Serving the Soldier - Part 4 (An Alpha Military Romance) Read Free Page B

for Jax to be charged with a consorting with the enemy accusation? An affair with a local? Is that what happened? Had Jax developed a sexual relationship with one of the local women in Afghanistan? No, highly doubtful. I didn't know much about their culture, but one thing I did know; women in Afghanistan had less rights than dogs over here in the US. Any inkling that they were behaving improperly could result in her death through a so-called honor killing. Jax would never put a woman in that kind of danger, no matter how much he was attracted to her.
    With a sigh, I decided that I could either allow my imagination to run wild or I could do my job and take care of Jax’s wound. I took a deep breath and approached his bedroom door, knocking softly on the threshold.
    "Come on in, Angie.”
    He already lay face down on the middle of his bed. He had taken off his shirt and shoved his cargo shorts down past his hips. I saw only the beginning of the crack in his buttocks and the two dimples just above that. The sight of those little dimples maybe want to stroke my tongue along them. My heart skipped a beat. Crapola! Was this my punishment? To be taunted with Jax’s nakedness and my own body's betrayal against my better judgment and best intentions every time I saw a little bit of skin?
    Jax lay quietly, his head turned toward the window where I couldn't see his face. Something was certainly bugging him. Did I dare ask? I shook my head and clamped my lips shut. For now, I decided to keep my concerns to myself. I arranged my supplies on his bedside table and then sat down gently beside him, my right hip nearly touching the bottom of his left buttocks. Quickly and deftly, I carefully removed the surgical tape from the edges of the gauze and slowly peeled it off. I nodded with satisfaction when I saw that the edges of the incision were pulling together nicely. Another few days and he probably wouldn't have to worry about tearing any more stitches.
    "I'm going to remove the butterfly strip that I put on and replace it with another one, okay?" I asked. I didn't want the butterfly strip to abrade to his skin, which I knew might happen if I left it on too long.
    "Do whatever you need to do."
    His voice was muffled and once again I frowned. I pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and proceeded. "Jax, are you okay?" I finally asked, working on fashioning another butterfly strip with a piece of surgical tape and my scissors. He said nothing and I glanced down at him. "Jax?" I saw his shoulders briefly shrug.
    "Look, Jax, I know it's none of my business but—"
    "You're right, Angie, it isn't."
    For a moment I felt the sting of rejection, but then realized that he was only speaking the truth. Nothing, and I mean nothing, that Jax did was any of my business. I had to remind myself for the umpteenth time that I was here to do a job and nothing more.
    He sighed. "I'm sorry, Angie, I didn't mean that."
    After several moments, he turned his head so that he faced in my direction.
    "Stephanie just has a way of getting under my skin," he said.
    I said nothing, allowing silence to fill the space as I gently placed the new butterfly strip where the ripped out stitch had been. I then applied disinfectant and ointment to the incision. I carefully covered the wound with another square piece of gauze and then taped it into place. As I peeled the surgical gloves off my hands and began to gather my trash, he rolled gently onto his side, still facing me.
    “Want to hear something funny?"
    "Sure," I shrugged, avoiding his eyes.
    "We had a rocky marriage from the get-go. In fact, there were times when I asked myself why I married her. But the funny thing is, when she's around, I still have feelings for her."
    I glanced at him. "I guess love is like that, isn't it?"
    "I don't think it’s love," he said. "I think it's just more a matter of familiarity."
    He said nothing for several more minutes and I sat frozen on the side of the bed, staring down at the trash in