“Here, eat this.We’ve got a couple hours to go tonight and you look like you’re about to pass out.”He handed her a protein bar, hoping that between the nutrients and sugar it would help.The last thing he needed was to try to keep a sleeping woman from falling off the bike while they did seventy or better down the highway.
He waited until she’d taken a couple of bites then he cracked open the seal on one of the bottles of water and handed it to her.“I want both of those gone.I’ll be right back.I need to talk to Shotgun.I’ll be right there if you need anything.”He pointed to where the acting SAA stood next to his bike, along with the road captain, both of the men Raven had asked him to speak to.“While I’m gone, re-think the name thing.I’m not saying you have to give me your name, but we need something to call you.As much as I like calling you little dove, I don’t want the others using it.”he leaned close and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.“If you want to just give us your first name, or even a fake first name, how would we know.”He deliberately kept his voice soft enough that only the two of them would hear.
Not wanting to, but knowing he had things he had to do, he pulled away, leaving her to finish the food and water as he went to relay his president’s message.
Chapter Ten
Delilah watched Hawkeyewalk away and wondered what was going on.She had only been with him an hour or so if her guess was right, but he was nothing like any of the men she’d ever known.He was gentle, caring almost, with her.But not with everyone.She’d started to wonder if that was just his way, when he’d come around the corner to where the big, hairy man had backed her into the wall and trapped her there as he told her all the vile things he wanted to do to her.
The roar that had come from Hawkeye when he’d spotted them had made her cringe.She was ready to fall to her knees and beg him to hear her out first when he’d used her sleeve to put her behind him and had gone after the stranger.Not that Hawkeye wasn’t a stranger, too, but somehow, she didn’t feel like he was.He hadn’t even asked her side before he’d gone after that man.
Neither her father or even Warren would have asked her side, but they wouldn’t have been defending her.No, she would have been punished for ‘enticing’ the stranger.Not that she’d done anything but exist.Still, she watched Hawkeye and wondered if the punishment was still to come?Was he waiting until they were alone?
A shiver ran through her at the thought.She was used to people who had one face for the world to see and another in private.That was how her father was, and later she’d found Warren was the same.
Somehow, though, she didn’t get the sense that Hawkeye would be like either of them.First, he didn’t seem to care what other people thought.Or maybe she should correct that, he didn’t seem to care what anyone but the other bikers with him thought.She remembered the way he’d jumped to defend her when the other biker confronted them.She didn’t want him to get in trouble, plus, she’d learned long ago that the punishment would be easier if she owned up to whatever they thought she’d done early, apologizing helped, too.Warren had especially liked it when she would beg.
She shook her head and pushed thoughts of her former husband from her mind.No, there had been no formal divorce.She’d learned they didn’t need one since they’d never legally been married.That had been a painful discovery.It had left her feeling both dirty and oddly free, even if she’d gone from Jericho, The Calling’s compound, to the place where Hawkeye had found her.
She popped the last bite of the bar he’d given her into her mouth and thought about what Hawkeye had said before going to the other men.It didn’t have to be her whole name.It didn’t even have to be her real name, he just wanted something to call her.
She liked it when he called her little dove.It made something low in her belly flutter and warm but as she thought about it, she didn’t want everyone to call her that.What did she want people to call her?Now was the chance to become someone entirely different, if she wanted.But what did she want?Had anyone ever asked her that before?Not that she could remember.
Crumpling the wrapper from the candy bar Hawkeye had given her, she kept an eye on him as she sipped the water.It was cold and refreshing, better than the lukewarm tap water from the warehouse.She closed her eyes for a moment, letting her body revel in a little extra water.She needed it more than she’d realized.
She’d just finished the last of the water when Hawkeye came back.She watched as he approached but kept her eyes downcast.
“Hey,” he said as he got close, “Don’t do that.”He used one knuckle under her chin to gently lift her head.
“Do what?”Her eyes were nearly closed as she tried to keep from meeting his gaze.
“Lower your eyes like that.Look me in the face.Look everyone in the face.”
She hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a trap.Warren had liked traps.Slowly, she lifted her lashes and found him watching her, something that looked like curiosity in his soft brown eyes.She struggled to keep from looking away.Her face heated but she kept her eyes on his like he’d asked.
“Are you that shy that it embarrasses you to look me in the face?”
