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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