by Kris Pearson
He read with disbelief that he’d been offered part of the private airline CustomAir New Zealand. His presence was required at an Extraordinary General Meeting as soon as he could comfortably arrange it.
He almost choked with fury. What the hell was she playing at? Just when he’d almost, almost got his desire for her under control she’d invaded his life again.
Well, he’d had it with Dubai and the endless desert anyway. His mother deserved a Christmas visit, and Sheikh Ahmed could find a replacement pilot easily enough at the rates he was willing to pay.
Vowing he’d sort Melanie out once and for all and then get on with his life, he booked tickets home.
***
Cody travelled light. He dropped his personal stuff at his mother’s home in Auckland, and played the attentive son for one excruciating day. Then he was gone.
Why in hell had he been sent the documents? What was behind the imperious summons? Why had he been offered part of CustomAir when he’d made it brutally plain he wanted nothing more to do with Ms Melanie Anderson or her airline? He couldn’t wait to face off with her. To carve her out of his heart. To scour her out of his brain. To be done with her forever.
He took only a briefcase for the hour-long flight south to Wellington, determined to give her no warning of his arrival, no wiggle-room. Nothing except a damn good talking to.
All the way there, he reviewed what he’d say. The closer he got, the more his mouth tightened and the harder his heart pounded.
He was over her. Over her beautiful body and her sweet sexy games and her lively company. Way over her.
Yeah… maybe.
It was Saturday. He hoped she was at home. The cab dropped him at her front door and departed. Early summer flowers bobbed in the breeze that ruffled the blue harbor far below. He shivered, and drew his jacket close, telling himself it was only the huge change in temperature between Dubai and Wellington that had his nerves on edge and gooseflesh prickling up and down his arms.
He jabbed his thumb at the doorbell button and heard the familiar muffled peal inside the big house.
***
Mel’s hopes soared—just as they had every time she’d heard the doorbell or her phone for the past couple of weeks. Would it be Cody this time? Just in case, she re-gathered her hair into its ponytail and smoothed her hands down her jeans as she jogged down the stairs.
There’d been no email, no letter, no call, no text. She shook her head at her stupidity. Why would she expect today to be any different?
God, she’d put her heart on the line for him—and he’d deserted her just like he’d run out on girlfriends in the past. She’d thought she and Cody had something special, but as the weeks went by with no word, her normally unquenchable spirits had begun to sag. When the weeks turned into months, she knew they were truly done. She’d played her last desperate card—the flamboyant airline offer—with nothing to lose.
She pulled the door open and almost choked. Elation and dread rolled through her in equal measure, and she stood, dazed and drowning as Cody’s dark eyes flayed her composure to shreds.
His face bore no trace of joy at seeing her again. Mouth set in a hard line, eyes cold and steely, he stared her down. To Mel he looked every bit as desirable as he had the day he stormed out. Leaner perhaps, and with shorter hair and a deeper tan. But still as hot, in a dark business suit and pale grey shirt instead of the pilot’s uniform she was so used to.
Her shocked heart restarted itself and thudded behind her ribs in a furious tattoo that travelled into her breasts to throb at her nipples, making her all too aware of her body’s unquenched attraction to his. The intensity slammed through her, and she tightened her hold on the doorknob.
“Cody.” She cleared her throat. Her voice barely worked. She motioned him in with her other hand.
“Melanie.” He strode past the table in the entrance lobby without a sideways glance, plainly not choosing to remember the night he’d lifted her up and driven her to orgasm there. He kept right on going as far as the big glazed doors to the swimming pool and stood staring out, his braced shoulders and ramrod-straight back radiating fury.
Okay, two could play it that way.
“You took your time making contact,” she croaked. “How long have you been back?”
“A couple of days.”
“You could have rung.”
He flashed a disparaging glare over his shoulder. “What the hell for? So you’d have time to get a story together? Nope—I wanted to shock the truth out of you.” A long minute ticked by. He turned and placed his briefcase very precisely on a nearby sofa, snapped the catches open and dragged the lid up. The brightly colored courier package screamed at her.
