Page 29 of Riding the High

Ginger

Pain.

The kind of pain that you’re subconsciously aware of before you even open your eyes. It’s everywhere. My feet, my head, my thighs, my … pussy?

My actions from last night snap into place in my groggy mind.

The smell of commercial detergent and last night’s perfume fills my senses. I crack one eye. Afternoon sunlight blinds me. Nope. Not a chance in hell that is happening.

I groan. I’m sure I must be dying.

The clearing of a man’s throat causes me to shoot up in bed immediately. I grasp for the sheets to cover myself, realizing right away that Cole is perched at the end of it.

Oh shit, I’m still naked?

I cover my bare breasts and bravely open both eyes. Bad idea. My head feels like it weighs a thousand pounds.

Cole sits across from me, dressed in his gray sweats and a white t-shirt. His chiseled arms are on full display as he flexes then releases his large, folded-together hands. His hair is mussed and morning-perfect. Something stirs deep inside of me and my pussy aches at the sight.

More details come flooding back to me.Us.I definitely was drunk, but not any more than he was. Pictures pass through my mind in flashes: his hands on my face, the look in his eyes. His words.Oh God.I blink to bring me back to the present. Even that hurts.

His elbows are propped on either knee and the look he’s wearing as he stares out the window is somewhere between anger and confusion. I briefly realize I’m not in my room, I’m in his. I glance at the clock. One p.m.

Cole leans back in the chair, relaxing his legs and scrubbing his face with his hand as I panic. This is it. Too much alcohol and we let it happen. The one thing I always said I wouldn’t. The worst thing we could do. The thing I knew would ruin our friendship. There’s no going back now, we’ve gone and done it—

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Ashby.” Cole’s eyes lock onto mine and hold them. “In case you don’t remember, we have a big fucking problem.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ginger

What. The. Fuck?

Cole’s voice is low and deep and his words echo in my ears.Mrs Ashby. Everything comes crashing down around me as memories from last night continue to play in my head like a foggy reel.

The dance floor, his mouth on mine. How I told him I wouldn’t be his one-night stand. His hands, my hands … everywhere. Him … everywhere … us.

“How adventurous are you feeling tonight?” he asks, a drunken smirk on his face.

“Always adventurous,” I answer almost instantly. Cole brings his lips down to hover over mine, and the incredible scent of him this close washes into me.

“Prove it,” he taunts. “Truth or dare?”

A challenge.

“Always a dare, Cole,” I whisper.

Challenge accepted.

I look down at my ring finger. The simple white-gold band feels cool and foreign against my skin. I glance to his and see the thicker, more rugged version of my own. The way my bodygoes completely weak when I see that ring might live in my mind rent-free for a hell of a long time.

A ring that represents me? On Cole’s hand? Holy hell. Even now, in my near-death state, seeing that ring breathes life into me.

“Gatorade and Tylenol beside you,” Cole says, interrupting my hazy recollections. I see us making it into the license bureau just before they closed. Holding it together so we wouldn’t appear as drunk as we were. The chapel. What happened afterward, when we got back to his room. More than once. All of it hits me, the weight of the world crashing down around me.

“If you don’t want to be my one-night stand … then it’s a good thing we’re in Vegas. I dare you to marry me, Ginger, so I can properly fucking worship you—”

“Everything coming back to you?” Cole asks, causing me to flinch.

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