Chapter 13

Once she was dressed in her sweats and a t-shirt, Jasmine made herself comfortable on the sofa and waited for the others to arrive. She flicked through the channels on the television whilst Richie ran around upstairs trying to make it look as though Jasmine was in the guest room. He tidied the bathroom, put her clothes in his closet and the empty bag in the guest room. He messed the guest room bed up a little and left a few of her things on the bed. Satisfied that he had done enough, he went downstairs to find Jasmine curled up on the sofa in the den.

“Hey. Feel better now?” he said, kissing the top of her head. She looked up at him and replied,

“Yeah, relaxed and cleaner.” She patted the seat next to her, “Come here.” 

Richie sat next to her and she curled herself into him, pulling his arm around her. She reached up and pulled his head down, kissing him quickly.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Just because.” She said, shifting closer to him and holding him tight. She was having trouble accepting the events of the last 24 hours and the fact that she had Richie looking after her was more than a little surreal. She settled in his arms and closed her eyes, tiredness overcoming her yet again. Richie held onto her, sensing that she needed the contact and reassurance that he could give her. He reached for the remote control and switched the stereo on, filling the room with the sound of The Beatles. They sat as they were until Richie heard the crunch of tires on the gravel outside; the guys knew the code to the gate so hadn’t bothered letting him know they had arrived. He moved Jasmine carefully until she was lying on the sofa and went to answer the door, hoping he’d get there before they walked in and woke her up.

“Hey man,” Jon said, hugging Richie loosely and patting him on the back, “How is she?”

“Sore, tired and emotional. She’s just fallen asleep again so keep the noise down. We’ll go sit in the garden out back.”

Jon nodded and headed towards the kitchen to put the coffee on. David and Hugh asked after Jasmine as they greeted Richie then followed in Jon’s footsteps. They congregated on the deck outside the kitchen, the patio window left open so they could listen out for Jasmine; something in all of them subconsciously wanting to make sure they could hear if she needed them.

“What the hell happened, Rich?” Hugh asked.

Richie told them the whole story, from arranging to go to dinner to arriving and being pushed aside by someone coming out of the building. David and Hugh leaned forward in their seats as Richie told them about finding her and the ensuing conversation about hospitals. He did not tell them what had happened later the night before or the events that had happened only an hour or so before they arrived.

“Fuck. That’s some pretty serious shit. What did the cops say?” David asked, shaking his head and making his curls bounce.

“She doesn’t want them involved. She got scared when I mentioned it.” Richie took a deep breath, knowing that he had to tell Jon what Jasmine told him about what her father had said. Jon sensed something wasn’t quite right, the look in Richie’s eyes told him so,

“Rich, what’s wrong? What aren’t you telling us?”

“Her father has been watching her. Not just her, us. You and me, man. When he was beating her he told her that he’d seen her with us and knew that she had a rich boyfriend. It didn’t matter what she said, he didn’t believe her and just hit her harder.”

Jon’s heart pumped faster as he listened to his friend speak. It was bad enough that Jasmine’s father had beaten her but that he had been following her as well? That just made him even angrier.

“What do you mean he’s been watching us?”

“He knows where we live. He’s seen her come and go from both our houses. He doesn’t know who we are but he knows we have money.”

“Well shit, we’ll just give him what he wants and then he can go fuck off.” Jon replied.

Richie looked at Jon like he had sprouted two heads, and looking at David and Hugh, they were just as surprised at Jon’s outburst. 

“You don’t mean that Kidd. You’ve never given in just like that before, what’s so different now?”

Jon shrugged, he wasn’t sure himself why he had rolled over so easily.

“I don’t know. I just don’t like this situation, and I guess seeing Jasmine hurt so bad last night really got to me. We have to do something about this guy, even if she won’t.”

“Don’t you dare,” said a sleepy voice from the kitchen. Jasmine had woken up and followed the voices through the house until she found the four men in the garden. She stepped out into the fresh air and took a gulp, letting it open up her lungs and filter into her brain, waking her up and clearing the fogginess in her head.

“You won’t do anything about my father. He’ll be long gone by now anyway, he didn’t get what he wanted and he’ll be worried about whether I went to the cops or not. He won’t be back for a long time.”

The guys looked her over and nodded, “Ok, we’ll forget it for now if that’s what you want, but this conversation isn’t over,” Jon said, taking over.

“Do you always get what you want Jon?” 

“Mostly. So don’t bother arguing with me when I say that security around you and us will be stepped up for a while, just in case.”

