Page 75 of Broken Pact

She looks at me from the corner of my eye. “Doing what? You live in the middle of the woods.”

I grin at her, an idea forming in the back of my mind. “Exactly. First, I’m going to feed you. Then we’re going to play in the lake.”

Her eyes widen slightly, and she chuckles. “Yeah, no. I don’t have a swimsuit.”

I raise an eyebrow, teasing. “Don't tell me you’ve never been skinny dipping before?”

She shakes her head, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

I lean closer, my voice low and full of jealous gravel. Yeah, I need names so I can personally ensure those images are burned from their eyes, forgotten like they never existed. But I can’t say that.

Instead, I say, “Yeah, baby. I would like to know. But I’m a patient man, and I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

She looks at me, her eyes bouncing all over my face, searching for something. Finally, she nods, a smirk playing at the edge of her perfect mouth. “Alright. I’ll spend the day with you since you begged me so nicely.”

A genuine laugh spills from me, and I lean into her space further. “That’s not begging, baby. But don’t worry, I’ll show you the true meaning of it later today.”

She inhales sharply, her gaze darkening to the color of a clear lake reflecting the night’s sky. “Promises, promises.”

36

CORALINE

The morning sun glints off the lake’s surface, casting a glittering, serene beauty that makes my breath catch. It’s so still, it looks like some kind of painting. The air is humid already, I don’t know why I thought it would be cooler by the lake. If anything, it feels muggier here, on the rocky beachfront behind Jasper’s house.

The leaves rustle with a gentle breeze, carrying the scent of pine and lilac, and I can’t help but feel like I’ve stepped into another world. This untouched piece of land where asshole landlords and overbearing mothers and loneliness don’t exist.

I can’t stay here forever, I know that. It’s not practical, and it would never work. But for today, I’m going to pretend. And that includes pretending I don’t have a black eye. In fact, I might just pretend it’s not there for forever.

I can feel Jasper next to me, which is still as fucking weird now as it was all those years ago. That kind of awareness seems like the stuff of fiction. It’s unexplainable and sort of fascinating.

“C’mon, baby. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of boats,” he teases, hooking his index finger with mine.

I pull my hand away and fold my arms across my chest. “I’m not afraid of boats. But that”—I glare at the bright blue wood—”is not a boat. That’s something children make at home improvement stores on the weekends when their parents need to get them out of the house.” I stand a little taller when low, genuine laughter joins the birdsong.

“Baby, this is a rowboat.”

“You pronounced deathtrap wrong.”

I fold my arms tighter, which only serves to push up my tits. I’m wearing the most ridiculous excuse for a swimsuit I’ve ever seen. But despite my skinny-dipping teasing earlier, I didn’t want to swim naked in an unknown lake. I’ve seen one too many scary movies to know that’s exactly how something comes up and eats someone. They’re always naked.

Though this lake is so clear, you can see right down to the rocky bottom.

So here I am in my high cut cheeky panties and an old muscle tee of Jasper’s. Without a bra. I’ve always liked my tits. Big enough to be a generous handful, but not so big that I can’t get away with doing wild shit like swimming in my fake boyfriend’s tee with the arms cut out.

And if Jasper gets flashed the occasional side-boob, well, I don’t think he’ll complain all that much.

He tosses his arm over my shoulder, steering me toward him and the rowboat that really does look like a deathtrap. “Don’t worry, baby. She’ll float.”

“Fine,” I relent, hiding my smile as he helps me into the boat.

“And if you fall in, I’ll jump in after you.”

I roll my eyes and stand in the center of the boat. A tiny thread of fear worms its way into my good mood when the rowboat rocks underneath our combined weight. My hand darts out, and I grip his shoulder. “Wait. Maybe I am a little afraid of boats?”

He plants his hands on my hips and guides me to sit on one of the benches toward the front of the little rowboat. “You’re alright. Sit here, baby. Let me do the rest.” He places the little cooler he packed with drinks and snacks next to my feet in the center of the boat.

And for once, I do as I’m told. I sit on the little plank of wood and watch Jasper push us off the little strip of rocky beachfront until we’re in deeper water. I watch as he hops in the boat like he does this sort of thing every day. And I definitely watch as he starts rowing. His arm muscles flex and his shoulders bunch as the man puts in the work. It makes me think of what he’d look like on top of me, his broad chest filling my vision as his cock fills me.

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