Page 102 of Riding the High

“Truth,” I say.

“Tell me somethingreal,” she says, skimming her fingers over my thigh.

I take a deep breath. “You asked me why thisGis burned into my skin?” I start.

Her body instantly stiffens. “Each moment …” she says, trailing off when she can’t make out the rest of the saying inked in Italian under theG.

“Each moment only once,” I tell her, still writing what comes to mind.Friend.

I push the bubbles away and lean down to her ear with a kiss as I trace the last words.Soul. Love.

“It’syou,” I whisper.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Ginger

My mouth falls open as I blink and I try very hard to string a sentence together that makes sense, which is near impossible because, not only are my emotions out of control, but I struggle to think when Cole’s lips are pressed against my skin.

“C-come again?” is all I come up with, as the pad of his finger continues to draw little designs on my back.

“I said, Ginger Lily Ashby. This letter, it’syou,” Cole says. “You turned my world upside down when you kissed me that night in my truck. Less than a minute of your lips on mine and I was fucked. I spent the whole time at Grosvenor thinking about you, telling myself why it could never be. So …”

He nips along my shoulder and I whimper at the contact.

“Ogni momento solo una volta.Each moment, only once,” he purrs.

Cole’s hands slide up my arms to grip my face and turn my head to meet his. Italian rolling off of Cole’s tongue while we’re naked in the bath together might be the sexiest experience of my life. He licks a slow trail over my bottom lip, and I squeeze my thighs together under the water as he kisses me.

“I pushed you away that night in my truckbecauseof the way it felt,” he says, laying everything out on the table now. “I always knew I cared about you, but I didn’t know what to make of how it made mefeel. Howyoumade me feel. You were my little sister’s best friend.”

“Cole …” I manage to choke out as he strokes my face.

“And then, I went to work at Grosvenor and had to look at that fuckingGeverywhere. All I could think about was how it felt to kiss you … to hold you,” he says, kissing me now and looking into my eyes.

Mine flutter closed as he steals all rational thought from me. He continues on, obliterating the imaginary line in the sand between us with his words.

“Midway through the summer, with you consuming my mind … my every thought, I had Carson McKinney pull out the fucking iron after a couple of beers, heat it up and sear thatGinto my ribs.” He takes a breath before adding, “Right where I felt your hands for days after you slid across my truck seat. I searched for that feeling for a long time. But I never ever found it with anyone else,” he whispers. “It’s been you for so fucking long, Ginger … you’re the baseline I compared every woman to. You’re the one I sought. I sought your attention, your sass, your fucking beautiful smile. Always.”

“Oh …” I manage, as soft kisses dot my shoulders, my hair, everywhere he can plant them.

“Even when life handed me a twist of fate, the greatest gift of my life, I still couldn’t let you go,” Cole says. “I couldn’t let you go, Ginger. And for some fucked-up reason, you never let go either,” he rasps as his lips move down my neck. I hang in this suspended moment of bliss.

He maneuvers his body a little so he can pull my hand over and place it on top of theGat his side.My G.

He looks into my eyes as he says, “I wanted you. I neveradmitted it, not even to myself, but I knew if I kept spending time with you, if I could keep you in my grasp, one day you’d be mine.”

He lets out a growl and then his lips are on mine: tasting, searching, claiming.

“That day is now,” he tells me. “You aremine, Vixen.” His kiss sears me like the brand at his side. “That real enough for you?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

“It’s always been you, Ginger,” he mutters into my lips. “And I have no fucking clue what to do about that. Besides maybe keep you.”

I take a moment to let everything he’s just admitted sink in before kissing him back and snuggling against him as he wraps his arms around me.

“I don’t know what to do either,” I say. “Besides maybe let you.”

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