Jasmine sighed in resignation, she knew better than to argue with Jon at the best of times, let alone when he was in full protective mode. 

“Don’t worry about her security, man. She’s staying here until I’m certain that she’s well enough to go home.” Richie said, smiling at Jasmine and pulling a chair out for her to sit on.

“Good.”

“Hey, I am still here you know.” Jasmine protested weakly.

Richie put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, “We know, and we’re glad you still are. Just humor us and our macho protectiveness would you?”

She smiled back at him and gave his hand a squeeze. The exchange was witnessed by the others, who gave each other knowing looks, but they refrained from saying anything about it, there would be plenty of time to find out how close Jasmine and Richie really were later.

“So, how are you feeling today?” Hugh asked Jasmine. She gave them a brief run down and lifted her shirt to show them her back when David said that it didn’t look like she had been hurt too much. On seeing her black and purple back David couldn’t help but wince.

“Shit baby, that’s some bruise you got there. How on earth are you sitting up like that?”

“Drugs, David, very good drugs.” She laughed.

“They must be. That looks so painful.”

“It is, but I’m coping.”

After satisfying themselves that Jasmine was okay and that Richie was playing nurse properly, the topic of conversation shifted towards work, family and vacations, anything except what had happened to Jasmine.

Tico arrived an hour later and the story was told again, although it was Hugh and David telling it rather than letting Jasmine relive it again. She sat and listened as they explained what had happened and, except for the searing pain that ripped through her occasionally, she thought she could have been listening to a tale about what had happened to someone else. It didn’t seem real and it didn’t feel like it was her they were talking about. 

The guys stayed for lunch but went early into the afternoon after Jasmine started yawning and it was obvious that as much as she was enjoying the company and taking her mind off things, all she really wanted to do was to curl up in bed and have a good deep sleep. They said their goodbyes, hugging Jasmine as well as they could without hurting her and telling her to call them if she needed anything. The same was extended to Richie, who nodded and said that he always did. As Jon was leaving he took Richie aside,

“Everything ok Rich?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just checking. It couldn’t have been easy on you finding her like that. I know you’ve gotten close to her.”

“To be honest it was awful but she’s coped so well that I feel bad for feeling a little overwhelmed.”

Jon nodded in understanding, “Call me if you need to talk it through bro, don’t keep anything bottled up. You may think you’re ok now but if you feel the need to vent then just call me.”

“I hear you, thanks. We’re both ok though. The emotional scars will take longer to heal for her than the physical ones, but she’s a tough cookie.”

“She is that. Take care of her man, and yourself. We’ll talk about starting work again on Sunday but for now, make sure she rests and heals.”

Whilst the guys were saying goodbye to Richie, Jasmine had headed up to bed. She looked in on the guest room and smiled. Richie had made it look as if she was staying in there, he’d even rumpled the sheets, but she had no intention of sleeping there, she needed comfort and human contact and she wasn’t going to get it sleeping on her own. She curled up in the middle of Richie’s bed and was asleep before she had managed to pull the covers over her.

Richie went hunting for Jasmine when he was alone again and found her curled up on his bed, her arms around his pillow and a contented look on her face. His heart swelled to know that she had chosen to sleep in his bed rather than the guest one, despite her misgivings about their relationship and the fact that the guys had still been there. He pulled the covers over her and pulled the door closed, letting her sleep for a while until he had dinner ready. 

He spent the afternoon pottering around the house, preparing dinner and wandering from room to room. When he got to the den he saw one of his guitars sitting in the corner and picked it up, all of a sudden feeling the need to work his frustrations out in the only way he knew how.

Jasmine found him this way a while later having woken from her nap and going in search of something to soothe her rumbling stomach. She stood at the doorway and listened to the beautiful sound coming from the Martin in Richie’s hands. She wasn’t sure how long she had been listening but was woken from her trance by the rumbling of her still hungry stomach. Richie looked up at the rumbling and smiled a smile that went straight to his eyes and through them.

“Good evening sleeping beauty,” he said, holding his hand out for her. Jasmine walked to him and took his hand, entwining her fingers with his.

“Good evening yourself. What was that you were playing? It was beautiful.”

“Just something that came to me earlier, just working out my feelings about what happened to you I guess. I take it you liked it?”

“I really did. Did you write any of it down?” She hoped he had, it was a beautiful, haunting melody and she wanted to hear it again.

