A Perfect Storm(65)

"We could work on that, you know." Spencer breathed in the scent of her  sun-warmed skin, felt the way her firm body aligned with his own, and he  concentrated on not reacting physically. "With me getting on top of  you, I mean."

For a second or two, she looked incredibly sad-before she forced a smile. "Are you trying to dodge my turn at controlling you?"

Oh, hell. The water wasn't cold enough to keep his erection at bay. With  sizzling visuals in his mind, he looked at her mouth, leaned down-and  icy water doused his head.

He glanced back.

Only a few feet away, Chris grinned at him. "Break it up, you two. This is a public area."

Spencer bit off a groan. Beyond Chris was Jackson. Alani, floating on a raft, had joined them, as well.

Dare was climbing the ladder up the dock, where Molly waited for him.

"We're going for a ride," Priss announced from the boat. "Will you guys join us?"

He wanted to refuse, but Arizona whispered, "Finally we can get out of this stupid water."

He had no real choice but to nod. "Sure, why not?" As he slogged through  the water to the rock retaining wall, he whispered to Arizona, "But  only if you wrap up in a towel or something."

"All the women are in swimsuits," she pointed out.

Spencer glanced around. True enough, and while the women were all  physically different, they were each attractive-but they weren't  Arizona. They could have been buck naked, and still they wouldn't affect  him the way she did.                       
       
           



       

"Somehow, that doesn't seem to matter." Spencer snatched up a towel and  bundled it around her. Chris mocked him with a grin, but Jackson gave  him a salute as he did the same with Alani.

Dare and Trace ignored them as they helped their wives into the boat.

Soon, Spencer thought. Soon he'd get her back to his place, and then  he'd show her just how different she was. And after that … he didn't know.

Luckily he still had time to figure it out.





CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO


PARTICULAR IN HOW he did things, he worked late to ensure he had everything prepared.

Curtains at the front windows hid the empty interior; Clever Candy  wouldn't know that "Harry's Hocks" was abandoned until it was too late.  She wouldn't realize that it would be her temporary holding place, a  place for her to adjust to her new circumstances.

He checked the restraints he'd fastened to a grommet screwed into the  floor in the back room. With both feet planted, he tugged, pulled.

It held secure.

"Good. Very good." He repositioned the mattress. She'd be able to  recline comfortably even with her hands restrained. "Put clean bedding  on that mattress."

Quin did as told, tucking the soft white sheet around the flat, twin-size cot mattress.

"Pillow and blanket, too. All the comforts of home." He laughed. "I know she likes whiskey. But what else?"

Quin shrugged tiredly. "Water? Cola?"

"We'll get both. Keep them in a cooler with ice."

"All right."

"Go back outside now. Wait at the bench." He paced the floor, peered out  the window cautiously. "She is a very clever girl. Very clever."

"You think she will come early?"

"To check us out? Definitely. The question is when." He turned to Quin.  "But you will play your part, and you will do nothing to alarm her."

"Yes."

"Talk to no one else. No one."

"No."

"Christ, your parroting is getting on my nerves. Go, then. Sleep out  there if you want. I don't care. But wait there until she comes."

Quin looked toward the door. "It is dangerous?"

His eyes narrowed. "More dangerous if you mess this up. Do you understand me?"

"I understand." And with that, Quin shuffled out, his feet dragging, his shoulders slumped.

Yes, it had been a long day filled with preparations. But he was far too  excited to sleep. The men he'd hired would show up first thing in the  morning, just in case she caused any problems.

In case she didn't at first understand her good fortune.

After that … she'd be his. And nothing, no one, else would matter.

* * *

IT WAS NEARING MIDNIGHT by the time they got home. Arizona had been too subdued, almost as if something had happened.

But what?

After the dip in the lake, she'd seemed to genuinely enjoy herself,  especially during the boat ride. Like the ultimate free spirit, she'd  turned her face into the wind, closed her eyes and relaxed.