Mel bowed her head and sank down on the arm of an overstuffed chair. He certainly had the element of surprise in his favor. “I’m not hiding anything,” she insisted. “There’s no truth to ‘shock out of me’.”
He reached for the package and waved it at her. “And this? What’s this sick game then? You thought pretending to play Lady Bountiful might drag me back into line?”
Mel watched as his eyes flared bright with derision. This was so not the Cody she’d hoped to see. She drew a deep breath, and gained a tiny measure of confidence as his gaze slid down to her breasts and then swiveled away again. So maybe there was still a shred of attraction there behind the fury? She gathered her next words together slowly and with great care.
“I made you a fair offer at New Year, Cody. I was entirely serious. I wanted a couple of children.” She swallowed. “I wanted you to father them.”
She flicked a quick glance in his direction. No reaction. “I offered part of the airline because I knew I’d need help to run it if I was lucky enough to have my family at last.” She pulled in another deep breath, hoping his eyes would come back to her body.
Yes, his dark gaze instantly returned to her breasts, so she still had that much in her favor. It was something to work with, even if it was a very small something.
He shook his head as though banishing unwelcome thoughts, and glared at her. “And I said I didn’t want a bar of the deal. I turned you down flat. It was a stupid offer, Mel—and going as far as discussing it with your lawyer before even mentioning it to me was a shitty insult.” He reached out as though to shake her and then pulled his hands back, stepping away and staring at the pool again.
Mel rose from the chair arm and went to stand beside him. Her soft-soled ballet flats made no noise on the tile floor, and Cody visibly jumped when she touched his arm.
“I thought it perfectly fair, Cody. I needed to show you I was serious. That it was a properly thought out business decision. An offer made in good faith.”
“It was outlandish. You don’t buy children if you have any morals.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t buy children. Why can’t you see it my way?” She turned and paced away a few steps, clenching her jaw and praying she’d stay calm. From a safer distance she said, “I asked you as a friend to try and make me pregnant. I made it plain I set great value on your contribution.”
Cody gave a bitter laugh. “Contribution? A few ounces of jism versus part of an airline? Sick joke, Mel.”
“Not to me.” She stepped closer again, and grasped his arm, relieved when he didn’t pull away. “Cody, I’d been waiting so long. I wanted Rob’s kids—you know I did. Sure, I had Endo, but they thought they’d finally found it all. And then Rob was… gone. He should have been around to take over more of the running of CustomAir while I had the babies, but…” She shrugged.
Now she stood near enough to smell the scent she loved so much. Clean warm man. She took a slow breath and drew him in deep.
Cody glanced down at her, face still impassive, but maybe there was the tiniest softening in his expression? “What a mess,” he grated. “How did we stuff it up so badly, Mel?”
Be careful. Go slowly. Don’t spook him.
“Maybe we didn’t. Maybe we haven’t quite. At least we’re talking a
gain.”
He made a quick impatient noise, almost a snort. “Is that why you did it—sent the papers?”
“What? To get us talking? No.”
“Then why?” The tiniest trace of interest sparked in his haunted eyes.
Was he offering them a way back? Melanie looked down, schooling her face to give none of her hopes away.
“Why did you send the papers?” he repeated.
The tattoo behind her ribs picked up speed again and she gambled everything with her next few words. “Maybe… I needed to make sure… there was nothing still between us. So I could finally move on.”
She shot him a quick glance. How had he taken that?
He thrust a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes closed for a second before demanding, “Move on where?”
Did he sound agitated? God, she hoped so. She was damned agitated herself. Nerves a mess. Pulse racing. Palms damp.
“Move on to whatever the future brings?” She scuffed a shoe against the tile floor, watching it move to and fro, to and fro, to avoid looking at him for a few moments. Without warning, Cody wrapped his hand around her pony-tail, but he didn’t have to tug to get her attention; she turned and stared up into his eyes, lips parted with shock and longing.