“No, but I’m sure I can play it again, it won’t leave my head. I have lyrics too.”

“Can I hear them?”

Richie frowned, although the words were uniquely for her he wasn’t ready to show them to anyone. The song was still at the early stages.

“Would you be hurt if I said no? Its just they’re not where I want them yet and I want you to hear the complete version.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes and laughed, “Of course dummy, I know how these things work. I’ll wait until you’re ready.” 

Richie pulled her down for a hug and kissed her soundly on the lips. Jasmine wound her arms around his neck and bunched her hands into his hair; they stayed like this until Jasmine’s stomach again let it’s discomfort known and they headed for the kitchen for sustenance.

Chapter 12

It was past 10 when Richie woke up the next morning to the sound of the garbage truck outside doing its rounds. As the sleepy fog lifted and his brain whirred into gear he became aware of a body next to him and the events of the day before came flooding back into his consciousness. Instinctively he pulled Jasmine closer to him as she had moved slightly away from him in the night. Jasmine was woken from her sleep by an excruciating pain emanating from her back; her eyes pinged open and a strangled screech was heard in the otherwise silent room.

Richie reeled backwards and hauled his arms away from Jasmine as if she was burning him.

“Fuck Jas, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Hell I’m so sorry,” he said, barely touching her for fear of hurting her again. Jasmine tentatively rolled to face him, her face screwed up with determination to overcome the pain. She held her hand out for him and once he had taken it she entwined her fingers with his, watching the way they seem to mould together perfectly.

“Morning,” she said, smiling at him wistfully,

“Morning beautiful.” Richie replied, running his free hand over her arm slowly. “I’m sorry I hurt you just now, I just wanted you closer to me, you moved away in your sleep.”

“I hurt all over, I doubt it was you that hurt me. I slept so well though, what on Earth were those tablets the doctor gave me?”

“No need to worry about them, you slept and that was the main thing. How is your head?”

“It feels fine but I think I might need to go to the hospital, I’m seeing strange things.”

Richie looked at her concerned. He rested his hand on her forehead and he looked deep into her eyes, which were even more black than the night before.

“What do you mean darlin’? What kind of strange?”

Jasmine grinned “Well I think I’m hallucinating because right now I’m seeing you and me in bed together and that just can’t have happened.”

Richie didn’t know whether to laugh or feel worried. Worried not about the state of Jasmine’s brain, but worried that she was having second thoughts about what had happened between them.

“Believe it darlin’. I’m here, you’re here and we did the nasty last night. Please tell me you remember that?”

Jasmine nodded; she could remember every tingling second of the night before. Richie had been so gentle with her and had made sure that she was okay throughout, and had made her feel so alive, taking the pain away for a short while.

“I remember.” She said, smiling widely at him, reaching over and kissing him sweetly. Richie pulled her into his arms, more carefully than the time before and they laid together in silence, Jasmine’s head resting on his chest.

“Rich?”

“Yeah?”

“You know we shouldn’t have done what we did, right?”

Richie’s stomach turned. “Why the hell not?”

Jasmine could hear the hurt that was already showing in his voice, and bizarrely it made her feel good because it showed her that he was feeling the same about her as she was about him.

“Relax will you. I don’t mean I don’t think we should have done it. It was exactly what I wanted, you are exactly what I want, but there is a little matter of my contract with the band and Island. It doesn’t allow for fraternizing with the clients. I could be sacked if anyone finds out.”

Richie slapped his head in frustration. The contract hadn’t occurred to him, for him it was the natural progression of their relationship and anything outside of the two of them in that moment had faded into insignificance.

“Shit. I forgot about that clause. It’ll be ok though, I think it’s only put in there just in case of harassment or something.”

“Are you sure Jon feels the same way? I get the impression that he looks things through very carefully and puts things in contracts for a reason, and that he expects them to be upheld.”

“You really have worked him out haven’t you? You’re right. Maybe we should keep us to ourselves for a while, maybe until you finish officially working for us.” He said, thinking as he spoke. He wasn’t happy with it but he knew better than to give Jon a reason to give him the stinkeye. 

“I was thinking the same thing except I can’t work out how we’re going to keep it quiet.”

“We’ll manage, I mean it’s not like we haven’t been spending most of our time together anyway is it? Think about it, how many days in the last few months have we had apart?”

Jasmine thought hard, and couldn’t think of the last time they had spent more than 12 hours apart.

“You’re right. I guess if anyone says anything then we just deny it.”

