Justice for Willa (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (San Antonio First Responders Book 10)

Chapter 9

WILLA

Crazy.

She felt crazy.

In a good way.

While Chloe had made the beginning of their meal a frustrating mess, she”d snuck into the restroom to apologize to Willa. Willa saw her coming and managed to drop her paper towels into the trash before Chloe closed in.

”Girl... he”s so into you!”

Willa frowned at Chloe in the mirror. ”Landon?”

”Yes!” Chloe bumped into her arm with an elbow. ”You should have seen the looks he was giving you!”

Willa sighed. ”We”re working together.”

”But he-”

”Chloe, please. I don”t want to drive him away.”

Chloe”s whole mood deflated. ”You”re always in here alone.”

Willa folded her arms across her chest. ”I come in here with Gus.”

Chloe copied her stance. ”And we know that there”s nothing going on between you and boy wonder. This guy is different.”

”We”re working together.”

Chloe sighed. ”Okay. Look, I”ll leave you two alone, but can you tell me that you”re not wanting more with this guy than just working together?”

Willa rubbed at her temples for a bit. ”It doesn”t matter what I want, Chloe. This is work. Together, we”re going to help prosecute some of these predators online. That”s the whole point of this. I can”t... I won”t put all of that in jeopardy just because...”

”Just because he”s hot and you like the beard?” Chloe”s expression said she didn”t buy the ”work” excuse any more than Willa did inside.

”How do you know I like the beard?”

Chloe licked her lips and raised her brows. ”I think you like everything about that man and I don”t blame you. Hot as the Texas sun and a Ranger to boot? You bet I wouldn”t let a little thing like working together get in the way of doing a little cowgirling myself.”

Willa felt her cheeks heat at that. ”I... I, ah...”

Chloe held up her hands in surrender. ”I”m going to stop. I promise.” Her mood sobered a bit. ”I just want you to be happy. I want you to have a big, stupid grin on your face all the time.”

Willa felt tears prickling at the backs of her eyes. ”Me, too.”

Chloe jerked her thumb at the door. ”Okay, go out there and not like the hot guy with you. I need to go to the bathroom before the end of my break.”

Now,Willa was sitting beside Landon in the SUV, just a block away from her home and replaying the conversation in her head.

She”d already realized her own attraction to Landon. It had been more than a little shock to see him at her door. The beard that he”d grown had changed his face in a way, but not in a bad way.

He”d been handsome when she”d met him, a fact that she didn”t acknowledge at all. It was only after she”d healed physically and, on the way, to healing mentally and emotionally that the thought had popped up in her head.

Seeing him again as a Ranger instead of a deputy had been a shock, but it made sense.

Landon was the type of guy who helped people. He”d literally held her life in his hands and kept her alive.

The EMTs that arrived on scene had chided him for putting his bare hands on her throat. He had gloves in his car, he just didn”t take the time to put them on before he got down on his knees to help her.

Even as the EMT huffed and complained about him being a stupid cop with a hero complex, Landon hadn”t paid them any attention, talking to her in a calm tone of voice. It was that voice that kept her holding on.

Now, here she was, sitting beside him, listening to him talk about some of the things they”d need to take care of in the morning and while she was listening to him, she was thinking about him more.

Willa didn”t know why, but Chloe”s comment about the cowgirl thing had taken hold in her head.

She knew about the mechanics of sex. She”d seen some sex scenes in movies and yes, she”d seen some porn online, curious about the whole fascination about sex, but she hadn”t lost her virginity yet. She”d kissed a couple of guys, but back then she”d studiously kept her hair long and in her face.

Texas was too hot to wear turtlenecks or use scarves, so it wasn”t until they”d started kissing and hands started roaming that they’d feel the scar tissue under her chin or along the side of her neck and that’s when they’d move away and… Well, that’s when they’d move away.

It was better, she thought.

Having a conversation with a guy about the attack usually ended up in uncomfortable silences or a flurry of googling.

“Willa?”

“Hmm?”

“Uh, we’re here.”

“Okay.” She sat there staring out of the windshield.

“At your house.”

“Okay.”

Then it hit her.

“Oh!” She released her seatbelt and pulled open her door, hopping out a moment later.

“Willa?”

She kept her head down and reached into her bag and pulled out the key chain that Gus had given her with her new keys.

As she pulled it out, it snagged on something and fell back into her purse. She was standing in front of her door with her hand shoved into her purse, desperately fishing around for her keys when she felt Landon stop behind her.

Just keep fishing… she told herself. Just keep fishing.

“Willa?”

She heard the confusion in his voice, but she was dealing with the same sensation, and it was unsettling.

“Hey, can you talk to me?”

Willa wasn’t sure she had the ability to turn around and face him. It was easier to deal with whatever this was when she wasn’t staring into his eyes.

Was she weak? Embarrassed? Yes. Both!

“Willa. Please?”

She heard him mumble under his breath. “Sorry about this.”

Before her mind wrapped itself around his apology, she felt his hands on her upper arms. “I’m not trying to scare you.”

It was more than the sound of his voice, deeper and softer than normal, that called to her.

It was the gentle way that he held her.

“Willa? Why are you trying to get away from me?”

“Why?” She cringed. Why did she have to sound like she was twelve? “I’m not!”

The way her voice cracked a little at the top made her want to run away. Anywhere.

But she didn’t want him to think she was that crazy.

Even though she might be.

She’d grown up.

