I look up, and my heart skips a beat.
“Kiss me.”
“No.”
Yes.
He grins, weakening my defenses. “Just this once. What happens behind the waterfall stays behind the waterfall.”
“This isn’t Vegas.”
His thumb glides across my lower lip ever so slowly, and he brings his mouth a hair’s breadth away from mine. “God, I wish it were.”
Memories of our wedding night resurface, flashes from the chapel and the balcony, our bodies writhing in the sheets, sweat-soaked and blissfully lost in each other. Whatever resistance I have left crumbles.
“Fuck it.” I surge forward and seal my mouth to his.
It’s slow and sensual at first, like we’re learning each other all over again. Exploring, tasting, teasing. But it’s not enough. I nip his bottom lip, and he groans into my mouth, deepening the kiss.
He reaches under my ass and hefts me up his body, my legs instinctually wrapping around him. I’m dimly aware that we’re moving, but I don’t register what’s happening untilwe’re standing under the misty spray, water cascading on and around us as the kiss turns soft and sweet.
I’m not sure how much time passes. It all seems inconsequential. He pulls back, his dark eyes crinkling as he lowers me back to my feet, but his arms stay banded around me. His laughter catches on the breeze and wraps around me in a gentle embrace. His happiness is contagious, and before I know it, I’m laughing, too.
A few heartbeats pass, and his expression sobers. “I owe you a trail ride.”
Griffin
This ride is five years overdue, but fuck was it worth the wait. We dry off on the shore, then Angie mounts Storm with ease. She looks damn good on a saddle.
The sun is all but gone now, giving way to the moon and stars glowing overhead. I guide Phoenix out of the creek bed and onto the trail as Storm follows in stride.
The silence lingers as Angie’s gaze sweeps over the landscape. I wish I could read her mind. Some part of me longs for her approval, and a distant hope that she’ll make this her home sparks to life.
When we reach the fork, I finally break the silence. “We can take these guys up to the barn, or I can drop you off at your car and tow Storm back.”
She hesitates. “It’s getting late. I should head home.”
Disappointment stirs in my chest, but I don’t give voice to it. With a curt nod, I shift my weight and guide Phoenix toward Wilder’s place. Storm instinctively follows the new path, and it’s not long before we’re pulling to a stop outside the old farmhouse with the butter-yellow door.
I dismount Phoenix, then help Angie down by the waist. Her hands rest on my shoulders for a split second before shetakes a step back, putting some distance between us. It might as well be a million miles away.
We stand there awkwardly, neither of us knowing what to say or do next. When I can’t stand the silence any longer, I reach for her hand and press a kiss to the inside of her wrist, my lips lingering over her pulse point. Her heartbeat thrums in perfect time with mine.
“Goodnight, Angel.”
“Night.”
She heads to her van and pulls open the door. There’s a pregnant pause before she glances back at me over her shoulder. “Griff?”
“Hm?”
“Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime.”
As her taillights disappear from view, a persistent ache takes up residence in my chest. I should’ve asked about the phone number so we could move on from our past once and for all, but I couldn’t bring myself to ruin a perfect night.
If that kiss is any indication, she’s still in the thick of it with me, wishing like hell I’d never left her bed that morning. Things would be so different now if I’d stayed.
