Talking About Sex...

“And you’re also putting yourself through school. I remember what it’s like to be twenty-two and broke. When you’re pulling in the big bucks you can buy me a drink, okay?”

“It’s a deal.” Ava looked very happy at the prospect of an extended friendship with Katie. After the waiter left, she leaned closer. “Do you get recognized a lot?”

“Not a lot, but it happens. Today more people than usual have stopped me to say something about the show, which is good. I need ammunition for Edgecomb.”

“Yeah, you do. And what’s the situation with your ex? Is he still a turd?”

“Yep.” Katie had figured the subject of Jess would come up, so she was prepared. “He didn’t react well to Dr. Astorbrooke’s theories, to say the least.”

“Most guys wouldn’t.”

“What about our waiter? He seemed to agree with me.”

“He’s young. He’s antiestablishment.”

“Jared was fine with it.”

Ava waved her hand. “Jared’s a mensch. You couldn’t ruffle his feathers if you hit him with a fire hose. But your guy—”

“Not my guy,” Katie said.

“A figure of speech. Anyway, you’re hitting this Harkins dude right where he lives. And he doesn’t strike me as being that easygoing.”

“He’s pretty intense.” And girl, can he kiss.

“I know looks aren’t everything, but he’s kind of cute in a Jude Law sort of way.”

“I suppose.” Jess was more than cute. He had a heartthrob quality that made her go all gooey inside. She’d had that reaction the minute she’d caught a glimpse of him in her senior English class and she’d been battling that same reaction ever since he’d kissed her nineteen hours and forty-six minutes ago. Not that she was counting.

Mooning about Jess had affected almost half of her weekend, but she was determined it wouldn’t affect the second half. Having drinks with Cheryl and Ava was a good start. And speaking of Cheryl, she arrived at that moment, all smiles and curly red hair.

“Hey, guys!” Cheryl snagged a chair and settled her curvy little body into it. “Sorry I’m late. I played tennis this afternoon with this yummy-licious new guy from the law firm and I lost track of the time.” She barreled on without taking a breath. “I would have called but my cell’s acting weird. I need to trade it in for a new one, but I hate going through that, you know? New phone, new options, more buttons to figure out. So, I’m thinkin’—” She paused and looked at Katie. “What’s so funny?”

“You.” Katie was so glad she’d agreed to spend happy hour with Cheryl. Nobody could stay depressed with Cheryl around. “You have more energy than a four-month-old Chihuahua. By the way, this is Ava, the person you always get when you call the station.”

“Hi, Ava! It’s good to meet you at last! As for the Chihuahua thing, please don’t tell me I look like one.” Cheryl fluffed her short hair. “A Lhasa Apso’s okay. You can compare me to a Lhasa Apso any old day, but a Chihuahua looks so sort of naked, you know? Which is cute in its own way, but I like to think that I have more—oh, here come your drinks.” She batted her eyelashes at the waiter. “I’ll have one exactly like that, please. Are you a student at the U of A? I ask because lots of the students wait tables here.”

As Cheryl turned to launch into an animated discussion with the waiter, Ava leaned across the table toward Katie. “Is this normal?”

“Completely normal.”

“I was afraid she was on something.”

“No, she’s just being Cheryl. Her courtroom rep is that she wins cases by talking the jury to death.”

Cheryl swung back to them. “You’re explaining me to Ava, aren’t you? Ava, you might as well get used to my motormouth. I’ve been this way ever since I was fourteen months old and I’m not likely to change now. Katie and I recognized each other as soul mates in first grade and we’ve been involved in a conversational marathon ever since.”

“Oh, you won that race a long time ago,” Katie said.

“Hey, you hold your own, DJ girl. The point is, Ava, that Katie’s used to me, but you’re not. If you have something you need to say, just holler shut up, Cheryl and I’ll do my best.”

Katie laughed. “I just want to know if you passed up drinks and dinner with the yummy-licious lawyer so you could meet us for happy hour.”

“I did, but that’s a good thing. I liked being able to tell him I had other plans. It’s good to have them thinking you have a full social schedule, you know? But in any case, I wouldn’t have canceled this to go out with him, because I think that’s just wrong. Men come and go but girlfriends are forever. Am I right?”

