Mason:Inked Reapers MC(65)

"Yeah," Kait lied convincingly, "me too."



"Do you think you'll be up for going out this Friday?" Anna wondered brightly.



Kait tensed and chewed her lip. She didn't like lying to her friend and  constantly letting her down. And Daniel might well be a simply wonderful  man. But her heart wasn't ready to risk being broken again; it was  still recovering from its bout with Jasper in the ring of their  non-existent relationship.



"He's so nice," Anna enthused. "And handsome too. He wears a suit to work like Robert does. A suit, Kait! How hot is that?"



Kait shrugged. It was hot. To most women it was the ultimate fantasy: a  well-dressed man who was polite, kind, and handsome. But Kait's blood  had practically boiled when she saw Jasper in the gym wearing only some  nylon shorts and a white t-shirt. There was something raw about his  casual attire that she just couldn't resist. He didn't dress himself up  in a suit and pretend to be something he wasn't. He embraced his true  nature, who he was.                       
       
           



       



"Oh, darn, I've got to work late on Friday." Kait made the excuse before she even realized what she was doing.



"Really? That sucks," Anna was audibly disappointed by her friend's lack  of availability. "They need to stop making you work late, especially  after what happening the parking lot."



"Uh huh," Kait made a sound of agreement.



"So when can you meet Daniel?"



"I don't know … soon."



"Okay, well it better be or someone else will snap him up."



Kait knew that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Daniel surely deserved to  go on a date with someone who would be excited to see him, not someone  who was doing it just to stop a friend from feeling bad.



After the call ending, Kait gazed gloomily at the television. Jasper was  once again front and center of her thoughts. No matter what she did,  she couldn't stop thinking about him. It was like he had infected her  system, and now she would forever be plagued by thoughts of him.



Picking up her phone, she checked his Twitter page yet again. He'd offered a simple statement about his latest fight.



No Pain. No Gain. @J_Duboix



He'd lost teeth! Where did he draw the line about what was too much?  Kait gazed sadly at the tweet, wishing she wasn't as proud as she was.  She wanted to march over to the gym and demand he stop being so cavalier  about his own physical well-being, but that wasn't her place. That was a  conversation he should be having with his significant other, and that  definitely wasn't Kait. She doubted she even warranted the flimsy title  of ex-girlfriend in Jasper's eyes.



She wished she could stop caring. That she could stop thinking of him as  a girlfriend would. But she couldn't. She spent the rest of the evening  looking up pictures of Jasper on the internet, desperate to just have a  glimpse of him.





Chapter 36



Jasper felt the pain before he'd even opened his eyes. The moment his  mind released him from a dream, he was reminded of the agony currently  overwhelming his wrung out body. Wincing, he forced his eyes open  against the darkness and panted heavily as he labored to turn on his  bedside light. His entire body was coated in a thin film of sweat.



"Crap," Jasper gasped as he grabbed a nearby glass of water and popped a  few more aspirin. He could feel his muscles burning in protest with  every movement he made. Even the cool water that slid down the back of  his throat stung his wounded mouth. His jaw throbbed from the time spent  in the dentist's chair the previous afternoon. He now boasted two new  false teeth.



Massaging his jaw, Jasper sat up fully in bed. He knew from experience  that he'd struggle to get back to sleep. He might as well get up and get  a jump start on the day. Carl wanted him back at the gym as soon as  possible.



"That last fight made you look weak," he told Jasper tersely as they sat in the dimly lit changing room after the match.



"But I won," Jasper protested wearily. Wasn't that all that mattered? A  victory was a victory no matter how narrow the margins around it.



"Yes, but you still look weak!" Carl insisted with a wag of his finger.  He was pacing back and forth across the small room, the wrinkles in his  face showing as he furrowed his brow thoughtfully.



"I'm not weak," Jasper lowered his head and was forced to spit yet more  blood into the bucket he was holding. Would his gums ever stop bleeding?  His tongue inquisitively explored the new spaces in his mouth where his  teeth had previously been.



"He knocked your teeth out!" Carl ceased pacing and straightened to  stare angrily at Jasper. "On more than one occasion you could barely  stand up!"



"I won," Jasper growled, his voice low and menacing. He was in no mood to be chastised for a fight he'd managed to win.



"Barely!" Carl lamented, spreading his arms. "This will cost you dearly,  Jasper. Mark my words! The world has seen how weak you are!"



"Then what do you suggest?" Jasper demanded, pausing to spit out yet more blood.



"We schedule another fight for next Friday. You train hard all week then  come out guns blazing, show the world what a powerhouse you truly are."



"Next Friday?" Jasper asked doubtfully. "Don't you think I need more time to recover?"



"The longer you take, the weaker you look."



With a sigh, Jasper lowered his head towards the bucket he was holding and spat again.



"I'll arrange for you to get your teeth sorted tomorrow," Carl noted as  he reached for his phone and began expertly running his fingers across  it as he made the necessary arrangements. "And I know a guy we can call  about some enhancements."                       
       
           



       



"No." Jasper said the word so sharply that Carl ceased typing into his phone and stared wide eyed at his client.



"Either I do this clean, or I don't do it at all."



"Okay," Carl nodded. "Your call."



Alone in his apartment, Jasper did his best to ignore the pain which was  searing through his body. Pain which even the aspirin he'd taken  couldn't touch. At least there were no broken bones. A quick x-ray at  the hospital had proven that, but there was ample bruising and swelling  all over his body. The kind faced nurse had suggested that he seek  plenty of rest. He almost laughed in her face. How could he rest when  his agent had lined up another big fight for him which was now less than  a week away? If he rested now, he risked losing it all and he'd fought  so hard to be where he was, not just in the ring.



"I'm fine," Jasper told himself sternly as he held his hands against his  back and grimaced as he staggered to his feet. He just needed to  shower. The hot water would ease most of his aches. He flicked on lights  as he went he headed towards his large, state of the art en suite  bathroom. It boasted all the latest modern conveniences and sparkled  thanks to the cleaner who came in on a daily basis.



It took him twice as long as normal to get in to the large cubicle. He  had a waterfall shower which cascaded lovingly over his broken body.  Jasper leaned against the tiled wall and shuddered gratefully as the  warm water caressed his skin. It was helping. But as he stood there he  thought of her. What would she say if she could see him now? She'd be  mad at him; that was a given. She'd pout in that sexy way of hers and  tell him to take better care of himself. And when she spoke to him like  that, all he wanted to do was rip her clothes off and ravage her.



Jasper's body felt unusually heavy as he stood in the shower. His head  was spinning with thoughts of Kait. Why was he even thinking about her?  She'd walked away from him; they were done. All he needed to do was walk  into a bar with his biceps showing, and he'd pick up a new girl in a  heartbeat. He could have someone in the shower with him with no effort  at all.



Thinking about Kait hurt more than his injuries, throbbed more than his  sore jaw. He was only equipped to handle one kind of pain at a time. His  feelings over Kait would have to wait, and he knew there was only one  way to overcome them; he needed to distract himself.





Chapter 37



Jasper didn't make it in to the gym that day, but he did enjoy a  thorough workout. He'd scrolled through his phone in the early hours and  invited three buxom brunettes that he knew. They had to be brunette; if  they were blonde, they'd only remind him of Kait, and the last thing he  needed was another excuse to think about her.



By ten in the morning, the girls had arrived wearing skimpy clothes and  flirtatious smiles. When Jasper opened the door to them, his heart  pinched with doubt. He didn't feel the swell of excitement he'd  anticipated when he saw them. Instead, he felt disappointment gnawing at  his stomach, disappointment that they weren't Kait.