Chapter 6
She was trying to convince herself that it was a normal, everyday business meeting, and she had been to many of those since she started in her position at the airline.
Her assistant had often joked that being in management was three-quarters sitting in conference rooms talking about doing, rather than actually getting things done.
By the time it drew nearer to the hour, she could no longer pretend that she was meeting with an associate or the board.
She was meeting with her past, her very tumultuous past, one that had almost destroyed her life.
She was going to have to sit in the same room with him and go on as if he had not walked out on her without an explanation.
They were going to discuss the future of the airline and talk about changes, while avoiding the issues of their past.
With a lift of her chin, she made the decision to use the conference room.
Her office was too small to accommodate them.
She wanted no cozy settings between them.
This was going to be strictly business, and she could do it.
All she had to do was stick to the salient points.
No talk about anything personal. She did not care if he was seeing anyone, although he probably was, the bastard!
Not that it was any concern of hers.
She certainly wasn't going to provide any refreshments either.
Brushing her hands over the chic black-and-white pantsuit she had chosen to wear this morning, she braced herself for his arrival.
He was punctual and arrived on the dot of seven.
Even though she told herself she was prepared to see him, his appearance threw her.
He was dressed all in black, and the color was a sharp relief against his golden tan and his burnished blonde hair.
The sweater stretched tautly across his broad shoulders and highlighted the muscles in his forearms. His thick hair was tousled by the breeze, one lock falling over his forehead.
Belatedly realizing that she had been staring, she greeted him coolly. "Mr. Crenshaw."
His lips quirked in amusement as he came forward. "Kady-Ann. Don't you think that the formality is a little ridiculous?"
"I prefer to keep it all business." She stood where she was, somehow managing not to stiffen when he advanced. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him know how affected she was by his presence. "Shall we get down to business?"
"You're not even going to greet me?" he asked softly, ignoring her not-so-subtle move to keep him at bay.
"Hello. Shall we?"
He chuckled, feeling the tension loosening around his chest. He had arrived earlier and sat in the parking lot, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he tried to compose himself.
Now seeing her, standing here looking so defiant, he felt the familiarity rolling through him.
He was disappointed to see that she had her hair in a tidy chignon at the nape of her neck.
But perhaps that was for the best, because the last time he was here, he had to quell the urge to run his fingers through the luxurious strands.
"You're staring," she pointed out heatedly.
"So, I am. Just thinking that some things haven't changed. You're still as stubborn as ever."
Her eyes flashed fire. "Don't do that. You don't know me."
"You're right." His quiet, deep voice tempered her anger. "Truce?"
She looked at the hand he held out and had to restrain herself from telling him to go to hell.
He noticed her reluctance to extend her hand to his and had to bite back an admiring smile. His levity vanished as soon as their skins connected. The years slid back as if in fast forward. The heat started, awareness slid over them like an old, familiar coat, only much sharper, more potent.
"Kady-Ann." Her name in that husky timbre of his voice warned her what was coming, but she was powerless to stop it. Her skin heated even more, and she was motionless and speechless.
He drew her to him slowly, jade green eyes searching hers as if waiting for her to say no.
When she continued to stare at him, he lifted his free hand to cup the back of her neck.
They were back in the past again as the years melted away.
Kady went still, held immobile by emotions that were roiling inside her.
It was no use pretending she was unaffected.
Stifling the moan, she unconsciously lifted her face towards his.
Landry felt her heat swamping him. The scent of her perfume filled his nostrils. She absorbed him. The feel of her flesh against his was driving him insane. Struggling to regain the control that was slipping away was a useless endeavor. He was lost, in her scent, the texture of her skin.
His head descended slowly as if he was still waiting for her to push him away.
At the first tentative brush of his lips on hers, she swayed against him, his breath a tangible reminder of what she had experienced all those years ago.
Familiar yet so different and much more potent.
Her lips parted of their own volition. A groan escaped him, as if torn from his chest. His fingers tightened at her neck, before sliding upwards to dislodge pins.
The strands broke free and spilled over his fingers.
He grabbed a handful of hair, marveling at the silky softness, the fragrance that was uniquely hers.
His lips brushed hers, backwards and then forward, reveling in the texture and shape.
Her breath was as fresh as the morning dew and had his skin reacting alarmingly.
He took his time even though his starved body was urging him to make haste, to devour her.
His tongue entered her mouth, a hesitant move that was so unlike him.
But this was Kady-Ann. His own Kady-Ann, the first woman for him, his only love, and he wanted to savor.
When her hands settled on his chest, he quivered, feeling the heat burning through the material of his sweater.
His hand descended lower, roaming her back, her ribcage, until he was cupping the side of her breast. Heat burned a path through his body, leaving him helpless and weak.
It had been intense from the very first time they came together, physically, but this was so much worse.
He wanted her! No, hell was too tame a word.
He craved her with a fierceness that had his mind going blank.
Turning his head, he changed the angle of the kiss, going in deeper, his tongue touching hers.
The very minute that happened, the kiss went wild!
His control broke, and he was wrapping his arm around her waist, banding them together, molding her body to his as he deepened the kiss.
He ravaged her mouth, his lips moving over hers with a passion that was answered by her own desperation.
She clung to him, fingers digging into his shoulders and then his back and then his shoulders again.
They were lost in each other, the separation and unhappiness of their parting fading away. Kady-Ann almost wept as the passion swayed her, punched through her body like a sword.
He was drowning but did not want to come up for air.
He could die right now; this was what he had been lacking all along.
This was where he belonged. This was home, and he had been adrift for fifteen years.
It suddenly felt right, and he knew without a doubt that he could never stay away from her again, whatever the consequences.
Reality surfaced slowly for her. Suddenly the memories of what he had put her through punched through the daze of passion and broke free. It gave her the strength to drag her lips from his and push at his chest.
It took a moment for him to realize what was happening, that she was evading his mouth.
"Kady-Ann. What-"
"Let go of me." Humiliation and pain warred inside her.
It had taken just one touch for her to surrender.
And she had proven to both of them that she was still susceptible to him.
All that pep talk had been for nothing. The realization gave her the extra strength to shove him away from her and to take a step back.
He started to reach for her again when he saw the battle light that had come into her magnificent eyes.
"Don't touch me. Don't you dare touch me again."
"You're upset." Shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, he resisted the urge to haul her back against him. He was flushed and still shivering from the onslaught of passion they had just shared, but something warned him to take a step back.
"I'm sickened," she corrected him furiously. Lifting a hand to the tangled mass of her hair, she bit off a moan and could just imagine how she looked.
"You're lying." His eyes were still darkened with passion, his lips thinning in anger. "You cannot bloody well stand there and tell me you were not affected. I had you in my arms a moment ago, remember?"
"What do you want to hear, Landry?" she taunted him.
"That you still hold a special place in my heart?
Well, you don't. When you left, you took a part of me, tore me open and left me bleeding on the floor.
I might have responded to your kisses because-" She spread her hands and forced her expression to turn mocking.
"You're a very good kisser and a handsome guy.
Naturally, I responded. But that's it: pure and basic lust, nothing more.
Now, if you've finished patting yourself on the back, I suggest we get to it. "
He stood there staring at her for a few seconds, his thoughts whirling.
Everything she said bored a hole in him.
He had hurt her unbearably, but he had also hurt himself in the process.
And the worst thing about it was that he could not explain to her that he had been presented with little to no choice.
"I'm sorry for the pain and the things I put you through," he began quietly.
"Water under the bridge."