Talking About Sex...

2

JESS HADN’T SEEN KATIE in the flesh in years…thirteen, to be exact. But he’d passed her picture hundreds of times while driving around town. A giant version of her gazed down from at least three billboards that he knew of. He’d had a few wet dreams involving Billboard Katie, and he probably wasn’t the only guy.

Billboard Katie reclined on a red velvet couch while wearing tight black pants and a black blouse with a plunging neckline. Her blond hair hung from a center part and framed her face, which wore an expression that promised incredible sex. If she’d looked at him like that on prom night, he wouldn’t have been able to resist her, but at eighteen she hadn’t had the sophistication to pull it off.

Real-life Katie wore a sedate gray pantsuit and her hair in some girly arrangement on top of her head. There wasn’t a hint of sexiness in her expression. Alarm would be more like it. Good. She should be alarmed.

A few minutes ago she’d sounded so carefree that he’d almost lost the urge to create a potentially ugly scene. A window at the front of the building had been left open, and as he’d approached, he’d recognized Katie’s voice as she’d made plans to go out for margaritas tomorrow night.

Then his name had come up and the volume of the conversation had dropped considerably. Knowing she was discussing him with the receptionist had riled him up all over again.

But now that the moment was at hand, finding the right words was more difficult than he’d expected. He should have anticipated that. Making speeches had never been his long suit. Katie, on the other hand, had always been extremely verbal—she’d been senior class president and captain of the debate team.

But now the opening sentence had to be his. “We—” He stopped to clear his throat, irritated with himself for having to do that. “We need to talk.”

“So talk,” said a spiky-haired woman sitting behind the receptionist’s desk. “Don’t mind me.”

Jess had completely forgotten someone else was there until she’d spoken. Apparently Katie still affected him to the point that he blocked out everything but her. That was an unwelcome discovery. He wanted to keep the upper hand in this interaction, and going gaga over Katie wouldn’t help.

Katie glanced at the receptionist. “Ava, this is Jess Harkins, an old friend from high school. Jess, this is Ava Dinsmore, our intern from Pima College.”

“Nice meeting you,” Jess said.

“Same here.” Ava studied him with interest.

“I think I left some files in the conference room,” Katie said to Ava. “Would you check and see if they’re there?”

“I’d be glad to, but I’d better watch the phones. We always get a bunch of calls for Jared’s show on Friday nights.”

“Good point. Then I’ll go check. Jess, why don’t you come on back with me so we can discuss this on the way?”

“It won’t take long.” Jess looked into Katie’s eyes and was rocketed back thirteen years.

She’d been his first love, and he’d had so little to give her back then. He and his mom had moved their meager belongings from Globe to Tucson his senior year in high school. He’d been the new kid, the one with no money and big dreams, a quiet guy who’d been fascinated with Katie’s gift of gab and her blond good looks. He’d envied her sense of belonging.

When she’d taken an interest in him, he’d been thrilled. They’d been a good combo because she’d done enough talking for both of them. To compensate for not saying much, he’d written her poems.

One he happened to remember now had compared her eyes to every blue thing he could think of, including his favorite stonewashed denims. God, he’d been pathetic. And a lousy poet. But her eyes still had the power to make him lose his train of thought.

“Just come with me,” she said. “I need to take those files home tonight and we can talk on the way, kill two birds with one stone.”

“That’s not necessary. I just—”

“I think it is.” She turned and started toward a hallway.

He wasn’t about to deliver his ultimatum to her back, so he had no choice but to follow her like an obedient lapdog. This was not going the way he’d scripted it in his head. He was forced to pass the receptionist, who took no pains to disguise her curiosity.

“I think she still likes you,” Ava said in an undertone.

He stared at her. Surely she didn’t know that he and Katie…surely not.

Ava met his stare and shrugged.

Then again, no telling what Katie had revealed and to whom. But if she’d made her life an open book, she wouldn’t be trying to keep this discussion private. He was confused, not a good state of mind for accomplishing his mission.

