My Salvation (2 page)

Cali quickly turned her head back and tried to
keep reading. Her thoughts drifted to the last time she saw Owen at
Rhea’s funeral. She would never forget that day for as long as she
lived. The rush of emotion came rolling back and the words on her
Kindle blurred as tears welled. Blinking away the tears, she rolled
to her stomach and shut her eyes.

“You’re burning,” a deep voice said, rousing her
from sleep.

“Hmmm?”

“You should go back inside or you’ll be hurting
tomorrow.”

Waking, Cali lifted her head and blinked, trying
to focus. Staring into a set of green eyes, she knew it was
Owen.

“I must have fallen asleep. Thank you for waking
me.”

“I was about to leave and noticed you were still
down here. I didn’t want you to burn.”

Smiling, Cali said, “That was very kind of
you.”

Owen nodded, turned and walked away. Deciding he
was probably right, Cali collected the things she brought down with
her and made her way inside. She ate lunch, and spent the rest of
the afternoon lounging on the couch, watching television and
letting her mind drift to the man she tried to forget.

~ 2 ~

Caliana Crawford. Her name alone created a
flurry of emotions. Feelings Owen tried to bury for the past ten
years, never telling anyone the way he felt. Although, he guessed
Rhea knew since she would catch him glancing in Cali’s direction
when she wasn’t looking.

The last time he saw her was at Rhea’s funeral.
It took everything not to pull her into his arms and whisper words
of comfort. Seeing her cry made his chest ache. He should have been
by her side, not waiting in the back hoping to be noticed. Prior to
that, the last time he saw her was when Cali was 18 and he was 20,
right before she left for college.

It was a chance encounter he happened to be at
the lake that day. Owen drove to the lake the day before and saw
the black Jeep in the drive between their cabins. Seeing that made
him decide to stay the night.

Dalia Lake was nestled in the woods an hour from
the coast. Once he saw she stayed, he decided to drive every night
after work on the chance he could spend a small amount of time with
her. It was a long drive in rush hour traffic, but worth it. He
never forgot the last day spent with Cali that summer.

“Cali, get your ass out here!”

Walking out on the porch, she said, “What
the hell is your problem?”

“C’mon, let’s go.”

She rolled her eyes and stepped onto the
grass. “What’s up?”

“Let’s go for a walk. It’s a nice
night.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you up
to?”

“Nothing. Damn, can’t two friends go for a
walk?”

With a laugh she said, “No.” They were only
ever friends, nothing more.

Walking by the water, they talked about her
graduation from high school and where she was going to college. He
talked about work even though it made him uncomfortable. Owen
didn’t go to college, couldn’t afford to, so he took the first job
he could find and had been there since.

“No boyfriend?” he asked.

“No. I didn’t want to go into college in a
relationship. I want to focus on studying and doing well. What
about you? I would have thought you would have someone hanging on
you.”

He shrugged. “I work all of the time.
Besides, who would want me?”

Cali threw her head back and asked, “Are you
kidding me, Owen? Have you looked in a mirror lately?” He didn’t
know what to think of her words.

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

She rolled her eyes. “Uh huh,
sure.”

They talked about various different things
while walking along the edge of the lake. When on their way back to
the cabins he reached out and grabbed her hand. Cali
froze.

“What are you doing?”

His eyes met hers. “Something I’ve wanted to
do since you came here.”

Owen pulled her close and kissed her softly
on the lips. She tasted of mint and smelled intoxicating. His hand
went to the back of her neck and the kiss deepened.

Cali’s tongue met his and she fisted his
shirt. They stayed that way for a good minute. Finally Owen leaned
back and broke the kiss. Cali, however, remained still. Her eyes
closed for a few seconds before opening them.

Tears glistened in her beautiful brown eyes.
“Owen, I…”

“Cali, don’t,” he interrupted. “I know
you’re going to college and aren’t looking for a relationship, but
I couldn’t let you leave without kissing you first.”

