Talking About Sex...

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.