Page 47 of Chasing the Sun

Instead, I took a slow breath. “You’re staring,” I whispered.

Callum’s jaw ticced. His nostrils flared, but he didn’t move, andneither did I.

The barn was hot as hell, the summer heat pressing in, and I could feel sweat prickling at the back of my neck.

I cleared my throat. “Water break,” I muttered, ducking from his embrace and adding distance between us so I could breathe.

I reached for the cooler near the barn entrance and cracked open a water bottle. I tilted my head back as I drank deep, desperate for the relief. A stray drop escaped, slipping down my chin, trailing the column of my throat.

I didn’t think anything of it, until I felt him watching.

Slow. Intense.

His eyes moved over me like he wanted to lick the drop from my skin.

My breath hitched. My pulse jumped.

I lowered the bottle, swiping my thumb across my damp lower lip, my tongue darting out to catch the moisture.

His hands curled into fists like he was physically restraining himself from tearing me apart.

But I didn’t smile or tease—I just stared right back.

Breaking the spell, I twisted the cap onto my water bottle and dropped it back into the cooler with a loudthunk.

We had work to do. Old brooms and rogue tools were shoved in every nook and cranny of the barn. Everything needed to be cleared and gone through. I didn’t have time for sexy staring contests with a man who was waiting for my downfall.

We worked in heavy silence. The huge barn shrank around us as we practically ignored each other. When my hands became caked in dust and grime, I reached for the old hose coiled near the barn entrance, twisting the spigot with more force than necessary. The second I lifted it, a rogue spray shot from a crack in the hose, dousing me in an icy stream before I could jerk it away.

Water sprayed everywhere—over the dusty barn floor, over the crate, and all down the front of my shirt.

I gasped at the sudden chill of the icy water, the white fabric instantly clinging to my skin.

Callum cursed, and I looked up to find him staring again.

Not at my face, but at my tits, because, of course, the thin, soaked fabric of my tee was obscenely clinging to my skin, leaving nothing to the imagination.

I should have been embarrassed, but I wasn’t, because Callum lookedwrecked.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, his fists clenching at his sides like he physically had to stop himself from reaching for me. His pupils were blown, jaw locked so tight it could have cracked.

The air between us ignited.

Heat licked up my spine, fire spreading low in my belly as Callum’s eyes dragged over me, lingering, devouring.

I knew exactly what he was thinking. I could feel it, and I wanted him to do it.

I had never been so attracted to a man I barely knew, but something about Cal seemed to short-circuit my brain. He exuded confidence and capability—like he was the kind of man who knew how to keep a woman safe in and outside the bedroom.

He was nothing like any other man I’d known—least of all my buttoned-up, cheating-ass ex.

What was his name again? Oh, right. No one cares.

Callum took a sharp step back, like distance was the only thing saving him. “Fucking hell.”

I tilted my head, playful and teasing, despite the wild pulse beating at my throat. “Something wrong?”

Callum didn’t answer. Just exhaled, hard and uneven, dragging a hand through his already mussed hair.