Page 118 of Hymns of the Broken

Ash leans over the edge of the pool. “Yeah, but who’s gonna win?”

Jace shrugs. “My money’s on Sawyer.”

I grin, flipping my hair back dramatically. “As it should be.”

I’m floating near the edge, letting the sun soak into my skin when arms wrap around my waist from behind. I gasp, but I already know the feel of him—Riot, tattooed torso slick against my back, his breath warm at my ear. He’s grinning; I can feel it without even seeing his face as he pulls me down into his lap. My head tips back onto his shoulder, legs tangling with his under the water. The heat of his body, the flex of his thighs, the hard line of his cock pressing against my ass—it’s right there, impossible to ignore.

“Miss me?” Riot murmurs, voice low and teasing, soaked in mischief.

I laugh. “I didn’t realize you left.”

He shifts against me, not subtly at all. I can feel him pressing against me beneath the water, thick and hot, making my pulse race.

“Oh,” I breathe, and I can’t stop the flush that climbs up my chest.

Ash catches the look on my face from across the pool and groans, splashing water. “Bro, are you seriously pitching a tent in the shallow end?”

Riot doesn’t even try to play it off; he just grins wider. “Not my fault she looks like that in that fucking swimsuit.”

Jace howls, laughing. “Man’s out here living the dream.”

Macee raises her drink while eyeing Jasper. “He’s about two seconds from living with a limp.”

Jasper stands abruptly. Silent.Helooks like a predator catching a scent. The air around the pool changes. His jaw ticks, hands clenched at his sides, the shirt sticking to his chest from the heat, muscles flexed and ready. His eyes? Locked on Riot, but the heat, the claim—it’s all for me.

Silas mutters, “Shit. Here we go.” And starts reaching for his book.

“Everybody back inside,” Jasper says, voice low and lethal. “Except Sawyer and Riot.”

Jace whistles. “Damn, I wanted to see them fight.”

Macee smirks and shakes her head, getting up slow. “I don’t think this isn’t about to be a fight,” she says, slinging her towel over her shoulder and giving me a wink on her way out.

RIOT

For a second, I thought I heard him wrong.

Except for Sawyer and Riot.

I glance at her, water beading down her chest, cheeks flushed from the sun and all the teasing. Her thighs are still draped over mine where she’s straddling me under the water, her back resting against my front like she was made to fit there.

Then I look up at Jasper. He’s standing at the edge of the pool, broad and unmovable, eyes like an inferno. His jaw is so tight, I swear I hear it crack. He’s not yelling. Not moving. That’s how I know he’s close to losing it.

Ash’s voice echoes from the house. “Oh shit.”

But I don’t break eye contact.

Sawyer shifts in my lap, clinging tighter. I give her thighs a squeeze, just enough to say,‘I’m not going anywhere’.

Jasper’s eyes flick to my hands on her body, his chest rising, every muscle straining not to jump in and rip me away.

Sawyer glances between us, pulse fluttering in her throat, and I think she might bolt.

But I don’t let her.

I tighten my grip around her waist. Not backing down. Not now.

She’s trembling, breath coming in little pants, her eyes darting—caught between us.