“Don’t play games with me, Mel,” he growled.
“Not playing,” she whispered. “Never been more serious.”
“Where are you planning to move on to?” His hand gentled from her hair, fingers moving to cradle her jaw, stroking softly.
Mel tilted her face up and took a long shaky breath. “Nowhere. I’m right where I want to be.” Now.
“You can’t give someone part of an airline,” he muttered. “The tax implications alone are horrendous.”
The taut wires that held her together relaxed a further few degrees. “See, that’s why I need you back, Cody. Your good business sense. I can’t do it all on my own.”
“My good business sense, huh?”
Melanie watched his face intently. Saw the moment he lost his resolve. And thinking, ‘thank God,’ rose onto her toes and into a kiss of such ferocity there was no room for doubt.
“I was so mad at you,” he ground out when their lips finally parted. “Mad at you, mad for you. It hasn’t gone away. What the hell happens now?” He held her clamped against him, big hands cradling her butt, cock long and hard, eyes possessive.
Mel’s lips curved in a smile of invitation. She reached for one of his hands and curled her fingers into his.
“I’ve been so lonely without you, Cody.” Her smile faded and became more hesitant. “I thought we had something wonderful. Something built on friendship as well as lust.” She bit her lip. “Or maybe love? I know it was fast, but I’ve nothing left to lose now by saying I think it was love on my side anyway.” She turned away, not wanting to see rejection, and tugged at his hand. “Before you say anything more, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
***
Cody followed her up the stairs, thunder-struck, mind racing a million miles a minute. She loved him? After what he’d said and how he’d left her? Hell—and with what he’d said when he arrived a few minutes ago. Cruel words. Scalding hot derision. She’d taken it all and not turned away from him. Brave beyond anything.
He followed her into a darkened room and stopped dead.
Speechless, he stared at the two cribs.
“You really did it?” he finally managed, all the words of censure and bitterness deserting him in the face of such a miracle.
“We really did it.”
“Two...” Elation and fear and a dozen other emotions raced through him while Mel stood there, looking wary, but with a tremulous smile on her lips.
“I’ve been calling them Samuel James and Peter Adam, but maybe their daddy has other ideas?” she murmured.
He reached blindly for her hand and squeezed it, not taking his eyes from his sons.
She drew closer. “Cody, that first scan was magic. I so wish you’d been there. The sonographer smiled at me and asked, ‘Any twins in the family?’ And I almost died of joy. She said ‘I have two heads and two nice strong heartbeats.’ I’ll never forget those words.”
“More than you bargained on, huh?” His voice sounded far from steady in the quiet room.
“Well, I’m a twin. There’s Andy… But no—I didn’t expect a double miracle.”
She leaned against him. Cody slid an arm around her and pulled her in tight. The final piece of ice fell away from around his frozen heart.
“So these days I have two beautiful hungry boys,” Mel murmured. “And a mother who’s lost all interest in foreign theatrical productions. She’s a very keen granny. Always flying down from Auckland with tiny clothes or adorable toys.”
Cody’s hand moved up to her nearest breast, cradling it tenderly. “So that’s why these are looking so spectacular,” he teased. “Are you expecting her to turn up today?”
She sent him a naughty grin. “Not a chance. Not until Monday.”
He heard her breath hitch as his thumb found her nipple.
“But she likes to get away,” Mel continued, “Because stupid Andy lasted less than three months before he went bad again. He’s on home detention, so he’s mooching around her place with one of those electronic anklets to keep him there.”
Cody’s smile grew broader. “No surprise visit from him either? Things are looking better and better.”
He leaned over the cribs and hesitantly reached out. His fingers looked huge. “This is not exactly the truth I was expecting to shock out of you. I had no idea.” He gazed down at the stirring baby.
“Is it too much?” She took his hand and laid it on a downy head. “Cody, meet Samuel James.”
