Page 5

Chapter Five

HUDSON

I explain, “You’re in shock.”

Classic shock.

Hadleigh breathes in quick, shallow bursts, her skin cold and clammy. Nervous laughter shakes her frame until tears spring to her eyes, and she’s disoriented, unaware of the looming dangers pressing down on us.

“Shock is the least of my worries,” she counters, waving her hand in the air. “If you knew even half of what I’ve been through today.”

“Tell me about it,” I order darkly. Better to keep her talking.

But she presses her lips together, silence overtaking us.

I remove my bugout bag, locating the first-aid kit and the sealed package with bandages and disinfectant. “This may hurt, but your leg needs attention.”

“It won’t hurt,” she says flatly. “I’m so cold, I can’t feel anything.” She speaks thick-tongued. Her flesh is covered in a thousand goosebumps, and I work hard to keep my eyes from her panties, pulled up on one side, revealing half of her shaved camel toe.

For God’s sake, I can’t think about carnality with a storm on our asses and the desperate need to push to higher ground animating my tired body. But neither can I deny her mouthwatering perfection.

“Eat this,” I order, handing her a protein bar. I don’t want her to pass out from blood loss.

“I’m not hungry,” she counters, trying to push it away.

“Eat it,” I repeat more firmly.

Her eyes widen, but she grabs the opened bar from me, shoving the end in her mouth. “This tastes terrible,” she complains, chewing like she has a pack of gum in her mouth.

“It’s not for pleasure. It’s for survival.” I add, “We need to warm you up, too. But first, we need to get to higher ground and find shelter.”

“What are you? Some kind of search and rescue guy?” she lisps, struggling to sit up and hand me back half of the bar. I fold the wrapper over the open end and return it to the sack. At least, she ate something.

“No, I’m Hudson Adair. I own Forever After Tattoo Parlor, the shop you were abducted from today.”

“Wait,” she says, lifting her head and eyeing me unbelievingly. She sounds drunk, her words heavy and clumsy, her lips pale blue, and her face icy white. “You’re Andy’s boss?”

“Andy? He goes by Drew at the shop.”

She chuckles. “He thinks a different nickname will garner respect. He doesn’t get the fact that respect is earned, not given.”

Her voice has a caustic tone. As his employer for the last few months, I can sympathize with how frustrating being related to Drew must be.

“Maybe he’ll figure it out someday,” I grunt, tightly securing the bandage covering her calf to staunch some of the bleeding. She’ll need stitches, but we have far more pressing matters to face.

I eye the churning river, noticing the chop of the water has grown more agitated than before. We have to move to higher ground before the gorge floods and sweeps us over the falls.

Eyeing the rocky surface above us, I spy a steep, narrow game trail rising to the top of the cliff face. Thank God. But Hadleigh couldn’t be more ill-equipped for this terrain, barefoot and nearly naked.

Gripping her ample hips, I pull her tight-fitting, damp dress back down to a couple of inches above her knees.

I toy with giving her my jacket. But the bulky, oversized coat could be more of a liability.

The last thing she needs, climbing a sheer rock face, is an oversized garment that will cover her hands or cause her to slip.

“We have to move now, Hadleigh.”

“Move where?”

“Out of this canyon to higher ground, or we’re going to get caught up in the water again.”

She shakes her head, staring at me. “Sorry, I forgot my hiking boots.”

“I can give you mine, but they’re way too big,” I observe, holding one of her feet. It’s colder than ice. I wonder how she’s still with me.

Moving her in this condition presents its own problems. She’s clearly hypothermic, which means sudden movements could send cold blood to her heart, sending her cardiovascular system into shock. But the roar of the angry water provides no other options.

“Can you hike barefoot, or do you want to try with socks?” I ask. I have an extra wool pair in my sack, but I’m torn about whether to give them to her, certain the grip of bare flesh is superior to slippery wool.

She lifts her head. “You’re serious? Oh, God.”

“Yes, we have to go now.”

I rise, leaning over to take her frigid hand. She stumbles to her feet, grabbing hold of me to stay steady.

“Are you dizzy?” I ask.

She nods, pressing her tits against my chest as she clings to me.

“Hold onto me. Okay? I won’t let anything happen to you.” Her pretty heart-shaped face betrays the same skepticism buried beneath my words. “We’re going to follow that trail up, which means sticking together, leaning into the rock face, and not looking down. Understood?”

Her gaze follows the trail up, her face twisting and eyes rounding. “Oh, God,” she exclaims. “There are only two things I’m afraid of in this world. “Spiders and heights. What are the odds there are tarantulas up there?”

I chuckle, grabbing her hand and starting up the trail. I don’t know if it’s better to have her in front or behind me. All I know is the clock’s ticking. “Focus on the climb, Hadleigh, and don’t look down.”

She swallows loudly, face somehow growing even paler. Her warm brown eyes transfix me. I lean in, kissing her icy lips chastely, desperate for one taste before we fight gravity for our lives.

“What was that for?” her voice croaks.

“Good luck.”

We climb slowly, the roar of the river swelling below us as rain pitter-patters our skin. The path narrows and steepens. Hadleigh gasps, gripping my hand so tightly, her knuckles turn white. Tears squeeze from her eyes. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“You’re stronger than you know, Hadleigh. You’ve got this.”

“Oh God,” she whimpers.

“A couple of hours from now, you’ll look back on this moment and realize how brave you are.”

Her eyes snap to mine. “Nice words for someone who’s supposed to be a total asshole.”

Her words take me aback for a moment until I put two and two together. The corners of my mouth turn down. “Is that what Drew told you about me?”

“Told my mom, who then told me. If it’s any consolation, neither of us believed him. But now I have flesh-and-blood proof.”

