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"Not good enough, Jade."
"The reasons I gave you for wanting to build the plant here are genuine."
"I don't doubt that."
"Then why can't you just accept it and leave it alone?" "Because it doesn't jive. Someone who oozes that much Compassion for her fellow man would offer a needed kidney.
"No one is cutting Graham open and removing his kidney. I I
"Right--especially if the recipient is married to your former best friend and might be your son's father. " He took a step closer. "Did Jolly dump you for Donna Dee when you were pregnant and still in love with him?"
"I hated him."
"Now we're getting somewhere. Why?" "Leave me alone, Dillon."
"Not until I understand what's going on." "You're not supposed to understand."
"Why do you flinch every time a man comes near you?" "I don't flinch."
"The hell you don't," he said softly. "You nearly fainted a few seconds ago when your breasts came up against me. And the expression on your face when you discovered I'm hard defied description."
"I didn't notice."
"You're lying. Is Hutch Jolly the man who made you frigid?"
"I'm not frigid."
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Sandra Broww
"No'? Could have fooled me."
"Maybe I just don't find you attractive."
He linked his fingers at the back of her neck beneath her hair where her skin was dewy from the heat. "That's another lie, Jade." Ducking his head, he whisked his mustache across her lips. "You said yourself you liked my kiss. "
"I don't." "Liar." He touched the comer of her lips with his tongue. It was
thrilling, terrifying. His teasing caress made her hot and dizzy. She curled her hands into the front of his shirt, feeling the solid muscles beneath the cloth. His size and strength overwhelmed her; he could hurt her. He felt and smelled masculine. His maleness both seduced and repelled. She fought its appeal and her terror of it.
"Don't do this, Dillon," she begged against his seeking lips. "I can't replace her. No woman can."
His head snapped back. "What did you say?"
"I won't be one of those women you 'nail' in grief for your wife."
"Is that what you think you are, just another soft, wet route to forgetfulness?"
"It's possible, isn't it?"
He muttered an expletive. "Listen, if that's all I wanted, I could have a naked woman in my bed by nightfall." "But would she also have a teenage son?"
"Oh, I get it," he said tightly. "Graham is supposed to be a replacement for the son I lost."
"You've certainly made overtures to get close to him." His fury was as palpable as the heat. It shimmied through his body and into hers. He gave her a crude once-over, stopping at her breasts and at the tops of her thighs, before lifting his gaze back to her face. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Jade. Whether or not you had Graham, I'd still want to f*ck you."
He turned and strode toward his parked pickup. Jade, now angry in her own right, charged after him. She caught
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up as he was climbing into the driver's seat. "If you persist in saying things like that to me, I'll have no choice except to dismiss you."
"Go ahead," he said with a belligerent jerk of his chin.
He was probably only calling her bluff to scare her, but it worked. The thought of his walking off the project now was sobering. Where would she find a contractor as good? What excuse would she give George Stein, who had nothing but glowing things to say about Dillon?
She tried another tack. "I'm still convinced that you're the best man for this job, Dillon."
"Thanks. "
"Don't you see that it wouldn't be smart for us to become lovers even if . . . if I could."
"I never claimed it was smart."
"It would permanently alter our good working relationship. Neither of us wants that, do we?"
"No. I I
"TexTile is too important to both of us. We can't let personal conflicts interfere with our work."
"If you say so."
"Then, you see my point?" "I see your point."
"And I have your word that you won't pursue this any further?"
"No way.
Until then, he had avoided looking directly at her. When he fixed his eyes on her, she felt their impact like a soft blow to the abdomen. Then he slid on his opaque sunglasses, and she couldn't see his eyes at all.
CHAPTER
Twenty-Five
"Son of a bitch." Graham kicked the flat tire of his bicycle. "Damnshitf*ckscrew."
He luxuriated in saying all the words he heard from the construction workers-sometimes even from Dillon when Dillon didn't know he was around. If his mother caught him talking like that, she would ground him for a week at least. However, there was no one around now to hear him, so he let fly with another round of vulgarities.
He had finally won his mother's consent to ride his bike to and from the site, if he called her before leaving and didn't make any unscheduled stops along the way. He had made the trip only a few times when a spell of bad weather had set in. It had rained for a week. By the time the weather cleared, he had come down with a stomach virus that had him vomiting for one whole day, then lying listlessly in bed the next.