Stitch by Jaime Lewis (inspirational books to read .TXT) 📕

Stitch had already been thinking that a nice warm bath with some Epsom salts would be good for her body and help her relax. Now, whether she was up for his idea was a different story. But he wasn’t leaving her alone in the tub when she could hardly hold herself up.

“How about if I sit with you in the tub? You can lean on me instead of the hard porcelain.” He wanted to laugh at the look she gave him.  Even with the bruising on her face, he could see the blush running through her cheeks.  “Hear me out. So, for neither of us to feel awkward, I’ll wear a pair of shorts, and you can wear one of my t-shirts.” He knew his shirt would probably come down to her knees, so she would feel comfortable and be covered.” When she agreed so easily, he wanted to pump his fist in the air.

Stitch started the bath then helped Mia into one of his shirts. Seeing her bruises again along her ribs and back made him angry. He stepped quickly out of the bathroom and stripped down to his boxers, and pulled on a pair of his PT shorts. He was seriously rethinking his genius idea now. Now he would have to bear the punishment of having her body wedged between his legs and pressed against him. He ran his hand down his face. Keeping his hands to himself wasn’t going to be easy.

She called out, letting him know that the tub was getting full. He shook all the naughty thoughts whirling through his mind and got his game face on.  He needed to be a professional about this. Yeah, that was it. He would treat this like it was any other mission. This was about Mia’s recovery. So quickly, he sighed in defeat. Yeah, try telling his dick that, because right now it wasn’t cooperating, and the last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself or scare her off.

He walked into the bathroom, and she stood there, holding onto the vanity for support. She looked sexy as hell in his clothes. She tried pulling it down even lower though it already came to her knees.  He swallowed hard.  Fuck being professional.

“Are you okay?” She asked him as she nibbled her bottom lip, pulling him from his inner thoughts.

“Yeah,I’m good. You ready?” She nodded her head.

“Put your arms around my neck. That’s it.”

He lifted her, stepped into the large tub, and sank in the water. Once he got Mia positioned and comfortable in between his legs, she relaxed back against him. She let out a soft hiss, then moaned, and dammit, his cock stirred, and there was not one fucking thing he could do about it. It had a mind of its own when it came to Mia.

“Comfortable?” He asked through his gritted teeth.

“Perfect, this is just what I needed.” She replied, leaning her head back against his shoulder. Her arms were perched on his bent knees that were caging her in.  The feel of her dainty fingers on his skin was seriously testing his patience. He didn’t know where to put his hands, so he rested them along the side of the tub and made himself relax as well. She was right; it was perfect.

After about a good thirty or so minutes soaking in complete silence, the water started to cool, and he ran his hands up her arms and gently squeezed her shoulders.

“How about we get you out of here and into some warm clothes, then I’ll make us some soup for dinner. You need to get something in your belly.”

“Okay.” She sleepily agreed, and he smiled as he carried her from the tub to the bedroom.

He set her feet down on a towel and told her to hold onto the chair to steady herself and avoid putting any pressure on her bad ankle. He noticed it was pretty swollen, but she hadn’t iced it at all since she had been sleeping most of the day. He would need to remember when they got downstairs to get an ice pack for her.

He stepped away for just a second to grab a dry towel for her, and when he returned, she was breathing heavy, and her lips were quivering as if she were fighting back the tears.  Concerned, he rushed to her side.

“What’s wrong?”

A tear slipped out of her eye, and she shook her head.

“In the bath, I felt so relaxed, but now I ache so bad. I just want it to go away, dammit!”

“Aww, baby.”  As gently as he could, he wrapped her up in his arms and pressed her close against him. He kissed the top of her head.  “If I could take the pain away from you, I would.”

She sniffled, then shivered, and he realized she was still standing there soaking wet. The cabin's temperature was kept around seventy degrees, so he knew it had to be chilly for her.

“Let’s get you out of this wet shirt and in some warm clothes, yeah?”

“You’re going to have to help me wrap my ribs again. Doctor O’Neal did it for me last night, and there is no way I can do it myself.”

He smiled softly, trying to mask his worry, knowing the pain she was in.  He pushed a strand of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. Despite what she went through and the injuries she sustained, she was a trooper.  He promised Ace he would take care of her, and by god he would even if it killed him to see her perfect body and not touch it intimately. At least not until she healed.

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“Whatever you need, I’m here to help,” Stitch told Mia as he released her. She felt the loss of his touch and wanted to scream for him to come back. She wasn’t usually a needy person, but she felt safe and content wrapped in the comfort of his arms.