Page 131 of Under the Waves

You have his eyes.

You have his eyes.

Those green eyes.

With those big, green eyes,

you ruin.

Just like him.

“Jasper,” I breathed, my voice shaking and damn near sobbing. “You—you have no idea how much those words mean to me.”

He would never, ever know.

All my life I was told I was destined to be just like my father.

To bleed.

To ruin.

Tobreak.

Every waking second was spent trying so fucking hard to make sure I was nothing like him—that no matter what my mother said through her screams, I would neverbecomehim. Iwould rather carve out my own heart than let myself become the monsters who raised me.

I was the product of a broken home.

A broken girl,

with a broken smile,

drowning,

drowning,

drowning…

“Hey.” His soft voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Where’d you wander off to in here?” Jasper gently tapped my forehead.

I gazed up at him, all my racing thoughts silenced by those golden-brown eyes. “Somewhere where the sun never rises,” I whispered, hoping those words would be enough. I couldn’t give him an answer. I wasn’t ready to let that dam burst just yet.

His gaze softened as he lent his forehead against mine. “Then I’ll be your sunshine, Wellsy. That way you’ll never lose sight of the light again.”

You already are, Jasper Ridge,the words fell onto the tip of my tongue, creating a bitter taste in my throat as I swallowed them back down.

He was drunk, Poppy.

That was all you were to him.

Just another drunken thought.

Forgotten by morning.

I held out my hand towards him, lips pulling upwards into a small smile, blocking out all the noise as he interlaced his fingers with mine. As I went to turn around, Jasper spun me back around, locking his strong arms around me as I crashed into his chest. In one smooth motion, those same hands were looped under my thighs and cupping my weight as he pulled my body up so I rested against his chest. I wrapped my legs around his waist, breathing in the scent of him.Lavender mixed with a salty ocean breeze.

He guided us both out of the bathroom and down the hall towards my room. As he stepped inside, he lowered me gently onto the bed, looking at me with these big brown eyes that caused my breath to falter.

“Where are your clothes?” he rasped, unable to tear his gaze from mine.