Her legs were made of lead as I helped her up and noticed for the first time her torn stockings and bare feet.
“You don’t have any shoes?”
Shaking her head, she crossed her arms over her chest, which drew my attention to a ballooning cleavage that usually would have made my pulse race.
But this wasn’t the time for arousal. My dick had other ideas, and despite that regrettable primal response, sex was the last thing on my mind.
I removed my jacket. “Here, let me put this over you.”
The pair, although busy working, kept watching on. I couldn’t quite blame them. Me with a black eye and this beautiful, drugged girl looking like I’d picked her up off the street.
“Here.” I placed my hand around her waist, and we left the kitchen. After taking a few tentative steps into the dark alley and hiding behind a skip that smelt of rotting fish, I established that we’d lost the thug.
With my arm around her waist, holding her up, I stopped walking. “Where do you live?”
“Nowhere,” she slurred.
I turned to face her, while still holding onto her. “What drugs are you on?”
“I don’t know.”
I frowned. “You took something without knowing what it was?”
She closed her eyes, as though trying to remember something. Her face was in such a desperate need of a clean, I held onto to her with one hand, and reaching into my pocket, I grabbed a handkerchief.
“Don’t touch me.” She pushed me away and stumbled onto her bottom. She sat on the ground, looking up at me, fear in her teary, hooded eyes.
I bent down to help her up. “I wasn’t about to hurt you. I wanted to wipe your face. It’s a fucking mess.”
She blinked repeatedly, as though doing so to clear something from her eyes. “I thought you were one of them.”
“One of whom?” I asked.
“It’s a long story.” She sighed, slumping again so I had to hold her up. “I just want to sleep.”
Unsure of what to do with her as she leaned against me, I couldn’t just leave her there alone. Not in that state. “Okay. I’ll book you a hotel.”
“Can I stay at yours?” she slurred. “On the couch.”
My head jerked back. “A minute ago, you were worried I would hit on you, and now you want to crash with me?”
“I don’t know who to trust. And I’m…” Her head fell on my shoulder, and she closed her eyes.
Resigned to role of protector for the night, I carried her to my car. Her body limp like a rag doll.
We had to walk along the main drag, and people made snide comments, while others pointed and laughed. By this stage, I didn’t give a fuck what people thought.
When we pulled up at my house, she was sound asleep.
As she lay in the back seat, it was as though I was looking at Sleeping Beauty. Her long, raven hair covering her elfin features and her lips apart.
Hugging my jacket, she was finally peaceful.
I hated to wake her, but I couldn’t leave her in the car either.
I opened the car door and, taking her into my arms, lifted her.
She breathed into my ear. “Where am I? What’s happening?”