“Why now? You know I have to leave
tomorrow.”

“I couldn’t get the nerve to do it before.
Plus I thought you might get mad and now you wouldn’t have to face
me tomorrow,” Owen said, dropping his head to stare at the
ground.

“You thought I would get mad if you kissed
me? You don’t have a clue do you?”

His head raised, trying to figure out the
look on her face. “Owen, you are one of my best friends. You are
handsome, funny, and I always have a great time with you. I’ve
thought about kissing you too, but was nervous.”

He was floored. “You did?”

Placing her hands on either side of Owen’s
face, she kissed him. The kiss was gentle and sweet, but she backed
away all too soon. “I’m leaving, we can’t start something. I need
to concentrate on school. I wish things were different. I’m
sorry.”

Owen still thought about the kiss that summer.
Back then he never thought he would amount to anything, but that
wasn’t the case. He worked his ass off and a part of him knew he
did it for Cali.

He worked hard, saved and invested the money he
made. He bought the company he worked for, and the cabin from his
mom. He felt like a boy, wanting the girl that was unattainable.
The awkward boy who kissed the beautiful girl way out of his
league.

* * * * * * * *

Cali woke with a start. She looked at the clock,
wondering why she was awake at three in the morning. Then there was
a noise. It sounded like someone was trying to get into the bedroom
window.

She raced into the living room to grab the cell
phone. She dialed the number to the land line of the cabin next
door, and hoped the call would be answered.

“What?” asked a groggy voice on the other end of
the line.

“Owen, it’s Cali,” she whispered.

“Cali? Why are you calling me in the middle of
night?”

Her voice shook. “I think someone is trying to
break into my cabin.”

“Lock yourself in the bathroom in the hallway.
I’ll be right over.”

Cali ended the call and clutched the phone to
her chest. She ran straight into the bathroom with no windows. She
hoped he remembered the spare key was in the spot it had always
been, under a loose board on the porch.

Shaking, she sat in the bathtub. She heard his
voice. “Cali, open the door.”

Cali rushed to the door and pulled it open. The
sight made her gasp. “Owen, what happened? Are you okay?”

He was covered in mud and his shirt was ripped.
“Holy shit, Cali. You should have seen this guy. I caught him while
he was trying to get in through the window,” he said, taking deep
breaths between every few words.

“Oh no! Did you get into a fight with him?”

“I did, but he was fast. I couldn’t land one
shot! He took off running.”

“He took off?” she yelled. “We have to call the
police. What if he comes back?”

“Oh, I think he will, but the police won’t help
us.”

“What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t they
help?” Cali was getting an uneasy feeling.

She watched him fight a smile. “I think animal
control might be more appropriate.” He was bent over laughing.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Your intruder was very hairy and standing on
the log pile outside your window. He did look like a burglar though
with the black mask on, but human he was not.”

“You aren’t making any sense. What does that
even mean?” Her face turned red.

“It was a raccoon! I chased it off.” Owen had
tears streaming down his face from laughter.

“Stop laughing at me. I was scared,” she
glared.

“I know you were, but the look on your face was
priceless.”

“You suck,” she laughed a little.

Owen was a mess. His shirt was ripped and he had
mud caked everywhere.
Damn, he really had me going
, she
thought.

“Did you seriously rip your shirt and wipe mud
on yourself? You could have just come in here and said everything
is fine, not make a production out of it.”

He smiled wide. “Now what fun would that have
been?”

“Shut it.” She pushed his stomach to shove him,
but he didn’t move.

Her fingers slid to the small patch of exposed
skin. She could feel his well-defined abdominal muscles, and slowed
the motion. After lingering a moment too long, her hand
withdrew.

Owen looked at her with heat in his eyes. The
mood shifted from humor to sensual in a matter of seconds. Cali was
rooted in place. His expression had her wondering if something was
about to happen. He took a step forward. Instead of staying in
place, she snapped out of the trance and retreated.

