Riding the Storm (11 page)

Read Riding the Storm Online

Authors: Brenda Jackson

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Arts&Photography

nothing
more,

“If
you
eat
enough
of
these,
there
might
not
have
to
be
a
later.”

Her
words
reclaimed
his
attention.
“Excuse
me?”

She
smiled.
“I
said
if
you
eat
enough
of
these
you
might
be
able
to
forgo
dinner
later.
They’re
so
delicious.”

His
first
instinct
was
to
tell
her
that
to
him,
food
was
like
sex
—he
rarely
got
enough
of
it.
But
he
decided
telling
her
that
wasn’t
a
good
idea.
After
they
had
both
filled
their
plates,
they
walked
up
the
steps
to
the
upper
deck
where
tables

and
chairs
were
located.

His
attention
shifted
to
claiming
a
table
close
to
the
rails
so
they
could
continue
to
enjoy
the
view
of
the
river
while
they
ate.
When
they
were
both
seated,
he
turned
his
attention

back
to
her.
Her
hair
was
blowing
in
the
midday
breeze
and
he
stared
at
the
magnitude
of
her
beauty
once
again.
While
his
attention
was
on
her,
her
attention
was
on
her
food.

Most
people
who
came
to
New
Orleans
appreciated
its

culinary
excellence
and
he
could
tell
by
the
way
she
was

enjoying
her
bowl
of
seafood
gumbo
that
she
was
enjoying
the
cuisine,
too.

Instead
of
concentrating
on
his
food,
Storm
was
becoming
obsessed
with
a
question.
When
he
realized
that
he
wasn’t
going
to
be
able
to
eat
before
he
got
an
answer,
he

decided
to
come
out
and
ask
her
the
one
question
that
was
gnawing
at
him.

“So,
are
you
seeing
anyone
seriously,
Jayla?”

He
watched
her
lift
her
head
and
met
his
gaze.
She
smiled.
“No,
I’ve
given
up
on
men.”

Storm
frowned.
Her
answer
was
not
what
he
had
expected.
“Why?”

She
leaned
back
in
her
chair.
“Because
there’re
too
many
out
there
like
you.”

He
leaned
forward,
lifting
a
dark
brow.
“And
how
am
I?”

“The
‘love
them
and
leave
them’
type.”

He
couldn’t
dispute
her
words
since
he
was
definitely
that.
But
still,
there
was
something
about
hearing
it
from
her
that
just
didn’t
sit
well
with
him.
“Not
all
men
are
like
me.
I’m
sure
there
are
some
who’d
love
to
get
serious
with
one
woman
and
make
a
commitment.”

She
tipped
her
head
back
and
grinned.
“Really?
Any
recommendations?”

His
frown
deepened.
There
was
no
way
he
would
ever
introduce
her
to
any
of
his
friends.
Most
of
them
were

players,
just
like
him,
and
his
only
unmarried
brother
was

too
involved
with
his
restaurant
to
indulge
in
a
serious

relationship.
His
thoughts
then
fell
on
his
six
male
cousins,
eight
now
if
you
counted
the
most
recent
additions
to
the

Westmoreland
family—the
two
sons
his
uncle
Corey
hadn’t
known
about
until
recently.
But
still,
he
wouldn’t
dare

introduce
her
to
any
of
them
either.
If
she
was
off-limits
to
him,
then
she
was
off-limits
to
them,
as
well.

“No,”
he
decided
to
answer.
“There
aren’t
any
I
can
recommend.
Where
have
you
been
looking?”

She
chuckled
as
she
went
back
to
her
gumbo.
“Nowhere

lately,
since
I’m
no
longer
interested.
But
when
I
was

interested
I
tried
everywhere—bars,
clubs,
blind
dates
and
I
even
used
the
Internet.”

Storm’s
mouth
fell
open.
“The
Internet?”

She
smiled
at
the
look
of
shock
on
his
face.
“Yes,
the

Internet
and
I
have
to
admit
that
I
thought
I
had
gotten
a
very
promising
prospect…until
I
actually
met
him.
He
was
at

least
fifteen
years
older
than
the
picture
he
had
on
the
Web
site
made
him
seem
and
instead
of
having
two
hands,
it

seemed
he
had
a
dozen.
I
had
to
almost
deck
him
a
few

times
for
trying
to
touch
me
in
places
that
he
shouldn’t.”

Storm’s
hands
trembled
in
anger
at
the
thought
that
she
had
done
something
so
foolish
as
to
place
herself
in
that
situation.
No
wonder
Adam
had
asked
him
to
look
out
for

her.
Now
he
regretted
that
he
hadn’t
done
a
better
job
at
it.
He
could
imagine
any
man
wanting
to
touch
her
body,
since
it
was
so
tempting,
but
wanting
to
touch
her
and
actually

doing
it
were
two
different
things.
“Don’t
ever
date
anyone
off
the
Internet
again,”
he
all
but
snarled.

Jayla
grinned.
“Why,
Storm,
if
I
didn’t
know
better,
I’d
think
you
were
jealous,”
she
said
playfully.

Storm
wasn’t
in
a
playful
mood.
“Jealous,
hell.
I’m
just
trying
to
look
out
for
you.
What
if
that
guy
would
have
placed
you
in
a
situation
you
couldn’t
get
out
of?”

Jayla
raised
her
gaze
upward.
“Jeez,
give
me
the
benefit
of
having
common
sense,
Storm.
We
met
in
a
public
place

and—”

“He
was
groping
you
in
a
public
place?”

She
took
a
sip
of
her
drink
and
then
said,
“We
were
dancing.”

Storm
took
a
deep,
calming
breath
as
he
tried
reeling
in
his
anger.
“I
hope
you
learned
a
lesson.”

“I
did,
and
there’s
another
reason
I’ve
given
up
on
men.”

He
raised
a
brow.
“Yeah,
what’s
that?”

Her
eyes
turned
serious.
“Most
are
too
controlling,
which
is

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