Breath of Scandal (42 page)

"Who is it?9'

He could feel her rapid breath on his face. "It's Dillon. "Dillon?"

4'That's right." "Dillon.

6'Yes. "

Exhausted, he bent his head over hers, resting it on her forehead while he sucked in drafts of a1r. He released her wrists. When he did, her arms fell lifelessly to her skles.

"Are you okay?" he asked hoarsely.

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She nodded. He stepped away from her and clicked on the lamp. The letter opener still in her hand had a serrated blade. It could have been deadly.

"Jesus," he swore. "What the hell were you trying to do with that damn thing?"

Jade dropped the letter opener onto the desk and simultaneously collapsed into her chair. "Protect myself." . She was pale, trembling, and breathless, but otherwise

seemed no worse for wear. Seeing that she was all right, Dillon allowed himself to get mad. "You damn near gutted me.-

Jade propped her elbow on her desk and pushed a handful of hair out of her face. "You shouldn't have sneaked up on me."

"I didn't sneak. I made a hell of a racket outside. I called your name twice."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" "I didn't want to startle you."

"Oh. so you just leaned over me like you were going to smother me."

He let loose a string of curses.

"What are you doing here anyway? What time is it?" she asked, apparently still confused from being awakened so abruptly.

"Not that late," he replied. "Just after eleven."

"Oh, lord. " She picked the telephone off the floor. While she placed a call to her house, Dillon stood at the edge of her desk, glaring down at her. "I'm glad you arrived when you did," she said as she replaced the receiver. "Cathy was worried, but said she hated to call and interrupt me while I was working."

"What the hell were you thinking of to stay out here by yourself after dark?" he asked angrily. "You're lucky it was me who came through that door."

"The door was locked."

"As though that would stop anybody who wanted in badly enough."

"Well, nothing tragic happened, so let's just forget it, shall we?"

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That belittling tone of hers never failed to set his teeth on edge. As she came around her desk, he blocked her path. "We'll forget it when I say it's time to forget it. It's not safe for a woman to be out here alone, miles from town, after dark. Don't do it again."

"May I remind you that you're not in a position of authority over me?"

"Dammit, forget our positions. This has nothing to do with work. Besides, the only time you pull rank on me is when you know you're wrong."

Her eyes blazed up at him. "If it had been anybody but you, Loner would have barked to alert me of danger." Dillon lowered his head closer to hers. "is that right?" "That's right."

"Well, for your information, Loner wasn't here,'9 he said softly. "He was out looking to get laid. If he had gotten lucky, he probably wouldn't have been back before daylight. "

Irritated and embarrassed, she glanced away. "I appreciate your concern for my safety. "

. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not all that concerned. I'm just trying to talk a little common sense into somebody who obviously has shit for brains."

Her head came back around swiftly. "I'm glad you used that particular turn of phrase. It reminds me to tell you not to use foul language in front of my son."

"Have you been eavesdropping on my conversations with Graham?"

"Certainly not. He quotes you. He thinks you're bloody marvelous. "

That gave him a warm rush of pleasure. "Really?" "Really. So watch what you say around him."

"I haven't said anything he doesn't hear on cable TV, and probably in his classroom at school."

"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

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hinted that if the job was too much for her to handle alone, perhaps he should send someone to assist her.

She recognized the intimidating bluff for what it was, but knew that she couldn't stall him forever. The annex was an enticing prospect, one that she wanted to be an integral part of . . . but all in good time. Unfortunately, once Mr. Stein conceived an idea, he wanted to see work in progress immediately.

The morning following Dillon's return, Jade decided to approach Otis Parker again. As unobtrusively as possible, she had had his farm appraised, along with several other tracts of land in and around Palmetto.

She arrived at the farm early, just as Otis was climbing onto his tractor, about to leave for the fields. "I won't take but a minute of your time, Mr. Parker, " she said as she approached him.

"If you come about me selling the place, you're wasting your time."

"Please hear me out." She waited while he reluctantly stepped to the ground. After a moment, she continued. "I find it hard to believe that you and Mrs. Parker wouldn't like living the rest of your lives in luxury. You could buy a beautiful place in town and retire. You wouldn't have to work another day of your life unless you wanted to. Think of all you could do for your children and grandchildren. "

He looked at her resentfully. "That all sounds real attractive, all right. But if I ever did decide to sell, it wouldn't be to you.-

"What do you mean?"

He whipped a faded, red shop towel from the hip pocket of his overalls and pretended to tinker with the tractor. "I don't owe you any explanations.-

"Mr. Parker, I asked you not to discuss my interest in your land with anyone."

"I didn't. But you, better'n most, ought to know how things is in a small town. Word gets out. That appraiser feller you hired was out here for two days straight. He made some other folks curious."

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Hastily, she zipped open her attach6. "Here is what GSS is offering for your property, including the house."

She handed him the legally prepared contract and pointed to the sum at the bottom of the page. He blinked his poor eyesight into focus, then his narrow jaw went slack.

"Five hun'erd thousand dollars? Are you shittin' me?" "No, Mr. Parker, I'm not. All you have to do is meet me at the title office this afternoon and sign the contract." "I dunno," he said, shaking his head.

"I can assure you that no one else will offer this much on the property, Mr. Parker. It's far above the appraisal." He regarded her suspiciously for a moment, then shook

his head. "Well, I ain't going to do nothing rash. Like I told you, I ain't even decided on selling."'

Turning his back on her, he climbed onto the tractor again and started the motor. After clapping a straw hat on his head, he steered the tractor out of the yard. Jade laid the contract on the porch and anchored it down with a rock. As she turned to leave, she heard the screen door open and looked up to see Mrs. Parker.

"Good morning."

"I've heard folks say that you've got a boy." Mrs. Parker said the words in a rush, as though it was very difficult for her to say them.

"That's right. His name is Graham."

I I I's just wondering if, you know, he might be my Gary's child?"

Sorrow settled over Jade like a shroud. The desperate hope she saw in the tired, homely face was heartbreaking. She was tempted to lie and claim that Gary had been Graham's father, but ultimately that would only be doing a disservice to the Parkers; and to Graham.

"No, he isn't, Mrs. Parker," she said sadly. "But I've wished from the day I learned I was pregnant that he was. " Without another word the gaunt woman slipped back into the house. The screen door slapped closed.

In a matter of minutes Jade reached the intersection with the highway. Just as she did, a candy-apple-red El Dorado sped passed.

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Headed toward the construction site, she was so lost in thought about the Parkers that she didn't notice the El Dorado again until it was almost even with her. Apparently it had made a U-turn and was following her. Neal Patchett was at the wheel.

Smiling, he signaled for her to pull over. "Go to hell."

Still smiling, he speeded up enough to give his car the advantage of a few yards before cutting his wheels sharply, almost swerving into Jade's Cherokee. Reflexively she stomped on the brake pedal. Neal parked sideways in front of her, so that the two cars formed a T on the narrow highway.

Jade flung open her door and got out. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I asked you nice to pull over." His tone, his swagger, his ingratiating grin were all too familiar as he moved toward her.

Ironically, they were almost at the same spot where he had kidnapped her from Donna Dee's car fifteen years earlier. "And as usual, if you don't get your way, you impose it. "