Both Katie and Ava nodded.

“Of course I’m right.” She didn’t break stride as her margarita arrived. “Listen, Katie, that show last night was dynamite. Thrusting Skyward. I loved it. What a zinger. I’m going to start field-testing the guys I date to find out how they feel about high-rise buildings. What a great litmus test. I hope that Je—I mean someone from Harkins Construction caught that program. I mean, the whole crew at that job site should be required to listen to that program. They think they’re so macho with their hard hats and their tool belts, but every last man-Jack of them needs to reevaluate their—”

“Cheryl, it’s okay.” Katie didn’t want Cheryl working herself into a lather trying to cover up her little slip. “Ava knows about Jess. In fact, he came to the station after the program last night.”

Cheryl stared at her. “He did? What did he say? What did you say? What did he look like? Is he still hot? Is he married? Was he—”

“Cheryl, shut up.” Katie grinned at her friend.

“Right. I’ll drink my margarita. Start talking. Tell me everything.”

Katie wasn’t about to do that, but she sketched in the outline of the visit without supplying the detail about the kiss. She said they’d agreed to disagree and parted ways. His final vow that things were different and he’d prove it to her didn’t make the edited version she gave Cheryl and Ava.

Cheryl obviously knew she was holding back. Katie could see it in the tiny smile that Cheryl hid behind the rim of her margarita glass. And when Ava left at seven because she’d promised to catch a movie with her usual crowd, Cheryl dropped all pretense of believing Katie’s story.

“First we’re going to order dinner and another margarita,” she said. “And then you’re going to tell me what really happened.”

“I told you what happened!”

“Yeah, right. First we order, then you spill.” Cheryl motioned the waiter over and they each chose a taco salad to go with the second margarita.

“Okay, you can begin anytime,” Cheryl said after the waiter left. For once she didn’t elaborate on that thought or spin off onto a million other somewhat related topics. Instead she sat looking at Katie with that same tiny smile, waiting.

They’d been friends for a long time, and Katie knew that Cheryl would get the truth eventually. She always did. Most of the time she talked a blue streak, which was her natural state, but once in a while, like now, she could create a silence so welcoming, so in need of being filled, that a person felt obliged to confess all. That tactic had also served Cheryl well in the courtroom.

“I’m…” Katie drained her margarita glass and set it down on the glass table with a solid click. Between Cheryl’s open invitation to tell all and the tequila fogging her brain, Katie couldn’t hold her tongue. “I’m still into him, Cher.”

“I know.”

Katie sighed. “I figured you would. So when he showed up, I was all quivery, like I used to get in high school. I didn’t want Ava to hear what we said, so I brought him into the conference room and closed the door.” The memory of that got her hot all over again.

“Who made the first move?”

“He did. He…kissed me.” She tried to breathe normally, but telling Cheryl made her relive the moment when his lips had crushed hers, and all the powerful emotions created by that contact came rushing back.

“I take it you didn’t run screaming out of the room. No, you don’t have to tell me how you responded. I can see it in your eyes.”

Katie groaned and covered her face with both hands. “I’m sure he could see it, too.” She lifted her head and looked at Cheryl. “But he did the same damned thing as prom night! Got me going and then walked out the door, saying it wasn’t the place!”

“Well, it wasn’t! You could get fired for a stunt like that!”

“I know, but I wish I’d been the one to call a halt instead of him. I hate that I want him more. It’s humiliating.”

Cheryl fingered the stem of her margarita goblet. “If you should decide to give it another try, I’ll bet you could turn the tables on him. You’re not some shy little virgin now, are you? You have some experience and you—”

“You make it sound like I know all about sex. I don’t. I do research for the show, but that doesn’t mean I have a ton of practical knowledge. It’s not like I’ve tried all those Kama Sutra tips, you know.”

“I said some, not a ton. We’ve both had some, and I like to think we have a few tricks up our sleeve that can turn the average man into a groveling fool willing to do anything to keep us happy. You need to take the offensive with Jess if you want to regain some control. When are you going to see him again?”

