“But it won’t last forever. You can shower and wash your clothes and your face, because you have a little something here . . .” He waved his hand toward her unbruised cheek.
She turned away, curling into a ball on the seat.
Right, so much for not saying something, you freaking asshole.
Now what?
He placed his hand on her back. She flinched and he pulled it back.
“Girl, it’s not that bad.”
Sniffle. Sniffle.
Damn, maybe he should start carrying around a handkerchief like Markovich.
He searched for a napkin, finding a couple in a seat pocket. Then he wet some with a bottle of water.
“Maeve, you don’t smell that bad. It’s just a bit of garbage.” He hoped. “There are worse things that could have happened. You could have been hurt. Raped. Killed.”
She let out a deep, shuddering breath. He wondered if that was why she was really crying. Because everything was hitting her now. The fact that she’d been hit, attacked, and threatened.
She was actually a brave little thing, wasn’t she?
“Girl, turn around.” He attempted to sound as gentle as possible. It wasn’t that easy.
She shook her head.
Fine. Perhaps that was the wrong tact to take.
“Maeve.” He made his voice go deeper, putting in a command. “Turn around and look at me.”
Surprisingly, that worked. He gently grasped hold of her chin. She tried to pull back, but he shook his head at her. “No, stay still. I’m going to clean you up.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Hush, girl. Stop protesting and let me do what I want.”
“Do you usually get what you want?”
“Not all the time.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Trust me, it’s frustrating.” He wiped away the mascara and other grime off her face. He was careful to avoid her sore cheek. Damn, he’d like to fuck those assholes up.
“You mean you don’t just order people around?”
“Yeah, as often as I can. Doesn’t mean everyone listens.” He wet another napkin and cleaned her neck. She really was a mess. A sweet, sassy, walking disaster.
So why did he find that attractive?
Why did he think she was cute?
You’ve never wanted cute. Cute is for people who have normal lives. Not criminals like you.
She gasped, placing her hand on her chest. “Some people don’t jump immediately when you tell them to? How dare they! The philistines.”
Definitely had a lot of sass. But he didn’t care. Her tears were disappearing and there was a hint of a smile on her face.