"For what?" he rests his chin on the top of my head.
"For taking care of me like this and for...checking me so the doctor wouldn't have to... touch me."
"Sweets, I'm going to be the only man to ever touch you. You don't have to thank me for that at all. It's my job to care for you."
He had me right up until he said something about it being his job. Is this just an obligation to him? If that's true than it doesn't matter if my tits are out or not, he isn't going to care. His hands run down my neck and over my shoulders and lower. His hands drop until he's the one covering my breasts.
"Jack! What are you doing?"
"Shh. Just lie back." His touch almost burns me and makes me have to squeeze my thighs together to keep from vocalizing what I am feeling. His palms start working over me and I can't help but lean into his touch, arching my back a bit.
"Jack," my voice is breathy and low and I don't recognize it, "I don't think...,"
"When I was shot sometimes sitting in a warm bath would help take the ache away from...well, all of the place I was shot."
"H...how many times did you get shot?" I almost hold my breath wanting him to tell me more.
"Six times, two in the shoulder, two in the back and one in the thigh and fleshy part of my arm but those were just flesh wounds." At his words my hands which had dropped to his thighs tighten up like maybe subconsciously I can keep him safe by holding him tighter. It's ridiculous but I can't stop myself.
"How long were you out?"
"Couple of days, maybe a week. It gets a little blurry and I have to rely on other people's memories of what happened then. Doc came in and fixed me up and Libby took over from there." I remind myself that I didn't know him at the time so there is no reason for me to be jealous that my sister did. I should be thankful that someone was there to take care of him.
"How did it happen?" I whisper out even softer than I ask the other questions. His hands stop but don't leave me and I think for a few seconds that he isn't going to answer me.
16
____________
Jack
"I was on a mission. I was tracking down everyone whose names we found in a book owned by a Russian mafia boss. I was trying to find more information about the man who betrayed us and put our names on a list he sold to the highest bidder."
"Why would that be a problem? If your name was on a list?"
"One of the reasons we were able to operate so well is because not a lot of people knew we were coming. No one knew who or where we were. As long as no one knew we could sneak into cities and towns, compounds and houses. But as soon as they could ID us, that surprise was gone. People started looking for us, hunting us. Anyone who has ever suspected us of fucking something up for them would be after not only us but our families, friends, lovers - everyone."
She gasps when the reality of what having my name on that list really means. I don't know if I understood until I had something to lose.
"We were retired in a very public manner so everyone would know we no longer posed a threat. For a few months we went off our separate ways and tried to live normal lives -whatever the hell that means. I tried to settle down." I tried to settle period.
"Your fiancé?"
"Yeah, I...," damn, it's hard to make her understand what I was feeling, why I was so god damn desperate for something to hang on to, "made a mistake."
"A mistake?"
"I let my drive for a family blind me to the kind of person I was with. It damn near blinded me enough that I settled for something fake instead of waiting for the real thing."
Which I have in my arms right now. I don't think she is ready for me to tell her all that just yet.
"The best thing that ever happened to me was walking in and finding Don balls deep in my ex-fiancé."
She doesn't say anything but I can tell she's still thinking about what I said. Fuck, I hope I didn't make a mistake telling her all of this.
"So how did you get shot?"
"Someone started killing us off, someone who knew that we would be able to identify them when it came out that they were the person who sold us out. Other people want to know who that might be because of the other things this mystery man has done like trafficking rings - guns, drugs, and humans."