A Perfect Storm(22)

"I know. And it's bound to happen again, so you might as well get used to paying the piper."

Her pulse jumped. "I don't know if I can." God, she hated how small her voice sounded, how weak and silly. "Spencer-"

"You haven't had any pleasant kisses, either?"

"No." She amended that with, "I offered with Jackson, but you already know that."

He nodded. "And since you offered for the wrong reasons, he turned you down."

"He'd have turned me down anyway, no matter why I offered." She shrugged. "Like I said, he feels sorry for me."

Spencer let that go to say, "It's just a kiss. Why does that scare you?"

Swallowing wasn't easy. She shook her head, unwilling to spill her guts.  He probably saw her as fearless; she tried hard enough to give that  impression. But she knew the truth: she was a terrible coward.

"I've been honest with you, Arizona. Can't you give me the same  courtesy?" He smoothed his hand up and down her arm. "Tell me. What are  you so afraid of?"

She stared at the bathroom door, at the carpet, at his hand on her arm.  Fine, he wanted honesty? She met his gaze. "Sooner or later, you'll  snap." He was in complete control now, but what if he lost control?

Silence filled the room. She expected Spencer to deny that possibility. To maybe sweet-talk her. Maybe cajole.

"Give me your hand."

Such a calm but firm command caused her fingers to curl into her palm. "But-"

Gently, he said, "You're only making this harder on yourself."

Annoyance surfaced. He wanted to play this stupid game, fine, she'd play. She'd given her word, and by God, she'd abide by it.

Face set and cold, fingers trembling, Arizona straightened her arm toward him.

Oh-so-gently, Spencer enfolded her hand in his own. He was so much  bigger, his hand twice the size of hers, rougher and thicker, too.

And so warm.

For a short time, he only held her, watching her, his thumb moving over  her knuckles until her skin tingled, and the butterflies in her stomach  rioted.

"Relax." He lifted her hand toward his mouth, looked at her palm, then pressed a kiss there.

Firm. Lingering.

Her pulse stuttered. Heat swelled inside her. His mouth was warm, his breath moist, his hold so incredibly tender.

Ho boy.

Suddenly he released her and stood to walk back to the window.

She kept her arm extended for half a minute before she caught herself and snatched it back. "That's it?"

Hands on his hips, his head down and his shoulders rigid, he said, "This time, yeah."

This time? She held her closed hand up against her chest, but the  impression of his mouth touching her sensitive skin, how he'd looked and  how he'd breathed while doing it, kept a small thrill ricocheting  inside her. "There won't be a next time."

"You owe me one more."

A threat? Well, given how weak she became around him, how else could she look at it? Damn, but he left her confused!                       
       
           



       

She shoved to her feet. "Then take it now, da … darn you."

Once again amused, he turned back to her. "No, not yet. Maybe later. For  now, I need to talk to you about something else. And yes, you should  probably get dressed first."

"Why?" She folded her arms. "Starting to get to you?"

"I've got a boner, so lying would do me no good."

Her gaze dropped fast and hard to his lap, then stuck there. Well, well,  well. Instead of distressing her, that gave her a dose of satisfaction.  "Serves you right."

"Your pointed stare isn't helping."

"Poor you." But she should probably get it together. Still, it wasn't  totally scary that he wanted her. Really, she'd known all along that he  did. He hadn't hidden his attraction. So this was just-

"Arizona."

On a huff, she dragged her gaze upward and pointed a finger at him. "Don't move. I'll be dressed in under three minutes."





CHAPTER EIGHT


THE SECOND SHE DISAPPEARED into the bathroom, Spencer let out a breath.

The girl packed a wallop of major proportions.

After turning on her television for background noise, he sprawled out on the bed with a groan.

He'd kissed her palm, that's all. But he'd heard her accelerated  breathing, felt her excited trembling, and he'd wanted so badly to  devour her. Head to toes and-oh, God-everywhere in between.

