Riding the Storm (55 page)

Jayla
chuckled.
Yes,
she
did
know
that.
Lisa
enjoyed
shopping
and
Chicago
was
her
favorite
place
to
shop.

“So,
are
you
planning
to
keep
your
appointment
tomorrow?”

Lisa’s
question
immediately
silenced
Jayla’s
thoughts.
She
frowned.
“Of
course,
why
wouldn’t
I?”

“Because
from
what
you
told
me
every
time
I’ve
called
this
week,
you
and
Storm
have
been
seeing
a
lot
of
each
other.”

Jayla
shrugged.
“So?
What
Storm
and
I
are
sharing
is
short-term.
I
know
that
and
so
does
he.”

“But
it
doesn’t
have
to
be
that
way,
Jayla.
I
believe
things
could
last
if
you
gave
them
a
chance.”

Jayla
rolled
her
eyes
to
the
ceiling.
“Lisa,
trust
me,
they

won’t.
What
Storm
and
I
share
is
physical.
I’m
enjoying
his
company
and
he’s
enjoying
mine.
Why
does
it
have
to
be
more
than
that?”

For
a
long
moment,
there
was
silence.
Then
Lisa
asked
softly,
“What
are
you
afraid
of,
Jayla?”

Jayla
flinched.
“I’m
not
afraid
of
anything.”

“I
think
that
you
are.
Storm
Westmoreland
is
everything
a

woman
could
want
in
a
man
and
you
are
in
a
good
position

to
be
that
woman.
Why
are
you
willing
to
turn
your
back
on
such
a
wonderful
opportunity?”

Jayla
closed
her
eyes.
She
could
never
be
the
kind
of

woman
Storm
wanted.
Besides,
he
wasn’t
what
she

wanted,
either.
At
the
moment,
no
man
was.
She
wanted
a
baby
and
not
a
complicated
relationship.
She’d
long
ago
given
up
on
finding
Mr.
Right.
The
“married
with
children”
routine
was
a
fairy
tale
that
might
never
come
true
for
her.
Her
biological
clock
was
ticking
and
she
had
made
the

decision
to
start
a
family
sooner
rather
than
later.

She
turned
when
she
heard
a
knock
at
the
door.
“Look
Lisa,
there’s
someone
at
the
door.
I’ll
talk
with
you
later.
Bye.”

After
hanging
up
the
phone,
she
glanced
at
the
clock
on
the
wall,
then
crossed
the
living
room
to
the
door.
It
was
late,

after
midnight.
The
only
reason
she
was
still
up
was

because
she
had
taken
the
morning
off
for
her
physical
at
the
fertility
clinic.
Since
her
appointment
wasn’t
until
nine,
that
meant
she
would
get
to
sleep
late.

She
knew
before
she
got
within
a
foot
of
the
door
that
her
late-night
visitor
was
Storm.
That
would
explain
the
reason
her
heart
was
beating
so
fast
and
her
senses
were
getting
heated.
She
tried
forcing
her
conversation
with
Lisa
out
of
her
mind.
Her
best
friend
was
wrong
and
she
wasn’t
afraid
of
anything,
especially
a
serious
relationship
with
Storm.

She
merely
chose
not
to
have
one.

“Who
is
it?”

“Storm.”

She
quickly
opened
the
door
and
he
stood
there,
staring
at
her.
His
eyes
were
dark,
intense,
and
she
immediately

recognized
the
look
in
them.
Her
lips
curved
into
a
smile.
“Hi.”

He
returned
her
smile
and
the
heat
infiltrating
her
senses
kicked
up
another
notch.
“Hi,
yourself.
The
card
game

ended
and
I
wasn’t
ready
to
go
home.”

“Oh?”

“I
had
to
see
you,
Jayla.”

A
teasing
glint
shone
in
Jayla’s
eyes.
“Okay,
you
see
me.
So
now
what?”

He
slowly
took
a
couple
of
steps
forward,
and
she
took
a

couple
of
steps
back.
When
he
was
completely
inside
the
house,
he
closed
the
door
behind
him
and
locked
it.
He

walked
the
few
feet
over
to
her,
cupped
her
shoulders
in
his
hands
and
pulled
her
to
him,
her
mouth
just
inches
from
his.
“Now
this,”
he
breathed
against
her
lips.

Then
kissed
her.

As
soon
as
their
mouths
touched,
Storm
felt
something
hot
rush
through
his
bloodstream.
The
scent
of
Jayla,
as
well
as
the
taste
of
her,
was
getting
to
him
and
the
only
thing
he

could
think
of
doing
was
devouring
her,
making
love
to
her.
Suddenly,
some
emotion
that
he’d
never
felt
before
flared
within
him,
almost
bringing
him
to
his
knees,
and
he
finally
acknowledged
it
for
what
it
was.

Love.
He
loved
her.

Storm
drew
back
and
stared
at
her
for
a
quick
second

before
his
mouth
came
back
down
on
hers
again.
His

hands
were
everywhere
as
he
began
removing
her
clothes,
and
broke
off
the
kiss
just
long
enough
to
remove
his
own.
Then
he
swept
her
into
his
arms
and
carried
her
into
the

bedroom.

What
should
have
been
a
no-brainer
had
been
hard
as
hell
for
a
staunch
bachelor
like
him
to
figure
out.
The
reason
he
had
wanted
a
relationship
with
Jayla
had
nothing
to
do
with
them
being
great
together
in
bed,
but
everything
to
do
with
emotions
he
hadn’t
been
able
to
recognize
until
tonight.

He
was
in
love
with
Jayla
Cole.
She
had
caught
more
than
the
eye
of
the
Storm.
She
had
captured
his
heart.