Her feet inch forward, her face relaxing slightly as the distraction of the words gets her past freezing on the ledge. I’ve got to talk her through this, but fuck, I’m no conversationalist. As a tattoo artist, I’m used to clients jabbering, not the other way around.

And what the fuck do you say to the woman who’s so fucking hot it makes your palms sweaty, your heart race, and your throat tighten like you’re back in high school? I have no game when it comes to this sexy mama.

Noticing how she knits her brows, I ask, “What’s on your mind, Hadleigh?”

She licks her lips, smiling ruefully. “Your first impression was with my dress around my waist. I can only imagine what you think of me.”

“I swear, I didn’t look,” I chuckle, body tensing at the vision of that sexy woman’s hidden curves.

“Yes, you did.”

“Well, I tried not to.”

“I’ll give you that.” She frowns.

“What else, Hadleigh?”

The trembling blonde shakes her head. “Trying to figure out why you’re here, rescuing me instead of my brother.” She quirks her mouth, and my heart skips a beat as we continue ascending the narrow trail, cold rain pelting our skin.

“Would you rather have Drew here?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, God, no. He would have never survived the river.”

I grumble, “He would have never gone in the river in the first place.”

“Which begs the question. Why did you? We’re total strangers.”

I shrug, incapable of explaining the impulse even to myself. But it started with me staring gobsmacked at her through the parlor window. “Seemed like the right thing to do.”

“That decision could still get you killed, you know,” she observes, voice shaking.

“No way in hell. We’re good, Hadleigh. Already been through the worst. The rest of this is easy-peasy.”

She looks up, scowling at how far we still have to climb.

“Hey, one foot in front of the other. That’s all I’m asking of you,” I encourage in gentle tones. “The river was the hard part. This is just tedious.”

Her hand holds mine so tightly that the blood drains from it. I keep my footing steady, half pulling her up the mountain behind me.

“I’m sorry I’m so heavy,” she apologizes as her foot slips again, and I press her tightly against me.

“You’re light,” I counter. “I could carry you piggyback, but I don’t think you’d like to hang any closer to the edge than you already are.”

“No,” she says, her eyes dropping down before I can say anything. “Oh, God.” Her voice trembles.

“Remember our rule, Hot Stuff? Don’t look down.”

“Hot stuff?” she laughs, panic edging her voice.

“Not a fan of that nickname?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

She shrugs. “No one’s ever called me that before. I don’t really think of myself as hot.”

I arch an eyebrow, stunned at her words. “Well, you are. Hot as fuck. Of course, that’s just my first impression. I’d like to get to know you better.”

She blinks slowly a few times. “You want to get to know me?”

“I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

The curvy blonde giggles. “So, what? This is like a first date or something?”

“Why not?” I ask, keeping an eye on the rising rapids below. We need to move faster, but I don’t want to scare her. Or even worse, paralyze her with fright again. “It’s not like we have anything else to do today.”

“You have a point. I guess.” She grins, inhaling sharply as her toes grip another steep portion of the trail, finding what looks like impossible footing.

“Call this The Bachelor meets Survivor ,” I tease, stopping to assess the three yards in front of us—sheer cliff face with no trail.

“Where’s my rose?” she asks, eyes bugging out.

“On the other side of that,” I say with a confident smile.

She shakes her head. “No way.”

“Hadleigh.” I level my gaze on her, trying to reassure her.

She shakes her head again, breath coming faster. “You should go on without me, Hudson. I can’t.”

“We’re in this together,” I reply resolutely, watching agitation streak across her face. “End of story.”

“No, you’ve already done too much for me. Stuck your neck out way farther than you needed to. I feel ashamed for all the trouble my brother and I have caused you.”

The roar of the rising water leaves no time for arguments.

Gruffly, I order, “We’re either going together, or we’re staying here together. You’re not getting rid of me.”

“You are so damn stubborn,” she hisses, her face conflicted.

“Far more stubborn than you. Trust me.”

Her face blanches, taut and fear-stricken. “Okay, but I gave you an out, Hudson. Free and clear.”

“I don’t want an out with you,” I retort, the most honest thing I’ve said since meeting her.

Her brown-sugar eyes tick to mine, narrowing. But we’re out of time for explanations.

“Deep breaths and one foot and handhold at a time. You or me first?” I ask.

“You,” she says breathlessly.

“Quick and confident. Without second-guessing. Okay?”

“Oh, God,” she laments, face twisting.

“Deep breaths.” I inhale and exhale slowly, encouraging her to do the same. “Keep your eyes on me. You’ve got this, Hot Stuff. Okay?”

“Alright, Hudson. Together.”

Words evaporate as we concentrate. Going in front of her, I point out hand and footholds where I can, modeling slow breathing as she begins to cross. Fear animates her face, along with adrenaline, as she hurries so fast behind me that I have to increase my pace.

We reach the other side, breathing hard. Before I can think, Hadleigh clobbers me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and leaning up to kiss me. The dizzying heights enveloping us keep it innocent, but I still sense a hunger beyond my own.

“What’s that for?” I growl, looking down to hide the affection swirling in my eyes. I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions, and what I feel for this woman is so intense that I imagine my face reads like a love letter.

“For refusing to give up on me.” Tears fill her eyes, and she bites her full bottom lip, working hard to hold back a sob. “Apart from my dad, no man has ever stuck with me like that.”

I wrap my arms lightly around her, so fucking in love that I don’t know what to do with myself. All I know is she would think I’m some kind of crazy if I admitted these inexplicable emotions to her. Or any of the romantic thoughts thrumming through my head.

Instead, I grunt, nodding up the trail further to our objective.