by Lori Foster
“I’m nothing if not cautious.” Even she winced at the sarcasm.
“Yeah. Cautious. That’s exactly how I’d describe you.”
“Jackson—”
He cut her off to say, “Trace dicked with your car because he wants you to stay put, so that’s what you’ll do.” He spoke over her again before she could get started. “Otherwise I’ll have to uproot my tired butt from this nice dinner with my pregnant fiancée and friends, and you know you don’t want me to do that.”
No, she didn’t. Turning her back on Spencer, she whispered, “I can’t stay here.”
Obtuse to the bitter end, Jackson asked, “Why not?”
Almost at the same time, Spencer said, “Why not?”
She groaned again. Men! “I don’t want to, that’s why.”
Jackson discounted her reasoning. “C’mon, Arizona. You know that once you start snooping, you have to cover your ass. That means you have to alter your routine, avoid your normal stomping ground, and for certain you can’t go back to whatever hole-in-the-wall you were using to bed down. That’s not how it’s done, honey.”
Yeah, she knew that. She had planned to hop to another motel for the night. She even had her overnight bag in the car. “I’m not dumb, you know.”
“Definitely not. But you are jumping the gun. Any operation requires planning.” There was more muted conversation before Jackson laughed and came back to her. “Dare says that Trace has it under wraps, and before you feel guilty about that, he says it’s a job they’d already started before you tripped in.”
“Really?” That got her intrigued. “So I was right? It’s a cover for a trafficking ring?”
“Most likely, but it’s too soon to know for sure, and it’s definitely too soon to tip our hand. The sting is still in preliminary research.” His voice lowered. “Put Spencer on the phone.”
“No.” Hell, no.
“Arizona…”
Her shoulders were so stiff, they ached. “I don’t need anyone to babysit me. I’m fine.”
“You’ll stay put?”
“Mmm…maybe.” It’d depend on what Spencer said and what he had planned. The men might be world-class protectors, but she knew she could look after herself.
Jackson sighed and then said, “Hang on, hon.”
Seconds later, Spencer’s cell phone rang. He grinned at her as he answered.
Un-freaking-believable.
And his phone wasn’t on speaker, so she could only hear one side of the conversation.
Spencer said, “Yeah, hey. Sure. That’s what I figured.” He nodded. “Do my best, that’s all I can promise. Yeah, okay. I would’ve done that anyway.”
Arizona thought her hair might stand on end. When Jackson came back, she growled, “Satisfied?”
“Getting there.” And in a lower voice, “Happy birthday, honey.”
Oh. Heat rushed up her neck. “Yeah, uh, thanks.”
“I promise I won’t forget again.”
She rolled her eyes. “Aren’t men supposed to forget that stuff?”
“No.”
Sheesh, did he have to sound so offended? “Look, don’t sweat it, okay? Spencer got a cake and everything.”
“Everything?” He didn’t even try to hide his amusement. “Well, I owe you a gift, and no, don’t argue. Alani will enjoy helping me pick it out. We’ll hook up soon, okay?”
Feeling desperate, she was quick to say, “Not necessary, Jackson. I know you’re busy with your wedding prep and—”
Again, he paid no attention to her protests. “We’ll invite Spencer. Dare said this weekend would work at his house. What do you think?”
Oh, Gawd! He’d cornered her. “Look, I don’t—”
“Great. Saturday at two. Bring a bathing suit and we’ll hang at the lake. Do it up picnic style. Sound good?” Before she could answer, he said, “So we’re all set. But now I need to go before my steak gets cold.”
She wanted to deny him and his weekend plans, but she didn’t want to keep him from his meal. “Okay, fine.” She was such a dolt. Somehow she’d find a way around things—especially the bathing suit part of it all. “Sorry for interrupting.”
“You didn’t.” There was a slight hesitation and then: “Love ya.”
Happiness filled her heart. She swallowed back a swell of emotion. Keeping her back to Spencer, she said, “Love you, too.”
After she pocketed the phone, she had no idea what to do. The moment was so awkward that she wanted to crawl off and hide.
Then Spencer said, “Told you so.”
His self-righteous tone brought her snapping around. “You told Trace!”
He shrugged that off. “But only Trace…so you owe me an apology.”
She opened her mouth to blast him…and then shut it again. Yeah, she did owe him. Grudgingly, she muttered, “Sorry.”
His hand touched her chin, lifted her face. “I won’t ever lie to you, Arizona.”
Not for a second would she believe that. “Everyone lies. Big lies, little lies. No one is honest all the time.”
“Including you?”
Especially her. She folded her arms under her breasts. “When necessary, I fudge things.”
“I won’t. Not with you.”
Feeling herself waffle, Arizona looked around, wondering what to do now. Humiliation rolled over her. She’d disrupted everyone with her plans, when she’d really only wanted to disrupt Spencer.
That truth made her frown at herself.
He thought the frown was directed at him. “I had to tell Trace. You’re smart, Arizona. You know that.”
