She watched him shudder, making Sam wonder what could be going through his mind at the moment, though judging from the tons of phone calls he'd made on the way here, she could take a guess it had to do with bringing her along to pick his mother from the airport.
He tried to hide his displeasure behind smiles and easy banter, but behind that facade, he wasn't thrilled by her presence.
She sighed, wishing she'd insisted on waiting at the restaurant instead. She equally wasn't thrilled at the prospect either.
"What time does her flight land?" She asked, breaking the tense silence.
He consulted his watch and sighed, resignation evident in his demeanor. "Thirty five minutes from now."
"Oh." She fell into thought for a moment. "Look, obviously having me here isn't making you happy. I could just catch a cab and go back to the office, there's bound to be one available here."
He shot her a look of surprise. "What makes you think I'm not happy you're here?"
Your expression, the way you've been acting since leaving the restaurant...I could go on.
Aloud, she said. "It's pretty obvious, and frankly I'm not sure it's best to meet her either, I mean given the circumstances."
There was definitely bound to be lots of awkward moments ahead and after the day she'd had, Sam wasn't sure she was up for more drama.
He stared straight ahead pensively. "I'm just worried it might be uncomfortable for you."
"Oh. Well, I'm sure it'll be fine." She said with an assurance she didn't feel.
Ryan turned her way, a knowing glint in his eyes as though he knew damn well it wasn't fine.
"It's okay to say what you really feel, Sam. I won't be pissed."
She huffed and crossed her arms to cover her embarrassment.
"I don't know, it's hard to predict your reaction most times. I don't want you to bite my head off for saying the wrong thing."
He winced and looked chagrined. "Guess I deserved that."
Sam opened her mouth to apologise but thought better, settling instead for staring out the window at the blurred terminal lights in the distance as an uncomfortable silence fell between them.
Out the corner of her eye, she watched Ryan, noting the tense set of his shoulders and jaw, the tight grip he had on the wheel. He stared straight ahead, a dark and silent presence beside her.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, she spoke first.
"We're going to get soaked the second we step out there."
She glanced out her window at the lights that indicated the terminal, mentally calculating the distance between their parking spot and the building.
"There's an umbrella in the trunk," he responded, his tone even. He sighed and reached out to pop the trunk. "Won't do much good in this wind, but it'll keep out the worst of it."
Still, he made no move to step out the car, rather looked her way, seemingly torn over something.
"Sam," he began hesitantly. "Before we go in, there are two things you need to know. First, my mom...she can be a bit overwhelming to people meeting her for the first time. Just, don't let whatever she says get to you okay?"
As overwhelming as her own mother? Sam didn't think that was possible. It was a universally acknowledged truth by everyone who'd been fortunate or unfortunate to encounter Parvatti Bhatt that the woman was a force to be reckoned with.
In fact, it was from dealing with her mom all these years that Sam had learned to stand up for herself and speak her mind, or else, she would have been railroaded into doing her mother's will.
Still, she appreciated the heads up.
"I'll keep that in mind." She replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "What's the second thing?"
His gaze seemed to bore into hers, intense and heated. He reached out to gently cup her chin in one large hand, thumb tracing a nerve wrecking pattern over her lower lip.
A gasp escaped her, the small space strung with tension, every cell straining in anticipation of being kissed. Seeming to read her thoughts, his head lowered until his own lips were mere inches away.
His lips curved in a smile. "I like you, Sameera Bhaat, too much for my own damn good."
Her eyes widened, as her mushy brain tried to make sense of what he'd just said. Now she knew what soldiers on the battlefield went through every time a bomb went off unexpectedly.
"Huh?"
"Do you have any idea how tempting it's been for the past two weeks to just lift you onto that conference room table and take you so hard we both see stars?"
Liquid heat pooled in her lower belly, his words sparking a whirlpool of lust as her brain instantly conjured sexy images of her perched on the cool mahogany table, skirt gathered around her waist with Ryan leaning over her, nestled between her spread legs as he plunged again and again into her slick wetness.
"You're constantly in my thoughts, in my dreams," his other hand slid around her nape, fingers tangling in the soft hair as he tugged her even closer, his warm breath washing over her oversensitive skin.
Still, amidst the raging storm, warning bells sounded in her brain, reminding her of her resolution to not get sucked in once more. The thought helped centre her, pushing back the urge to crawl into his arms and let him have his way with her right here.
"Ryan, please don't do this."
He snapped out of his daze, abruptly releasing her and moved back to his seat.
"I'm sorry, I got carried away." He sighed and raked a hand through his hair in frustration. "This was supposed to be an apology."
He shot her a sad smile at the shell shocked expression. "I acted like an asshole today, and I know you said not to apologise, but I'm deeply sorry for saying those things to you.
"I haven't been fair to you from day one, and I let past experiences cloud my better judgement and projected my trust issues unto you. My ex...really broke me, and it's hard letting myself get comfortable enough to trust others."
Sam heart fluttered and melted at the pained expression that crossed his face at the mention of his ex. A memory of the sad, drunk and broken man she'd met a year ago came to mind and as then, the need to help him somehow rose within her.
One could only imagine how much he loved that woman and how hard it had been to realize that love was a mistake.
She reached out and touched the hand resting on the wheel in a gesture of comfort.
"It's okay. Getting over a break up is never easy, and I think everyone of us still carries emotional scars deep inside."
He chuckled. "I think it was mainly to do with the circumstances surrounding our first meeting. I'd just had the news shoved down my throat and I was mad as hell. Still, that's no excuse for my behavior. Especially that fiasco today. But, I give you my word, all that's going to change from now on. You deserve to be treated better, and I'm going to do my darndest to make that happen."
His face bore witness to the determination in his statement.
"Thank you." At a loss for words, she said the first thing that came to mind.
"And, you don't have to worry about me making any more moves on you," he added. "I realize it's inappropriate and it won't happen again."
He held her gaze for long moments, then his attention slid to her lips, need flickering in his eyes only to be quickly extinguished in the next second.
"I'll get the umbrella." He said, opening the door, admitting in the cold air outside. He stepped out quickly and shut the door, huddled against the pouring rain as he hurried to open the trunk.
Alone, Sam finally released the breath she hadn't been aware of holding, mind going into overdrive.