Richie stroked Jasmine’s hair and traced his fingers down her arm, making her shiver. She pulled her arm over his stomach and began to trace the outline of his tattoo on his arm. He snaked his other hand underneath her and began stroking her back but felt her tense as he did so. He slowed and gentled his movements wondering what damage had been done there too. As he knew only too well from his football playing days, the injuries were always worse the morning after, or at least they always looked worse.

Jasmine could feel herself stirring in intimate places as Richie continued to rub her back. He had managed to find one of her most sensitive places and she was enjoying the sensations that were in stark contrast to the contracting pain that kept coming and going through her. She shifted so Richie could get more access to her back and she moaned softly as his soft touches soothed the pain.

Richie could tell that Jasmine was getting turned on and knowing that was turning him on too. He pulled his arm from under her and she automatically moved on to her side so he could massage her. On a normal occasion she would have moved onto her stomach but it was far too painful for her to do so. Richie moved over her and looked down at her back; what he saw took his breath away and he let out an audible intake of breath.

“Holy shit,” he gasped, looking down at her back, which was pretty much covered in the biggest, blackest and nastiest bruise he had ever seen.

“WHAT?” Jasmine cried, scared at the tone of Richie’s voice and hoping that something bad wasn’t about to happen.

“Your back sweetie, it’s…it’s black. All over. It’s like you’ve gone and laid down in black paint. Just how bad are you hurting, coz its making me hurt just looking at it?”

Jasmine winced. She’d been trying to keep her emotions closed and hide the majority of the pain from him; she didn’t want him to feel sorry for her and she didn’t want to appear helpless. There was no way she would let her father win by making her weak and reliant on someone else.

“Honestly? It hurts so much that I feel sick. It’s not all the time though, it comes and goes. Actually you rubbing it was making it feel a lot better, I’d almost forgotten about it.”

Jasmine sat up facing away from him, and reached tentatively for his shirt, which was on the floor in front of her. She got almost half way to the floor before she pulled back up in frustration, shirtless.

“Could you reach that for me? I need to use the bathroom.” She pointed at the shirt,

“What do you need a shirt for to do that? You look just fine to me, and there’s no one here except for us.”

“Very funny Sambora, please get the shirt for me, I feel exposed.”

“I like you exposed.”

“I’m sure you do, but please get it for me, I need the bathroom desperately.”

Richie handed her the shirt and helped her put it on. She left the buttons undone, mainly for his benefit but also because she could feel the pressure on her bladder becoming more persistent. 

Richie watched her slowly walk to the bathroom and close the door behind her. She had been beaten badly and was being so brave with the pain, which had to be worse than she was letting on. Richie felt the protectiveness surge again and the need to be next to Jasmine was palpable.

He got out of bed, put on a pair of shorts and knocked on the bathroom door, “You decent? Can I come in?”

Jasmine opened the door for him and returned to her position in front of the mirror, twisting to have a look at her back. Richie approached her and put his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder and obscuring her view of her back.

“Stop looking at it darlin’, it’ll disappear in time and you’ll never know it was there. Let me run you a bath and we’ll try to take some of the swelling down.”

Jasmine reached up and touched his face, tilting her head to look at him. Richie didn’t let the opportunity go and kissed her deeply.

“That sounds wonderful, but you don’t have to. I can do it by myself.” Jasmine said once they had broken away from each other.

“Whilst you’re here you’re going to be looked after. You need to take it easy and I need to help you get better. Sit here.” He said, putting the toilet seat cover down and gesturing to it. Jasmine watched as Richie ran the bath and found all the other things he needed. After disappearing out of the room for the third time Jasmine suddenly heard soft bluesy music coming from speakers in the ceiling. She looked up to see speakers in every corner of the room, and laughed.

“I should have known! I bet you have every room wired up don’t you?”

Richie reappeared, nodding, “Yeah, you like?”

“I like.”

Richie tested the water then beckoned Jasmine to come to him. He slid off the shirt that was barely covering her, picked her up carefully and placed her in the bubbles. Jasmine sighed, the warm water was soothing on her prickling skin and the lapping of the water as it moved to accommodate her was nothing short of heavenly. She sunk herself lower into the water until only her head was above it. She looked over at Richie, who was smiling at her, a mixture of self congratulation at making her feel good, and of a want to get in there with her.

“How did you manage to get it just right? This feels so good,” she growled, closing her eyes and slipping totally under the water.

