Chapter 8
8
“Make sure to clean and change his bandage every day. The one on his head is less of a concern but—”
“We got it, brother. Thanks.” Knox had been talking to me, but Utah cut him off. He seemed more irritable than when he was back at the clubhouse, and I could only assume it was because he’d been moving around more and was in pain.
“I warned you,” my brother said. “Good luck.” He smirked at Utah before he walked out of my bedroom.
“When was the last time you had your pill?”
I rummaged through the chest in front of the bed, retrieving a pillow. Whenever Utah used to spend the night, the extra pillow that I slept with always somehow found its way beneath his head.
“I’m due now.” He carefully kicked off his boots and scooted back on the bed, grunting as he moved.
“Careful,” I scolded. “The last thing you need is to rip your stitches open.”
He parted his lips to respond, but Evie knocked on the doorframe. “Hey, Utah. How are you? ”
“I’ll be okay once your sister gives me my pain pill.” His gruff tone softened when he smiled in my direction.
“I’ll grab you some water,” my sister offered, disappearing only to return thirty seconds later. “Here you go.” She approached the bed and handed Utah a bottle of water, looking at the bandage on his temple as I handed him his pill. “Does it hurt?”
“My head doesn’t, but my stomach is killing me. This will help,” he said, popping the pill in his mouth.
I’d told Evie about his injuries and what little information I knew about the circumstances surrounding them. But before I did, I made her promise not to tell anyone, especially our mom. She took the news better than I did, but that might’ve been because she wasn’t carrying the child of the man who’d almost lost his life.
The story we told our mom was that he’d been in an accident, and because I didn’t want him to be alone while he healed, he was staying with us for a little while. We didn’t want to lie about everything.
My mom had met Utah only once while we’d been hooking up, but I made her swear not to say anything to Knox. She was aware of how overprotective and sometimes irrational her son was toward me and Evie, so she agreed not to tell him.
“Are you hungry?” I asked. “I think my mom made spaghetti.”
“She did,” Evie said. “She dropped some off earlier. I can heat it up.”
Utah nodded, and I smiled at my sister, giving her the go-ahead.
“Are you sure your sister doesn’t mind me staying here?” he asked once she disappeared.
“Yeah, she doesn’t care. Besides, you’ll probably be spending most of your time in this room. And even if you didn’t, she’s at work during the day. ”
“Okay, just making sure I’m not being an inconvenience.”
“You’re not, so stop worrying.” I removed his socks before working my way up to the hem of his gray sweatpants. He wore them because the waistband of his jeans would’ve rubbed against his wound. “Do you want these on? I know how hot you get when you sleep.”
“I’m not wearing any underwear.”
His heated stare lit a fire inside me, but I tried my best to tamp it down because there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to appease the ache blooming in my belly.
Clearing my throat to distract myself from the memories of his delectable body, I tugged on the material. “It’s not like I haven’t seen it.” My grin reflected his. “Careful. Lift up slowly.” I shimmied the sweatpants down his thighs, making sure not to stare at his dick when it popped free.
“You can look if you want. I’m not shy.”
“No, you’re not.” My laughter died on my lips as he started to harden. But before I could stare too long, I heard Evie’s voice, and she was just outside the room.
Grabbing the pillow I’d removed from the chest, I tossed it over his nakedness—a little too roughly, based on his grunt.
“Dinner will be rea—” She stopped mid-sentence and turned around. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t see anything.”
Utah chuckled, a sound I’d come to miss.
“Thanks, Evie. I’ll be out in a few minutes.” She left without another word, and when I looked back at Utah, his smile widened. “That was close.” He didn’t say anything as I replaced the pillow with a blanket. “After we eat, do you want to try and take a shower? I can help you of course.”
“Not ready for that. Maybe tomorrow. I can just wash up if you get me some soap and water and a washcloth. That way I’m not getting your sheets dirty.”
The guys at the club must’ve cleaned Utah up because there wasn’t any blood on him when I saw him .
“Don’t worry about the sheets. You’re fine.”
After we’d eaten, I removed his shirt and changed his bandages. The wound on his temple was pinkish, with six stitches holding the skin together. I wasn’t too alarmed until I removed the bandage from his stomach. Because of his ink, I thought perhaps I wouldn’t notice the wound as easily, but I was wrong.
A tattoo of a facial skull ran from his pectorals to his waist, the sides blackened. Whoever stabbed him hit him in the lighter-shaded area. The skin was swollen and red, angry-looking, which was to be expected since this just happened. But that didn’t stop the gasp that escaped me. He needed fifteen stitches to hold this one together, and all I could think about was the size of the knife that had done this damage.
“That fucker messed up my tattoo.” Our eyes held for a moment, the pursing of his lips soothing some of my initial surprise and horror.
“That’s what you’re worried about?” I dipped a washcloth in clean water and wiped around the area.
“Yeah, I spent some money on that shit.”
“I’m sure once you’re healed, you can have it fixed.”
“It’ll just be a cover-up, like all the others. Hiding what I don’t want to see.” His voice trailed off at the end, his words tugging at my heart.
Utah had told me once about his time in foster care and some of the abuses he’d suffered. I had a suspicion he didn’t divulge everything, but I never pushed. If he wanted to tell me more someday, he would. He’d tattooed his body to cover the scars, and this fresh one was another in a long list of tragedies he’d endured.
I didn’t know how to respond to what he’d uttered, so I remained quiet, keeping busy by applying a medicated salve over the wound before re-dressing it .
“Do you want me to wash you anywhere else?” I asked once I’d finished.
He studied me for a moment, his eyes dancing with wickedness. One beat passed. Then two. “I’m good.”
I rose from the bed, reining in the rest of my composure. “I’m gonna run down to my mom’s house for a bit, but I won’t be long.”
“Take your time. I’m only gonna pass out anyway. Thank her for the food. It was delicious.”
A simple nod and smile were my responses as I walked out of my room, leaving an injured, sexy, naked man in my bed.