Page 30 of Protected By West (San Antonio S.W.A.T. #1)

TRACY

When Tracy woke up the next morning, she groaned and mumbled a little. "I think I need to get a better air conditioner."

She felt Weston suck in a breath as her hand found a rather warm part of his body.

"Because waking up next to you means I'm sleeping with a furnace." She groaned but didn't think to let go of what she was holding. "I need to balance out the hot with the cool or I'm going to overheat."

She meant to tease him a little, but Weston had woken up... hungry.

At least that's what she managed to call it when he peeled her hand off of his already rock-hard dick and rolled her under him.

The tank top she'd pulled on the night before was pushed up so he could put his mouth all over her breasts. By the time he'd gotten his boxer briefs off and had settled between her thighs she remembered how late into the night they'd gone before falling asleep.

"West?"

She tried to turn her head away from his kisses, so she could speak, but it didn't seem to interrupt his movements, and his mouth found her pulse just below her ear and the pressure he put on her neck made her ache for him even more.

"West? Honey? I-"

He lifted his mouth from her throat just as the tip of his cock slipped inside of her.

"Hmm?"

He lifted his head and smiled down at her, but his eyes were dark.

She knew that look.

She had a feeling it was the same look on her face at the moment.

"I'm still... a little-"

His expression softened and he backed away from her.

She felt the loss and hated that he'd known what she meant.

Tracy wiggled a little lower, as if her body was chasing him. "Forget what I was going to say."

He shook his head. "I don't want to hurt you."

Her hands grasped his shoulders, trying to draw him up. Closer.

Just when she was about to grumble something at him, she felt him shift and the tender touch of his fingers between her legs.

"West?"

He smiled at her. "I've got you."

"You're really..." her breath caught in her throat, "good at this."

Weston's smile took the rest of her breath away. "I aim to please."

His fingers curled up inside of her and her whole body shuddered.

"West..."

"The way you sound... The way you feel..." He leaned in for a kiss and then he came back for more until she felt herself gasping for breath. The world went dark around her and her back arched off of the bed as he brought an earth-shattering climax from her with just his fingers.

She was fairly sure the whole world tipped off of its axis when his hand slipped free and she was suddenly full of him while her body continued to draw down with every wave of her orgasm.

"Trace-"

She looked up and saw how his head tipped back, the muscles along the side of his neck thickened.

"Babe..."

She couldn't tell if it was a grunt or groan in his throat, she was a bit distracted with other things like the feeling of his abs under her fingertips and the seemingly endless slide of his dick into her body.

Talk about sensations! Hard. Thick. The way her body seemed to be pulling him inside her body.

Tracy reached around behind him, scraping her close-cut nails over his muscled ass.

When he was finally seated inside of her, she still felt tingles all over her body and she felt like he was anchored inside of her.

"This," she lifted her knees, setting her feet on the bed, "this is what I've been missing in life."

Weston looked down at her, a slightly pained look on his face as she used her muscles to grip him tighter inside of her. "You'll have to be a little more specific, honey. I'm always looking for ways to make things..."

She grabbed handfuls of his muscled ass and damn, it felt like he got even deeper inside of her.

"Better."

She felt his muscles flex under her hands, and she found herself very glad that he'd taken his time with his fingers because she found herself stretched wide around him.

A moment later when he looked down at her and she got to see every inch of his muscled and tanned perfection, she was already on the verge of losing every bit of composure she had left.

"West-"

He ate the rest of his name off of her lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She had a feeling she'd have to hold on tight to this cowboy or risk falling.

Weston started to move then, and he didn't stop until they were both sweating and boneless in bed, his arms around her body and hers around him.

When he leaned in and gently rubbed his lips against her temple, she leaned into his touch.

"Tracy?"

"Hmm?" She felt so completely done, she wasn't sure she could form words, let alone thoughts.

"I love you."

She shook her head, a minute shake like she was trying to jump start her brain cells.

