Page 22 of Landry
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."
"But that's not true, is it? You're still angry, and you hate me." He lifted a hand, dropping it when she took a step back. "It was never my intention to hurt you." His voice was husky with remorse. "I would have preferred to cut off my right hand than to do you any harm."
"But you did." She shook her head and turned away. "I really don't want to discuss this anymore, and if you keep bringing it up, I'm going to walk out of here."
"No." Reining in his thoughts and the words he wanted to say, he gestured to the chair. "Please sit. We have a lot to discuss."
After a few minutes of awkwardness, they settled into the discussion. Kady had to admit that she had her doubts about his knowledge of the airline industry, but he had done his homework and was very thorough. She also had to admit to herself that he was smart and very good at his job.
She argued with him for form's sake when he made some suggestions. A few more new planes, a more suitable logo, different routes to make the flying time more efficient and time-saving. He had grand plans that were going to cost an arm and a leg, possibly two, but he had the resources, and he confessed that he wanted this project to get underway as soon as possible. Even though she tried to remain aloof and uninvolved, she could not stop the excitement from shining through.
Most of the plans were the very ones she had tried to get them to implement over the years.
If it weren't for the fact that he had broken her heart and left her high and dry, she would have broken out the glasses of orangejuice and toasted him. But she was determined to be aloof. His kisses, the touch of his hands had proven to her that she was still steeped in the past, that she was still as deep into him as she was before, or even more so.
"What about your father and the board?"
"What about them?" He looked up and over at her as he stacked the sheaf of papers he had taken from his suitcase.
"Won't they want to be involved?"
"I suppose they will want a monthly report." He snapped the clasp on his briefcase and leaned back in the chair. His eyes took in the hair that she had given up on tidying. He wondered if she knew how sexy or how appealing she looked with it down, or how young she looked. Wanting her was making holes inside him.
"This is going to cost a lot of money."
His lips tilted up slightly. "To say the least."
"Your company takes over ailing corporations and revives them, then sells them for a profit." Her eyes met his levelly. "Is that what's going to happen to the airline?"
He sat back and stretched his legs out. He was still overwhelmed by their passion and was trying his best to keep it under wraps. But he was so acutely aware of her that it was almost painful.
"Not this time."
"Why?" she demanded. "That's what Crenshaw's Enterprise is famous for. Yes, I've been doing my own research."
His smile came slowly. "I suspect you would be." He inclined his head. "Over the last decade or so, even while we were located in Europe, our main goal was to 'rescue' companies, ones that show the potential of being high earners. It's a business, you see, and we're in it to make a profit. When we sink millions into a project, it's on the condition that we recover the sum of money spent and make something as well."