“I’m not!” Katie thought the conversation was getting way out of hand. “He’s too hot to handle, Cher. I lose my head when I’m with him. And besides, he’s putting up this hideous building next to the station. How can I get involved under those circumstances? I’m putting him completely out of my mind.”

“If you say so.” Cheryl held Katie’s gaze. “But I wonder how you’re going to do that. With that building going up, he’ll be in your face and on your mind for the next few months. You haven’t gotten over him in thirteen years, so what makes you think you can get over him now?”

“I just will, that’s all.”

“I have a suggestion, but it’s only a suggestion, mind you. Don’t act on it unless it makes sense. But it seems to me that a better course of action would be to make some moves on this guy—on your terms. Get into bad-girl mode and tease him until you have him eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“I don’t want to—”

“For one thing, it would make you feel a whole lot better about past events,” Cheryl said, pushing on, “and for another, if you end up having to tolerate that building next door, at least you’ll have some compensation for the pain. I think it sounds like a fun project, personally. Jess is easy on the eye, and if you could pin him down, he might be one hell of a lover. That intensity of his tells me that he could give a woman—”

“Shut up, Cheryl.” Katie hadn’t interrupted because she had something to say. She had nothing to say. But the longer Cheryl talked, the more Katie wondered if she could pull off such an outrageous maneuver. And that was dangerous thinking.

JESS GOT KATIE’S ADDRESS from her mother, who was thrilled to hear from him and apologetic about the things her daughter was saying about his building. Jess told her not to worry about it, that he and Katie were in the process of working things out. Then he proceeded to Katie’s apartment near the university.

Jess didn’t let too many people know he could pick a lock in under five seconds. He’d learned that trick from his father, one of the few things his dad had taught him during his rare trips back to Globe. By the time Jess had hit puberty and wised up about his dad, Mel Harkins had stopped coming to see him.

That was just as well. Jess’s mom had never admitted that her ex-husband was a thief, but Jess had figured it out by himself when she wouldn’t let him keep the portable DVD player his dad had brought him. His mom had left that perfectly good piece of equipment at a bus stop because she’d said keeping it might get them in trouble.

Since his mom didn’t talk about his dad, Jess didn’t either. If anyone asked, Jess said his parents were divorced and his dad wasn’t around anymore. But Jess had vowed to be the exact opposite of his father—steady and true. Picking the lock on Katie’s apartment door made him feel uneasy, but he couldn’t figure out any other way to guarantee he’d have her attention.

AS KATIE UNLOCKED HER apartment door, she heard music and wondered if she’d left her CD player on. Then she stepped inside and her adrenaline level spiked. At least a dozen thick tapers threw flickering light over her living room.

And there, lounging on her sofa, was Jess. She’d been thinking about him so much that she wondered if she’d conjured him up.

“Hi,” he said softly.

That was the voice of a real man, no matter how much he looked like a fantasy. Jess Harkins, the guy who revved her up like no other, was actually sitting in her living room. Heart pounding, she backed up against the door. “How did you get in here?”

“Your mom gave me the address, and—”

“A key? If my mother gave you a key to my apartment, she and I need to have a serious discussion. I can imagine her telling you where I lived. I realize that she always liked you, but giving you a key goes way beyond—”

“She didn’t give me a key. I wouldn’t have asked for something like that, and I’m sure she wouldn’t have given me one either. That would have been way too weird.”

“And this isn’t? You somehow appearing in my apartment without a key?”

“My, uh, dad taught me how to pick locks when I was a little kid.”

“Cute.” She never would have pictured Jess doing something like that. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she noticed a bottle of red wine and two crystal goblets sitting on her coffee table. “Did he also tell you that breaking and entering was illegal?”

“No, but I figured that out. I’m reasonably sure my dad was a thief. Probably still is.”

That tidbit knocked her back some. In high school Jess had claimed his dad was a loner and a drifter, but he’d never offered this particular factoid. She had a feeling he didn’t mention it very often, if at all. It wasn’t something to boast about.

But he’d told her now, as if finally willing to trust her with the news. She fought the warmth of his subtle flattery. She didn’t want to fall in with his plan—and there was obviously a plan. Candlelight and wine sent a definite message, and she was vulnerable to that message, too vulnerable for her own good. “I should call the cops.”

“Don’t.”

