“Right where my tattoo is,” she gritted, pointing at the feather tattoo on her
ribs.
I moved my hands toward her ribs to feel for any tenderness when she
protested. “Don’t, don’t!” she panicked, cringing into herself even more. Fucking
hell.
“On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?” I asked. I hoped I hadn’t fucking
broken them more.
“Six,” she gritted.
“Jaden,” I warned. She was lying. Jaden wouldn’t bitch about pain unless it was
an eight or above. She wasn’t a little bitch like others were.
“Okay, nine,” she finally admitted. Not good.
“Is it difficult to breathe?”
“No,” she said, biting her lip now. “Just hurts when I do.”
“I’ll call Sid. Do not move,” I said and immediately started dialing.
“Yes?” Sid answered on the first ring.
“Jaden’s in pain. Bring your kit, along with her painkillers. Heavy doses,” I
ordered, my eyes never leaving Jaden.
“On my way,” he said, and I hung up, immediately turning my attention back to
Jaden.
She was taking slow, shallow breaths through her nose, her eyes were clenched
shut, and her knuckles turned white as they rested against her forehead. I looked at
the spot where she claimed to feel the pain, looking for discoloration or bruising.
She had a few tiny bruises on her hips from my fingertips but nothing noticeable on
her rib cage.
I took her small fist from her head and unwrapped her fingers to wrap them
around mine. She squeezed them tightly, and she fought to keep her breathing
under control. I kissed her fingers, trying to be as gentle as possible.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I shouldn’t have been so rough.”
She smiled and nearly chuckled. “Stop trying to make me laugh,” she replied,
her hooded eyes peering up at me. I smiled back as I covered Jaden’s body with the
bed sheet.
Sid arrived about thirty seconds later, placing his kit on the bed while Ginsby
remained concerned as ever at his side.
“Where’s the pain?” he asked as he rounded the bed to look Jaden over.
I pulled the side of the sheet to expose just the side of Jaden’s rib cage so Sid
could get a better look.
“No signs of visible bruising, but it’s difficult to tell with the tattoo,” he said as
he looked her over. But the moment his hands touched her skin and caused Jaden
to wince, I had to stop myself from breaking his hands off. He was here to help her,
and as long as he remained professional, I could curb my possessive urges. Still,
he’d better hurry the fuck up. “You’re a little tender, Jaden. How bad does it hurt?”
he asked her.
“Nine,” she answered through gritted teeth.
“What were you doing?” he asked, his eyes now turning up to me.
“Fucking,” I replied bluntly. Sid turned his eyes back to Jaden, shaking his head
in disapproval. He’d actually only approved her for sex yesterday but gentle
activity. I had been as gentle as I possibly could for a man who hadn’t fucked his
woman in over a month. Jaden was lucky I hadn’t broken her in half.
Pulling out his stethoscope, Sid checked Jaden’s breathing and listened to her
heart. Once he determined there were no complications and just swelling, he gave
Jaden an injection of her painkillers and packed up.
“Will she be staying with you tonight, then?” Sid asked.
“Yes,” I replied immediately.
He nodded. “The medication will knock her out soon. Be mindful of her
breathing patterns.”
“No shit,” I said, escorting him to the door. I’d had broken ribs several times
before. This was nothing new to me.
Once Sid and Ginsby were gone, I grabbed my laptop, placed it on the
nightstand, and sat in bed next to Jaden. Her eyes were even droopier as she
remained curled into herself, clutching the bed sheet to her body. She was
breathing normally, though not as deep as I liked. Once I was comfortable, I gently
moved Jaden’s body so that her head rested in my lap. She didn’t protest; instead,
she almost nuzzled into my thigh, relaxing her body. It must have been the meds.
I reviewed Jaden’s weekly itinerary with my right hand, while my left couldn’t
stop playing with her hair. She seemed to like that, almost as much as I did, and it
always seemed to calm the both of us down. I loved the softness of it while my little
hellcat simply just loved for me to pet her. It wasn’t long before Jaden was asleep in
my bed, something that had been missing from my life for over a month.
Now that she was here, like this, freshly fucked and where she belonged, it was
time to start integrating her back into my life the way she was supposed to be.
Holly would help Jaden with her physical as well as mental limitations, and once
she was ready, I’d kick things up a notch. I’d make sure Jaden was even better than
her
