Page 14 of Take

Instead, he pierced it through the cloth and ripped it in half then poured whiskey on it. Without warning, he dug the piece of soaked cloth into my wound.

“Jesus.” My vision blurred and I would’ve been halfway across the bed if he hadn’t anticipated that reaction and clamped down hard on my thigh.

“You don’t like it, don’t get shot next time.”

I bit my lower lip hard to keep myself from saying something back. Don’t let him make you react.

By the time Jasper finished cleaning the wound, it was pretty numb. He poured more whiskey on it then got up and went to his bag.

I think the only way I got through it was repeating over and over in my head what an insensitive bastard he was. But he was right. I should’ve been more careful and I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more, that I hadn’t been or Jasper’s comment. I decided to focus on Jasper’s comment because he was being a dick and I was betting most chicks fell at his feet and spread their legs as soon as he smiled at them.

“Go shower and then I’ll bandage it.”

I was going to tell him I’d heal his leg first so I could get it over with and then decided he could suffer a little longer. I scooted off the bed, went into the bathroom and shut the door. I searched for the lock—no lock.

I paused for a second remembering when Jasper walked in on me before. The way his eyes roamed over me as if I was . . . like he wasn’t repulsed by my scars.

I sharply spun away from the door, avoiding the mirror as I took off my clothes, and then turned on the taps. The bottom of the tub looked like it had a ring of dirty soap scum around it, but I hadn’t much of a choice. I stepped under the spray, tensing a few seconds as the water hit my wound and then grabbed the motel’s cheap packaged soap off the ledge. I ripped off the paper and quickly scrubbed myself. My hair needed washing to get rid of all the dust from the road, but the motel had no shampoo or conditioner and I was forced to use the soap.

I finished up and had one leg out of the tub when the door opened. I grabbed the edges of the shower curtain and pulled it around me.

“Clothes,” he said and placed a pile down on the counter. He smirked at me. “Might get in the habit of locking the door.”

“There is no bloody lock,” I shouted. I froze, realizing I’d shouted. God, I hadn’t shouted since . . . since Drake cut it out of me. I wasn’t allowed to shout or scream or fight.

He lifted his hand and wiggled the gold sliding latch at the top of the door. Shit. Who puts a lock there? “If you want me to see you naked, all you have to do is ask, sunshine. I’m a pretty straight forward guy. Don’t need the games.”

Games? He thought I was playing games? I wish like hell I could easily lower my head and say ‘yes, sir’—but I couldn’t. Jasper riled me way past that ability to keep my mouth shut. “Get out!”

He chuckled and nodded to the shower curtain. “Orange doesn’t really suit you. I’d stick with reds. You look fuckin’ beautiful in red.” What? He’d never seen me in red. “I’m thinking spiky black heels too. Maybe we could pick some up and—”

I picked up the bar of soap, but before I could throw it at him, he was gone. I was so angry with myself for rising to his words. He was enjoying himself watching me flounder and I had to get my shit back in control then call Xamien and find out what was going on. Then I had to get as far away from Jasper as I could.

I left the water on straight hot as I dried off, and by then, the entire bathroom was in a dense fog of heat. I pulled on the over-sized V-neck shirt he left me—his. I lifted the boxer shorts into the air—his. I felt the small pull upward at the corner of my mouth as I stared at them. He expected me to wear his boxers? I glanced at my shorts covered in my blood and then back at the boxers.

The thought of wearing his boxer shorts . . . How they had been next to his thighs, had his cock brush against the material . . .

Stop.

I yanked them on, rolled them at the top so they would stay on my hips and then went and turned off the hot water which wasn’t hot anymore. I came out of the bathroom and stopped. Jasper was leaning back against the headboard, arms crossed behind his head while he watched some Spanish news channel on the television. He looked like a king, confident, casual and completely ignored me.

I made it to the side of the bed and sat before he said anything.

“Long shower.”

I shrugged. No doubt he knew exactly what I’d done.

“Don’t worry. I thrive off cold showers. And if I’m real cold, I’ll have you to warm me up.” Before I could come back at him with anything, he said, “You going to put those healing hands on me now? Been sitting here thinking about them touching me for the last hour you’ve been using up my hot water.”

“It wasn’t an hour.” My lips pursed together. I was not going to play into his hands. We needed some ground rules before I touched him. “No kissing me again—ever.”

He lowered his arms from behind his head. “Hey, I only take what wants to be given, sunshine. And I’m only referring to women. Anything else . . . I pretty much just take.”

Yeah, I was betting he took anything he wanted and didn’t think twice about it. “Well, I didn’t ask to be kissed.”

His brows rose. “Might want to rethink that answer because you’re lying to yourself and to me.”

I ignored him. “And you’re sleeping on the floor.”

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