Page 61 of Tattooed Love

“We both know you are anything but a weak female,”he said, but I knew what I’d sounded like. As if he knew what I was thinking, he opened his mouth... “Fine. If it makes you feel better, when I got beaten up a few months ago, Cole had to take care of me.”

My head snapped up to look him in the eye. “You’re kidding.”

“No. Now drop it. I only told you that so you would stop looking all sad and sorry for yourself.” He moved towards me and kneeled down in front of me. “So there, you have something on me now.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I smirked, but visibly softening.

“Drop it. Now underwear or no underwear. Personally, I don’t mind either.” He winked at me.

“Underwear,” I spat out quickly, and it only caused him to smirk at me.

“What a surprise,” he mocked me, reaching for the waist line of the shorts I was wearing. “Now, this can be as awkward as you let it be.”

“As I let it be? I think you taking my clothes off is just plain awkward, nothing else.” I hated this. I hated having to let someone help me. “Hey, how did I get these clothes on in the first place?” I frowned down at them. I was not wearing this baggy t-shirt yesterday and I sure as hell wasn’t wearing these shorts.

“Tyler changed you after I… after um… yeah, you got sewn up,” he stuttered, slowly pulling my shorts down my thighs.

“Oh great, another moment of glory for me,” I muttered dryly. “My life just gets better and better.”

“Hands up,” Jax ordered. My face twisted in pain as I stretched my arms up and he pulled the t-shirt from me.

The room was steamy, and I was grateful for it; at least I wasn’t cold. Getting to his feet, Jax wrapped an arm around my back to help me up. A very large white bandage was wrapped around my stomach. Spots of blood covered it.

“Should we take it off?” I frowned down at it.

“Um yeah,” Jax said. “But I will take it off in the bath. Wrap your arm around my neck.”

Slowly, I wrapped both arms around his neck and he swooped me up from the ground. Walking to the bath edge, he slowly lowered me into the water.

His muscles flexed as he carried my whole weight. He didn’t look me in the eye and I also noticed how his eyes weren’t raking my body either. Instead, he glued his eyes to the water he was lowering me into.

My body sunk into the spa bath and, once I rested in it, I pulled my arms away from around his neck, and he pulled away from me, kneeling beside the bath.

I was grateful he had done that; I wasn’t sure how I would have managed to bend and lower myself. It would have taken me a while.

Pain was still running through my body, but the hot water numbed it slightly.

Jax cleared his throat. “So, how was school yesterday?”

He leaned into the water and focused on the bandage, as he plucked the tape from the sides.

“Yeah, ok I guess.” I muttered while lowering my head back and looking up at the ceiling. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“I did not.” He pulled the tape off and I flinched as I felt water gush over my wound. I couldn’t bring myself to look down at it, so I just stared up at the ceiling. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Jax and he was glaring at my stomach.

“So, um. What are you doing today?” My voice fluttered as I spoke, and I wanted to slap myself across my cheek –seriously, that was the best chit chat I could come up with?Great job Amber.

“Well, after I bathe you, I’m heading into town. Got some stuff I need to sort out.” He lifted my arm out of the water and began to rub the blood and dirt away with a face washer. “You are on bed rest, in case you didn’t know.”

He was washing my body. Jax, the guy I used to think so little of, was washing my body with a face washer, while I sat back in my underwear.

I turned my head to the side to watch him, “Really? I had no idea.”

“Well, at least you don’t have to go to school,” he said, leaning closer to me and washing the top of my shoulder.

“Um yeah, true.” I shot him a small smile “So this ‘stuff’ to take care of… I am guessing it is club business so we can’t really talk about it.”

He nodded his head and reached out for my other arm, turning it over and washing it. “Can I ask you something?”

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