Wounded (In My Dreams) (9 page)

“Okay, cool. Thanks. It would be nice to be able to use that shower.”

“Well now I don’t want to,” he drawled, leaning over and rubbing his head on my shoulder. “I like how you dart out of the bathroom downstairs in just a towel like you’re streaking or something.”

“Brat.”

“Yes, yes, I am.” He kissed my cheek and sat back up, clearing his throat. “I was also wondering if I could start selling extra wood. There’s tons of down or dead trees that I could cut up in the woods. I thought maybe I could keep a pile of it on one side of the driveway with a sign it’s for sale and my number to call.”

“Fine with me.” I bit back a smile, feeling better at least that he’d heard me enough that he was trying to do something for himself instead of just always for me. “Be careful though. There’s poison ivy out there and if you fall into the creek there’s no way I’m coming in after you.”

“Would you call search and rescue?”

“Of course. You take out the garbage,” I drawled before bursting out laughing.

“Brat,” he growled, reaching out to tickle me.

“Yes, yes, I am,” I agreed, batting his hands away. And just like that the fight was over. I thought it was the best way to end a fight… Okay, maybe the
second
best way possible, but I wasn’t going to where else my mind went with that one.

Yeah, it
totally
went to dirty town. How could it not when he was
that
hot?

5

It was one of the days of month four that Jasper came
bursting
into the house shouting, “Lily! Lily, I need help!”

I jumped up from my desk and raced into the kitchen, eyes going wide when he was pacing around scratching himself. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Something’s wrong. I’m all itchy with—”

“Poison ivy,” I groaned and pointed to the porch. “Outside. Stop scratching or you’ll get big, painful blisters.”

“Lily, it hurts,” he whimpered as he did as I said. I quickly raced around the house, grabbing some latex gloves, soap, washcloth, oven mitts, and duct tape.

“Actually come back in here and wash your hands first,” I sighed, wanting to smack him but not willing to get what he had. He nodded and stepped inside, holding out his hands for soap as I turned on the water. I pumped some antibacterial stuff on his hands and tried not to laugh as he bent over the sink funny so he didn’t touch the counter.

Once he was washed and hands dried off with the paper towel I handed him, I shooed him back outside. I pulled the kitchen stool with me and pointed for him to sit down.

“I want to
itch
,” he whined as he shook out his hands.

“Hold them out, you baby,” I drawled. He did, raising an eyebrow at me when I put the oven mitts on him. Then I duct taped them tightly onto his wrists so he couldn’t remove them.

“Okay then,” he chuckled, shaking his head.

“Hey, my mom did that to my sister when she had the chicken pox as a kid,” I defended.

“Didn’t you get them then too?”

“No, my brother and I had them before she was born. I don’t even remember them, I was two months old.”

“Wow, I’ve never heard of someone so young getting them.”

“Me either,” I admitted. “I should ask Guinness about that.”

“You do that after you make me stop itching.” I nodded and put on the latex gloves. “Why do you have those? Give a lot of enemas?”

“Do you want my help or to pick on me?”

“Sorry, sorry, want help,” he whimpered and squirmed on the stool.

I soaped up the washcloth really well and cleaned the bright red areas on his stomach, side, and back. “Sometimes I put cooling Ben-Gay on my hands and I use the gloves so I don’t get it everywhere.”

“Smart. So smart. Oh god, thank you, I love you,” he hissed, moving into my hand. “Please itch me!”

“No,” I chuckled, shaking my head. “Though I have to say I’ve never had a man ask me to do that.”

“Bite me.”

“Been asked for that before,” I drawled, washing off the soap. “Okay, I’m going to run out and get you some calamine lotion. If I come back and see you were itching, I won’t give it to you.”

“Don’t be
mean
to me,” he whined at a high enough pitch I winced.

“I’m going to leave some open bottles of water out here with you. Hydrate yourself and if the burning starts to get really bad, throw some on yourself.”

He simply nodded as I hurried around to do that and grab my purse. I rushed out of the house and broke the speed limit to get to the small grocery store about ten minutes away. I stopped to talk to the pharmacist and grabbed what she recommended. Then I paid and was back in my car, speeding out of the parking lot as fast as I could.

When I got back home and to Jasper, he was pacing on the porch swearing up a storm.

“What took you so long?” he bellowed as I joined him.

“I’m
so
glad you did this during your time of the month,” I muttered as I put on new gloves and opened the bottle of lotion for him.

“My time of the month? What are you talking about? Oh, my growly grouch time or whatever? That’s not a real thing, Lily.”

“Do you want my help or to chew me out? I thought I should check with the pharmacist that I was getting the right stuff, so stop snapping at me.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be good. It just
hurts
.” He plopped down on the stool and stuck out his lower lip. Of course it worked because I was a complete sucker for his charms. He hissed as I spread it on his lower back. “Oh, yes, good. Thank you, thank you, thank you. More please!”

“I’m going, I’m going,” I chuckled, carefully moving around his side so I didn’t touch him with my bare skin. “Why were you in the woods shirtless, you twit?”

“I went in there with jeans on and my boots. Why would I worry about a shirt? I was covered.”

“Apparently
not
,” I drawled, rolling my eyes. “Did you bend over or bump into something? Poison ivy climbs trees you know.”

“
No
, I didn’t know that,” he whined, gesturing to his affected skin with the oven mitt. “I’ll wear a shirt from now on. Everywhere. Always. Long sleeves for life.”

