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He squints at me. “For what?”
“I left the hotel without you. But I tried to call you, and I left messages and a note. And I looked for that agent, but apparently, he took a bribe from Gary.”
Caleb growls. “I’ll kill him.” Frown lines deepen in his forehead and I smooth them away with my fingers.
“I felt like I had no choice, but of course I did and I chose to leave without you.” My rambling picks back up. “But I promise I’ll never leave you again.”
He sighs. “You promise you’ll always come back?”
“Of course.”
“Then that’s all I need to know. I trust you.” His eyes close and he’s quiet for so long that I think he’s fallen asleep. Until he speaks up again. “I didn’t get any calls.” His eyes pop open. “Did you call the number I left?”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t remember if the number at the end was a six or a five.” My head hurts trying to recall the memory.
He clenches his jaw. “It was an eight. I have terrible handwriting. I’m so sorry Amelia, I could have gotten to you sooner.”
“You found me just in time.”
“But what if—?”
I press a finger to his lips. I’m tired and so is he. Tonight isn’t the best time to talk. But that’s not all I came for. “Honestly, the only mystery I want to figure out right now is what it feels like to kiss you while I'm loopy.”
His lips twitch beneath my touch. “Let’s find out.”
I press my lips lightly to his, careful not to hurt him.
He doesn’t seem to have the same care because he grabs the back of my neck and deepens the kiss. I follow his lead, gently nipping at his bottom lip. But it’s not enough. It never will be. I press into him, opening more of my heart and soul to him.
Every brush of his lips whispers promises that he’s not going to pull away this time. That he will always protect me. My kiss says infinitely more. How I’m going to annoy him for as long as he lets me, but I’ll always love him.
My heart speeds up with the commitments I silently make, and I kiss him harder trying to convey with my lips words I’m too afraid to say yet.
I cup his jaw, pulling him closer.
“I told you they were fine.” I hear Maddie’s voice in the doorway.
“They’re clearly not fine,” Connor grunts. “They’re going to kill each other.”
I pull away from Caleb. “What a way to go.”
“Dangerous woman.” He nips at my ear.
“Ooh look! Jell-O shots!” I grab the two Jell-O cups off his table and crack them open. “To us! For not dying tonight.”
“To us!” Caleb cheers and I chug the Jell-O. The texture is all wrong and I choke on it, spitting half of it on Caleb as I do. “I’ll order some more!”
Our talk will have to wait until tomorrow when both of our minds are clear and when the trauma isn’t so fresh. And when our lips are done with each other.
We may never talk.
Chapter 52
Caleb
I wake to the contrast of excruciating pain on my left side but pure perfection on the other.
Amelia is curled up into my side, her hand above my heart like she alone controls the rhythm of it.