Page 30 of Unbreak Me
“Double chicken time!” Max swims over to Miles, and he lifts him up on his shoulders. “Who are our victims going to be?” They grin at us.
“I’ve got this one.” Travis ducks down, and Sophia shrieks as she’s immediately raised into the air.
“Looks like I have the beautiful Evie.” Jake grins at me and starts to swim over.
“Like hell you do,” I hear Ryder mutter. “Watch my daughter.” Jake winks at me, and I bite back my smile, knowing he just set Ryder up.
CHAPTER TWELVE
RYDER
Two of my brothers are asking for a death wish. I glare at Jake as he takes my place with Ryland. He has the balls to grin at me before sitting on the steps to play. I dive down and swim over to Eve, stopping when I’m near her. Breaking the surface, I stand up inches away from her. You can cut the tension with a knife with our bodies this close together. Her chest rises and falls as my eyes skim over her body again in the suit.
I wasn’t prepared for how I felt when I first saw her in it. I knew her body was still fucking amazing when I saw her in the shower, but to see it in broad daylight is something else entirely. I immediately wanted to claim her as mine and remind my brothers who the fuck she belongs to. I know Jake and Miles love her as a sister and are just messing with me, but it doesn’t stop the jealousy I feel when I see her blush from their compliments.
I hear Max laugh behind me as he and Sophia playfully battle it out. This isn’t the first time Eve and I have played this game with my brothers. We were a good team back then, and all our pool days would end with me sneaking her into my childhood bedroom and celebrating our victory.
I walk around and stand behind her. “Let’s see if we still got it,” I lean over and whisper in her ear. The game is all fun, but my brothers and I are still competitive as fuck in anything we do. I step closer and regret it the moment her ass presses against me. I hear a small moan escape her lips as she feels how hard I am, causing the wind to be knocked out of me from the contact. I step back to rein in the feral thoughts running through my head.
Sinking down in the water, it’s as if my hand has a mind of its own. I’m palming her ass before I can stop myself. I close my eyes briefly and swallow hard before going under and bringing her up on my shoulders.
My hands find her bare thighs as I feel her fingers weave into my hair. This was a bad idea. I should have just let Jake do it and dealt with seeing his hands on her. I’m not ready to let her back in again, even though my body is screaming at me to take back what was mine.
Eve laughs as we get closer to the others and starts gently battling Max. She fake falls off my shoulder, giving him the victory before I bring her back up. The girls battle it out while Travis and I try to outmaneuver each other. Sophia and Eve laugh as they both fall at the same time, ending in a tie.
I watch Eve swim over to Ryland and scoop her up before slathering her with kisses. Ryland belly laughs, causing me to smile. Seeing the two of them together makes my heart beat fast against my chest.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, isn’t it,” Travis says softly. “Every time I see Sophia with Max, it’s like my heart is going to explode. It’s also the most terrifying,” he chuckles. “Your whole world is right in front of you, and there’s no guarantee that it won’t be taken from you.”
“How do you get past the fear?” I ask quietly. Eve hands Ryland her sippy cup, and she takes it with both hands, eager to have a sip of ice water.
“I don’t think you ever stop worrying, but you learn to live in the moment and enjoy every second.”
“I’m still so angry at the situation,” I admit. “I’m taking it out on her, and I don’t know how to stop. I’m…I’m scared to trust her again. She left once. How do I know she won’t do it again?”
“You don’t know, that’s the hard part. I know our situations are different, but take it from someone who held onto anger for years…it’s not worth it. It will eat at you until there’s nothing left. Have you told her how you feel?”
“Not in so many words,” I say frustratedly, running a hand through my wet hair. I think of our shower incident last night and how I couldn’t control my anger. What scares me the most is I held back. I want to do so much more.
“Give it a few days. A lot was thrown at you. The anger may eventually fade.”
“And if it doesn’t?” I watch Eve hand Ryland over to Miles. She laughs at something he says, and I want to roughly kiss that sweet sound from her lips. How can she be so happy right now when I feel like I’m drowning?
“You either punch the hell out of a punching bag for five years like I did, or you lay it all out on the table for her. You’re hurting and angry about what happened, and she’s probably feeling guilty as hell that she put you through it. You both will feel a hell of a lot better when you unload all those emotions and face them. When you’re ready, I’ve got Ryland. If the tension in your body is any indication,” he nods to my clenched fists at my side, “things are about to get real. Just remember, angry sex should always be followed up with makeup sex,” he grins at me and grabs my shoulder in a squeeze before walking over to Sophia.
Needing a minute, I lift myself out of the pool and grab a towel before walking into the main house. It’s lunchtime, so I decide to keep myself busy by pulling out the subs and fruit foreveryone. Ryland will need to eat before her afternoon nap, so I start to cut up some strawberries for her.
“Need any help?” I glance up and see Eve standing there. There goes my minute to think. Whenever she’s near me, my thoughts go straight to a one-way ticket to hell, where I’ve been living for the past three years.
“Sure,” I say, my voice sounding tense. “I was just getting lunch ready for everyone. You can help me with what Ryland likes.” I stab a strawberry and cut it up more aggressively than the fruit deserves.
“Okay,” she says as she watches my movements. I know she senses my mood. We’ve always been good at reading one another. She gets one of the paper plates and starts to break apart a sub, putting small bites of lunch meat and cheese on it. Leaning around me, she takes a watermelon slice off the platter. Her breast grazes my chest, and I grip the knife tightly. She smells like strawberries with a hint of coconut from the sunscreen.
I relax my grip and start cutting up more fruit. My lungs squeeze painfully as they try to get air back into them. I remind myself to breathe and take a forced breath. When she takes a bite of a strawberry, and a slight moan escapes her body, my knife clatters to the countertop. I meet her eyes, and they widen when they see the blaze in mine. She swallows the strawberry, and I watch some juice gather at the corner of her mouth. When her tongue comes out to swipe it, I roughly grab the back of her head and get to it first, savoring the taste of the sweet fruit on her lips.
I walk us back until she hits the fridge. My tongue claims her mouth as I suck and devour. I pinch her nipple hard through the swimsuit fabric, and she cries out against my lips. “Are you fucking wet for me right now, Eve? Have you been thinking about my cock being inside you all day like I have been?” Shemoans against my lips as I press my swollen dick hard into her stomach.
I push her swimsuit to the side and shove two fingers in. I growl when I find her soaking for me.
