“I’ll leave you guys.”
“You don’t have to leave, Kenzie.”
She smiled over at Charlie but lifted her hand. “That’s all right.”
What did they expect her to do, sit there and stare dumbly? She would feel more comfortable folding her laundry anyway. She quickly headed down the hallway and into Bram’s room. Bram had refused to let her sleep in the guestroom since they became intimate, and that had been fine until she had that one nightmare.
Now, she was worried every night before she fell asleep that she would wake him up. Sitting on the edge of his bed, seeing the clothes he had bought her in town, and smelling their combined scents fill the room had Kenzie wishing things had been so different.
The bedroom door opened, and she turned around and saw Bram enter the room. He shut the door behind him, smiled at her, and sat beside her on the bed.
“I’m sorry about that. I haven’t had time to talk to my brothers about us.” He lifted his brows, and she laughed lightly at what he was implying. “I didn’t know they would just show up.” He brushed her hair off her shoulder and kissed her cheek. It was such a sweet, almost adolescent act, but she loved it nonetheless.
“Listen, baby, I have to go into town to fix this shit some newbie fucked up. How about you tag along, and afterward, I’ll take you to this little Italian restaurant right outside Sweet Water?” He nuzzled her neck, and she giggled when his day-old scruff tickled her skin. “It’ll take me a few hours to get this squared away, but you can hang out in the trailer on the site.”
“A little Italian restaurant, you say?”
“Oh yeah, Bambi.” He licked the shell of her ear, and she sighed in bliss. “They have amazing linguini.”
“It sounds like a date, our official first date.”
His deep chuckle sent sparks to her core. “Our first, but not our last. Why don’t you put on that pretty little black dress we picked up in town, you know, the one that dips low in the back and shows me those sexy little dimples right above your ass?”
Goose bumps covered her arms and legs. His question wasn’t all that sexual, but the way he phrased it was filled with eroticism. With one more kiss to her shoulder, he stood.
“I thought you told me you only want me wearing that at the house? Thought you’d get too jealous?” She smiled broadly, loving that she could tease him.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Wear a pair of my sweats and a sweater. No, wear a couple of them, in fact.” She nudged his shoulder and grinned wider. “You get ready and meet me in the living room in ten, okay, baby?”
She watched him walk out the door. God, she was so gone for that bear.
28
They had arrived at the construction site an hour ago, and the time seemed to be dragging. It was most likely from the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about Bram taking her to dinner, on her first real date.
Rook had never taken her outside of his home, not unless he was on the run, and he had always insisted that other males were eyeing what was his. Rook’s jealousy had taken over a lot of his life, and hers, and because of his dominating and controlling ways, she had been isolated and depressed, never thinking she was good enough.
The sound of the men working outside had moved to the back of the building they were constructing. Kenzie couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t a little bit pleased they had moved their foul language, crude humor, and ear-piercing construction equipment being used. Bram had come to check on her a few different times, but she assured him she was fine with the three-year-old People magazine.
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