"Tracy-"

Oh God. Oh Jeez.

What was she supposed to say?

How did she feel?

Wasn't there a book or a crib sheet for the right answer?

She knew what she felt inside.

She felt deeply for him.

She certainly felt passion. Hunger. Need.

She had tender feelings for him, too.

She loved talking to him.

She loved just spending time with him. Sitting on the couch and watching... err, listening to something on Netflix or Prime video.

There was so much about him that she loved.

But she was also... scared.

Scared of falling into old patterns that weren't even hers.

Or his.

She was scared of second-hand bad luck. And bad decisions.

After seeing her parents’ lives fall horribly apart, could she hope for better?

Would she have to wait for a second chance like her mom?

Or could she get it right the first time?

How was she supposed to know?

He kissed her again, a softer rub of his lips against her skin. "Don't think too hard, Trace... I'm not demanding an answer. It's not like that."

She wanted to hold him closer.

She wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear and-

"Just be with me, babe. Let me hold you for now... the rest will fall into place."

She closed her eyes and leaned in closer until she was sure the next tiny bit of an inch meant that she'd crawl inside of him.

She fought back the frustrated tears in her eyes and slowly, she fell asleep to the quiet sound of his breaths and the touch of his skin against hers.

WEST

Weston found himself smiling as he typed up his notes.

Okay, maybe it wasn't 'smiling.'

But at least he didn't feel like he was about to crack a tooth as he typed out the report for the call the night before.

It had crossed his mind that he didn't want to go into work that day just to type up the reports, but he wanted to get it out of the way, he wanted to tackle another obstacle in their relationship.

The chair beside him squeaked and he turned his head for a moment to see who it was sitting down beside him.

He stopped typing and sat back in his chair with a smile. "Hayden. How the hell are you?"

Hayden Hatcher (née Yates) was one of his best friends outside of the Rangers.

Hayden sat back in the chair beside him, folding one leg over the other she tilted her head to the side, just a bit, and looked him over like he was a puzzle she was figuring out.

At first, it was mildly funny.

Then it became more than a little... nerve wracking.

"Hayden?"

She smiled and then she snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"

Weston felt his lips purse a little and then he murmured under his breath. "I'm afraid to ask."

"I've been meaning to come over and congratulate you in person for your team passing the comprehensive tests to be certified for the Rangers."

He grinned. "I got your text and that little video you sent the team. They were happy to get that before the test."

"I wanted to give your team a little boost of morale."

Weston tasted a little bile on the back of his tongue and hastily swallowed it down.

Hayden didn't miss the awkward expression on his face and smirked, covering her mouth a little. "Some of your team don't need a boost, they're already puffed up enough."

Weston nodded. "I've got a good mix."

Hayden nodded back. "Definitely. I like the group you've put together. There are a few that are going to make things rough for you."

Drawing in a deep, chest filling breath, Weston let it out a moment later. "And I have a few that I think are going to help me smooth them out."

Hayden tipped her chin up and her gaze lifted as well.

He watched her ponder his words.

When she was done with her thoughts, he saw her look back at him with a somewhat rueful look on her face. "I don't envy the work you've got ahead of you."

He bobbed his head in a nod. "Thanks."

She shrugged. "It's the truth, West."

"True," he agreed. "The worst of it is behind us."

West knocked on his desk twice.

Hayden's smile widened. "Knock on wood?"

He shrugged. "I guess. I'll need it, I think."

She sat up straighter and lifted her chin at his hand on the desk. "You know who that reminds me of?"

"What?" He looked down, following the direction of her gaze. "The knocking thing? Who doesn't knock on wood?"

Hayden's smile widened even more. "A lot of people, but," she lifted her hand and gestured at his, "you picked that up from Chief Fagan."

Weston thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "I guess, I did."

