Page 29 of Amelia and Her Prince Charming
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay?” I repeated to make sure.
“Amelia,” he said, his voice raspy. “I’ve wanted to kiss you my whole life.”
My heart skipped. “You haven’t known me your whole life.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true.”
I scooted closer to him and pressed my lips to his again, a little firmer this time. His lips parted, and we were transported away from a dilapidated cabin in the woods with soggy clothes strewn about in the background. We were floating instead in front of a cozy, robust fire, sparks encircling us like stars as heat licked through our veins.
His hand tightened on my hip. I drew my fingers through his hair and brought his face even closer, loving the friction of his stubble against my chin and lips. I became aware of every nerve ending—where the tips of my fingers dug into the soft hairs at the nape of his neck. How my cheek came alive when he drew his nose softly along it on his way to kiss my jaw and neck. How my heart beat in tandem with his, the thumps a steady but racing meter to our mutual longing.
Hudson’s kisses moved back to my mouth, becoming shorter and softer. His eyes were shut, and his breathing ragged.
“I don’t want to wake up from this dream,” he whispered against my lips, so quietly, so faded, I almost didn’t hear him.
“It’s not a dream.”
“Hmmm,” he mumbled before falling back asleep.
Kissing Hudson was everything I was afraid it would be and more.
The experiment was complete, but I found myself wanting to try it again, with different variables. What if we kissed standing up? Or when we were both fully hydrated and lucid? Or undera full sky of stars? Maybe while cuddled on the couch and watching a movie? Until I tried every scenario, and developed a measurable scale, this was an incomplete experiment.
But before I could do any of that, I needed to save Hudson. No matter what it took.
Chapter 18
Amelia
Turnedout,savingHudsonwas going to take everything I had.
I rolled out of his embrace and sat up to a spinning cabin. If I thought about what it was going to take to get to the cabin on the other side of the island, it made me want to lie back down beside Hudson and pretend none of this was happening.
Baby steps.
First step, put some clothes on. Since I’d sworn to never wear that dress again, I threw Hudson’s button-up shirt over my head. It went halfway down my thighs, like a T-shirt dress several sizes too big. But it was mostly dry and would keep the bugs and branches from coming after me. I stopped to let the room resettle in my vision, then moved onto solving the next problem. My foot was burning, but there wasn’t much I could do about that, except put on Hudson’s socks. They were thick wool, and even more damp than his shirt had been, but it was all I had.
His clothes were too salty and smoky to smell like him but having them around me still felt like I was safely in his arms.You’ve got this, Amelia, I said to myself, but it sounded likeHudson’s voice in my head. I turned to watch him sleeping. He moved restlessly, like he couldn’t get comfortable, and the swelling in his shoulder was noticeable in the light.
I held onto the wall as I stood and remained there until the black spots in my vision cleared. One step in front of the other, I focused on each inch passed as I walked outside of the cabin and blinked into the gray dappled sunlight. Disorientation swept through me as I turned in a circle and saw nothing but dense stands of trees in every direction. Birds chirped happily in those trees, making the forest seem less daunting.
I stumbled down the porch, nearly falling into a patch of thorny weeds that surrounded the cabin. There were tons of moss, rocks, purple lupine, salmonberry bushes all blending into my vision like wet ink spreading across a page. But no trail.
Getting lost in the forest wasn’t going to help either of us.
But I could hear the rushing sound of the ocean, so I headed in that direction. I stumbled and fell every few steps, and each time I had to pull myself to my feet, it was harder and harder to stand. My foot burned when I placed weight on it, clearing my mind every time the pain shot up my leg.
I was so thirsty. The sound of water drew me close, even though I knew I couldn’t drink it.
I made it to shore and looked back at the island, hoping to spot the Forresters’ cabin high on a hill so I’d know which way to walk. But it was impossible to see anything through the thick moss, weeds, and trees. If I had tears, I’d cry.
Instead, I lay down on the rocky shore and stared up at the sky, dozing in and out, dreaming of water.
Don’t give up, Amy.
I blinked my eyes open again. I could do this. I could save us. Hudson had done everything in his power to save me, time and again, and I would do the same.
