A Minor Technicality [Completed] *Slowly Editing*

Chapter 26 - Firecracker

***A/N: This chapter does contain SEX, although I tried to keep it PG-13. If you would like to read the Rated R version, you can access it at http://www.wattpad.com/38032195-rated-r-chapters-a-minor-technicality-chapter-26?d=ud or by going to my profile to book marked Rated R Chapters. ***

Luca's POV

The expression of terror on Blythe's face was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. How did one explain that while it looked like enormous amounts of blood had been lost, it was caused by a mere flesh wound? True, it stung like a bitch, but the bullet had only grazed my shoulder. It would be tender for a few days, and it would probably scar, but the injury was in no way life threatening.

Blythe's eyes were wide and glassy, and her skin had paled when she looked at my shoulder. Gently, she reached forward and began tugging at my tee. I stifled a groan at the sudden movement.

"I need to get this off you, so I can see the wound better," she murmured, a catch in her voice.

I nodded silently, and tried to lift my arms to help her remove the bloodied shirt. Her eyes were shiny, and my chest squeezed at the sight of her on the verge of tears. I grunted when a sharp pain attacked my shoulder with the motion, but I forced myself to keep my arms lifted as Blythe wrestled the sticky shirt from my frame.

"I'm so sorry," she gasped when she saw the intense look on my face.

"I'll be fine," I groused. "It just grazed me."

Though I tried to sound gentle, my words were gravelly, and my tone was filled with tension. Blythe held my arm while searching for signs of a deeper wound. When she was satisfied that I was telling the truth, she set my hand softly on the counter by the sink.

"I need to find a first aid kit or something," she whispered to herself. She opened the medicine cabinet, her frown indicating she hadn't found anything useful. Stepping across the crowded bathroom, she opened a small linen closet and began to peruse its contents. Her quiet cursing made me want to chuckle. It still amused me that such an innocent looking woman had such a sailor's mouth.

She set something abruptly on the counter by my hand and squatted to search the cabinet under the sink. I didn't even look at the counter, my gaze instead glued to the hint of a tiny thong peeking from the top of her jeans. I licked my lips unconsciously, and groaned when she shifted upright again. She frowned at me, and I realized that she thought I had moaned due to pain. It was pain alright, but not the kind she was thinking.

"Find anything useful?" I asked, trying to distract her.

Grinning in triumph, Blythe lifted a gauze bandage into the air. She reached back into the cabinet and retrieved a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

"The only pain medicine I could find was Midol." She gestured to the counter, where she had set a washcloth and a small bottle of medication that I had yet to notice due to her teasing underwear show. "Hope you're in touch with your feminine side," she teased. I chuckled weakly at her poor attempt at humor.

Her smile vanished as she began to ready herself to clean my wound. I watched, mesmerized as her blonde hair fell around her shoulders. She poured the peroxide on the cloth and turned, her eyes sorrowful.

"This is going to burn like a bitch," she warned.

Biting my cheek to avoid any shout of agony, I prepared myself for the sting of the liquid. Tendrils of fire shot through my body as Blythe dabbed softly at my shoulder with the washcloth, wiping away the excess blood. Blythe bit her lower lip in concentration, a move that served to be my ultimate distraction. I was jealous of her teeth, wanting to tease the plump flesh of that perfect, pink lip with my own mouth.