The smell of food had my eyes opening and then I heard the TV playing as I laid in the bed. I just started to rise when the bedroom opened and Crusher walked in, carrying a tray.
“Good, you’re awake. You need to take your pain meds but you need to eat something first.” I listened and watched as he set the tray on the nightstand and grabbed the pill bottle, shaking a couple out and holding out his hand for me to take them.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked, then popped the pills and reached for the glass of water on the tray.
“‘Bout six hours. You were worn out from the drive, your body needed the rest. Now here eat and you will feel better.” He grabbed the tray and held it out to me.
“Hold that thought. Bathroom first.” I gingerly threw my legs over the bed and sat up.
“Let me help you.” He reached down and grabbed my waist, lifting me to a standing position.
“I would have gotten up on my own. Why are you here? Don’t you have a house?” I knew that was bitchy but my thigh was hurting and he was being sweet. I didn’t want sweet, it reminded me of my injury. I wanted the Crusher I could spar with verbally to take my mind off the pain.
“I told you I was going to take care of you. Would have been more convenient at my house but this is what you wanted.” I made my way to the bathroom and entered, closing the door behind me.
Fine. He’d get tired of driving up and down the road and stop coming by. I did my business and on the way out stopped to look in the mirror. I shouldn’t have. There were dark circles under my eyes, my skin was pale, and my hair looked as if birds had made a nest in it. I needed a shower, I felt gross and ugly. Well, that should make him leave. I walked out of the bathroom to Crusher leaning back on the bed, the tray resting on his lap.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I sat on the side of the bed and swung my good leg up, then with care put my hands under my thigh and lifted my other leg onto the bed.
“Sitting here to make sure you eat.”
“I can’t sit that on my leg.” Instead of answering me he reached on the bottom of the tray and pulled the bars down so the tray would sit up over my lap. After positioning it across me he leaned back and turned on the TV.
“Now eat,” he said while flipping channels.
“Bossy much,” I muttered and picked up the spoon and dipped it in the soup.
“Not if you do what I tell you to do.” He turned and winked at me.
I ate and he watched TV, neither of us said a word. When I was done I folded the legs on the tray and set it on the nightstand, then leaned back in bed. We remained that way for a while. I watched Crusher out of the corner of my eye and he looked relaxed as he lounged. He wore gym shorts and nothing else. His chest was tanned and bare, the only hair started just under his belly button and disappeared into the waistband of his pants. Both his arms held tattoos from shoulder to elbow and the only other tattoo I knew was on his body was on his back, it was the Black Hawk emblem. He was muscled and fit and if I closed my eyes I could almost imagine the feel of his skin.
“You getting tired again, baby?” I startled and opened my eyes.
“Umm...a little but I want a shower and to wash my hair. I feel gross.”
“You’re beautiful, baby.” Crusher said and got off the bed and walked around to help me up. This time I put my hand out for him to help me. I lost my balance and he caught me and held me against him, my hands splayed against his chest. When I looked up at him, the brown of his eyes were darker and focused on my mouth. He leaned down and captured my mouth with his and the kiss was tender at first, then his tongue lick across my lower lip and I opened my mouth, his tongue entering, the kiss deepening. One of Crusher’s hands grabbed my waist while the other went into the hair at the back of my head and he held me to him. I was lost in the kiss, lost in him. The pain in my leg forgotten as he took what he wanted but gave me more than I thought I could ever feel. I’d kissed Crusher before but this was different, it was a kiss with a message, one I didn’t know if I was ready to answer.
I moved my hands over his chest, his shoulders and back, again the warmth of his skin was comforting. As my body melted into his and my legs grew weak, he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. We stared into each other’s eyes while we caught our breathes. He was the first to recover and he steadied me and stepped back.
“The doctor said you could take the bandage off, just don’t rub the area with a cloth or anything, just to let the water flow over it until you get the stitches out. I’ll call the doctor and set up an appointment for the stitches to be removed.” While he talked he got me clothes out of the drawers, then walked in the bathroom and I heard the shower start before I moved out of the spot I was standing in.
“Okay, I can handle it from here.” I got a towel out and put it on the counter.
“I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me. Sit on the bench and use the sprayer so you don’t slip.” Crusher walked out and pulled the door closed behind him.
After taking the bandage off and my clothes, I got in the shower and let the water run over me. I washed and conditioned my hair, then washed my body. Spotting the razor, I looked down at my legs, yeah, they could use it among other parts. After the last few swipes of the razor, I rinsed again and stood and shut the water off.
“You okay in there,” Crusher voice came through the door.
“Yeah, just finishing up,” I yelled back as I stepped out of the shower. I dried off, only patting the skin over the wound. By the time I put my clothes on and wrapped a towel around my wet hair I was exhausted. When I entered the bedroom Crusher sat on the end of the bed with a fresh bandage and the tube of cream the doctor had given me.
“Get comfortable on the bed and I’ll fix you up.” When I was in place he sat on the side and laid the items down in the order he wanted them. “Feel better now?”
“Yes, and the sprayer was nice. When did that get put in?” When Sami had brought in the house I had been shocked even after Crusher had told me the club had moved me in. Everything was put away, not a box in sight, and he had been right about the refrigerator too. The members’ ol’ ladies had it full with food. It humbled me.
“Flirt, he’s good with his hands.” He had the tube open and gently began to apply the cream.
“I heard.” Crusher chuckled at my words. “Women talk.”
“I bet they do.” His head was bent as he concentrated on what he was doing.
“Yeah, I never saw so many happy women around town until you guys started coming home.” I chuckled and his head snapped up and he looked at me and stopped what he was doing.
“Carly, I’ve slept with a lot of women, I’m not going to deny that. But I don’t want to talk about them. You’re the only woman I’ve slept with who had any effect on me, the others never mattered.” He bent his head back down and finished applying the bandage as I watched, speechless. I would think back to this moment later on and realize it was when I fell in love. Just not now, I wanted to remain in my world of denial.
After taking the tray down, I made sure the house was locked up and headed back upstairs. When she started talking about the women in town, I couldn’t help but feel a little pissed that we’d been gossiped about but then that quickly passed. It’s not like we didn’t share the info if a woman was easy or had a little kink to her. We’d shared girls growing up. But women had meant one thing to me before, a means to obtain a release. Was I proud of that? No. Do I regret any of it? No. I never forced or hurt a woman I had been with and when I walked away, I left them exhausted, pleasured, and with a smile on their face.
I walked in the bedroom and she was stretched out with her eyes closed. “You take your pills again?” I asked as I moved to the empty side of the bed.
“Uh huh, you can go home now, it’s getting late.” She never opened her eyes, only spoke. I didn’t answer her, I folded back the covers and laid down on the bed. Her head turned and her eyes opened.
“What are you doing?”
“You didn’t want to come to my house so I am staying here.”
“You don’t need to stay here and take care of me.” While she talked I scooted over and slid my arm under her and pulled her to me. She placed her head on my chest and reached down and pulled the covers over us. We’d turned the lamp off while we watched TV earlier so I grabbed the remote I had on the table by me and flipped it off, throwing the room into darkness.
“Told you before, I got you and I’m not going anywhere.”
“You can’t push yourself in my life and make me do what you want.” I could feel her yawn against my chest as she threw her arm across my stomach.
“Carly?”
“Carly?” I still received no response.
“I already have, baby. I already have.” I smiled into the darkness and closed my eyes.