Breath of Scandal(118)

"That's beside the point, isn't it?"

"No. It's precisely the point. Unless you want Graham to be a pantywaist, cut him some slack, let him say a few dirty words. He's around women too much. The time he spends out here with the men is good for him."



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"Which brings me to another matter. Don't encourage him to ride his bicycle out here."

"I didn't."

"He said you did." I I I didn't. "

"You've never talked to him about riding his bike out here?"

"Sure, the subject came up. I said it was something for you to decide."

"Well, since I'm his mother, thank you very much." He knew then that he was going to kiss her again. It was folly of the highest caliber, but he was going to do it anyway, and, once he made up his mind to, he didn't think anything could have stopped him.

He slid his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back, then lowered his mouth to hers. In her surprise, her breath rushed out of her mouth. He felt it against his lips, tasted it. When he did, every other thought flew right out of his head. He didn't think about the consequences of this kiss -because it was a foregone conclusion that as soon as it was over, she was going to fire him. He didn't think about Debra. He didn't think at all. He merely responded to the wonderfully erotic stimuli that kissing Jade transmitted to him.

The tip of his tongue flicked across her lips, then he pressed it into her mouth. She was stunned; he could tell. Her body became as inflexible as a flagpole and she stopped breathing. He didn't let her nonparticipation deter him, however. He exercised the technique he had mastered years ago and slowly made love to her mouth. His tongue dipped into it, then withdrew, again and again, until her breathing resumed and she raised her hands to clutch his arms.

"No," she whispered. "Please."

She didn't mean please stop. She meant please continue. Because, even though she had prefaced that please with a no, he sensed her excitement. It was building inside her. It generated heat that he could feel through her clothing. Her breathing was rapid and light-aroused breathing.

He cupped her head between his long fingers and tilted



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it farther back. He nuzzled her exposed throat and kissed the soft, fragrant pallet of skin beneath her ear.

"No, Dilion," she whimpered. "You don't mean no."

Returning to her lips, he angled his head and kissed her deeper than before. Heat and lust concentrated in his loins. He groaned over the intensity of the ache, the potency of the pleasure. He dropped one hand to her derriere and lifted her front against his. His erection nestled in her cleft. He rubbed it against her. She moaned.

His other hand moved to her breast. It was firm, full, perfect. Her nipple responded to a stroke of his thumb. He wanted to put his mouth to it, even through her blouse, and lowered his head to do so.

"No!" She backed away from him so quickly that she stumbled, lost her balance, and careened into the far wall. She folded her arms across her chest and moved her hands up and down her arms as though trying to scrub them clean. Her eyes were so round that white showed all around the alarming, electric-blue irises.

"I said no," she cried raggedly. "I told you no. No. No. Don't you understand? No."

Flabbergasted, Dillon took a step toward her. "Jade, I-"Don't touch me. Don't." Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch, and she thrust a hand out in front of her to stave him Off.

He raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Okay, okay, I won't touch you. I swear."

He had never been in a situation like this before. Women sometimes put up token resistance to be coy, but none had ever gone hysterical on him. She wasn't faking it, either. If he had thought it was an act, he would have been furious. It wasn't an act. Without a doubt, she was genuinely terrified of him.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Jade," he said gently. "I won't force you to do anything."

III can't."

"I see that now."



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"I can't," she repeated.

"It's cool, all right? Now, please stop looking at me like I'm Jack the Ripper. I'm not going to hurt you." Gradually her panic subsided. She stopped rubbing her



hands up and down her arms, but kept them crossed over her chest. Her eyes lost that trapped, wild animal alarm, but they were evasive. She smoothed her hand over the breast he had caressed. That very feminine, self-protective gesture made him feel as vile as a child molester.

Still avoiding his eyes, she hastily gathered up her purse and keys. "I'd better get home or Cathy will start worrying again. "

"Jade, what-"

She shook her head brusquely, eliminating any plans he might have to probe for a reason behind her bizarre behavior. She left the building at a near run and climbed into her



Cherokee. Dillon stood in the doorway, staring after her with perplexity. He watched until the darkness absorbed the red glow of her taillights.

CHAPTER nrl



Twenty - I n ree



The idea that George Stein had discussed with Jade on the first of May involved building a GSS corporate annex somewhere in the vicinity of the TexTile plant. It would accommodate not only the upper-echelon executives of that facility but those affiliated with GSS's shipping, petroleum, and diverse other industries located in the Southeast. In the month since then, he had called her almost daily, asking for a report on land acquisition. She had stalled him by saying that she was being very choosy. Recently, he had