A little pink fist flailed out to swat him away. When he tickled the tiny fingers with one of his own, they fastened around it, and he drew a sharp breath at the unexpected strength, the total possession.
He glanced over at Mel, and her gaze held his steadily. He saw a tear well up, tremble on her lower lashes, and creep down her cheek.
She swiped it away. “You did good work, Cody. Aren’t they wonderful?”
He swallowed. “I don’t recall it being work, Mel. Pure pleasure. Nothing but.” He blinked, wondering if he was going to lose it too.
“I have a couple of photos to remind me what fun it was,” she said, breaking the intensity of the moment.
When Cody recalled the shots of his rampant cock decorated for Christmas, he swore softly and closed his eyes.
“So—if they ever ask where they came from...?” she continued, digging him in the ribs.
“You wouldn’t dare,” he said, as a grin tugged at his lips. “Geez, Mel, you don’t play fair.” He swept her into his arms and into a long fierce embrace.
***
“So what’s this Extraordinary General Meeting of CustomAir all about?” he asked once the twins were fed and burped, and he and Mel sat side by side, a baby apiece. Samuel James drowsed in his mother’s arms. Peter Adam squinted up at the big dark person holding him in a death-grip.
“It’s progressing very well, don’t you think?” she said with a serene smile. “All the shareholders are present, and two have barely raised a whimper about the projected new ownership.”
Cody gave a wry smile and shook his head. “Get your lawyer to earn his money, Mel. Hopefully nothing’s been legally transferred yet or we’re in a real bind tax-wise. Give ‘my’ share to the boys. Put it in trust for them, or whatever you need to do.”
He leaned sideways to kiss her shoulder, her neck, and finally her soft lips. Eventually the babies started to fret as their air supply diminished.
He drew back, horrified he might be hurting them. After assuring himself all was well, he added, “I want to be around if you’ll have me—as a partner and a dad. I’ll come back and fly for you, and do anything else that’ll help. I want my name on the birth certificates, but not the Company papers. Okay?”
Mel said in a hesitant voic
e, “Are you meaning business partner?”
He looked across at the woman he’d fallen so hard for. “Hell, no. I mean life partner. We can work out the details any way you like.”
He held his breath, and then her smile warmed him right through to his bones.
She laid her head on his shoulder. “Cody, yes. Absolutely yes!” She reached up and kissed him again, being careful of Samuel James. “We’ll have lots of things to settle, but surely after what we’ve been through we’ll come out the other end fine?” She looked at the twins. “But CustomAir should be partly yours—at least until these two are young men. I’ve a good mind to tie you up and try some serious persuasion,” she added, blue eyes dancing.
How many times had he thought of her upended against the bedhead, laughing joyfully, legs in the air where he’d tied them to the bars after they’d made love? The day he’d possibly started their family.
How many times had he tried to forget?
His hand enclosed hers. “Still got those scarves?”
“Still got those pink handcuffs, too,” she murmured. “Never found anyone else I wanted to use them with…”
Epilogue
“This way Pete. Like this!”
The dark-haired toddlers squealed as they kicked and splashed in the paddling pool set up in Melanie’s courtyard. She pushed her reading glasses down her nose the better to see her sons. Who’d have thought Cody would take to fatherhood so enthusiastically?
He crouched beside the pool, muscles in his long legs taut, sunshine on his beautiful shoulders, encouraging the twins to dog-paddle with their arms and kick with their little feet.
“You’ve got your work cut out there,” she called, setting aside her magazine and stretching on her shaded sun-lounger. “You’re two years early. I’m sure I was at least five before I learned to swim.”
“But did you have supersonic jet plane water-wings?” Cody’s smile said it all.
“No—I had a fairy princess pink inflatable ring. Very pretty.”
“No wonder, eh boys? Mommy didn’t have jet plane wings.”
“Wins!” Sammy yelled. “From a heli-topter!”