Later she'd laughed as Jackson rode on a tube behind the boat, getting  bounced over the wake and waves. And Chris had impressed them both with  his slalom skills, cutting sharply over the wake as if born in the  water.

Afterward, there'd been quiet conversation around a bonfire, with the  night insects buzzing and the occasional splash of a fish in the water. A  million stars had filled the sky, making the night magical.

During the visit, Arizona had insisted on taking several photos with her  new camera. Before they left, she'd hugged each of the dogs, the cats,  and then suffered through the human affection, too.

Jackson, especially, had held her overlong, talking quietly to her until Spencer wanted to flatten him.

Only when Chris had given him a laughing shove had he realized how he'd  glared at them. Arizona, with her sullen silence, had given nothing  away, so he could only guess what Jackson had discussed with her in such  depth.

Something about her goodbyes bothered him. They had seemed too  permanent, as if she didn't plan to see any of them for a long time. In  the normal course of things, she was not a huggy type of woman. Most  times, she shrugged off emotion as if it made her uncomfortable.

On the ride home, they listened to the radio, both of them mellow from  all the sun and fresh air. At times, he'd thought Arizona dozed. But  then she'd sigh, or yawn, or stretch, and he knew she was lost in  thought.

"Tired?" Spencer asked after parking his truck.

"Relaxed." She smiled at him. "I feel almost as boneless as I do when you have sex with me."

That left him mute with arousal.

Not Arizona. "Do you mind if I leave my gifts in your truck for now?"                       
       
           



       

So she was tired. "I could carry them in."

She shook her head. "That's okay." Holding her sandals in her hand, she  opened her door and got out. "It's late. We can get them tomorrow."

"All right." And though his suspicions grew, he couldn't put his finger on the reason why.

As they went up the walkway, she glanced at Marla's place several times,  and when Marla peeked out the window, Arizona lifted her hand in a  wave.

Not a "gotcha" wave but more like a genuine greeting.

Marla dropped the curtain without reciprocating, and that made Arizona sigh. "She's so hung up on you."

"I don't think so, but if she is, she'll get over it." Marla was not a  woman to pine long for a man, and she wouldn't waste her time on a lost  cause.

Spencer was lost. So damn lost that he didn't know if he was coming or going anymore-all because of Arizona.

He didn't understand her. Nothing new in that, though. He could spend  every day with her for the rest of his life, and he wasn't sure he'd  ever completely know her.

Finding that a disturbing thought, he unlocked the front door and stepped inside. He flipped on a light.

Dropping her shoes by the door, Arizona took one of his hands in both of  hers and started backing toward the bedroom. "So, Spence. Are you going  to keep me in suspense?"

He knew exactly what she meant, but she'd gone so long without asking, he decided to tease her. "About what?"

"Don't make me force it out of you." Once in his bedroom, she stepped up  close and went on tiptoe to twine her arms around his neck. "Not when  there are other things I'd rather be doing to your big gorgeous bod."

So up front and honest in her desire; he'd accomplished that much, anyway. He liked it. He liked her.

Probably too much.

Was Dare right? Should he look at things from a different perspective?

Arizona bit his bottom lip. "Spill the beans, already. Are you joining up with the guys or not?"

He clasped her waist. "I told Trace I'd think about it, and I will."

"Oh, come on." She leaned in and took another soft bite, this time on his chest. "You know if you're in or not."

"And you care … why?" He liked her in this playful mood. But hell, he  liked her when she was prickly and when she was obstinate, and when she  blustered with bravado, too. "Because of the money?"

"Pffft. Get real."

But he was half serious. On a bounty hunter's pay, he lived a frugal  lifestyle, not at all as posh as the others. Their homes were like  vacation destinations. Dare had more than one boat, each probably  costing twice what Spencer had paid for his truck when it was new.  Jackson made enough that he wanted to give Arizona a house for her  birthday.