she’d
hidden it. “Yeah, well…”
“You don’t like it?” He pressed,
rubbed, worked her arches in a deep, firm massage.
And she wanted to melt. Felt
like parts of her did melt. “Mmm. I like it.”
Spencer stilled again, his gaze
piercing, hot. “Never had a foot-rub before?”
“That’s a joke,
right?”
“So relax and enjoy.”
It was a bit too personal, but
she liked it too much to make him quit. “Knock yourself out.” She drew a
breath and tried to get them back on track. “Okay, so you know to ignore me
when you come into the place, right?”
“If I did that, they’d suspect
something.” Setting aside the beer, he half turned toward her and, keeping
his gaze on her face, worked over her feet more thoroughly.
Bone-melting pleasure stole her
breath.
Watching her, Spencer said
softly, “No red-blooded man is going to miss noticing you, Arizona, so
forget that idea. I’ll give you the same attention every other guy in the
place will be doling out. Think you can handle that?”
With her heavy eyelids at
half-mast, she snuggled farther into his couch. “Sure.”
He half smiled. “Just so you
know, I might have to pretend interest in other women, too.”
That brought her out of her
slumberous trance. “Why?”
“Because if the place is what we
think it is, they’re liable to parade out the wares. If I’m not picking up
the cues, they’ll pull back and we’ll lose an opportunity.”
He was right, damn him. She
wouldn’t think about it now, and tomorrow…she’d deal with it. “Fine,
whatever.” Her toes curled at his renewed touch. “Once you’re in the bar for
backup, I’ll drop a few casual questions, maybe flirt a little, go for the
helpless look. You know, all in all I’ll make myself seem like easy
pickings.”
“You’ve done that
before?”
She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Yeah. Plenty of times. It works to draw out the unscrupulous
scumbags.”
His hands moved up to her
ankles, kneading, soothing, then back down over her feet. So nice.
“And when the scumbags show
themselves?”
“You and I can kick
their…butts.” She’d swallowed back the curse word just in time, which robbed
the description of any real punch.
This business of curbing her
language was a little harder than she’d expected.
“A near miss.” Spencer’s hands
stilled, tightened. “But I don’t like that part of the plan.”
“So what’d you want to do?
Sweet-talk them into falling off the face of the earth?”
“I want you to stay out of
harm’s way and let me handle it.”
She stared at him. “Poor
Spencer. Did you think the massage would make me more agreeable?” Was that
why he did it? “Fat chance.”
Planting one hand on the back of
the couch, another near her knee, he leaned over her.
And that did alarm her a little.
She was nearly flat on her back. She had on minimal clothing. And a man of
his size and strength could be imposing without malicious intent.
She said, “Uh—” and considered
bringing her knee up into his ribs.
“Here’s what’ll happen, honey.”
His tone was calm, even. “You’ll ask the right questions, be suitably naive,
and if anyone bites, we withdraw.”
“We?” She looked at his throat,
at the flexing of muscles in his chest. Focus,
Arizona. “So you’re not just cutting me
out?”
He shook his head. “For now,
we’ll both play it cool to see how deep the operation goes.”
Good idea. There were always
more people involved than those most obvious. She swallowed and pressed one
hand to his left pectoral. Solid. “And later?”
“Once we know what we’re dealing
with, all of it from the bottom up, then we’ll make a move. A
well-thought-out move, with plenty of safeguards.” He looked at her mouth,
and his voice lowered. “But not until then.” He straightened away
again.
Arizona hadn’t realized she was
holding her breath until she sucked in a giant gulp. And really, that wasn’t
only fear she felt. She knew it, and
hidden it. “Yeah, well…”
“You don’t like it?” He pressed,
rubbed, worked her arches in a deep, firm massage.
And she wanted to melt. Felt
like parts of her did melt. “Mmm. I like it.”
Spencer stilled again, his gaze
piercing, hot. “Never had a foot-rub before?”
“That’s a joke,
right?”
“So relax and enjoy.”
It was a bit too personal, but
she liked it too much to make him quit. “Knock yourself out.” She drew a
breath and tried to get them back on track. “Okay, so you know to ignore me
when you come into the place, right?”
“If I did that, they’d suspect
something.” Setting aside the beer, he half turned toward her and, keeping
his gaze on her face, worked over her feet more thoroughly.
Bone-melting pleasure stole her
breath.
Watching her, Spencer said
softly, “No red-blooded man is going to miss noticing you, Arizona, so
forget that idea. I’ll give you the same attention every other guy in the
place will be doling out. Think you can handle that?”
With her heavy eyelids at
half-mast, she snuggled farther into his couch. “Sure.”
He half smiled. “Just so you
know, I might have to pretend interest in other women, too.”
That brought her out of her
slumberous trance. “Why?”
“Because if the place is what we
think it is, they’re liable to parade out the wares. If I’m not picking up
the cues, they’ll pull back and we’ll lose an opportunity.”
He was right, damn him. She
wouldn’t think about it now, and tomorrow…she’d deal with it. “Fine,
whatever.” Her toes curled at his renewed touch. “Once you’re in the bar for
backup, I’ll drop a few casual questions, maybe flirt a little, go for the
helpless look. You know, all in all I’ll make myself seem like easy
pickings.”
“You’ve done that
before?”
She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Yeah. Plenty of times. It works to draw out the unscrupulous
scumbags.”
His hands moved up to her
ankles, kneading, soothing, then back down over her feet. So nice.
“And when the scumbags show
themselves?”
“You and I can kick
their…butts.” She’d swallowed back the curse word just in time, which robbed
the description of any real punch.
This business of curbing her
language was a little harder than she’d expected.
“A near miss.” Spencer’s hands
stilled, tightened. “But I don’t like that part of the plan.”
“So what’d you want to do?
Sweet-talk them into falling off the face of the earth?”
“I want you to stay out of
harm’s way and let me handle it.”
She stared at him. “Poor
Spencer. Did you think the massage would make me more agreeable?” Was that
why he did it? “Fat chance.”
Planting one hand on the back of
the couch, another near her knee, he leaned over her.
And that did alarm her a little.
She was nearly flat on her back. She had on minimal clothing. And a man of
his size and strength could be imposing without malicious intent.
She said, “Uh—” and considered
bringing her knee up into his ribs.
“Here’s what’ll happen, honey.”
His tone was calm, even. “You’ll ask the right questions, be suitably naive,
and if anyone bites, we withdraw.”
“We?” She looked at his throat,
at the flexing of muscles in his chest. Focus,
Arizona. “So you’re not just cutting me
out?”
He shook his head. “For now,
we’ll both play it cool to see how deep the operation goes.”
Good idea. There were always
more people involved than those most obvious. She swallowed and pressed one
hand to his left pectoral. Solid. “And later?”
“Once we know what we’re dealing
with, all of it from the bottom up, then we’ll make a move. A
well-thought-out move, with plenty of safeguards.” He looked at her mouth,
and his voice lowered. “But not until then.” He straightened away
again.
Arizona hadn’t realized she was
holding her breath until she sucked in a giant gulp. And really, that wasn’t
only fear she felt. She knew it, and
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