Riding the Storm (28 page)

and
do
something
else?”
she
asked,
interrupting
his
stroll
down
memory
lane.
“Just
to
let
you
know,
the
thought
of
staying
in
bed
all
day
doesn’t
bother
me.”

Storm
couldn’t
help
but
laugh.
“What
have
I
created
here,
a
monster?”

She
lifted
a
brow.
“Like
you
can
talk.
I’d
say
you’re
up
for
it,”
she
said,
pointing
out
his
aroused
state.

“Well,
yeah,
but
some
things
can’t
be
rushed.
Just
give
me
some
time,
will
you.”

“Sure,
if
you
think
you
need
it,
but
from
what
I
understand
most
men
need
time
to
get
it
up,
not
down.”

One
corner
of
Storm’s
mouth
lifted.
He
was
enjoying
this
turn
in
their
conversation,
but
he
knew
if
they
didn’t
get
out
of
bed
really
soon,
their
conversation
might
turn
into

something
else.
Forcing
himself
to
move,
he
slowly
sat
up.
“I
guess
I
need
to
go
back
to
my
room
and
take
a
shower.”
He
glanced
over
at
the
clock.
“Do
you
want
to
meet
me

downstairs
for
breakfast?”

“Yeah,
I’m
starving.”

He
nodded
knowingly.
“And
after
breakfast,
how
about
if
we
do
some
more
sightseeing
today?”
Anything
to
keep
them
out
of
their
hotel
rooms.
“When
does
your
flight
leave

tomorrow?”
he
asked.
Suddenly,
reality
of
how
short
their

time
together
would
be
began
to
seep
in.
From
the

expression
on
her
face
he
could
tell
that
she
felt
it,
too.

“In
the
morning,
around
eight.
What
about
yours?”

“Tomorrow
evening,
around
three.”

She
nodded.
“Too
bad
we
aren’t
on
the
same
flight,”
she
said
quietly.

He’d
been
thinking
the
same
thing.
“Yeah,
it’s
too
bad.”
But
then,
maybe
it
was
for
the
best.
Too
much
more
of
Jayla

Cole
would
go
to
his
head
and
right
to
a
place
he
wasn’t

quite
ready
for.

He
sighed
deeply.
So
much
had
happened
between
them
in
the
last
forty-eight
hours.
“Nothing
has
changed,
right

Jayla?
Neither
of
us
is
looking
for
a
serious
relationship.”

Jayla
glanced
at
him,
understanding
his
need
to
reestablish
ground
rules.
“Yeah,
right,
nothing
has
changed.
Trust
me,
a
serious
relationship
with
anyone
is
the
last
thing
I
want
or

need
right
now.
I’m
going
to
be
so
busy
over
the
next
few

months
that
an
involvement
of
any
kind
will
be
the
furthest

thing
from
my
mind.”

He
lifted
a
brow
as
he
slid
out
of
bed.
“Oh?
What
will
you
be
doing?”

Jayla
nervously
licked
her
lips.
There
was
no
way
she
could

tell
him
that
she
would
be
preparing
for
motherhood.
“There’s
this
project
that
I’m
going
to
start
working
on.”

“Oh,
and
what
kind
of
project
is
it?”

She
sighed
deeply;
he
would
ask.
She
decided
to
brush
off
his
question
and
forced
out
a
chuckle,
saying,
“Nothing

you’d
be
interested
in,
trust
me.”

He
smiled
as
he
studied
her
for
a
long
moment,
then
said.
“I
might
surprise
you.
If
you
ever
need
my
help,
don’t
hesitate
to
call.”

She
smiled.
“Thanks
for
the
offer,
but
I
have
everything
under
control.”

“All
right.
I’ll
be
back
in
a
second.”

She
watched
as
he
walked
into
the
bathroom
and
closed
the
door.
She
rolled
over
on
her
stomach
and
buried
her

face
in
his
pillow,
enjoying
his
lingering
scent.
Had
she

been
dreaming
or
had
Storm
just
offered
to
help
with
her
project?
She
felt
it
was
pretty
safe
to
assume
that
the
last
thing
Storm
Westmoreland
would
want
was
to
be
a
daddy.
Besides,
she
had
no
regrets
in
going
solo.
A
man
like
him
as
the
father
of
her
child
would
definitely
cramp
her
style.
He’d
already
stated
his
belief
that
a
woman
couldn’t
work
outside
the
home
and
raise
a
family.
She
didn’t
envy
the

woman
he
would
end
up
marrying,
since
it
was
evident
that
he
would
be
a
controlling
husband.

She
got
out
of
bed,
slipped
into
her
robe,
walked
over
to
the
window
and
glanced
out
to
watch
the
impending

sunrise.
Tomorrow,
she
and
Storm
would
bring
an
end
to
their
short
affair
and
she
hoped
when
they
returned
to

Atlanta
that
they
didn’t
run
into
each
other
anytime
soon.
It
would
be
difficult
to
see
him
and
not
think
about
the

intimacy
they
had
shared
here
in
The
Big
Easy.
There

definitely
wouldn’t
be
anything
easy
about
that.

Storm
slid
his
hands
around
Jayla’s
waist
and
pulled
her

snugly
against
him.
“An
hour?”
he
asked
with
a
puzzled
lift
of
his
brow.
“Are
you
saying
it
will
take
you
an
entire
hour
to
pick
out
an
outfit
for
tonight?”

She
smiled
up
at
him.
“Yes.
Already
I
see
a
number
of

things
in
this
dress
shop
that
I
want
to
try
on.
It
has
to
be
just
perfect.”

“Jayla,”
he
began,
but
she
cut
him
off.

“Please,
Storm.
I
want
a
new
outfit
for
tonight.”

He
studied
the
excitement
in
Jayla’s
face,
thinking
she
was
even
more
beautiful
than
before,
if
that
were
possible.

When
he
had
met
her
for
breakfast,
he’d
told
her
of
the

phone
call
he
had
received
from
his
cousin
Ian.
Ian,
a
good
friend
of
New
Orleans’s
mayor,
had
been
invited
to
a
huge