Marked (Primal Obsessions #2) - Cara Wylde Page 0,15

was the most exciting thing that had happened to us in a while. Too bad she’d made her entry into our lives by totaling Krista’s car and stealing Milo. As I felt myself become more and more obsessed with her, I made a mental note to always remember that Brooks and Milo were suffering because of her. That she was the reason Brooks had lost his lover and Milo had lost his mother. I could never forget that.

As I approached the cabin, I heard the distinctive sound of something hard and blunt hitting the wall rhythmically.

“Fucking bitch,” I muttered as I unlocked the door and stepped inside. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She screamed and dropped the knife. I threw the food tray on the table and rushed to her. She made herself small in a corner. I picked the knife off the floor and inspected it. The blade wasn’t sharp in the least. I would’ve laughed, but I was too angry. I touched the dent she’d managed to make in the wall.

“Trying to escape, huh?”

“I’m sorry…”

The knife was so blunt and useless that she hadn’t managed to do much damage. Even if I hadn’t come to check on her and she carved into the wall for hours, she wouldn’t have made a hole in it. I threw the knife to the other side of the room, and turned to her, seething.

“And here I am, like an idiot. I brought you food, I came to check up on you, make sure you’re fine. And this is how you repay me?” Well, I was exaggerating a bit. But it sounded cool, didn’t it? I was the good guy in this story. “Do you think I’m an idiot, Rosalie? Do you think I’m a fool?

She shook her head.

“Answer me, bitch!” I raised my hand at her but didn’t strike. I couldn’t. Not when she recoiled in fear, started crying, and covered her head with her arms. “Answer me!”

“I don’t… I didn’t… Please don’t hit me. Please don’t hit me.”

My hand fell at my side. My shoulders sagged. For a minute, I stood there, stunned, watching her cry, watching her shake like she genuinely feared for her life. Brooks, Lincoln and I had brought her here to break her, to punish her for what she’d done to Krista and the cub. It seemed to me, though, that Rosalie Olsen was already broken.

I bit the inside of my cheek. I still wanted her, but not quite like this. I took a couple of steps back to give her space. She sensed me, and little by little, she calmed down. I remembered the food I’d left on the table – leftovers from my dinner last night. The fish steak was cold, and the baked potatoes had hardened. I’d also brought her a bottle of water, and when I approached her again with my gift of nourishment, she looked up at me and grabbed the water first. I placed the tray at her feet, then I sat down on the floor myself.

“Eat. You’ll feel better.”

“Thank you.”

I watched her dig in with her hands because I hadn’t brought any cutlery. There should have been forks and spoons where that blunt knife had come from, but she didn’t seem to care, so I didn’t care either. She was sexy like that… Eating with her hands. I waited for a few minutes, and when she didn’t say anything, I naturally started to get bored. I sighed. She ignored me. I reached out and tucked a strand of black hair behind her tiny ear. She flinched but didn’t pull away. I sensed that she didn’t want to enrage me again. Taking advantage of that, I ran the back of my hand over her cheek, then down her jaw and throat. She’d found an old shirt in the wardrobe and she’d put it on. It was so large that when I touched her shoulder, the rough fabric slipped down to her elbow. I studied the bruises peppering her soft skin with furrowed brows.

“I’m going to ask you some questions now,” I said in a calm, polite tone, “and you’re going to answer truthfully. If this is going to work between us, then we need to establish some trust.”

She looked at me with those deep blue eyes of hers, and eventually nodded.

I pointed at her bruised eye. “Is this why you stole a car and ran away?” She nodded. “Please use your words, Rosalie.”

“Yes. I… I didn’t have a choice.”

“Abusive