Delilah shook her head but couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
“No what?No, you’re not shy?”
She shook her head again.
“If you’re not shy, why won’t you look at me?”He tilted his head to one side and lowered the finger that had been holding her chin up.
“Because it’s rude.It’s disrespectful and I don’t want you to punish me in front of everyone.”She looked around, her gaze settling on the other bikers who had been riding with them before she let her gaze fall again.
“What the fuck?What did those assholes do to you?”Hawkeye’s outburst made her flinch, but she stayed where she was, refusing to back down.
She shook her head.“You mean the bikers?Not much.They slapped me around a little.I learned to stay out of the way and once things got wild, I would stay out of sight.”She shrugged.“It wasn’t that bad there.”
Hawkeye scowled, but she got the sense he wasn’t angry with her.
“Then who taught you that bullshit?Who punished you for looking at them?”
“My father first, then my husband.”She glanced up at his face hoping he wouldn’t slap her, or worse, for doing what he’d told her to do.If he did then it wouldn’t be the first time.Still, she remembered his large hands and hoped he wasn’t trying to trick her into giving him an excuse to knock her around.Warren had enjoyed doing that.
She saw when his eyes went wide as he stared at her for a second or two.
“You’re married?Do we need to take you back to an old man?”He scowled again.“You don’t have to go back if you’re looking to get away from him.Is someone going to come looking for you?”
She shook her head.“I was, but not anymore.”She tilted her head.“Or maybe I never was.”She sighed.“I thought I was and that was what mattered.”She realized she was babbling so she took a deep breath and spoke once more, trying to only say what he needed to know.“No, I don’t want to go back there.And I can’t imagine anyone would come looking for me.”
“Not even your husband?”Hawkeye’s voice was soft.He ran the backs of two fingers along the curve of her jaw.“If you were mine, little dove, I would make sure you knew how important you were and that I’d never let you go without a fight.”
She shook her head again.“I don’t have a husband, not anymore.”
“Did something happen?Did he die?”
Delilah took a deep breath and wished she didn’t have to reveal her shame here, in the parking lot of a gas station.She kept her head down and spoke with little more than a whisper, hoping he would hear her and she wouldn’t have to repeat it.
“He set me aside.”
“He what?Are you divorced?”
She shook her head.“Apparently, there’s no need for a divorce when you aren’t legally married.All they must do is set you aside, and make sure you’re no longer part of the community, then he’s free to marry again.”
He blinked and stared at her for several seconds.“But—Why?”
She shrugged, “My husband got rid of me because I’m barren.”
“First, your ex is an idiot.It seems we have a lot to discuss, but this isn’t the time or place for it.We’ve got the basics.Anything else you needed to tell me?Anything at all?”
“I was going to tell you.You can call me Delilah.”
“Call you, huh?Is it not your real name?”
“It’s my name.But not all of it.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod.“We need to get out of here, so you need to put the helmet on.”He scanned her from top to bottom, “I know it’s a little too big.Putting the hood up before the helmet might help.”
Delilah didn’t know any different and it sounded like it might work.Either way, it would give her something to absorb some of the sweat if it was as hot as she thought it would be.She didn’t say anything as she lifted the hood up over her head.
“Here, try this.”He looped the strings to her hood together once, then tugged them tight until the hood was cinched around her face.“Hold these in your teeth.”He lifted the strings so all she had to do was open her mouth, then bite down once he shifted the twist between her teeth.“Now, let’s see if we can get this on.”He picked up the helmet and helped her slide it down over her head, lifting the visor so she could see him.“You can let those go now,” he said once he got the helmet settled.“Tilt back.”He lifted her chin and fastened the chin strap, keeping his finger between the plastic clip and her skin.She thought he was trying to keep from pinching her, but she couldn’t be sure.She sure as hell hadn’t known anyone who wanted to protect her before, she didn’t know why anyone would start now.
“One question before we hit the road.”