Owen closed his eyes and exhaled. “You’re safe,
Caliana. You can go back to bed. I’ll put the key where it was
before I leave.”

When he turned, Cali placed a hand on his
forearm, “Thank you for coming to my rescue. Even if it was just
from a harmless raccoon.”

“I will always come to your rescue.” He walked
out the door.

His words left her spinning. She wondered if the
feeling of heat between them was mutual. Cali decided to think it
over later. Exhaustion was taking over and she needed to go back to
bed.

* * * * * * * *

After putting the key into the hiding place,
Owen stared at the door. He wasn’t sure if he was reading too much
into what happened. Something might have passed between them, but
then again, maybe not.

Her touch made his cock twitch and come to full
attention in a matter of seconds. He left before being noticed. A
cold shower was needed to help calm him down. Plus, there was mud
everywhere. He wanted nothing more to take her into his arms and
kiss those plump lips.

Going to his cabin, Owen retreated to the
bedroom. He stripped and threw the clothes onto the bathroom floor.
He turned on the shower, hot water streaming over his hair and
face. He still felt Cali’s hands.

He washed and stood with his head down, letting
the water beat on him while his hands were braced on the shower
wall. Turning, Owen ran his hand down his washboard abs and stopped
when he found his cock rock hard and demanding attention.

He slowly stroked himself from base to tip over
and over, all the while thinking of Caliana and imagining it was
her hand on him. Her fingers wrapped around his length. He threw
his head back as the fantasy took over.

Thoughts of Cali on bended knees, her mouth was
taking in the full length of him while she stared into his eyes.
Warm, brown eyes he could never forget.

Moving his hand faster and faster, he came with
a loud moan. The orgasm went on forever. When it subsided he
realized he hadn’t gotten off like that in a long time.

Fuck
, he thought.
I need to go to
sleep and stop thinking about something that would never
happen.
Shutting off the shower, he quickly dried, threw on a
pair of boxer briefs and crashed for the night.

~ 3 ~

Cali didn’t sleep well. She tossed and turned
the remainder of the night. Dragging herself to the kitchen, she
made a pot of coffee. Thoughts drifted to Owen and the words sent
chills over her body.
I will always come to your
rescue.

She never forgot the summer Owen had kissed her.
She never stopped thinking about him through college. Her eyes
would close at night and she envisioned his face or touched his
body in her dreams.

Those dreams had been forgotten. The dreams
where they would make love. She would wake sweating and breathing
heavily with an ache down below. It was a good thing her roommate
was gone most of the time, because she would wake and make herself
come while remembering them. Touching him the night before made the
dreams fresh in her mind again.

She grabbed a mug, poured a cup of coffee and
walked out to the front porch to enjoy the view of the lake. Cali
was never more at peace than she was there, her sanctuary. The one
spot she could go no matter how bad life got and would feel better.
Even with Rhea gone she still felt that way. The cabin was Rhea’s
sanctuary too and it was where she felt closest to her aunt.

Cali leaned her head back, closed her eyes and
let the sun chase away the goose bumps that had formed. The grass
still had dew on the blades from the night before and the birds had
begun to sing. Hearing a door shut, she glanced to the right and
saw Owen leaving.

He was dressed in jeans and a fitted navy
t-shirt. She enjoyed the view and decided to sit and enjoy the way
his ass looked when he bent to tie his shoes. She groaned loudly at
the sight, then immediately brought her hand up.

* * * * * * * *

Hearing a sound, Owen looked around until his
eyes met Cali’s.
Damn, she looked good
, he thought. Her
brown hair was messy and she was wearing a tight white tank top and
short black shorts. He waved and went to his truck.

It was Monday morning and he needed to get to
work. Normally he would have spent last night at the house in the
suburbs, but seeing Cali made the decision of where to sleep easy.
He would stay as long as she did. The hour drive to the coast was
going to be rough every day, but it was worth it.