Katie paused at an open door and glanced back at him. “Jess?”

Instinct told him not to go in there. His plan had been simple—confront her at work and threaten legal action if she didn’t stop her attacks on his project and on him. Especially on him. But now that he was here, his threat seemed silly and belligerent. Defensive. As if he’d taken the sexual-inadequacy thing seriously.

He should have thought of how it would look, him storming over here to demand better treatment. Instead he should have ignored the whole business. But he was into it now, and leaving without saying anything would make him seem even more idiotic. A firm stand was called for.

He walked toward the door Katie held open. She maintained her position, which forced him to walk past her into the room. Anyone would think she’d initiated this meeting with the way she’d taken charge. He needed to reverse the dynamics, but one whiff of her perfume—the same lemony scent she’d worn in high school—and his brain took a major hit.

Instead of planning his line of attack, he was wondering if she was seeing anyone. She wasn’t wearing a ring—that much he’d noticed right away, though he shouldn’t have taken the time to notice. Her comments on the air made it clear she considered him pond scum.

Focus, Harkins. He was good at that. Harkins Construction, built from scratch in only seven years, was a testament to his powers of concentration and his ability to bring others around to his point of view. Although he wasn’t much of a talker, he’d somehow convinced loan officers to take a chance on him when he’d had no collateral except his will to succeed.

Maybe that’s where he’d gone wrong. He’d barreled over here to issue demands instead of trying persuasion first. His temper had taken control. Katie had always had the power to arouse strong emotions in him—anger, joy, passion. Reasonable discussion wasn’t normal with them, but that insight had arrived about thirty minutes late.

The conference room had a couple of windows covered with wood-toned plantation shutters, and a desert mural decorated one wall. The large oak table in the middle looked as if it had come from a Spanish hacienda. He could imagine how much Katie enjoyed working in this old adobe house. She’d always loved anything Southwestern.

When the door closed, he turned around. He and Katie were alone for the first time since the night of the senior prom. And just like that night, he couldn’t figure out what to say to her.

AS THEY STOOD FACING EACH other, close enough that they could reach out and hold hands if they chose to, Katie’s heart hammered like a set of bongos. She’d always been fascinated by Jess’s mouth. His full bottom lip had been so much fun to nibble on, and when he’d chosen to use that mouth on her breasts, she’d experienced a little bit of heaven.

She looked away from that tempting mouth. Now was not the time to be thinking of how much she’d loved making out with him. Being alone in the backseat of a car with Jess used to make her forget where they were and what time it was. She’d blown her curfew more than once because of that.

She needed to take a deep breath, but that might telegraph her nervousness, so she made do with the small amount of air in her lungs. As a result, her voice sounded more breathy than usual. “I take it you’re upset about my comments on the air recently,” she said.

“Yeah, especially tonight’s comments. You’re making this personal and I don’t like it.”

Although she met his gaze, she was trembling and she didn’t want him to notice. She gripped the back of a mission-style chair to steady herself. “Too bad. I call ’em like I see ’em.”

“I’m not compensating for anything, Katie.”

“That’s not the way the experts see it.”

He sighed. “Please just tell me why you’re doing this.”

That sigh almost defeated her. When they’d dated, that kind of heartfelt sigh had made her want to gather him into her arms and make everything better. At times Jess had seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and she’d wanted to soothe away his cares.

But sigh or no sigh, he was still the man involved in destroying her legacy. “I want to save this beautiful old adobe building from the wrecking ball,” she said.

“It seems like more than that.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I think you’re still upset with me about prom night.”

“Of course I’m not,” she lied. “That was ages ago.” And she could still remember the thrill of parking with Jess. Her body remembered, too.

His eyes narrowed. “But your attack tonight was against me, not the construction project. Don’t tell me you honestly believe I’m building a high-rise because I have sexual hang-ups?”

