Page 40 of Fox
A grunt of annoyance escapes my throat, “I don’t…” I’m so fucking uncomfortable with the direction this conversation is going. “I don’t talk about them. I don’t want to open up, and I don’t need your pity or sympathy.” Her arms cross over her chest, and she shrugs.
“Trust me, I wasn’t going to pity you or offer sympathy, Fox. I feel like over the last couple of days, I’ve given you enough of my kindness. Just forget it.” Her voice is clipped, and she turns on her heel to return inside, but I stop her. My hand wraps around her delicate wrist, and I force myself to ignore the feeling coursing through me at our contact. She spins around to face me, and I see the hurt flash in her eyes.
“Wait,” I wince, feeling bad for snapping. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Thank you for being so nice to me. It’s been a really long time since anyone has…” My voice trails off as embarrassment fills me. I hate feeling so vulnerable. But, fuck, I don’t know, she’s been so open with me since being here, maybe I owe her a little in return.
“Has what?” She urges, and I blink several times while trying to find the words. Fuck, her smell is intoxicating when she’s this close. It is inviting and mysterious, floral but light, and it drives me mad that I can’t pinpoint the exact smell.
It might kill me to do this. I’ve never wanted to run away so badly in my life. “Has cared for me… Or about me,” I admit and feel another wave of embarrassment and anxiety wash over me. I wait for the laugh or snort, but it never comes. Chancing a glance at her, I note she’s not staring at me with a look of pity I feared would be on her pretty face. Instead, it’s more a look of consideration. Her brows pull together as she cocks her head to one side.
“What?” I give her a small, light chuckle to mask my uncomfortable feelings. Janie stands on her tiptoes and presses her soft, pillowy lips to my cheek. The moment is so gentle and sweet that I start to feel emotional.
Her small arms wrap around my neck as she holds me to her petite frame. I wait for her to speak, but she doesn’t. She simply holds me to her as the rain continues to pour around us in the cool night. I stand motionless for several seconds before I snake my arms around hers. I’m sure she can feel the hard hammering of my heartbeat in my chest. The way she holds me is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. My whole life, I’ve been the strong one, the protector, the one that fixed everything. And when it came to women, there was no hugging or holding. I made sure they felt good and left satisfied, but above all, I made sure they left. Thisnow, with Janie… is something that I didn’t realize I have been craving. And it’s scaring the absolute fuck out of me.
EIGHTEEN
janie
This can’t be real.
Am I in a fever dream? Have I been in a horrible accident and suffered severe head trauma? It’s the only plausible explanation for what I’m witnessing on the back of Fox’s porch.
The axe slices through the giant piece of wood like a hot knife through butter. My eyes travel from where the axe is planted into the stump up to its very large, sweaty, and shirtless owner. Fox lifts a piece of wood that looks like it might outweigh me and drops it on a stump. Picking up his axe, he swings it over his head, slamming it into the wood. He pulls that axe out and does it again, letting out an almost feral grunt upon its impact through the wood and into the stump underneath. My thighs one hundred percent squeeze together, watching this giant man. Thiscan’tbe real life.
Fox glances up and spots me, and I’m welcomed to the view of his powerful, tattoo-covered body glistening in the sun from the sweat running down his tanned torso. This is unfair. I handled sickly Fox and asshole Fox just fine. But Lumbersnack Fox? Mother of god, I don’t think I’ll ever recover from this view.
His chuckles hit me in a deep, very neglected spot as it pulls me out of my inappropriate gaze. “I’m going to start charging a viewing fee if you keep watching.” He calls out with a smirk, and I flip him my middle finger because that’s the best I can come up with at the moment.
“What're you doing?” I ask while walking down the wooden steps of the porch to get closer to him. Wrong move, he’s way hotter up close. Now I can see his bulging muscles, hear his labored breathing, see that light trail of hair slipping below his jeans. The sweat running over his inked skin and the way the sun causes it to shine is making my mouth way too fucking dry.
“I’m baking a pie.” He snarks, and there he goes, ruining my fucking fantasy by reminding me that it is, in fact, FoxthatI’m staring at like a starving lioness.
“Listen, smart ass,” I growl while moving closer to glare up at him. “I’m trying to figure out why your senior citizen ass is out here chopping wood when the risk for a heart attack dramatically increases for men your age.”
I watch as Fox drops the ax into the stump before closing the little bit of distance left between us. He leans down and stares into my eyes. I don’t know what they show, but I guess they’re betraying me from how his mouth pulls, forming a playful smirk.
He breathes out, and his voice is low and gravelly when he speaks, hitting me again in that spot he has no business in. “Torch, you’d better stop being so mean to me before I fall in love with you.” My mouth opens and closes as I try to force words out, but every word has left my brain. How do I snap back? What are words? A chuckle escapes his mouth as he shakes his head. “Don’t hurt yourself there, pretty girl.” He gives me a wink before something behind me grabs his attention. “Looks like the gang's here.” His voice is still a low purr as he stares into my soul. My heart is in my throat, and all I can hear is the whooshing of the blood through my body.
Without another word, Fox heads over to greet everyone. Ren got a job at a law firm downtown. Cambridge & Sons or something, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s a big deal for her, so Ren, Stevie, and the guys are all here to celebrate. Taking a breath, I fan my hot cheeks with my hands before running over to join the group.
Stevie and Renhelp me set out all the food on the counter while I wave the delivery guy off. Stevie clears her throat, “So, you just live here, platonically… with Fox?” Well, that’s an interesting feeling. My first inclination is to bare my teeth and snarl at my friend for mentioning Fox. Shaking that terrifying feeling away because who am I to snarl over Fox?
“Yeah, why?” My tone's definitely too harsh, and Stevie picks up on it, evidenced by the widening of her eyes.
“No, no, no! I’m not into him or anything!” She waves her hands dismissively. “I just… I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” She shrugs as she pulls out some beer bottles to stuff into the ice cooler.
My brows furrow. “How does he look at me?” I ask, causing Ren, who is in an uncharacteristically bad mood, to snort and roll her eyes.
“The same way you look at him,” she mumbles, her face falling as Atlas approaches us. In an instant, she’s overly busy packing the cooler and gathering disposable plates.
Atlas, either oblivious or just ignoring the flashingfuck offsign above Ren’s head, beams as he walks toward the cooler. “My god, look at these lovely ladies.” He waggles his eyebrowssuggestively as he flexes his bicep. “I’ve come to offer my services.”
“Sure,” Ren says quickly as she moves out of the way. “Take it out back,” she mutters before returning to the kitchen. Once out of earshot, I look hard at Atlas, who looks defeated and sad.
“What did you do?” I groan, and he stares at me, offended by my question.
“Red, I swear,” he states while holding his hands up in defense. “I haven’t seen her since your birthday. I have no idea. But she’s been like this since we met at the donut shop.”
I give him a skeptical look, and he deflates even further. “Okay, fine; I might’ve mentioned it’s tacky to see your lawyer on a hookup app. But it was a joke!” He cries in defense while shielding his face. “I didn’t think she would get so bent out of shape!”
