Chapter Twelve
Delilah didn’t know how long they’d been on the motorcycle when it slowed for what felt like the hundredth time, but she’d long since given up that they would be pulling off any time soon.
She took a deep breath and leaned a little closer to Hawkeye, enjoying the warmth that emanated from him, keeping the cold wind from freezing her into a block of solid ice.
Resigned to more hours on the back of the motorcycle, she didn’t even lift her head from where it rested against his upper back when they stopped.
It was just another stop light. It wasn’t until he killed the engine and the vibrating beneath her numb butt stopped that she opened her eyes and looked around.
This wasn’t a stop light. They weren’t anywhere she recognized. They were inside somewhere—he’d driven his motorcycle inside, as had several others. As she looked around, she thought there weren’t as many motorcycles in the room as had been on the road with them.
“We’re here, you can hop off now,” Hawkeye patted her thigh.
Delilah tried to push herself up and swing her leg over the back like she’d done to get on, but her legs wouldn’t cooperate. Finally, she collapsed back onto the seat.
“I don’t think I can. My legs don’t want to work.”
She heard a low chuckle and if it wasn’t for the way his back vibrated against her, she might not have known it was Hawkeye.
“That’s okay, not surprising. Give me a second and I’ll help you.
” He dismounted, and she could tell he was being careful not to kick her as he lifted his leg over the seat, then turned to face her.
“Tilt up.” He tapped the side of the helmet she wore with one finger.
She held still as he removed the helmet.
Once it was off, she couldn’t resist the need to shake her head and roll her neck without the extra weight.
“All right. You ready for this? It won’t be pleasant. I’ll need to hold on to you pretty tight, because I think your legs might not hold you for a couple of minutes.” He kept his eyes on her face, and she got the feeling he was watching for her to balk.
Delilah wasn’t sure why, but something about the big man made her feel safe. She hadn’t felt safe in years. Not since she was a kid. She met his gaze and fought the voice in her head that yelled not to. She needed to know her place. She had no business looking him in the face like an equal.
For the first time, she realized the voice wasn’t hers. Sometimes it was her father’s, sometimes it was Warren’s ... never her own. Why? She didn’t know but she was ready to be done with them, in her head as well as in person.
“I’m ready,” she said, doing her best to sound confident and self-assured, even if she didn’t feel it. She could only hope that in time, she’d start feeling the way she tried to appear.
He watched her for a second more, then leaned close and hooked an arm around her waist and plucked her off the bike as if she weighed no more than a feather.
Delilah knew better than that, but she didn’t say anything, instead she bit the inside of her lip to keep from letting out a squeak of surprise as he lifted her free of the bike, then lowered her until her feet touched the ground.
She tried to put her feet down and stand, and she managed it for a split second before her knees gave and she started to fall.
Out of instinct, she closed her eyes. Falling on what had looked like bare cement was going to hurt and she didn’t want to see it coming.
But it never came. The arm around her middle tightened again, catching her.
“See?”
She opened her eyes to find him looking down at her, an amused glint lighting his eyes.
She didn’t know if she should be grateful he’d caught her or angry he was laughing at her.
“Give it a minute or two for the circulation to return, then you’ll be fine.
If you spend more time on the bike, you’ll get used to it and this won’t happen so much.
Not that I mind helping when you need it. ”
Delilah didn’t want him to see the anger growing in her belly. Especially not when he was so close and it would be so easy for him to remind her of her place. She lowered her gaze so she focused on his chest only inches from her face.
“I don’t like being laughed at,” she said, her voice soft as she hoped he wouldn’t betray what little trust he’d built, despite the walls she had built to keep anyone from hurting her again.
“I’m sorry,” Hawkeye used the hand not holding her against him to smooth a loose strand of hair out of her face and tuck it under the hood.
Then he tugged at the back of the hood she still wore until it slipped off and fell against her back.
“I wasn’t really laughing at you, little dove, I was laughing because I’d forgotten how it feels to ride so long your legs and ass go numb.
If we hadn’t been in such a hurry to get here, I would have pulled off a couple of times to give you a chance to walk around for a few minutes. That helps.”
Her legs had gone from numb to tingling.
It felt like a billion needles were jabbing every inch of her skin from her hips down.
She tried to remain still, but she couldn’t keep her feet from shuffling around.
one muscle in her right thigh felt like it was about to jump out of her body. The arm around her middle tightened.
“I’m sorry. I’m not doing it on purpose.”
“I know, baby. This is the part I warned you about.” He gave her a soft smile. The expression changed his looks dramatically. He no longer looked like a large threatening ogre, not that she minded since he made her feel safe. But with a smile he appeared more friendly, more approachable.
Not prepared for Hawkeye’s scrutiny, she decided her only option was to relax and wait it out.
She’d been pressed against him for at least the last hour, she had no clue how long it had been, only that he’d been there, so she let her head fall forward until her forehead rested against his chest and closed her eyes.