"Speaking of Fagans," she took out her phone and opened up her text messages, showing him the picture he'd sent her from the backyard barbecue, "are you going to tell me that Tracy isn't related to the Chief?"

Weston sucked in a breath between his teeth. "Yeah... I mean, no. I think she is but... it's complicated."

"The relationship between fathers and daughters can be fraught with issues.

" He knew that there had to be something in her past that added extra weight to her words.

"I don't think I've ever seen her at any of the Ranger events or promotion ceremonies.

I didn't even know Chief Fagan had a daughter. "

Weston grimaced at the surprise in Hayden's voice. "Yeah, I didn't either."

Hayden's chin dropped enough so that he could see her teeth just behind her lower lip. "What did Tracy say when you told her that you knew her dad?"

Weston didn't know how to answer that question.

In the end he didn't have to. Hayden sighed and gave him a look that spoke volumes.

"Yeah," he sighed, "I actually haven't bridged that gap... yet."

The look in Hayden's eyes?

Disappointment.

"West!"

He knew that he should have said something to Tracy.

He should have made the time, but honestly?

He was more than a little hesitant about broaching the subject.

Yeah, he was a little gun shy about the topic.

They'd had a rough start and now they were at a better place, but-

"Aw, fuck." He braced his elbows on the desk bumping up against the edge of his keyboard. Dropping his head in his hands he mentally kicked himself. "I'm an asshole."

He heard Hayden's sardonic laughter and felt her hand clap against his back a little too hard to be purely a friend thing.

She was likely giving him a little taste of her displeasure.

The good and the bad of it was that he felt he deserved that and more!

When he lifted his head again, Hayden was watching him, her gaze cool. Her frustration still firmly in place.

"Well, have you decided when you're going to pull that big head out of your backside and fix this?"

He couldn't help but smile at her, even when her tone sounded like she was ready to grab a bullwhip and tan his hide.

"I don't know exactly."

That earned him an owlish glare. "Really?"

"Flowers and dinner at a five-star restaurant?" He knew before the words were even out of his mouth, he was wrong. It wasn't just the look on Hayden's face, it was the feeling in his gut. "I have to sit her down and put all the hard stuff into words, don't I?"

Hayden's shoulders shook with silent laughter. She dropped a hand on his shoulder with a long, weighty sigh. "It's like you're growing up, West."

"You mean I'm ready for a real adult relationship?"

She winced at his words. "I'm not all that sure that you're ready for it, but if you want something to work with Tracy? You better start growing up and facing the hard stuff... soon."

Weston leaned closer, managing a smile for one of his longtime friends. "I can't believe you turned me down three times to join my team."

"We both know that this isn't my bag when it comes to work. Besides, I like being home at some pretty predictable hours so I can see my man and get him into bed at a decent time."

He had to chuckle at that. "Have we reached that age where we need to get that full eight hours of sleep?"

Her cheeks pinked a little and her eyes sparkled. "I didn't say eight hours of sleep, West. I just said I wanted to get Boone into bed at a decent hour. Sleep? Sleep is for wusses."

With that she leaned forward on the seat and got to her feet with a soft groan. "Now, I need to head out. My break is almost over."

Weston got to his feet, too. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a wink when she turned back to look at him. "When I get my head out of my ass, I'm hoping we can celebrate. I'll invite you and Boone to have dinner with us."

Hayden gave him a full, brilliant smile as she answered him. "Then here's hoping she doesn't skin you alive when you tell her."

He felt his heart pound hard enough that it felt like he'd been kicked in the ribs. "Yeah, here's hoping."

As Hayden walked out of the room, he felt that unsettling ache in his gut.

He'd meant to talk to her about her father, but when he was with her...

When he had her in his arms...

No.

He shut down his thoughts.

Excuses. He wasn't going to keep making excuses.

He meant what he said to Tracy that morning. He loved her.

And love...

Love took courage.

If he was going to be worthy of her, he was going to have to get his shit together and show some courage... for both of them.