She felt backed into a corner and said the first thing that occurred to her. “It’s always possible, isn’t it? Not that I care anymore, but I have personal knowledge that you won’t finish what you start.”

He took a step closer. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I most certainly do.” She refused to retreat and let him see that he was intimidating her.

With the kind of sexuality Jess projected, she didn’t really believe he was compensating for anything by constructing that building. To be completely honest, it was very possible she’d unconsciously hoped that tweaking his male ego would bring exactly this result—Jess to her doorstep.

He moved even closer and his voice deepened. “Look, contrary to what you might think, contrary to what happened thirteen years ago, I don’t have a problem with sex.”

“Couldn’t prove it by me.” She could barely breathe, but what little inhaling she was able to do brought with it a heady combo of spicy aftershave and fresh soap. Her nose remembered how good he used to smell.

“What exactly do you want from me, Katie?”

She wanted him to kiss her, which was really stupid. What would that accomplish? “I want you to stop construction.”

“That’s not going to happen and you know it. You and VOR lost the fight. The building’s going up, and taunting me isn’t going to change a thing.”

“Public opinion can be a powerful force. I’m working to sway it in my direction.”

“Good luck. I plan to erect that building.”

Gazing up at him, she remembered how silky his brown hair used to feel when she’d run her fingers through it. She had to white-knuckle the chair to keep from reaching for him. “Can you hear yourself? You plan to erect that building. If that isn’t sexual symbolism, I don’t know what is.”

“It’s only a building.” Heat flashed in his eyes. “This is sex.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her. Hard. Then he let go so fast she staggered.

She vibrated from that kiss like a plucked guitar string. Unable to form words—an unusual state for her—she stared at him and struggled to breathe. They simply gazed at each other for a long moment.

“Damn it, Katie.” His voice was soft as a caress.

She matched his tone. “Damn you, Jess.”

“You used to drive me crazy.”

She gulped. “But not…crazy enough.”

He studied her in silence for several seconds. “So this is about prom night.”

She couldn’t very well deny it now, not when all she wanted was another kiss. More than a kiss. She wasn’t over him, not by a long shot.

“Katie, it wasn’t the place. And now that I think about it, neither is this.” He backed away and fumbled for the doorknob.

She leaned against the table for support. “You’re leaving?”

“Damn it, we’re in the KRZE conference room.”

“And the door has a lock.”

He hesitated, as if thinking that over. Then he shook his head. “But I’d like to see you again. I think—”

“What, so you can set me up and knock me down? Not bloody likely!”

He gazed at her mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that kiss to happen.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll never let it happen again.” She folded her arms and hugged herself to stop the quivering. “I should have known nothing’s changed.”

“Of course it has. Everything’s changed.”

“Not when it comes to you and me. For some fiendish reason, you love to tease me with possibilities and then leave.”

“We were kids then! It’s different now.”

“Is it?”

He gazed at her for a long moment. “Yeah, it’s different. And I’ll find a way to prove it to you.” He turned and opened the door, then walked out and closed it softly behind him.

Shaken, Katie stared at the carvings on the heavy door without seeing them. Dear God, if Jess had been willing, she would have kissed him again. She might have done more than kiss him. Talk about stupidity squared.

This room wasn’t soundproof, and Ava was down the hall, curious as hell. She might have heard something, although probably not. The door was heavy and the walls of this old building were thick. But if Katie and Jess had gotten carried away, Ava would have known.

Katie had been ready to commit professional suicide, and only Jess’s refusal to continue had saved her. Edgecomb would cancel her show in a Tucson minute if he ever found out something like that had gone on in his conference room, especially involving the owner of Harkins Construction. And he’d be justified.

So Jess had made the right call, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a rat. He should have tried to follow through and let her be the one to stop them. Which she might not have done, but that was beside the point. She was finished with him.

