A Perfect Storm(20)

Almost from the get-go, they'd connected. With any luck, they could  unite further over their combined efforts to bring cretins to justice.

True to her word, she'd been at Spencer's kitchen table drinking coffee  when he awoke. She'd been listening for him, wondering how late he'd  sleep, anxious to see him, to talk to him, so of course she'd heard him  the minute he'd left his bed.

Probably thinking she had skipped out on him, he'd rushed down the hall  and into the kitchen, where he'd drawn up short at the sight of her.

With whiskers on his face and his hair mussed, wearing only boxers, he'd stared at her.

And she'd seen his relief. Because he really wanted her there.

Her heart did that strange tumbling thing again. The whiskers were  appealing enough, but what that man did for a pair of boxers should have  been illegal.

He had such a great body. She'd noticed that more than once, and not in  the admiring but analytical way that she'd noted the physiques of  Jackson, Dare and Trace. Being strong, tall and fast, with great stamina  and reflexes, they were built for enforcing their individual wills.

Spencer was all of that, but he was also remarkable eye candy. Whenever  he concentrated those dark bedroom eyes on her, she felt the strangest  flutter in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was  disconcerting.

And so, at the first opportunity, she'd left him.

She felt a little guilty about it, too. But reminding herself that she  had to keep her independence, that she had to prove her worth to one and  all-especially to herself-had helped her to walk out while he showered.

Watching for nosy creeps, she'd checked out of her old hotel, shopped  for the clothes she'd wear tonight and a swimsuit for the trip to  Dare's, and then checked into a new hotel. She'd kept her phone out,  certain that Spencer would call-but he hadn't.

Not yet anyway.

She refused to be disappointed over that. He'd meet her tonight to help with her sting, and that's what she needed the most.

With her shower complete, her hair conditioned and her body softened by  scented lotion, she wrapped one towel around her hair and another around  her body. She'd just stepped out of the bathroom when her cell phone  rang.

Spencer.

Refusing to dwell on the joyous racing of her heart, she took a deep,  calming breath and lifted the phone. No doubt he'd be pissed that she  fled while he showered. But arguing with him was almost as exhilarating  as everything else they'd shared. She could hardly wait.                       
       
           



       

Smiling with anticipation, she answered with a feigned and careless, "'Lo?"

"You left me."

Her pulsed tripped at the low, oh-so-familiar timbre of his voice. She  hadn't left him. She'd just … left. Why did he make it sound so personal?

"Just noticed that, huh? Man, Spence, you really are astute."

"You snuck out while I was in the shower."

Why wasn't he blowing a gasket? She'd managed to get past his watchful  eye, and that more or less proved she was better than him-right? That  should have made him furious. Instead he sounded dark and mysterious  and … she didn't know.

"I had some stuff to get done." Then she reminded him, "But I was there  when you woke up as promised, right? I even hung around for breakfast."

"Biding your time?"

Annoyance straightened her shoulders and sharpened her tone. "I stuck to  the letter of our deal-like you did when you talked to Trace, but not  Jackson."

Nothing. No argument, no reply, not even a sound of frustration.

His lack of response spoiled all her fun. On a sigh, Arizona gave up and  said, "I had to go shopping so I'd have something appropriate to wear  tonight."

"So it wasn't just to get even with me for talking to Trace?"

"No." Well, maybe a little. "I needed to move locations, too, and … well, a  girl's got prep work to do before seducing the masses."

"I wanted you to stay."

Oh, wow. She heard his disappointment. And damn it, it ramped up her guilt a lot. "I told you I couldn't do that."

"You and I are going to have a nice long talk about what you can and cannot do."

He sounded so certain of her agreement that she wanted to turn him down.  But she needed to keep the peace so that he'd continue to work with  her. "Okay. When?"

"As soon as you let me in."

"Let you … " Control eroded under growing temper. "Where are you?"

One firm rap sounded on her door. "Open up, honey."

Instead, she stepped back from the door. Voice cracking with outrage, she yelled, "What the hell, Spencer?"

"I don't want to draw attention out here. Are you going to open up or not?"

She looked down at herself. The white towel barely protected her dubious  modesty. "No, I am not." He could damn well wait for her to dress. It'd  do him good to cool his heels in the shabby lobby of the motel. "You  had no right to come here-"

"Have it your way." He disconnected the call.

Grrrrr. Furious-and disappointed that he'd given up so easily-she  squeezed the phone, considered throwing it at the door, and decided  instead to demand he come back and give her the battle she needed.

She marched toward the door, but as she reached for the doorknob, she  heard a scraping sound within the lock. She knew that sound.

He was breaking in!

Sheer surprise lifted her brows and obliterated her anger. She glanced  around at the room, started to retreat once more-and the door swung  open.

Returning a steel pick and tension wrench to a small leather case,  Spencer stepped in, used his heel to nudge the door shut again, and  turned to face her.

Her startled surprise was nothing compared to his.

Finding her more naked than not, with nothing but a couple of towels  covering her, he went on high alert. Except for his gaze going all over  her, he didn't move. When he finally got his attention up to her face,  his eyes darkened. "Hey."

Hey? That's all he had to say?

Arizona forgot her state of undress. Well, no, really she didn't. She just forgot how much she cared.

Umbrage brought her storming up to him, and she poked him hard in the chest. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

He caught her finger and held on. "You thought you were the only one who could pick a lock?"

She jerked free of his hold-and almost lost her towel. She secured the  knot above her breasts and stepped back. More subdued now, she muttered,  "That's not what I mean and you know it."

One eyebrow lifted-and he pushed away from the door to step toward her. "I told you I was good at tracking."

"You followed me, Spencer." She didn't understand his current mood. "That's not at all the same thing."

Shrugging, he finally got his attention off her and scoped out her room instead. "Close enough."

When he eyed the laptop she'd set up on the small bedside table, she  shoved it shut. She hadn't been looking at anything private, but that  wasn't the point.                       
       
           



       

Ignoring that, he lifted the T-shirt she'd discarded on the bed and then her bra.

Arizona snatched both away from him. She was a tidy person and would  have stored them away in her duffel once she'd gotten dressed in the new  duds.

Smiling slightly, he said, "I'm relieved that you're a fast shopper. In and out in under twenty minutes. Admirable."

He'd been hot on her heels the whole time! She grabbed his arm, but  didn't have much luck turning him toward her. "You were in the shower!  How did you even know I left?"

Despite her hold, he went to the window-which meant she went to the window, too.

He moved aside the curtain to look out. "You think I trusted you to stay  put? No. I was listening for you. It's odd, Arizona, but I can already  read you." He glanced first at her hand on his arm-until she dropped  it-and then at her face. "I knew all along you were going to cut out. I  saw it in your eyes."

She wanted to deny that, but too many times already he'd read her  intent. The ramifications of that staggered her. "Oh, so I'm supposed to  trust you, but not the other way around?"

"Give me reason to trust you, and I will." He strolled to a chair, disregarded it and moved to sit on the end of the bed.

He eyed her, smiled and patted the mattress beside him.

Arizona shook her head. She needed to get dressed before she got close  to him again. Contrary to what he'd said, she did trust him, but that  didn't make her more comfortable while hiding under a towel.

Spencer kept his gaze on her face. "You wanted to know what I did with Marla, what made her enjoy having sex with me?"

Her eyes flared and her jaw loosened. He couldn't be serious. But boy,  he sure looked serious. "Uh … yeah." She really wanted to know. The sad  truth was that she'd thought about it way too much, when she had other  things she should have been contemplating.