Page 39 of Djinn in Love

Jasper chuckled and lifted his head. “Djinn usually have an affinity for certain elements. In our family, we’re drawn to fire. It influences our personalities. The Bayats tend to be intense, fierce, and short-tempered. We also like to argue and fight. It’s fun to us. Like I told you, family gatherings tend to get loud andconfrontational. We’re not usually violent, but none of us back down when someone challenges us.”

“And this explains why you and your brother fight like two pre-teen boys? Because it’sfun?”

He shrugged again. “Yes?” His answer was a question rather than a statement.

With another eye roll, Veronica moved over to the couch. “Okay, let’s get you into the bathroom so you can clean up.”

There was a bench in the shower. Jasper could wash off in there.

Jasper pushed himself to his feet, keeping his weight off his left foot. Veronica pointed to it. “And what happened there?”

“I twisted my ankle when I fell. It’s not broken, but I’m afraid we won’t be able to go out tonight.”

“That’s fine,” Veronica said. “We’ll order room service again. That was nice last night.”

Veronica sensed his disappointment, but to be honest, she liked the idea of having him to herself tonight.

She grabbed his left arm, lifted it up so it went around her, and shoved her shoulder into his armpit. “Lean on me and I’ll help you to the bathroom.”

Jasper looked down at her. “You look really pretty.”

Veronica tried to fight the blush that rose in her cheeks, but it was a losing battle. The way he looked at her and the things he said to her made her feel as giddy and awkward as a schoolgirl.

She got him into the bathroom and asked him what clothes he wanted for after his shower. He asked her to grab his pajama pants, a pair of underwear, and a t-shirt out of his suitcase. When Veronica came back into the bathroom, Jasper had already stripped out of everything but his black boxer briefs. She wasn’t even taken aback by the sight of him nearly naked because the huge bruise on his left shoulder and the scrape down his spine made her freeze.

“Jasper, your back,” she gasped.

He grunted. “It’s already healing, I promise. I’ll be good as new in a few more hours.”

Grumbling under her breath, Veronica left his clothes on top of the closed toilet, which was only a couple of feet from the shower. She asked if he needed help, but he said no, so she left the bathroom. But she did linger just outside the door, listening as he turned on the shower. She waited until he was finished, and she heard him climb out before she left the bedroom. Veronica was worried that he would fall in the shower, but when she was sure he would be okay, she went into the kitchen. After a little digging, she found a Ziploc baggie, a kitchen towel, and plenty of ice in the freezer.

By the time Jasper made his way out of the bathroom and settled onto the bed, a pillow crammed behind his back, she’d returned with the ice pack. His brows raised when he saw what she’d brought.

“I’m healing fast, Veronica,” Jasper argued. “I don’t need an ice pack.”

She totally ignored him, grabbing one of the extra pillows from the head of the bed and propping his foot up with it. With a sigh and a faint smile, Jasper didn’t try to stop her as she laid the towel over his swollen left ankle and then arranged the baggie of ice on it.

“There. We’ll leave this for ten or fifteen minutes. It may be healing fast, but this will still help the process along,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. She noticed the scratch on his forehead. “Did you disinfect that cut?”

He shook his head. “I washed my face in the shower. That should be enough.”

Veronica went into the bathroom and dug the mini first aid kit out of her toiletry bag. When she came back into the bedroom with it, Jasper winced.

“That’s not necessary,” he stated. “I washed it out well when I took a shower. And I’m a djinn. We heal fast. And don’t get infections…much.”

She gave him a dry look. “Don’t be a baby. It needs to be cleaned out or it’ll scar. Even if it doesn’t get infected.”

“Scars are sexy,” he said, leaning away when she sat down on the bed beside him.

Veronica held back a laugh. “It’ll only sting for a second. I promise.”

With a put-out sigh, he sat up and let her dab the cut with an alcohol pad. He hissed at the sting, and she leaned forward to blow on it.

“You know you’re just blowing germs into that, don’t you?” he murmured. He leaned a little closer, his nose almost touching her throat. “You smell good.”

She ignored his statement about germs, dabbing the cut again, but shivered when he leaned even closer, and his lips brushed her neck. “Thanks. It’s probably the massage oil the therapist used.”

“Hmmm.”

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