Page 53 of Riding the High

I smile when I think of her like that, and the image of her having a daughter of her own one day flashes into my mind.

“Didn’t you have any girlfriends?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“Not really. Not until CeCe and Liv sat next to me in homeroom. They’re the only girls I’ve ever been friends with who didn’t hurt me, or make fun of me, or backstab me in some way.” She has a faraway look in her eye. “But they’re my everything now. The only reason I’m keeping this marriage from them is because CeCe has enough to concentrate on with her wedding and the festival she plans every year to help fund kids’ hockey programs. I don’t want to disrupt that with our recklessness. But I’m going to have to tell her and Liv at some point.”

The slow swallow of her throat pulls me into a hazy trance and I feel my mouth water.

“You’re allowed to keep things private if you choose to. I know you all have girl code but CeCe kept things to herself when she was sneaking around with Nash last summer.”

I’m trying to distract myself from thoughts of tearing that scrap of a bathing suit off of her. But all hope is lost because, as she talks, she unties the neck and reties it a little tighter, pulling her tits up above the water. I flex my fists in an attempt to keep myself on this side of the tub.

“That was different,” she says, picking up her glass from the deck. “She and Nash were in a relationship. We’re not. And Liv and I had it figured out pretty quickly. CeCe can’t hide emotions. I know her and Liv better than anyone else.” Her eyes meet mine. “Except maybe you.” She grins, bringing my gaze back from roaming her body.

“I’m not that easy to read,” I retort, making a weird sort of laughing noise.Smooth, Cole.

“Yes you are.” She bites her plush bottom lip and assessesme for a few seconds. “Like right now, you’re worried that I’m not going to last, that I’m going to spill the tea and this marriage scam will fall down around your feet.”

Damn. She’s not wrong.

“But I’m not bailing.” Her eyes move back out to the water. “I told you I’m in, which means I’m in one hundred percent. I just hope CeCe understands why I didn’t tell her.”

She turns to me like she’s reading the rest of my thoughts.

“You’re also a little extra tense these days, with work and wondering if we can make it through the rest of the summer together. “Mabel gets dirty every day now, she has scrapes, but …” She holds up her first finger. “She can bike without her training wheels now. The world is a scary place.”

“Something like that,” I reply to her sarcasm. My lips curl into a small smile and I swallow the last of my bourbon.

Ginger holds my gaze for a beat before saying, “I think I’ll teach Mabes how to drive the boat this weekend.”

I recoil. “Like hell you will. She’s too young.”

She waves a graceful hand. “It’s fine. Breaking the law for a simple learning experience won’t hurt her. It’s high time Mabel knows when it’s safe to get away with things she shouldn’t do.”

I grimace at her. “Authority,” I say, which makes her laugh.

“Come on, what’s wrong with a little rule-breaking? She’s the sheriff’s kid, isn’t shesupposedto break the rules?”

The glint in her eye tells me she’s kidding, but still …

“Every time you say something like that, you make me regret this arrangement a little more,” I tell her.

A grin spreads across her face. “Take it easy, Sheriff By-the-Book.”

She pushes herself off the side of the tub and moves closer. I slide slightly to let her in as she reaches over to the bar and pours herself another bourbon.

“I was joking, I just like to see you fired up,” she says with a smirk.

The need I feel to put her in line consumes me as the small of her back rises out of the water. I let my eyes ravage her while she isn’t looking, taking in the curves of her arms to her shoulders, the dip of her spine, every single vertebra, and the little dimples just above her bikini bottoms. The perfect place for me to anchor my thumbs while I spread her wide and fuck into that tight little pussy I can’t forget.

Ginger pours the bourbon as her tits rest against the ledge of the tub. It almost fucking breaks me, but she places the cork back into the bottle and is back to her spot a few feet away before I completely lose control.

Once she’s settled, she spends the next half hour telling me all about her grandad and their fishing superstitions, and how he taught her to drive the boat and to read the weather patterns. He even showed her how to clean the fish when they caught them. I sit and listen intently because even hearing about old fishing stories from Ginger is captivating. She has a way of painting a picture when she talks that I haven’t experienced with any other person.

When we’ve had enough of the heat and my hard-on has subsided enough for me to make an honorable escape, I help her step out and do my best not to let the slippery feel of her skin brick me right back up.

I hand her a towel to cover up. Mainly for selfish reasons. I don’t know how much longer I can remain gentlemanly with her.

She wraps it around herself, but the moment it’s secure, she reaches a hand out and skims one finger down my ribs, running it over the raised letter at my side. Her eyes move over me, blazing a trail as they go. After what feels like eternity, she steps into me, and when her eyes finally meet mine, her lips are parted, her cheeks flushed from the heat and bourbon. Her hair rests againsther wet skin, making the ends stick to it.Fuck. I tuck a lock of it behind her ear. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.

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