That skimpy little towel … what the hell was he thinking, to postpone her getting dressed? When had he become such a masochist?

But he knew. Ever since first meeting Arizona, he'd put himself through  hell, wanting to be with her but refusing to take advantage of her  vulnerability by pushing for sexual satisfaction. If she was any other  woman, he'd have already done his utmost to charm her into bed.

She had such incredibly beautiful, shapely legs.

He scrubbed his hands over his face, but still he saw those sleek muscles, her soft thighs and skin the color of rich honey.

Even her feet looked sexy to him, being small and narrow with a high arch. And those adorable knees … God, he had it bad.

Resisting her in shorts was one thing; at least last night she'd  immediately covered up with the throw. Today, in the bright light of  day, in a small room mostly dominated by a bed, ignoring the  insubstantial covering of a small towel was impossible.

Shit. He adjusted his jeans and concentrated on getting himself under  control. Her unique brand of honesty and curiosity would be the death of  him.

And thinking about her, about her body, wasn't helping with his  erection. He needed to concentrate on something else-like that  forbidding array of weapons in her trunk. Or her God-awful propensity  for courting danger.

While slipping out the door behind her today, staying far enough back  that she didn't see him, but close enough that he didn't lose her, he'd  called Trace, who was very unhappy to know she'd given Spencer the slip.

With her car out of commission and Spencer keeping tabs on her, Trace  had assumed she'd be safe. And he knew Arizona, so he understood the  daunting responsibility put on Spencer. But Trace had wanted to ramp up  the surveillance on her, and he'd wanted to have a firm discussion with  her.

Knowing Arizona wouldn't appreciate either of those things, Spencer had  assured Trace that one way or another, he would get her back to his  house, and somehow he'd find a way to keep her there for the duration of  this investigation and bust.

But if he didn't-

The bathroom door opened in a rush, shattering his thoughts. Hair wet,  wearing only snug, low-riding jeans and a ribbed camisole, Arizona  stepped back into the bedroom. Judging by her expression and stomping  stride, she'd had no problem collecting herself.

Sighing, Spencer sat up. Through the thin material of her top, he could  see every curve of her breasts and the plump outline of her nipples. His  mouth went dry.

She stopped beside the bed, her hands on her hips. "All right, Spencer, some ground rules."

He looked up at her angry face. "Number one, you stay with me."

Her open mouth snapped shut. After blinking twice, she shook her head. "No, number one is that you back off a little."

"We made a deal," he reminded her.

Anger left her cheeks a dusky rose. "I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about you following me-"

"Overruled." Glad that she wasn't protesting his kiss, he stood,  crowding into the narrow space she'd allotted between the bed and her  body. "You either stay with me, or I wash my hands of the whole thing  and you can deal with the dynamic trio instead."                       
       
           



       

She stared at him, and her mouth twitched. "Dynamic trio?"

Keeping his attention off her chest was a trial. "Whatever you want to  call them. You know they'll be hovering over you way worse than I do."

"Yeah." She chewed the side of her mouth. "They'll smother me."

And he was counting on her to hate that. "Exactly."

She propped a hand on the nightstand, drummed her fingers. "You'd actually do that to me?"

"To ensure you stayed safe?" He'd move heaven and earth. "In a heartbeat."

She drummed some more. "They're going to be on top of things now anyway."

He wouldn't lie to her by denying that. "But if you allow me to shadow  you, they'll be in the background, not breathing down your neck. Take  today, for instance. If Trace hadn't known that I would follow you, one  of them would have. And you'd be having a whole different conversation  right about now."

The drumming stopped. "With no kissing."

Had she enjoyed it? Or was she still fighting her reactions? "Given that  two of them are married and the other engaged, probably not."

She laughed. "Probably not?"

"They're good men, honorable men," Spencer admitted. There was no  question of that. But when it came to Arizona …  He shrugged. "You're hard  to resist."