At least she hoped so.

“You could tell me anything, Willa. Anything at all.”

“I can’t.”

That about summed it up for her.

If it was about anything else except her feelings about him, sure. But opening up and telling him that she thought he was handsome? That was a step too far.

And there was the distinct chance that he’d be uncomfortable and that might jeopardize her work.

“Hey,” she felt him moving his hands, gently turning her until she had her back to the wall, while he shielded her from the street. “Hey. Please talk to me.”

Willa looked up at him and it felt like the present and past merged into one. As she looked up into his eyes she saw the worry in his gaze, but heaven help her, she thought she might see more.

“It,” she licked at her lips when they felt like they might crack, “It’s just me. My problem. It’s not you.”

When he didn’t respond she wondered how much of a mess she’d made of her excuse.

“I get that you think it’s just you, Willa. But I’m thinking that this might be more of an us problem.”

Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. “Us?”

“Yeah, us, Willa. You and me.”

Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she lifted a hand to rub against her breastbone, but she’d misjudged how close they were, and the backs of her fingers trailed over his stomach, and she ended up with her palm against his chest.

She felt his chest expand as he drew in a breath.

It was a hypnotic feeling to feel his chest moving and his heartbeat pulsing under her hand.

LANDON

From the moment her fingers trailed over his stomach, he was gone. Over the edge gone for her.

When she placed her palm over his heart it felt like his heart was beating wildly, trying to free itself from his chest.

Every inch of him wanted to be closer to her.

“At least I hope it’s an us problem.” He smiled, hoping that she would join him. The tension in her jaw eased but it wasn’t a smile. “Or maybe I’m wrong.”

The heel of her hand moved a scant inch lower, and heaven help him, he felt her touch all across his skin, especially the skin under his clothes.

Skin to skin.

The thought of it was enough to make him weak in the knees.

“Willa?”

He heard her sigh, or perhaps it was a groan.

He leaned in closer, and she drew in a quick breath.

“I… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” Her eyes fixed on his. “How?”

“Because of how I feel about you?” He searched her eyes and her expression but didn’t see anything to make him draw back. “Because I shouldn’t do this now. I don’t want to put pressure on you.”

“I don’t feel any pressure from you.”

He swallowed and drew in another breath, taking in her scent. She smelled like… He couldn’t put a name to the scent, so he just recognized it as Willa, fresh and sweet.

“Seeing you again, I was relieved that you were doing well, proud of what you were doing for others, but I found myself… attracted to you. Wanting you.”

“M...Me?”

“Yes,” he smiled, “You.”

She looked surprised.

“I’m just… me.”

“There’s no just about you, Willa.”

She smiled and the expression on her face said that his words were a revelation. As crazy as he thought that was, he didn’t mention it.

“I should probably tell you that I…”

Her words drifted off and he felt his heart kick against his ribs when her eyes fixed on his mouth and her lips parted slightly.

When she didn’t finish her thought he had to say something. Yes, he wanted to know what she was going to say.

“Tell me… what?”

She started and her eyes lifted so that her gaze met his. Her cheeks darkened with a blush. “Tell you… that I… that you’re… That I want you, too.”

Thank fuck.

Landon leaned in, bracing a hand on the wall over her shoulder. ”I was going to wait until we were working together for a while. Give you some time to get used to me.”

”I don”t need time to get used to you. The problem is whether or not you can handle the whole cart full of baggage that comes with me.”

Landon couldn”t help but smile at the thought. ”I”m not all that easy to deal with. You might end up running for the hills after a while.”

”I”m not all that easy to scare or frighten.”

He heard the strength in her voice, but he also saw the determination in her eyes. ”So you”re saying you”re pretty stubborn, hmm?”

Her smile was mesmerizing. ”That”s one way to put it.”

”I can be pretty head strong too.”

Willa nodded. ”I was kind of thinking that I”d like that about you. Becoming a Ranger isn”t for the weak of heart.”

”No,” he shook his head, ”it”s not.”

”So,” her lips parted, and her voice softened, ”where do we go from here?”

He heard what he thought was an invitation in her voice. The way her eyes darkened and her lashes lowered, he had to fight back the urge to ask if he could go inside with her.

Willa was one in a million. Or whatever the population of the world was.

That meant that he wasn”t going to risk stepping across the line and making an ass of himself.

Oh, he wasn”t under the mistaken impression that was the only way he”d be an ass, but it was one line he could wait to step over.

There was one thing he wanted to do right then and there.

”I want to kiss you.”

She blew out a breath and the hand that she had on his chest turned and shifted until he felt her fingers playing across his abs. ”I think I could handle that.”

”Yeah?” He felt like he was on the verge of bursting out laughing. Crazy, but true. This all felt like it was new to him.

The anxiety of a first kiss.

The joy of knowing that she felt the same attraction that he did.

And the need to taste her sigh… if he got that kiss right.

He kept his hand braced against the wall as he leaned in. He didn’t want to loom over her.

She had her eyes on his as he moved in closer and when they were just inches apart, she tipped her head back and closed her eyes.

The moment he felt his lips brush against hers, he closed his eyes and gave himself over to the kiss.

And it was amazing.

It started as a gentle touch of skin.

It became a tender exploration. Her hands on his chest. His lips slanted over hers.

They were a heartbeat away from catching fire when a hand clapped down on his shoulder.

Landon broke away from Willa and turned to put her behind him, right before a fist plowed into the side of his face.