Page 16 of Into the Blue
He pushes through a set of swinging doors, finally depositing me in a chair at the end of a short row. There’s one other person waiting there, a young woman clutching a small child, swathed in a light blanket. She nods at us, her eyes red-rimmed and weary.
Axel takes the seat next to mine.
“You don’t have to wait with me,” I snap.
“Oh, okay. And how are you going to get back?” He folds his arms, a line between his brows. “I’m not leaving you to fall over in the street just because you’re too damn stubborn to accept my help.”
Shit. We really haven’t started on the right foot. I hold out my right hand.
He looks at it, then at me, his frown deepening.
“Hi, I’m Jade.” My voice rasps. “Uh, thank you for letting me stay at your gorgeous place. I really appreciate it.”
His lips start to curve. Dimples appear in his cheeks, his jawline even more sculpted. Damn. He is gorgeous. He takes my hand, wrapping his long fingers around mine.
“Jade. I’m Axel. Nice to meet you. And it’s a pleasure. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“Thank you, I will.”
He laughs, then. “I guess we didn’t get off to the best start, did we?”
“I’m sorry,” I say, almost at the same time. “I didn’t mean to be so pushy about the boards.”
“You weren’t. I was being hard on you.”
We stare at each other. He still has my hand, his storm-grey eyes darkening.
I pull my hand free before I get sucked in. Not here for this. Not at all.
“Next patient.”
Oh, thank god. Perfect timing. The doctor, a young man in a white lab coat over blue scrubs, is standing nearby. I glance at the mother with the child, but she waves a weary hand at me. “Go ahead. We’re just waiting on some test results,” she says.
The doctor is still waiting. I try to stand, wincing as pain lances through my leg. Axel is on his feet in a moment, supporting me.
“Come on.” The doctor turns, heading back into the consulting room. Axel and I follow, his arm around my waist, his body strong and hard against mine. I fight against the pulse between my legs, stamping on it, thinking of cold water and ice baths and snowstorms to try and control my reaction. It’s physical, that’s all. Some weird combination of alcohol and pain and breaking up with Zach all rolled into one. I do not need a rebound. Nor does Axel Black deserve to be one.
He helps me into a chair and sits next to me, and I’m glad he’s here. Which is its own brand of messed up. I had someone with me wherever I went for so long that it still feels strange to be on this island alone.
“So, what’s going on?”
I tell the doctor what happened, explaining about the stitches. When he peels the dressing off my leg, I suck in a sharp breath.
“Hmm. Yes, looks as though those stitches have burst. I’ll have to take them out and redo them.”
Fuck. “Does that mean more time out of the water?”
“Come back in a week, though I’d recommend two weeks out of the water. And then you’ll be back to it. No trouble at all.”
I stare at him. It is trouble for me. I need to stay in shape. I have a competition in a few weeks’ time.
“What about walking? Does she need to rest it?”
I frown at Axel. What does it matter to him whether or not I can walk?
“Walking is fine,” the doctor says. “Just don’t push it for a day or so.”
A short while later we’re out of there. My leg is stitched and rebandaged, painkillers starting to cut through the sting. Axel isn’t carrying me, thank god. I protested as soon as he tried to pick me up again. We make our way along the lamplit road together, towards the timber archway that marks the edge of his property.