“Don’t push it now. The only reason I work out with you is because you’re shirtless?”

“Really?” His jaw fell open when I nodded. “What would you do if I showed up naked?”

“I’ll walk away with the lotion if you don’t behave,” I threatened, no real malice in my tone.

Needless to say he was a perfect patient after that. Though my mind kept wandering back to the idea of him working out naked for me. Dirty town, I swear I lived there.

After five months, I’d lost all the weight I had last year
plus
the extra I’d gained back. I was still tired a little too often, but things were much better. I chalked it up to working hard and needing the rest.

Things were great though. Jasper was selling his extra wood, still not taking any money from me, and we had a great routine. Some Fridays we would take off our jobs and go see a matinee movie, sneaking in tacos or whatever and calling it our
lunch
break. We tried new restaurants here and there, and when the weather was nice, we’d take a day and go to the zoo.

We both really loved the zoo.

“I’m going to run to Costco before rush hour,” he told me one day in the beginning of September, just after we crossed five months since he’d moved in. “You go ahead and take your nap and I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t forget the—”

“I’ve got your ribs on the list,” he chuckled, shaking his head at me from the stairs since I could still see him from my office.

“You eat more of them than I do,” I defended.

“It’s not my fault you make the best smoked ribs in the world. They’re too good not to keep eating them.” He shot me a wink and headed out.

I finished up my morning word count and ate some leftover chicken, cold, standing up in the kitchen. I couldn’t help but frown at that. It was so easy to fall into old habits… And it made me appreciate Jasper even more. He was
such
a good influence on me. What was I going to do when he left? Got a place of his own and moved on with his life?

It wasn’t like he was going to stay with me forever.

“Way to kill a good mood,” I muttered as I tossed out the bone of my finished chicken leg and tucked the rest back in the fridge. Strangely enough the sadness of reality made me lose my appetite. I washed my hands and went to bed, staring at the empty side of it.

I no longer woke in a panic about my pup being gone. It was a reality now, and while I still missed him a lot, I’d accepted it. It was a part of life. This time I was staring at the empty space because Jasper wasn’t there. Sure we slept in our own beds at night, but we did nap together. Sometimes it was on the couches in the family room since it was cooler down there, or if we had the air conditioning on, we both preferred my bed, now that it was super soft with the box springs.

What
would
I really do when Jasper moved on? Go back to being a mess and stressed out all the time? More importantly, lonely and sad because I missed him? I shivered at the idea, thinking that was pretty much my version of hell. But it just wasn’t realistic to think he’d stay in my guest room forever.

Needless to say, with that being the last thought before I fell asleep, it wasn’t a good nap. I heard movement in the kitchen and decided to get up, help him bring in the groceries. I wiped my eyes, then under my eyes because knowing me I smeared my mascara, and rolled out of bed. As I walked past my office, I saw flowers on the ledge along the stairs. I stopped and looked at the two vases of them, wondering how I hadn’t heard the doorbell.

And who was sending me flowers? My birthday wasn’t for months.

There were more on the shelf in the entryway. Roses and crazy-colored daises this time.

“Jasper? Were we invaded by a florist?” I called out towards the garage.

“No, Lily,” he chuckled deeply from the kitchen. I turned and gasped.

There were flowers
everywhere
. All the vases I had, and some new ones, filled with them. On the counters, on the table, just
everywhere
.

I walked over to the table and buried my face in the tulips. “These are gorgeous.”

“Just like you,” he murmured from behind me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck.

“Jasper,” I breathed as I turned around. “What did you do?”

“I wanted to show you what you mean to me.” He slid his hand in mine and led me to the kitchen island so I could see the rest. “Do you like them?”

“I love them. I love flowers.”

“I know. You always ask me to pick some up but it’s not the same as getting them for you if it’s with your money.”

“Jasper—”

“Let me finish,” he pushed. I nodded and glanced around the room, speechless at his gesture. “This time it was with the money I made selling the wood. I bought these for
you
.”

“Why?” I asked, turning to face him.

“Because subtlety is lost on you,” he drawled as he pinned me against the counter. “You never catch my flirting or you brush it off as a joke. You’re so busy protecting me as if you would
ever
take advantage of me, you don’t see how much I want. How much I love you.”

“I love you too, Jasper. You’re my best—”

“Don’t say friend,” he warned, his eyes getting dark. “I’m not just your friend and we both know it.” I nodded, unable to deny that I wanted him, but knowing there was
no
reality that would have someone like him really want
me
. “Please don’t reject me again. I swear I’m losing my mind that you’re right here in front of me, all I’ve ever wanted and you can’t see it.”

“I just don’t get why
me
,” I whispered, searching his eyes for answers.

“Because you’re perfect,” he murmured as he kissed my cheek. “You’re smart, funny, adventurous, sweet, have a heart of gold, and so generous. I wish you could see yourself from my eyes for just one day, see what I see.”

“You’re crazy,” I moaned as he kissed up to my ear and down my neck. “You’re certifiable.”

“We can be crazy together because you’re far from sane.”

He had a point there.

But I wasn’t an idiot. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, if you’re sure.”

“Yes,” he hissed as his hands moved up my stomach and to my breasts. “I won’t ever hurt you, Lily. I just want you, nothing else, I promise.”

“Uh-huh,” I moaned before he lowered his mouth to mine. He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me like a man dying of need, with passion like I’d never experienced and only written about. I melted against him, finally understanding what that sentiment meant.