“I don’t know why I shouldn’t. You have no right to break into my apartment and light a bunch of candles.”

“That’s true.”

“Besides that, you have solid brass ones, buddy.” And solid muscles to go with them. Even in the soft light from the candles she could tell how perfectly he filled out his knit polo. His biceps stretched the ribbed cuffs of his shirtsleeves in a most satisfactory way. “For all you know, I could have brought a date back here tonight.”

“I didn’t think that was likely.”

“What, you can’t imagine me with a date?” In truth, she didn’t go out much. Lately it had seemed so pointless. She’d begun to wonder if her sexual drive was diminishing now that she could see thirty in the rearview mirror, but Jess had dynamited that particular theory last night.

“I’m sure you have dates, but I—”

“Damn straight. I have so many guys hanging around I was forced to order date-tracker software last week so I can keep them all straight. I could have been out with one of a number of men tonight, and wouldn’t that have been awkward—to come back home with someone and find you sitting here with all your candles lit, so to speak.”

A smile touched his mouth. “I suppose candles are a phallic symbol, too.”

“Those certainly are. Just look at them. They’re penis-size. They’re even flesh-colored!” And the subliminal message had been working on her ever since she’d laid eyes on them. She’d seen those fat tapers in a mall speciality store. They’d looked erotic at the time, and now, thrown into this Jess mess, they seemed blatantly sexual.

“The minute I saw them I knew you’d think that. That’s why I bought them.”

It occurred to her that he’d had to buy more than the candles, which wouldn’t fit in ordinary holders. He’d been forced to add three wrought-iron candelabra to hold the thick tapers. Then there was the wine. She couldn’t tell for sure but the label looked pricey. And those weren’t her goblets either.

“You went to a lot of trouble and expense,” she said.

He didn’t respond. Instead he simply gazed at her with those brown eyes that had the power to melt the steel barriers she was frantically trying to build around her heart.

She took a deep breath. Cheryl had advised her to take control of the sexual dynamics, to get into bad-girl mode, but Cheryl had no idea how potent Jess could be. Katie was afraid that if she let herself surrender to this campaign even slightly, she’d be swallowed by a wave of sensuality that would rob her of all power.

No, she couldn’t allow herself to be tempted by this man. “I’m afraid all that trouble was for nothing, though. I’ll have to ask you to leave, Jess.”

He stood, and for a minute she thought he might actually walk out the door. She would be relieved if he did that. Of course she would. As she’d told Cheryl, he was too hot to handle. She’d get burned.

But instead of leaving, he came around the coffee table until he was only about three feet away. Candlelight played over the strong planes of his face, and his powerful chest heaved. The years had been good to Jess, maybe because he had a job that required him to be active. His body was fit and tanned.

Thirteen years ago she’d only imagined what sex would be like with him. Now she had more experience to feed her active imagination. It didn’t take much effort to picture getting naked with Jess. She grew moist and pliant as she thought about it. The trick was to stop thinking about it. Immediately.

Yet that was easier said than done. She’d never rejected a man as gorgeous as this. She didn’t want to do it now, but it was for her own good. She had to be strong. “I mean it,” she said. “I don’t want to play whatever game you’re playing.”

He gave her another long look. When he spoke, his voice had a husky quality that spoke volumes about his state of mind. “Are you going to make me beg?”

As his words sank in, hot desire slid through her veins. Maybe she’d miscalculated. Maybe her own needs had blinded her to the force of his sex drive and they were more alike in their desires than she’d thought. It was a fascinating theory.

Did she dare test it? Could Cheryl be right, after all, that Katie had the ability to make him grovel? Now that would be sweet.

In the end, the chance to put him at her mercy was too irresistible to pass up. “Yes.” Her heart beat wildly at the prospect. “I do believe I’m going to make you beg.”

4

JESS SWALLOWED A SMILE of triumph, not wanting to push his luck. He didn’t care how or why Katie was letting him stay, just so he got to. Just so he finally put an end to thirteen years of longing and frustration. The thought of making love to her nearly had him moaning out loud, but he swallowed that, too.

“Shall we have some of that wine you brought?” she asked.

“Great idea.” He walked back to the coffee table and picked up the bottle.