“And you knew that Trace would tell Jackson.”
He crossed his arms, mimicking her stance. “You’re distorting the facts. Trace said he wouldn’t tell Jackson, and he didn’t. He told Dare. And Dare didn’t tell Jackson until you called up and spilled the beans. So exonerate me. I held to my end of the bargain—so far as I could, anyway.”
She shook her head in denial—but it was true. Somehow, deep down, she’d known he would alert the others. “Why do you guys have this sick need to protect misfits?”
“Is that it?” He put his big hands on her shoulders. He didn’t draw her closer, he just offered…support. “You’re concerned about what Trace will think?”
“I know what he thinks. That I’m pathetic and I need a keeper.”
He gave her a speculative look. “You’ve met Priss, Trace’s wife.”
“Yeah, so?” Priss was self-confident and funny, and Trace loved her a lot.
“Priss’s life wasn’t all roses, you know. Actually, no roses, just thorns.”
The boys had been talking, it seemed. Had Jackson told Spencer about Priss? Had he told him about Dare’s wife, Molly, too? “What’s your point?”
“I told Trace because we need backup if we’re going to do this—”
“We are.” He couldn’t change his mind on her now. She needed to stay busy, and she needed to feel as if she made a difference.
And…she kind of liked being around Spencer—but she wasn’t about to admit it to him.
“Trace understands what you’re going through.” He gave her a gentle shake. “You and Priss have a lot in common. And if you think he pities his wife, you haven’t seen the two of them together.”
“I’ve seen them.” While Jackson was easygoing—most of the time—Trace could be very heavy-handed. Yet Priss matched him in every way. Anyone could see that pity was the last thing Trace felt for Priss. “They make a nice couple.”
“Yes, they do.” His thumbs rubbed over her shoulders. “Fact is, you’re looking at this all wrong. You’re so busy defending your independence, and bearing that massive chip on your shoulde
r, that you’ve forgotten how it’s done.”
“It?”
“The whole undercover, covert, infiltration gig. You think Jackson ever approaches these situations alone? Or Trace or Dare? They always work as a team.”
For him to know that, they had to have done a lot of talking. Did Jackson really trust him so much? Apparently.
She raised her chin. “You don’t.”
“Until recently, I hadn’t tampered in their league. The busts I made as a bounty hunter were small beans in comparison to what they do. But now, with human trafficking rings that have reach across the country, even out of the country, you can bet your sweet little butt that I wouldn’t get in too deep without knowing someone else was on board, watching to make sure neither of us disappears.”
Because that all made sense, Arizona paced away—and immediately felt the loss of Spencer’s touch.
Standing where she’d left him in the middle of the floor, he waited.
She knew she’d relent. Heck, she didn’t even want to go. Not really. But she wasn’t quite ready to tell him that yet. “What did Jackson say to you?”
“He wanted me to follow you if you left, and to tail you all night if necessary.” When her eyes widened, he added, “And I would have. I will—if you don’t stay.”
Going to the window, Arizona watched the rain start to fall. If she was going to get her bag, she should do it now.
From right behind her, his tone compelling, Spencer said, “Stay.”
“You said you wouldn’t lie.”
“I won’t.”
“Okay, then…” Turning to face him, she asked in a rush, “If you’re not trying to have sex with me, then why are you doing all this? Why are you being so…concerned and caring, and protective and understanding and stuff?”
“All that?” A smile flickered over his mouth. “Okay, the truth. I want you to see a better way of things. I want you to be able to move on—”
Move on? “As in, be with some dude? Seriously?” The idea was so ludicrous, she laughed. “What, like in a marriage and all that? Not happening.”
“Doesn’t have to be marriage.” His gaze moved over her face to her mouth and then back to her eyes. “Could just be a date.”
“And you think dates are fun?”
He drew a short breath. “Most of the time, sure.”
“You’ve had dates with Marla?”
“Ah…no.”
“Just sex, huh?”
“Arizona…”
“And sex is fun?”
His gaze locked on hers. “Yes.”
“Will you tell me about it?”
Face muscles tightened as he flexed his jaw. “What do you want to know?”
So many things, she hardly knew where to begin. “Is it the same with Marla as it was with your wife?”
His eyes darkened with disbelief and, maybe, sadness. “If you mean are women interchangeable, no. Not to good men. Not when a man cares about a woman.”
That riled her. “So you care about Marla?”
“Not at all like I cared about my wife, no. But as a nice person, yes, of course I do.” Putting his hands on his hips, he dropped his head forward, then gave in to a short laugh. “God, this is an awkward conversation.”
She didn’t care. He offered to explain, and she wanted to hear it, so she waited.
After releasing a long breath, he met her gaze again. “I was up front with Marla. I didn’t lead her on. I haven’t led on any woman.”
Including her? His bet would curtail her language—but gain him a kiss if she slipped up. Was that really all he wanted? “So with Marla, it was sex, but only sex, huh?”
“It’s not always about love.”
