“Yeah.” His smile came slow and easy. “Everywhere.”

The way he said that curled her toes.

“I want to know your taste, and I want to breathe in your scent. Here.” He nuzzled the side of her neck. “And here.” He trailed a finger down between her br**sts. “And especially here.” His hand opened low over her belly.

She bit back a groan.

Then he put some space between them. “And as hard as it’ll be to hold back, I don’t want to be rushed. You won’t want me to be rushed.”

None of that sounded like what she’d expected based on her experiences. “I don’t see…”

“It’s early yet. We have hours before we need to leave for Dare’s.”

Oh, crap. Her birthday gathering. She’d forgotten all about that.

He brought her chin around to look into her eyes. “It’s not as long as I’d like. I’d rather have the whole day to focus on you, to show you how things should really be. But we’ll spend what time we have in bed. So if there’s anything you want to do beforehand, I suggest you do it now.”

She gave it quick thought—and decided she needed a few minutes to get a grip. “Okay, so how about I go shower and you put on coffee, and then we’ll take it from there?” She rolled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. “Make the coffee strong. I think I need it.”

“Arizona?”

She paused at the bathroom door, looked back and saw him staring at her backside. “Yeah?”

“I can maybe wait while you drink one cup, tops.” His gaze lifted to hers. “After that, I make no promises.”

* * *

A SHOWER REVIVED HER physically, but she’d used every single second to go over what Spencer had said and how he’d said it.

Now…now her hands shook, and a slow burn smoldered inside her. She couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d do, couldn’t keep the visuals from her mind.

She had a feeling Spencer had done that on purpose just to work her up. Diabolical. And oh-so-hot.

Rather than wash her hair and take the time to dry it, she put it in a high ponytail. Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, she sat at the kitchen table and tried to enjoy her coffee.

But Spencer was in the shower now. Naked. And every second that passed torqued her tension a little tighter.

A sweet ache curled inside her.

Her lungs constricted so that she had to breathe harder, faster.

So this was lust? Who knew?

It was better than she’d ever figured. Sure, she knew stuff happened differently between two willing people. She wasn’t a dummy. What she’d done as a captive, forced by traffickers, was not at all the norm.

There’d be pleasure. She’d seen plenty of movies, talked to lots of people.

And she knew how Jackson and Alani behaved with each other. Dare and Molly. Trace and Priss. They sure liked getting up close and personal.

Very soon that’d be her. With Spencer.

She closed her eyes as sensation swelled inside her, sweeter, hotter.

But he wanted her to wait?

Screw that.

She plopped the now-empty coffee mug down on the table and started down the hall. Along the way, huffing fast with need, she peeled off her shirt and then paused long enough to push off her shorts. Reaching up, she pulled the cloth-covered rubber band from her hair and it tumbled down her back.

Still in panties, she knocked at the bathroom door.

Spencer said, “Yeah?” as he opened the door for her.

Shock kept him still for a heartbeat, then his gaze dropped fast, moving all over her. He inhaled, and his face tightened.

A white towel circled his hips, another hung around his neck. Steam wafted upward, caressing his damp skin. He’d just finished shaving.

They stared at each other.

Or more precisely, he stared at her boobs, and she stared at that happy trail of dark, fine hair that disappeared into the towel.

Without looking away from her, he put aside his razor and, taking the towel from around his neck, wiped the remaining shaving cream off his face. He discarded the towel on the floor.

Licking her lips, Arizona reached out, hooked her fingertips into the other towel, and pulled it away from his body. It hung loose in her hand.

Holy smokes, he hadn’t been kidding. He really did want her.

The man was impressive—in all ways. “You’re big.”

“Yes.”

He sounded awfully cavalier about it. “So…” She couldn’t get her gaze off his jutting erection. “Looks like you’re ready, too.”

“I’ve been ready since the day I met you.”

What a relief, since she’d felt the same. Oh, she’d done her best to ignore it. But not anymore.

She let the towel slip from her fingers. “That’s…nice.”

His hands fisted. “You’re not afraid?”

“Nope.” Anxious, needy, desperate even, but not afraid. She met his gaze. “Not with you.”

Some sharp emotion brightened his eyes. “At all uncertain?” He brought her face up. “Because, baby, I know you were uncertain earlier.”

Ah, so that’s why he’d suggested the shower and the coffee and the excruciating delay? For her.

What a guy. “Yeah, I guess I was. A little.”

“I don’t want you to be.” Still he didn’t touch her. “Not at all.”

“I’m not anymore.” A little shakily, she added, “Honest to God, Spencer, I appreciate the concern. I really do. But I don’t think I can wait a single second more.”