Page 27 of Rescuing Baylee
“What?” she asked.
“The rest of my cookies are sitting on the counter at home,” he groused, making her laugh.
“I’ll make you more. So, tell me about being a cop,” she said, popping the last bite of brownie into her mouth.
Landon stared at her mouth, knowing that she now tasted of chocolate. He looked down at the table, trying not to get too lost in thinking about her. What had she asked? Oh, about being a cop.
Yeah, he supposed it was fair. He shrugged. “It seemed like a natural thing to do when I was old enough. They helped us out when I was a kid, and I wanted to make sure other kids didn’t have to deal with the same thing I did. I know there’s no way I can save them all, but I do what I can. And I love putting away the bad guys,” he said, grinning.
“Seems like kind of a never-ending job.”
He nodded, tossing the last piece of brownie in his mouth. “It is, but so is nursing. Right? You just try to do what good you can and move on to the next person.”
“Yeah,” she sighed.
Reaching out, she started cleaning up the dishes, but Landon took them from her hands. “You cooked. I’ll wash up. Why don’t you go through those magazines, or something?”
Baylee blinked, then put her hands up, relinquishing control of the dishes to him. She wandered over to the bags Morgan had brought and sifted through them, pulling a couple of magazines out. As the hot water heated in the sink, Landon watched her leave the kitchen, three magazines in her hands.
He really didn’t mind doing the dishes. Mouth pursed, he looked for a plastic container to put the leftover noodles in, but he didn’t find anything other than plastic bags. It was a little messy, but he got a quart bag loaded with Alfredo noodles and in the fridge. He had no problem eating leftovers that good.
Baylee was a fantastic cook, and he wanted to make it easier for her to cook more, he thought with a grin.
“What are you smiling at?”
Landon hadn’t even heard her come back into the kitchen. She peered around him at the bag of noodles and giggled. Then she smacked a hand over her mouth, like she was surprised that the sound had come from her own mouth.
“You put them in a bag?” she snickered.
“Hey,” he said, enjoying seeing her laughing. “It was all they had in this damn house.”
She was shaking her head, and he really wanted to lean down and drop a kiss to her lips.
What the hell…
They were on a stakeout. She was in a huge amount of danger. But he wanted to kiss her pink lips and taste her laughter.
This was such a bad idea…
CHAPTER TEN
Baylee felt the tension seep between them, and she realized she was holding her breath. Landon was staring at her mouth, and she understood what men were thinking when they telegraphed their actions like that. Normally, she would pull away, but some… feminine curiosity made her tilt up her chin and wait to see what he would do. His proximity was tantalizing…
For a timeless moment, he didn’t do anything, just stared at her mouth, then something slid over his expression, and he carefully, very deliberately, lowered his mouth to hers. He was giving her time to pull away. Baylee held her breath as his firm lips pressed against hers in a very dominant, masculine way. Landon was a very masculine man, and she knew in her heart that he would approach being with a woman the same way. She doubted he would let the woman pay for anything or walk on the street side of the sidewalk. He had strong women in his life, and he seemed to have been raised to be a protector. It was ingrained in him.
So, she let herself sink into his kiss. He tasted of chocolate with a hint of garlic, and it should have been bad. But it really,reallywasn’t. Shifting forward a bit, she let her body brush against his, and it was more than good. It was intoxicating.When she tilted her head, one of his hands cupped her jaw, and for a second, she worried about him touching the scar, but she forced the thought away. She just wanted tofeel…
Baylee didn’t want the kiss to end. He drew back ever so slowly, their breaths mingling, and it took everything in her to open her hands to let him go. She hadn’t even realized she’d curled her fists into his dark t-shirt.
Landon’s expression changed, though, like he’d just remembered she was a victim, or something, and he straightened.
Baylee tried not to be hurt. She couldn’t blame him for pulling back. They were not in any kind of position to start something. But that tiny, delicate, feminine kindle of interest had sparked. Turning, her face burning, she went back into the living room, grabbing the magazines she’d been flipping through.
Why was she embarrassed? Landon Hunter was here to do a job. Yes, when men and women were in close proximity, tensions could ramp up and things could happen. Kisses could happen. More could happen. But he’d just shown her he had enough integrity to remember he was here for a purpose.
She needed to get a hold of her emotions. It was a little hard, though, being in this crappy yet weirdly homey environment. Lines were blurring and defenses could fall.
A thrill went through her at the thought of truly letting her layers of defenses down, and she wondered if it was fear or excitement.