Page 6 of Untouchable

“Good. Now get under the shade before you burn, and cover up. I don’t want that little punk getting any more ideas.” The hard tone in his voice vanished, and he smiled before turning away and walking back over to where everyone else sat.

Chloe moved over to her towel and sat back down next to Jake. He didn’t stir, and she was glad. What would she have told him anyway?

5

ONE WEEK LATER

Aweek had already passed at the cabin. Chloe had successfully avoided Jake's attempts, but she could tell he was becoming short-tempered over the situation. He was more aggressive with his advances, something she wasn’t used to with him. The last two years with Jake had been about softly spoken endearments, respecting that she didn’t want to rush things, didn’t want to go to that level.

This new Jake was almost frightening in his insistence to go further.

Trying to push her worries over the situation away, she focused on the fire in front of her. They’d gone boating earlier in the day, and now everyone sat around the fire-pit. Thoughts on other things, she hadn’t heard Jake speak until he nudged her.

“I’m sorry, what?” Turning to look at him, she saw his wide grin.

“I said, would you like to walk with me along the lake a little later? I saw this really romantic little cove not too far from here.”

Chloe knew where he was talking about, and “romantic” wasn’t really what she’d have called it. The “cove” was a bed of fallen, rotten logs and jagged rocks. The only romance she couldeven picture there was the small, postage stamp sized beach, but even that left much to be desired.

“Sure.” It was getting late, but she wasn’t tired and she would still be able to see the house from the cove. She didn’t like venturing too far from the cottage once it got late.

Her answer seemed to placate him for the time being, and he turned from her, his gaze back on the fire. Chloe reached into the bowl of watermelon, grabbed a chunk and brought the thick, pink flesh to her mouth. Biting into it, she felt the juice slip down her chin. When she lifted her eyes, she locked gazes with Dominic.

He watched her intently as he leaned back in his chair. He brought a longneck beer bottle to his mouth, took a drink, and then turned his attention to the conversation her parents and aunt were having.

Chloe listened with little interest as her parents and aunt talked about the newest breakthrough surgery. This was normally what happened with them. They were always so engrossed in their own conversation that everything and everyone else just fizzled out.

Dominic tipped his beer bottle back and looked at the fire, his brows knitted, this annoyed expression on his face. Chloe glanced at her aunt and saw her looking at him, the same hard, annoyed expression on her face. She had no idea what was going on, but there was definitely animosity between them.

In fact, there had been the entire time they’d been at the cottage. And if she really thought about it, the last time they’d seen her aunt and Dominic, which had been just a few months back, they’d seemed tense toward each other, hateful even.

“Maybe you’ve had enough, Dom?” Clara said with a little bit of spite in her tone.

Everyone stopped talking, and this tension surrounded them.

He slowly looked back at Clara. “Excuse me?” he asked in a deep voice.

“I think you’ve had enough to drink. You’re acting like a fish in need of water with the beer.” She all but spit the words out.

Chloe shifted on her seat, the weirdness of this interaction being felt by everyone. She could see her parents glancing between them, her father looking away as if he didn’t want to be sitting here.

“Well, this beer is getting me through being here with you.”

Shit.

He lifted the beer up, saluting Clara, then tipped it back and finished it off.

Chloe’s dad cleared his throat and was about to stand, but when Dominic did it instead, everyone froze. “Maybe we should just tell everyone? Stop pretending like shit’s good?”

Chloe looked between Dominic and Clara, and she could see her aunt looked pissed. Whatever it is Dominic was talking about wasn’t what Clara wanted.

Clara looked absolutely livid as she slowly stood up, her half-filled wine glass in hand, shooting daggers at Dominic.

“You really want to do this here, now?”

Dominic shrugged. “Why the hell not? I’m tired of pretending.”

Clara’s face got red, and she pursed her lips. “Fine.”

---