even expecting a baby.
He didn’t tell them about her past, because he knew even though he loved his brothers and didn’t keep anything from them, that Kenzie’s story wasn’t his to tell.
“Yeah, yeah. Just go to your mate.” Ford stretched his back and grinned. “I’m heading out too. I’m taking Talia out of town, maybe to Colorado Springs or Steamboat for the weekend. After the whole Mina fiasco, I just want some alone time with her, ya feel me?”
Charlie made an agreeing grunt. “I’ll hang back and make sure this shit actually gets done. Ary’s been having a bad case of every hour sickness and was finally sleeping well when I left.”
“Every hour sickness?” Ford asked almost absently as he gathered up his things to leave.
“She has morning sickness all the time, not just in the morning. I don’t know what fucker decided to peg it as morning sickness, because it sure as hell comes and goes at all hours of the day. Hence the every hour sickness.”
