"Leave her alone, hombre," Marcus warned the man in a low growl, driven largely by the expression that had been on her face. An irrational, overwhelming impulse to protect. He couldn't peg exactly how old she was, but that look had been so little girl lost he wasn't sure what to do with it. Ultimately, he opted to shove her things in her bag for her and let her go out ahead of him. Even if he hadn't been afraid of triggering another fit, he wouldn't have touched her just then. Not with everyone staring like that, looking for signs that he was forcing her to leave with him against her will. Some of those fuckers would have loved a reason to call for security. Though good old fashioned American complacency gave them pause. Nobody wanted to be the little bitch who cried foul when nothing was really wrong, so they were waiting for permission to intervene. Hers. Each other's. Someone's.
At least they'd have something to gossip about. The poor girl having the fit and the asshole, abusive boyfriend-or-whatever not letting anyone help her.
Whatever. Fuck 'em all.
Marcus ignored them, abandoning the gym in his wake and following the brunette outside. He placed her bag in one of the deck chairs set up to offer vantage points near the railings. He found the vista rather disorienting, never having been out of sight of land before, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. Something worth looking at, certainly. "Here, mija," he said, just to draw her attention to where he was putting her things. "I'm going to go to that bar poolside and see if I can get an ice pack for your hand. You want to bounce while I'm gone I won't take it as an insult. The med center's down on the boarding deck, behind guest services."
It occurred to him as he walked away from her that it might also due to find himself a fucking shirt, as well, though that could wait until after he'd visited the bar. He didn't expect her to stick around waiting for him to come back with the ice pack. Hell, he didn't expect her to go to the med center, either. If anyone were taking bets, he'd put his money on her scurrying back to her cabin at the earliest opportunity, the second nobody was looking to see where she'd gone. It's what he'd probably do, in her shoes. Just in case, though, he was still going to get one and walk it back, if only because he'd said he would.