Page 6 of An Omega Fox for Walker (Beartastic Summer of Love #4)
Fennec
This man was terribly handsome and had come back to the beach with his arms full of all kinds of goodies in a basket. He came over and nodded toward the pile of logs in a stone fire pit. “I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Walker.”
“Hi,” I said, extending my hand and immediately realizing the folly. The man had his hands full. “Sorry. I’m Fennec. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s time to make s’mores. Would you like some? I will have the fire started in a few minutes.”
My tummy growled at that exact moment. “That sounds incredible. Here, let me help.”
I took one of the baskets from his hands and, when our fingers touched, he froze in place. His eyes widened, and he managed to melt my heart with a smile. “Thank you. I thought about getting creative. I brought some peanut butter cups and caramels.”
“Sounds like a good time.” We set everything on the table but after we touched, Walker seemed a bit irritated.
He mumbled something while lighting the fire and tossed the match into the flames as though it had personally offended him.
If I had my shifter senses, I might’ve been able to decipher more by his scent or even hear his murmurs, but my fox had taken most of those things on his way out.
He didn’t look at me much after that. Others came and joined us as the sun set. “The embers are perfect. Would you like me to roast your marshmallow for you?”
I let out a sigh and a small laugh. “Yes, please. I’m not practiced anymore. We used to camp all the time when I was a kid, but I’d probably have a flaming block of sugar if I tried.”
Walker smiled at me with one side of his mouth, but it seemed like he stopped himself from laughing. I wondered, while he walked away, why he would do that. Had I done something wrong? I had to remind myself that just because someone else acted a certain way, it didn’t mean I’d done anything amiss.
People were strange sometimes.
As I watched Walker roast the giant marshmallows over the fire, I took in his form.
Judging by his tall and broad stature, I would bet he was a bear or some other predator.
He moved in great strides and had an alpha air about him.
My fox’s senses would’ve come in handy right about now, but I had to rely on my human side to assess things.
He was really handsome as well in a bad boy kind of way even though he’d been nothing but nice and polite.
Goddess, what was I even thinking? I met this man only a few minutes ago.
He might be mated with an entire brood of kits waiting for him at home.
Not kits, since I was pretty positive he wasn’t a fox, but the point remained.
He might be completely out of my reach and here I was, thinking about how nice his ass looked in his jeans and how cute it was when a lock of his black hair fell across his forehead.
I sighed and accepted the marshmallow. We laughed as I piled on not only the peanut butter cup but a bit of salt and squished it all before shoving it into my mouth.
The flavors danced together in a flurry of flavors that made me make all kinds of embarrassing noises.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Walker watching me.
He was probably in awe of my level of weirdo.
To be fair, I’d done a full-on happy dance over the s’more.
It was made of chocolate and more sugar than should be legal. Sue me.
“My shirt smells like smoke now,” I said, bringing the fabric to my nose.
Walker looked at me like I’d said something wild. “Yeah. Um, drawback of the fire and s’mores I suppose.”
He continued to stare until I squirmed. “What?” I asked. “Do I have some on me?”
He nodded. “You do. Here.” He took the napkin from the pile he’d brought and wiped at the sides of my mouth.
As he did, his eyes never left mine. For a second, I thought he was studying me, looking for something beyond my eye color or the shape of them.
Like something would happen if he stared long enough.
Something might happen, but it wasn’t appropriate in public. “Thank you,” I muttered. “You’re welcome. Well, have a good night.”
He walked away and I instantly felt colder. Another man walked over and began cleaning up our mess. “Hey, I’m Eddie. I’m the owner here.”
“Oh, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Fennec. This place is incredible. I’m so jealous you get to live here.”
“It’s pretty great if I do say so myself.”
Once everything was clean, Walker spoke with Eddie then said, “Everyone, we have a group run in about twenty minutes. It should be fun since we have a full moon tonight.”
There was chatter among the other guests about the run and I was happy for them, I really was.
I got up and took a last look at Walker.
He was talking to Eddie. I bet he was looking forward to the run.
I was tempted to stay and find out what kind of animal he was, but without shifting myself, it seemed intrusive.
Without my animal, I was basically human.
I walked away, calling the day a loss. At least I would be able to curl up in that comfy bed and enjoy a good night’s sleep. Maybe I would dream of Walker. He and I could exist in my dreams, at least.
Maybe I would come back later when the run was over and see him again. I’d let the night decide.