Earlier he’d uncorked it and closed it again with a silver stopper that he planned to give her along with the crystal goblets. Maybe it was ostentatious, but he needed her to realize he was no longer that poor kid who’d worked long hours at Home Depot after school to help his mom financially and buy gas and tires for his old Ford.

“While you’re pouring the wine, I’ll change into something more comfortable.”

He almost dropped the bottle. He’d never dreamed she’d be this cooperative. “Uh, sure. That would be terrific.” Wow. This was turning out to be the best move he’d ever made. Breaking and entering had its advantages, after all.

After she left, he poured wine in both goblets and sat on her sofa wondering what more comfortable meant to her. Ads for Victoria’s Secret swam through his fevered brain and he shoved his hand into his pocket to make sure the condoms were still in there.

If he didn’t want to get an erection while he was waiting for her, he’d better concentrate on something neutral, like furniture. Earlier he’d prowled around her apartment and discovered a Southwestern theme throughout, with old pots and Native artifacts scattered everywhere.

Her coffee table and end tables were trimmed with saguaro cactus ribs, and she’d hung several small Navajo rugs on the walls. The turquoise sofa he was sitting on was the single spot of color in a room dominated by earth tones.

He wasn’t particularly surprised. Her parents’ house looked like this, and she’d told him how much she liked being immersed in Southwestern culture. He could relate. Now that he was able to afford the trappings, so did he.

But he still couldn’t understand why she’d fought so hard to keep KRZE’s adobe house from falling to the wrecking ball. Personally he couldn’t see the point. By the time KRZE had finished modifying the place for its purposes, the place had lost whatever historic value it once might have had.

There were plenty of other structures like it, even a few with actual historic significance. He could think of several that would be ideal for KRZE’s new location and weren’t in danger of being bulldozed any time soon.

Maybe in the course of getting close to her—very close—he’d learn what made her such a passionate opponent of his project. It wasn’t the main motivation for his decision to break into her apartment. His hormones were mostly in charge on that one. But as a side benefit, it wasn’t bad.

And here came Katie wearing something filmy and black. He was such a sucker for black, especially on a blonde like Katie. The outfit consisted of billowy harem pants that rode low on her hips and gave him a view of a black thong underneath, plus a low-cut black bra and a wispy jacket that might as well not have been there for all it covered up.

He began to sweat. As much as he wanted her, sitting here casually sipping wine would be torture. But then, maybe that was the idea. She had said she’d make him beg. He was ready to start with the begging ASAP.

Choosing a spot on the opposite end of the sofa, she settled into the plump turquoise cushions.

He picked up both wine goblets and reached over to hand her one. “Here’s to renewing old acquaintances.”

She raised her glass in his direction. “To settling old scores.”

He blinked. Maybe she wasn’t going to be as cooperative as he thought. “You’re still upset about that prom-night thing, aren’t you?”

She eyed him over the rim of her wineglass as she drank. Then she lowered her goblet. “I chose you to be my first. I was curious and excited and eager…but you didn’t wanna. How do you suppose that made me feel?”

“Not good, but I had my reasons. I didn’t—”

“Reasons you weren’t able to share with a heartbroken girl, unfortunately. You’ll be happy to know I found another candidate, though.”

Now there was an unwelcome conversational thread. “I’d rather not hear about it, if you don’t mind.” He moved a little closer to her. Talking about her other lovers wouldn’t help get this seduction under way.

“I’m sure you don’t want to hear about it.” She took another swallow of her wine. “But I think I need to talk about it.”

“Why?”

“You’re the only person in the world I ever thought of telling, and here you are, sitting in my living room. Of course, you don’t have to stay and listen. You could always leave.” She lifted her eyebrows.

“I’m not leaving.” If she wanted him to suffer a little, he’d suffer. The payoff would be more than worth it.

“It was during my freshman year at the U of A. He was a jock, a basically nice guy but sort of clumsy. Still, he got the job done, and presto, I was officially a nonvirgin. You see, I wanted sexual knowledge.” She paused. “I would rather have gained that knowledge with you,” she added softly.

“Damn it, Katie, I know that! But I didn’t want it to happen in the back of a car. You deserved more.”