“Boy, do I know that!”
“Sometimes,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “the pleasure is enough.”
“If you say so.” She had her doubts about any real pleasure, though. She sure hadn’t experienced it. “So how many women have there been?”
He made a sound of disgust. “They were few and far between. But I am a grown man, Arizona.”
So defensive. Sharp with derision, she said, “And you have needs?”
“Everyone has those needs—including you.” When she started to shake her head, he cut her off. “You do. And that brings us full circle. You know about abuse, but you don’t know anything about the real give-and-take that’s supposed to happen between the sheets.”
“Not always between the sheets.”
He paused. “No.” He took a step closer, then stopped himself. “There are all kinds of sexual encounters, in lots of different places.”
“And different positions?”
“Positions that you should enjoy.” He reached out, but instead of touching her, he pulled back and ended up rubbing the back of his neck. “Only it doesn’t start with sex.”
“No?”
“It starts with an attraction. A mutual attraction.”
“Can’t prove it by me.”
His gaze searched hers, his voice deepened. “I know. That’s my point.”
There was such gravity in his tone, she rolled her eyes. “Go on. Mutual attraction?” she prompted.
Slowly, he nodded. “Flirting, kissing, a touch or two. Foreplay for an hour, or a day. Wanted by both people, and shared by both people.”
That did sound sort of…not awful. “I know that’s how it’s supposed to be.” She wasn’t a total social misfit. She’d seen romantic movies, and she’d seen real life. People walking together, talking together. In sync.
In love.
But he’d just negated the link between love and sex, and she wasn’t sure she could ever trust in casual sex.
Almost as if he’d read her thoughts, he said softly, “It can be really good when both people are willing, eager participants.”
“And you think I need to experience that, huh?”
“You’re a healthy, energetic woman. I’d hate to see deliberate cruelty turn you off from knowing everything that nature intended.”
For reasons she wouldn’t analyze, his attitude irked her. “So let me get this straight. You want to do things to me, to get me all into the idea of screwing—and then you want me to go off to find some other guy to finalize the deal?” She smirked at him. “Know what, Spence? From my side of the table, that sort of makes you sound like a pimp. Only problem is, I can’t figure out what you get from the deal.”
CHAPTER SIX
WITH HER BREAKING DOWN his motives to the basest purpose, Spencer had to admit that it did sound bad. God knew he didn’t want to send her off to anyone else. The thought of another man touching her left him raw with anger.
But he wasn’t the man for her. Even if the age difference didn’t exist, she deserved someone who’d be involved for the long haul. She deserved someone with a sunny outlook on life.
Not only was he opposed to settling down again, he was about as far from optimistic as a man could get.
“I wasn’t trying to coerce you into having sex with anyone.” What he wanted most was for her to not be…damaged. But he sure as hell couldn’t say anything that stark to her. “What I’d really like is to break down those walls so you can let in people who care about you.” He tried a smile that she didn’t return. “All in all, you can be a pretty likable woman.”
With one hand flattened to his chest, she pushed him back a step and moved out from between him and the window. “Whatever. If I’m staying over, I want Trace to fix my car.”
The quick turnaround surprised him. “You’ll stay put?” With me.
She made a gesture of in
difference. “For now.”
“Then I’ll let Trace know.” And they could all help keep an eye on her.
Her eyes narrowed. She hesitated, then she turned away. “I better go get my stuff.”
It’d take time to convince her of his motives. Spencer accepted that, so he allowed the change of topic. “What stuff?”
“My duffel and laptop case. I’m not as dumb as you and the big macho boys want to believe.” She opened the front door, and a heavy gust of wind carried a smattering of rain in around her. “Ho boy, look at those purple storm clouds blowing in.”
Spencer closed the door. He could see why she’d keep the laptop close. But the other? “You brought an overnight bag with you?”
“Yeah, see, I had no intention of going back to my motel room tonight.”
That surprised him, but he was pleased with her forethought, especially since she’d made the plans to protect herself, not someone else. He had a feeling that Arizona deliberately put herself at risk far too often.
Given the downpour, he caught her arm and moved her away. “I’ll get your things for you.”
“I don’t melt.”
Already rain dampened the front of her T-shirt and left her face dewy.
Physically, she was the most tempting woman he’d ever met. He didn’t want to test his resolve by seeing her in soaked clothes that would cling to her shapely little body.
But beyond that, he worried. The sky had darkened, and he felt the turbulence in the air. Soon the rain would be a full-fledged storm—just like the night she’d been bound and thrown into a river, a night she would have died…and been forgotten.
Suffused with emotion, he eased a damp tendril of hair away from her cheek. “It looks like the rain will turn into a storm.” No sooner had the words left his mouth than a flash of lightning cut across the darkening sky. Seconds later, thunder crashed down, rattling the windows.
Arizona smiled at his apprehension. “You think it’ll bother me, don’t you?”
He was afraid she’d be pulled into nightmarish memories. “Given what you went through, I’d understand if it did.”
