Page 136 of Gathered Sparkle

I chuckle softly. “I’m glad you didn’t wait for me.”

She pulls back, her green eyes searching mine. “But you’re my firstI love you.”

My brows furrow as I take her in. We’d never saidI love youwhen we were teens. I hated myself for not saying it back then, for being too scared, too stupid. But I’d loved her.

God, I’d loved her since the moment her sassy mouth told me her name.

“I love you, Ace. I’ve loved you since I knew what love is. And I’ll love you for the rest of my life. I hated myself for not telling you then, butI love you.”

“I love you,” I shoot back. “I did then, and I never stopped. I never will.”

My lips brush hers again, this time with just a whisper of a kiss. I barely feel it before I need more—before the spacebetween us becomes unbearable. The taste of her, the feel of her, it’s like coming home to a place I thought was lost forever.

She’s everything.

My past.

My present.

My-fucking-future.

I feel it in my chest in the way my heart beats too hard, and my breath stutters like my body doesn’t know how to keep up with this. With her.

“You’re daring.” My thumb traces the curve of her cheekbone. “You’re wild, and you’re trouble.” My thumb brushes her lower lip, and a shiver rolls through me as she exhales shakily. “Perfect for me.”

She seems to recognize what I once told her because her eyes shine, tears brimming but not falling. Fuck, I want to kiss them away. I want to press my lips to every inch of her, to make up for every lost second, every stolen year.

She slowly lifts her hand so damn carefully, like she’s afraid I might bolt. And maybe I will. Maybe I’m afraid too. Because wanting her was never the problem. But touching her again? Letting her touch me?

I force myself to stay still. To let it happen. To let her happen.

Her fingertips hover near my hand on her cheek, and I nod once in a tight motion. She places her hand over mine, and I exhale shakily.

It’s the smallest thing, but it’s enough to splinter something inside me.

“You’re perfect for me, too,” she whispers on a breath.

I was.

I will be.

Her smile turns sly. “But you’re not very good at keeping track of your things, are you?” she teases, and it takes my brain asecond to catch up when she holds up the Rolex. The watch I was wearing is now on her wrist.

My mouth falls open, and she grins, smug and beautiful.

God help me. I’ve never loved her more.

“You little minx,” I murmur, grinning as I let my hands find her sides, my thumbs skimming over her ribs, and then I tickle her. I need to hear her laugh. I need that sound—something untainted, something light, something that reminds me of who we used to be before the world took us apart.

She squeals, squirming, her laughter bubbling up and spilling into the air between us. The sound is pure sunlight in a world I thought had gone dark. She wriggles against me, her giggles shaking her whole body, and holy fuck, the way her tits bounce with the motion is enough to make my cock twitch in response.

“Ace, stop!” she gasps between breaths, her hands clutching at mine to fend me off, so I halt my assault. “Normally, people aren’t allowed to touch.”

My breath is still uneven as I answer, “People aren’t allowed to touch me either.”

She laughs at that, a little breathless. “And what about me? Am I allowed?”

The moment shifts.

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