And he did.
Though still edgy, Jackson pulled it together. "She's good," he quipped in a tone that was almost congenial. "Against an average guy, she just might hold her own."
Relief rolled through Spencer. He dragged in a breath, and nodded. To maintain his own role, he said, "If she stays out of trouble, she doesn't need to hold her own."
"No guarantee that she'll do that."
"Not with her skill set," Dare added, doing his part to ease the situation. "She lacks strength, but she makes up for it with speed."
"And daring," Trace added. "If what she showed us just now was accurate to how she'd be in a real battle, then she's not a cautious fighter. That's both good and bad."
Arizona pushed back her hair-and took a firm step forward. "I'm standing right here, you guys." Only a faint trembling gave away her lack of composure.
"What Chris said makes sense. She's going to be around danger. It's in her nature. You know that."
"What did Chris say?" she asked, but no one gave her an answer.
In that moment, Spencer's respect for each of the men doubled. They were ruthless when need be, but they were also kind and caring. "There's danger, and then there's danger." Without looking at her, Spencer reached for her hand and tugged her into his side.
And she let him.
"You said it yourself, she lacks the strength to go toe to toe with a psychopath."
"It's my decision, Spence." She looked up at him. "Not yours."
"Actually it's theirs." He nodded at the men-and prayed they'd find a way to let her down gently. What she'd just gone through proved she wasn't ready, emotionally or physically, to run the risk of getting caught again. "And they don't look like dummies to me."
Jackson said, "Don't push your luck." His smile was mean.
Trace shouldered Jackson aside and spoke to Dare. "Now might be a good time to ask him."
Spencer smoothed his thumb over Arizona's chilled knuckles. "Ask me what?"
"If you'll join us."
Proving he wasn't really pissed at all, Jackson nearly felled him with a whack on the back. "The pay is a shitload better than what you're used to, man. And you get to exercise your alpha dog." He winked. "A real win-win."
Well, hell, Spencer thought. He hadn't seen that one coming.
He looked down at Arizona and found her beaming-with pride. Huh.
No jealously. No resentment.
Never the expected from her-because she rose above the expected, over and over again.
Incredible.
He'd think about her astounding acceptance later, but for now, she'd been distracted from her fear, and that was what mattered most.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
NEEDING A FEW MINUTES, Arizona excused herself and went inside. In the bathroom, she splashed her face, straightened her ponytail, put a little more makeup over the bruise on her jaw.
And she took time to breathe.
But honestly, excitement for Spencer overshadowed everything else.
They wanted him to sign on.
Damn, she was soooo proud of him. She couldn't imagine a bigger compliment or a better testament to Spencer's ability and his honor. They trusted him, and that meant so much.
And if he worked with the guys, then maybe she could convince him to partner up with her. Yeah, he wanted to cut their time short, she knew that. She hadn't forgotten his motives or what he'd told her from the get-go.
But now she had a good excuse to try to talk him around.
She now had hope-and wow, hope was a scary thing.
On her way back out, she heard the women talking in the kitchen, laughing and chatting so amicably. At least they weren't gossiping about her-yet. If she got the opportunity to stick around long enough, though, she knew they would.
She pasted on a smile and stepped into the room.
Priss immediately asked, "Did you bring a suit? We're getting ready to go down to the lake."
"Yeah, it's under my clothes." And with any luck, it'd stay there.
But luck wasn't with her today.
"Soon as the guys are done talking, we're all heading down," Alani told her. "I think Chris wants to ski, and I wouldn't mind cooling down with a swim."
Molly rinsed a glass and put it in the dishwasher. "I'll be ready in just a minute." She left the room.
Priss stood. "I need to find the sunscreen. Trace gets apoplectic if I burn."
"I have some," Alani told her.
"You two go on." Arizona had other interests than swimsuits and sunscreen. "I'll wait for you outside."
"You just want in on the conversation out there," Alani teased, but without any insult. "Go on then, and we'll join you soon."
But when Arizona stepped out, the yard was empty. Frowning, she followed the sound of low voices over to the side yard-and overheard Dare and Spencer talking. Curiosity got the better of her, and she hoped to glean a few details about the offer.
Wearing a half smile, she inched closer.
"You shouldn't fight it," Dare said. "I can tell you from personal experience, it's impossible once you've met the right one."
That didn't sound at all work-related. Arizona started to interrupt, and then Spencer replied.
"Unfortunately, I had to bury the one that was right for me, and I'm not looking for a replacement."
Arizona staggered back. Her heart dropped and her stomach cramped.
Whatever Dare said in return was lost on her. A ringing sounded in her ears. She'd known. She wasn't stupid.
But hearing Spencer spell it out like that … well, that hurt.
So maybe she was pretty damn dumb after all. Why else would she have let herself get emotionally involved? Spencer hadn't misled her. He'd been brutally honest every step of the way.
Praying the men wouldn't hear her, she turned away. Disgust carried her halfway down the hill before she even realized where she was going.
Her jumbled thoughts kept her stomach pitching.
Tomorrow, she'd defy Spencer's trust. She would sneak away and meet secretly with Quin.
For a guy like Spencer, that in itself would be a deal breaker, not that they'd had any sort of emotional deal. But … God, she wished they did.
Maybe, since he enjoyed having sex with her, she could convince him to … what? Keep sleeping with her?
Hadn't Marla tried that trick? Why should she think she'd be any more successful?
Because she wouldn't make demands. Yeah, so desperation drove her. She'd never really wanted anything, or anyone, the way she wanted Spencer Lark. He was worth fighting for.
Problem was, she didn't know how to engage in that type of fight. She sure couldn't pound him into agreement. And she already knew he disliked games and despised dishonesty.
What tools did that leave her?
She could let Spencer know that she wanted, needed, nothing in return. Just great sex. Just … his company on occasion. Maybe the casual arrangement would work for him.
No matter what, she had to try, because the alternative, never seeing him again, was far too crushing to consider.
* * *
ARIZONA FOUND CHRIS sprawled on the dock looking as lazy as the dogs when they sunned themselves. He'd obviously taken a dip in the lake; water beaded on his wide shoulders, dripped from his wet hair and left a small rivulet down the deep groove of his tanned back, all the way to his still-soaked shorts, which now drooped low on his hips. So low, in fact, that she saw a strip of paler skin that they usually covered.
"Stop staring." Eyes still closed, voice languid, Chris added, "I'm starting to feel naked."
"All but," Arizona told him, and she sat down at his side. She thought about putting her feet into the lake, looked over the edge of the dock at that dark water, and shuddered.
"The vitals are properly covered." He shifted a little, squinted one eye against the glare of the sun and resettled himself.
She'd never paid much attention before, but Chris looked good. Six-two, black hair, blue eyes, lean but muscular build. From what she knew of him, he spent as much time in the water as out of it.
At the sound of a fish jumping, she pulled her attention away from his body and instead looked at the lake. "You ever skinny-dip in there?"
Indolent amusement curled his mouth. "What do you think?"
"I bet you do."
"Not so much now that Molly's around." Rolling to his back, he scratched his chest, put his arms over his head and let his legs sprawl.
She couldn't help noticing that his shorts were a little low in the front, too. Odd that her intimate involvement with Spencer increased her awareness of other male … attributes.
Chris caught her peeking but didn't comment on it. "What about you? Got the urge to commune with nature?"
"No." Before she even considered getting in the water, she wanted Spencer with her. No matter what else happened, he'd promised her that much.