Free Ridge Creek Reunited (Ridge Creek Duology) by C L Green

this is what happens. We spend less than twenty minutes together and you are pretty much calling me a disease ridden whore.”
    Jake pauses his soaping regime to look at me. His eyes now look concerned. “I’m not sure how to respond to a statement like that.”
    Realizing this is most definitely not the time and place to be having the conversation about what happened to me today , I falter. Without taking his eyes from mine, Jake slowly places the soap on a shelf and turns to place both his hands on my shoulders. Twisting me gently he stoops slightly to get closer and peer into my eyes.
    “One thing I am sure of is that you are freaking the fuck out. Again. You may not think you are but right now Arianna, whether you realize it not, you are. Your perceptions are out of whack and you’re missing the important shit and focusing on the crap. Now I’m not gunna spell it all out to you but here’s a few things I wanna make sure we’re clear on before I let your angry hands anywhere near my bullet wound.”
    My eyes flick to his bandage before sliding back up to stare at his. Apparently his plan hasn’t changed.
    “One. Not once have I ever thought of you as a dirty whore bag. I’m sorry if that’s what you thought I was saying and I can now see that this shit is clearly a sore spot for you. In my defense however, I really was not concerned. At all. Which is why my words came out the wrong way and made you react the way they did. In future I’ll be more careful about the shit I say and make sure I’ve got a good handle on your pulse before I decide to write them off in my head as a nonissue.”
    Okay then.
    He’s apologizing. This is good.
    “Two. I’m not sure how deciding to come back here became monumental but I’d like to hear more about that. Just not yet. Right now I’m starting to shut down. My body is getting stiffer by the minute from being shot and then getting its ass dragged to Melbourne and back on a motorbike. Although I should add that I like your response to my telling you I was getting stiffer earlier, even though you may have taken it out of context.” He’s smirking now.
    As realization dawns on me about his ‘stiffer’ reference I find myself starting to grin too. He doesn’t wait for me to say anything before continuing.
    “And one final thing, for now. Never pull that shit you pulled with me before again. Never for one second do you need to feel embarrassed or nervous about the scars on your back. They are a part of you Arianna. They are like of a map of your life and are there for a reason. That reason is to remind you of how strong you are and what you are capable of. They are not ugly and they are not something you need to hide from me or anyone else for that matter. Those scars represent you. They represent the damage that was done and they show you that you can heal. Like the damage to your skin, you can recover from whatever life throws at you. Don’t ever forget that.”
    Holy shit.
    What do I say to that? Blinking slowly I stare straight into Jake’s bright green, very serious eyes and sigh. His eyes soften and he nods. I give him a small smile.
    “Okay then,” he continues. “Now that I’ve got that shit out I need you to unwrap my bandage. I’m getting ready to drop from exhaustion here. The clips are on my back.”
    Turning his back towards me, water continues to course over his shoulders as I spy two tiny clips holding his bandage in place. Shaking off thoughts of Jake’s latest revelations I decide to focus on the job at hand and think more about his words later.
    Shifting my attention to the bandage, I can see that it ’s not only soaked with blood, but it’s also soaked with water. Sopping wet, there is now rose colored water coursing down Jake’s back, across his most magnificently muscled butt and down his powerful legs to the floor.
    I gasp at the rivers of blood as I reach out and flick the ends of the two clips to release the bandage. Immediately it starts