He kept whispering soothing words, and soon the tears dried and she managed to dress herself before the two of them exited the changing area. It all was such a blur, the only thing to focus on was his voice, and the strength of his hands as they'd washed her, taking away the filth that man had left on her. Simply having Mav there, being so kind, being her rock, gave her the sense of peace and security she needed to let go of the terror that had been consuming her.
His faith in her was terrifying, but her need for him was even worse. She knew she couldn't think that way. It only added to the chaos of her life.
"I have to finish my shift, Mav," she said as he walked her outside the building for a breath of fresh air.
He stopped in his tracks, a look of disbelief on his face.
"I think they can give you a pass, Lins. You were attacked."
"If I run now, I might never come back in again, Maverick. I can't run anymore. I'm afraid of what will happen if I do," she told him, praying he wouldn't push the issue. If he did, she wouldn't be able to resist, and then all would be lost.
He tugged her into his arms.
"I don't like this one bit, but I'm in awe of the person you are. Let's at least grab a cup of coffee. You deserve a break before going back into that room," he insisted.
"I can concede to that," she told him.
He held her a few moments longer and then they walked side by side to the small dining area.
The caffeine helped tremendously, and she was able to go back to work. It wasn't exactly with bells on, but it was a start. It seemed that if she just focused on the small stuff, life was so much easier to handle. If she started looking at the bigger picture, that's when she felt like she was spinning out of control.
So she was going to just take it a day at a time. No, not even that. She was going to take it a moment at a time, and then an hour, and work herself up to days, weeks, and months. She wouldn't even think about years yet.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Maverick hated hospitals. Really hated them. They smelled bad, and were incredibly noisy. He'd spent a fair amount of time in ERs. That's what happened when you liked to live your life fast and hard.
But nothing was going to pull him away from the ER waiting room on this particular night. When he'd seen Lindsey come out of the trauma room covered in blood, her face white with red and purple bruising around her neck in the shape of fingerprints, he'd nearly lost it.
He should have been there sooner. Maybe he could have prevented it. Logically, he knew he couldn't have done anything. How could he when he didn't know what was going on behind those doors? And as much power as he had around town, he still couldn't get into the sterile area without a reason.
Hell, maybe it was time to break another bone just so he could get back there. He would do that for this woman. That was a humbling thought. Shaking his head, he just had to face up to the fact that he was protective of Lindsey, and he hated that something terrible had happened to her.
Still, he wasn't leaving the hospital without her. Glancing at the clock for the fiftieth time, he sighed with relief. Her shift was over in ten minutes. He'd already sweet-talked one of the nurses to find out where the staff exited at the end of their day.
He didn't trust Lindsey not to try to sneak off without him. And he needed to be with her tonight. He was afraid that a lot of their progress had just been smashed in a several-hour period.
It was okay if that were the case, though, because he was going to be there for her to help pick up these new pieces. He had plans to help her decompress after a trying day at work.
Getting up, he smiled at the nurse who had helped him and was rewarded by her nervous giggle. Why couldn't Lindsey be so easy to mesmerize? His life would be much smoother if she were.
Leaning against the wall near the employee exit, Maverick smiled when he spotted Lins coming out, suspiciously looking around, and then making a dash toward her car. She was trying to sneak off.
"My truck is over that way," he called, making her whip around.
"You scared me," she exclaimed, holding her hand up to her heart.
"If you hadn't been trying to sneak away, you wouldn't have gotten frightened," he pointed out.
"I wasn't trying to sneak off. I just didn't know the exact plans. I need to go home and shower and . . . stuff," she said as she began moving toward her car again.
"You can shower at my place. I have plans tonight," he said, easily reaching her and turning her in the direction of his truck.
"I can't leave my car here," she told him, tugging against his hold. "And Princess needs me."
"Stormy is watching Princess," he said. "And your car is fine. It's in a secure parking lot. I'll bring you to get it tomorrow." They reached his truck and he leaned her back against it, boxing her in.
"I don't plan on spending the night with you," she said, gaining some fire in her eyes.
"Well, you should know that my plans for you go all the way to the morning." The soft purr in his voice had been known to drop women to their knees before. Apparently not this woman.
"Just because we spent a spectacular night having lots of sex doesn't automatically mean I'm going to keep on doing that with you," she said, placing a hand on her hip.
She was turning his own words back around on him. Good for her.
"Sex is optional, sugar. There's more to life than great sex," he said with a laugh. "I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that is, but I've been told there's more to life, at least," he added.
Then he got the smile he'd been hoping for. Damn! When she smiled, it stole his breath, and made his heart lodge in his throat. Her lips were certainly deadly weapons.
"I still need clothes if I'm coming over. Why don't I just meet you?" she offered.
"Because you'll find a reason not to come. I have sweats and T-shirts you can wear. They'll be baggy, but you'll look adorable. Come on, sugar. Let's be spontaneous," he urged.
She looked as if she were pondering it for several moments, and then he knew he'd won. He could see the curiosity in her eyes.
"I'm not agreeing to all night," was all she said.
Too tempted not to, he leaned in and took her lips, being gentle as he sipped her flavor. He wanted to crush her to him, but she'd had a hell of a day. Tonight, all the way into the morning, was going to be about tenderness and laughter. His libido could take a cold shower for now.
Opening his truck door, he helped her inside, then quickly rushed around to the driver's side. Getting in, he knew what he'd been missing the last few days. It was the smell of her perfume engulfing him.
The hospital smells fell away, and all his senses were tuned into the beautiful woman sitting next to him. He'd never be able to drive this truck again without thinking about her.
He took his time getting home, letting her relax as the two of them looked out at the harbor lights when they neared his place. He was nervous for her to see it. He hoped she liked it. Really, it didn't matter much, he tried to tell himself. It wasn't as if he were asking her to move in or anything, but for some reason, he wanted her to like the place.
They pulled up and he sat there a moment as she looked at the front deck.
"When did you move here?" she asked.
"I just bought the place a couple weeks ago," he admitted.
"And it's already furnished?"
"That was one of the great things about the purchase. It came that way. I only had to move a few items. I got rid of a lot of my old stuff and took advantage of the decorating skills of the previous owners."
"Lucky man," she told him. "It looks beautiful-and very big," she said with a nervous laugh.
"Wait until you see the inside."
He rushed around the truck and let her out, then led her up the steps and to the covered front deck. When he unlocked the doors, Benji and Princess came running at them.
"Princess!" Lindsey exclaimed, true joy in her voice as she dropped down and enveloped the dog. After the day she'd had, he'd known she would want to see her.
"I had Coop bring her over. My housekeeper has been keeping an eye on them, and set a few things up for us," he said, suddenly nervous when she looked up at him with a tender gaze.
"Thanks, Mav. That was really thoughtful."
Suddenly he was feeling as if he couldn't breathe again. He tugged at the collar of his shirt as he took off his jacket.
"Let me show you where you can shower and change. Coop texted me and said that Stormy went ahead and grabbed some of your clothes and sent them over with him. You don't have to wear my baggy sweats after all," he told her.
Her cheeks pinked, and it didn't take long for him to find out why. "Stormy has to be thinking . . ." She trailed off.
"She's thinking you had a hell of a day at work and that we're going to make up for it by having a romantic evening," he said as he kneeled down and cupped her face.