He might be the guy who could start her engine with only a feather touch. He might be more gorgeous now than he had been as a teenager—his body had filled out and his voice had a deeper, sexier timbre that gave her goose bumps.

But none of that mattered because he couldn’t be counted on to need her beyond reason, the way her grandfather had needed her grandmother. Men were supposed to be victims of their hormones, not ruled by logic. Why did Jess have to be the exception?

Yep, she was through with him. And as for her comments on the air, they would only get more scathing. She’d talk Edgecomb out of worrying about the negotiations. And as for Jess, he could just deal with it.

JESS KNEW HE HAD TO TAKE bold action if he expected to square things with Katie. After that interlude in the conference room, he wanted things to be more than square. He wanted to finish—finally—what they’d started so many times before. She wasn’t going to make that easy for him, though.

Tonight’s episode told him she’d never forgiven him for refusing to have sex with her on prom night. She couldn’t know how much that refusal had cost him, was still costing him. Countless times he’d cursed himself for being so damned noble. And he’d never found a woman to equal Katie.

But he hadn’t wanted to cheapen their first real lovemaking by doing it in the back of a car. His mother had told him he’d been conceived that way. She didn’t regret having him, but she thought sex should be conducted in better surroundings. He’d never forgotten that.

Make-out sessions with Katie were okay because they’d only been fooling around, indulging in heavy petting. But when she’d asked him to take her virginity, that was serious stuff. He’d wanted it to be special, and back then he hadn’t had the resources to make it special.

On top of being broke, he’d underestimated the importance she’d place on his refusal. He hadn’t expected her to take it as a rejection, but obviously her expectations of prom night had been huge. He’d let her down.

Apparently he’d done it again tonight by kissing her and leaving. But damn it, he wasn’t about to take that kind of chance with either of their reputations. It was bad enough that he’d lost control and kissed her in the first place.

If things had progressed and word had gotten out, he might have weathered it. But the double standard was still around, and she might never have recovered her status in the community if anyone discovered she’d had a hot rendevous in the KRZE conference room.

He hadn’t meant to tick her off, but when passion of the Katie kind gripped him, he didn’t dare spend time discussing why he was going to leave. He had to get out of the situation before his control snapped and he actually did something dumb.

Katie hadn’t understood that thirteen years ago, and she hadn’t understood it tonight either. He’d have to pull out all the stops to convince her to give him another shot.

He planned to start by breaking into her apartment tomorrow night.

3

BY SIX O’CLOCK ON SATURDAY NIGHT, the temperature on the patio of Katie’s favorite Mexican restaurant hovered around seventy-five degrees—perfect for sipping frozen margaritas. In the desert she might not have colorful autumn leaves to enjoy, but she had warm October nights and lime-flavored tequila.

Ava sat at a table by the fountain. For the occasion she’d dressed in a black scoop-neck shirt, long black skirt and combat boots.

“Good call, getting this table.” Katie sat across from Ava. “This is my favorite spot, where you can hear the water splash.”

“Splashing water produces negative ions,” Ava said. “Negative ions elevate your mood.”

“I could use that.” Katie signaled a waiter. “Plus a margarita.”

Ava nodded. “I could tell you were bummed when you left last night.”

“Yeah, sorry I was so abrupt.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“It was a tough situation. I—” Katie paused as the waiter approached.

The waiter did a double take. “Aren’t you Crazy Katie?”

“Yes.” Katie was used to being recognized once in a while, but it had happened a lot today. Everybody wanted to comment on her Friday night show, which had helped distract her from thinking about Jess.

“My friends and I think that big building is stupid, too.” He winked. “We’re not the kind of guys who have to prove ourselves, if you know what I mean.”

“Glad to hear it. The more support I can round up, the better.”

“I know a lot of people are behind you,” the waiter said. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know. So what will you ladies have to drink tonight?”

“Two margaritas,” Katie said. “And Ava, it’s my treat.”

“Aw, you don’t have to do that,” Ava said. “I invited myself.”