Page 18 of Reign or Shine

“We need to go, Henry,” she grunts back, her voice filled with urgency.

Doing a little jump so that I can move her up my back a little more for balance and adjusting her legs so they’re not poking into my ribs, I take a tentative step forward. All right, everything feels…okay.

I’m not going to say that this will be a walk in the park—because it definitely won’t be. It’ll be a walk up a mountain during a rainstorm with precious cargo on my back.

But I couldn’t think about the journey right now. It was the destination that was important. I needed to get Ellie to safety.

“Point the way,” I grunt out at the same moment her legs squeeze me again. It’s the sweetest kind of torture, honestly. Having her wrapped around me so tightly and yet not being able to enjoy it. To run my fingers down her strong legs and feel her softness.

“Follow the trail for a little longer. We should come to a fork in the path.”

With that instruction, I start out.

Ten minutes later, the sky opens up and everything goes to Hell from there.

Chapter Eight

Ellie

Pressing my face into the crook of his neck, I fight the urge to cry.

I’m not in overwhelming pain. I’m fighting back all my emotions because Henry is a damn hero. I have no idea how he’s doing this.

We’re both shivering from the cold rain that hasn’t stopped since we started out for the ranger’s cabin. From where I’m gripping Henry around his neck, I can see the blue hue of my fingers.

Henry hasn’t said a word since the rain began to fall other than to ask me directions and to ensure I’m okay. He’s been moving up the mountain like a man on a mission. Like he’s lived in these hills all his life.

I sniffle, hoping that he thinks the noise is because of the rain and not because I’m on the brink of tears. This man is too damn good and so damn sweet.

If my heart hadn’t already been his, this moment would have clinched it. He was kind and selfless. Stoic but curious about everything around him.

He was too good for me. That much was clear. Even if I took his royal blood out of the equation. But damn did I like him. Like like him. A lot.

It was hard to picture a future for us. If that was even something he’d want. I knew he liked me, but I wasn’t sure what this was for him. For all I knew, it could just be curiosity on his part. Slumming it with a normal.

I cringed, knowing that’s not what this was at all for him. The rain and my throbbing ankle was making me dumb. Henry wasn’t the kind of man to play games and lead someone on. He went after what he wanted with single-minded focus.

And right now all that focus was on me.

A shiver of delight, not cold, cascades through my body.

His voice breaks through my thoughts, causing me to lift my head and scan the area.

“There it is.”

It takes me a moment to see the cabin through the trees, but as soon as I do, relief hits me. We made it!

Henry’s feet slip and slide through the thick mud path that leads to the front door of the cabin. His hold on me tightens as he slows his pace. I can feel his frustration at being so close but having to slow down to make sure he doesn’t fall as we near the finish line.

And then, he’s done it. He’s gotten us to shelter and safety.

The creak of the old wood steps is music to my ears. The pitter-patter of rain hitting my clothes ceases, and Henry comes to a stop.

“You did it,” I whisper into his ear, giving his chest a squeeze and then another longer one. I’m so proud.

“We made it,” he corrects me, his hand coming up to grab my wrist and give it a similar squeeze.

Slowly, he helps me down. My muscles protest as I stretch out my legs and arms. Henry does the same, dropping his backpack and rolling his shoulders to ease the tension that surely built up there from carrying so much.

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