Chapter 20
Willa slowly blinked her eyes open to a totally unfamiliar room. Where was she? Then she remembered. Cy was letting her sleep in his guest room.
She stretched and groaned. Too much time in bed left her with an aching bladder. Other than the urge to use the bathroom, she felt amazing. She checked the time, seeing that she’d slept for about eight hours. That was totally not like her.
After she stopped by the bathroom, she headed downstairs, surprised to see Cy stepping in from the back yard, sweat dripping from his face.
“Oh, were you out there?”
He nodded. “I needed to work out.”
She glanced out in the back yard, not seeing any equipment. “What kind of workout?”
His chuckle warmed her. He had a T-shirt on, and she wondered if he’d worked out with it off. Heat crawled up her neck. She shouldn’t be thinking that way about him. He was helping her, and she didn’t need to be thinking about him working out with his shirt off and only his shorts on.
“Just the usual stuff. I have a sledgehammer and a tire around to the side of the house. It’s a good workout.”
“Huh, that sounds intense.”
Again, his laughter warmed her. “It’s a good workout. It’s almost as satisfying as chopping wood.”
A shiver slid down her spine. She would love to see him chopping wood. “Again, something I’ve never done.”
“It’s not a skill most people develop these days. I just like working through a log and producing something from it. Swinging an axe is great exercise.”
She could imagine him in jeans and a flannel shirt, his muscles warm from swinging an axe. It sucked that she never wanted to date again. Would she miss having someone to be close to?
The good feelings never lasted long, though. Robert had ruined everything fast, destroying the good feelings in weeks.
“I need to hop in the shower. After I finish, would you like breakfast?”
“Sure. I can start cooking something.”
“You don’t have to. Plus, I eat a lot. I’ll be out in a few minutes. There’s coffee in the pot, if you like.”
“Sounds good. Thank you.”
Instead of watching him head down the hall, she turned to the coffee pot and focused on the dark liquid. She wasn’t going to obsess about Cy and how good-looking he was. He was more than just his body.
Cy stood in the shower, forcing thoughts of Willa away as he washed his body. He needed to get rid of his hard cock, but she was in the kitchen. His house was small, not tiny, but the bathroom backed up against the kitchen wall. The last thing she needed to hear was him jerking off.
He could keep his desire under control. There were loads of situations he’d been in where he had to control his cock, and he’d mastered all of them.
When he was younger and running on the beach or doing PT while the women were working out, he’d dealt with it. Then there were the random situations that put him in areas with hot women. He’d conquered it all. But with Willa, he was having difficulties.
Not that he was some horny idiot running wild, but through the years, he’d had to deal with seeing hot women and staying in control. He could stay in control with Willa.
He finished in the shower, dressed, and was back in the kitchen in less than ten minutes. “I know it’s weird for breakfast, but I have some leftovers in the freezer. Are you okay with that until we can go to the store?”
“Sure. I’m good with whatever you have. You don’t have to feed me.”
“Nonsense. You’re here. It would be rude not to. We can head to the store this afternoon.”
She glanced at the floor, and he had to stop the urge to go to her and lift her chin. This situation was messed up, and she had to have a lot of conflicting emotions.
“So how long do you think I’ll need to stay here?”
Her question bugged him, but he didn’t want to push her away. He knew staying at someone else’s place could be weird. He stayed with his buddies from time to time, but they were good friends, and it was different when you were with friends. He was a total stranger to her.
“I don’t know. We should talk to the detective on the case and figure out what’s going on with Robert.”
She nodded. “Yeah. I just don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“Trust me, you won’t. I want you to be safe.”
She met his gaze and shook her head. “Why are you being so nice?”
He shrugged, hoping he could keep the desire he felt for her hidden long enough to answer her question.
“Sometimes things align, and you find people you’re supposed to help.
It’s one of those things. Helping people is one of the best things you can do in life.
I know it doesn’t happen all the time, but life is better when we help each other. ”
She dipped her chin, and her eyes widened. “No one thinks that way.”
“I think that way.”
“Well, I can tell you that you’re the odd man out. Most people don’t think like that.”
“No, they don’t. And it’s sad that we’re so against helping others. I get why people are jaded, but we have to push past the anger and hurt.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
He shrugged as he turned to the freezer to grab something to heat. He had some enchiladas that would heat up easily.
He pulled the container out and held it up. “How about enchiladas?”
Her laughter made his balls tighten. He longed to hear that sound again.
“Sure. Why not. I like enchiladas, and having them for breakfast would be good.”
“Awesome. I have enough for both of us.”
“Cool.”
He popped the container into the microwave on half power to start the thaw. “Sorry, I don’t have eggs and stuff, but I never know how long I’ll be gone, so I gave the food to a friend who was staying in town.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s an issue. So you don’t know how long you’ll be gone?”
He pulled out a couple of plates and forks. “I do sometimes. If I’m on an official deployment, I do. Right now, we go where the problems are. It’s just easier right now for the military to send us out where we’re needed.”
“That’s interesting.”
“Yeah. It means we have a lot of vacation.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I need to take a few weeks soon. Then I have a month off next September.”
“That’s good.”
“It is. I mean, in no way is military life easy. It’s hard, and it’s not for everyone. But it’s good for me.”
“I never even considered it growing up.“
He nodded, thinking about his past. “I don’t think there was another option available for me.”
“Really, why?”
Did he really want to get into his history with Willa? His life before joining the military had been chaotic. Home life hadn’t been fun at all. Just thinking about it made his stomach tighten.