Richie made a snap decision, took off his shorts and slid into the bath with Jasmine. She surfaced just as he wrapped his long legs around her, and she felt her back slide up against his chest.

“Hey, this is my bath.”

“I’ll get out if you want me to,” he said, sliding his hands over her back and shoulders.

Jasmine’s head tilted sideways and her eyes closed naturally as his hands teased her damaged skin,

“Nuh uh,” she breathed then took a deep breath in, exhaling slowly and keeping her eyes tightly closed.

Richie gently massaged her back, trying not to focus on how nasty it looked, and trying to dampen down the furious anger that was bubbling inside him that made him want to hunt her father down and hurt him as badly as he had hurt Jasmine.

The slippery contact between skin felt good for them both and they sat in silence, both breathing deeply and enjoying the intimacy. Jasmine was the first to talk,

“Is it weird for this not to feel weird?” She said, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she checked they made sense, her thought processes being muddled by the moment. Richie smiled and chuckled,

“Not at all darlin’, we are meant to be. It feels right, so right.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking but then I started to think if that was a little odd or not.”

“Nothing odd about it Jas, stop thinking and talking. Just chill out.”

Jasmine did as she was told, and Richie’s hands moved from her back, around her hips and across her stomach. She looked down to where they were and saw more cuts and bruises. She had to admit that her father had done a good job on her; he had managed to hit her in every conceivable place that could be hidden. He’d made the mistake of giving her a black eye and that annoyed her more than the other injuries. She didn’t want to be seen with a black eye because that meant answering questions. She was grateful that the band had relocated to Jon’s studio, which meant she only had to see them, Obie and Rew, and by now she was sure Jon would have told them what had happened so she wouldn’t have to explain it herself.

Richie’s hands moved lower still and parted her thighs, his hands sliding over the soft skin, the only skin not to have been touched by wounds. She gasped as his thumb slid across her clit so lightly on its way down her leg. Richie was enjoying the freedom of touching her, he wanted to touch her everywhere. In fact as long as he was touching her he was happy, he never wanted the contact to end.

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

“What makes you say that?”

Richie’s thumb returned and started to rub around her in circles. Jasmine’s legs parted in response and Richie slid a finger into her. 

“Ohhhh!” Jasmine sighed deeply, raising herself to him. She could feel him grow and his cock push against her back. She reached behind her and took him in her hand, sliding up and down his length. Richie groaned from his throat and closed his eyes as well. They stroked and rubbed each other, their moans getting deeper and longer as they brought each other closer. Jasmine began to slide down the bath and her head was only just above water; Richie’s head was leaning back and his eyes were closed tight. He felt the twitching start within him and thrust a little into Jasmine’s grip. She gripped harder and her movements got faster. Richie’s hand movements mirrored Jasmine’s and he added another finger. She clamped around him as she fell over the edge, Richie following seconds later. Spent, his head flopped forward and he nuzzled into her neck, his arms wrapped around her waist. Jasmine held onto his arms and leaned into him. 

“Feeling better?”

“Mmmm. That’s the best bath I’ve ever had,”

Richie got up and held his hand out for her.

“Me too, but we can’t wash in this now, you made me make it dirty. Come on, let’s shower off and get something to eat. I’m starving.”

“I made you make it dirty? You’re the one who started it.”

“Whatever. Come on,” he said, picking her up and depositing her in the shower. He switched the shower on and joined her. Turning her so he was behind her, he lathered up the shampoo and began washing her hair, massaging her scalp firmly.

Jasmine was in heaven, her eyes were closed tightly and her body did not hurt. The sound of the water cascading from the shower head was hypnotic and she drifted away, only to be pulled back to reality by the ringing of the phone.

Richie was in two minds as to whether or not to answer the phone, but as it was the house phone and the only people who had the number were his nearest and dearest, he decided he’d better take the call. 

“Back in a few darlin’, don’t shrivel away,” he said, jumping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around himself.

He returned a few minutes later, Jasmine had finished washing her hair and was leaning her head back in the shower rinsing the shampoo from her blond mess on top of her head.

“That was Jon. He, Dave and Hugh are on their way here, and Teek’s coming over a little later. I tried to stop them but they want to make sure you’re ok for themselves. I think you gave them a scare darlin’.”

“Ok, then you’d better help me dry myself off and show me where the guest room is.”

“Huh?”

“Well I can’t have my stuff in your room can I? What if they see?”

“They won’t go in my room, but I see your point. You get dressed and go lie on the sofa, leave the rest to me.”