Page 34 of Finding His Fox

That being said, someone may need to give my head some sort of wrap or brace to keep my unhinged jaw shut.

I was practically drooling at the man, like having a first bite of pizza after months of hardcore dieting.

My little daydream the other day definitely didn’t do Cal’s body justice.

Cal’s muscles clearly weren’t sculpted in the gym, but hardened from his work outdoors. Every little movement he made seemed to accentuate another hidden muscle group I never even knew existed.

I bit my lip. I wondered how it would feel to roam my hands all over his ripped back and explore the planes of his chest and abs.

Cal stood up and turned around. Crap. He saw me staring at him. I quickly tried to busy myself with Max, who was resting in a covered cat bed.

I peeked inside, but he was already sleeping. Nevertheless, I still dangled his teaser wand and pretended to play with him.

However, Cal’s delectable form was already seared into my mind. The only thing I could think about was running the end of the cat teaser wand across his chiseled abs.

“Do you like the view?” Cal asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I didn’t fail to notice the mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Uh yeah. This place is amazing,” I said nervously.

I didn’t know why I was feeling this way. No one had this effect on me before.

Normally, I could easily keep my defenses up, relying on humor and jokes to help lighten the mood. Maybe to avoid or push aside uncomfortable conversations and feelings I didn’t want to have.

It was a strategy I had honed over the years.

Yet with Cal, it was different. He had a way of catching me off guard, causing my walls to crumble in an instant.

The more time I spent with him, the longer it took for me to put my defenses back up.

It wasn’t something I was used to, but for some reason, I didn’t feel scared or worried.

There was something about Cal that made it okay, that made me willing to let my guard down.

Cal brushed a lock of hair that fell across my face, bringing me back in the moment.

He rested his hand on my cheek. His touch felt warm and possessive. I could think of nothing else.

“Are you ok?” Cal asked, concern in his eyes.

“I’m just hungry,” I said.

Was I ok? I was feeling a little light-headed, but I wasn’t sure if it was really from the hunger or Cal’s effect on me.

A thought suddenly formed in my head.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. You said we met before, right?” I asked.

I wasn’t sure what came over me. Maybe I wanted to rationalize the feelings I had for Cal.

That, rather than something I didn’t even want to try to name or define, it could be due to another thing.

Possibly something that had happened in the past instead. I knew I was grasping at straws, trying to make sense of what I was feeling.

Either way, I wanted to ask Cal how exactly we knew each other. Cal put down his hand and looked off into the distance.

“This was near the place where we first met, actually,” Cal said softly.