Riding the Storm (15 page)

again.
“Dinner,
you
mean?”

“Yes.”

In
her
present
frame
of
mind,
he
was
the
last
person
she

wanted
to
see.
It
was
on
the
tip
of
her
tongue
to
suggest
he
invite
one
of
the
“ladies”
from
the
club
to
dine
with
him.
But
she
thought
better
of
making
the
suggestion,
since
he
might
very
well
do
it.
“I
think
I’ll
pass
on
dinner.
I’m
not
hungry.”

“Well,
I
am,
so
how
about
keeping
me
company?”

She
lifted
a
brow.
“Keep
you
company?”

“Yeah,
I
enjoy
being
with
you.”

Jayla
dropped
down
on
the
bed,
feeling
ridiculously

pleased
by
his
admission.
Although
she
knew
that
she

shouldn’t
read
too
much
into
his
words,
she
suddenly
felt
confident,
cocky
and
in
control.
“Well,
I
hope
you
know
that
my
company
is
going
to
cost
you,”
she
said,
breaking
the
silence
between
them.

“In
what
way?”

She
rubbed
her
fingers
over
the
smooth
wood-grain
texture
of
the
nightstand
next
to
the
bed.
“I’m
not
hungry
for
anything
heavy,
but
I’d
love
to
have
a
slice
of
K-Paul’s

mouthwatering
strawberry
cheesecake.”

She
could
hear
him
chuckle
on
the
other
end.
“K-Paul’s

Louisiana
Kitchen?
I’ve
heard
of
the
place,
but
have
never
eaten
there.
I’m
going
to
take
your
word
that
I
won’t
be

disappointed,”
he
said.

She
grinned.
“Trust
me,
you
won’t
be.”

“How
long
will
it
take
for
you
to
get
ready?”

“I
just
got
out
of
the
shower
so
it
won’t
take
me
long
to
slip
into
something.”

It
was
close
to
forty-five
minutes
before
Jayla
appeared
in
the
lobby.

But
the
moment
she
walked
off
the
elevator,
Storm
knew

she
had
been
well
worth
the
wait.
His
chest
grew
tight
as
he
watched
her
walk
toward
him,
thinking
she
looked

absolutely
incredible.

He’d
known
he
was
in
trouble
when
she
had
mentioned
on
the
phone
that
she
had
just
gotten
out
of
the
shower.

Immediately,
visions
of
her
naked
had
swam
his
mind,

which
was
a
lot
better
than
any
live
scene
he
had
witnessed
at
that
club
earlier.

Common
sense
told
him
to
pull
himself
together
and

remember
who
she
was.
But
at
the
moment,
all
his
senses,

common
or
otherwise,
were
being
shot
to
hell
with
every

step
she
took
toward
him.
He
stood
practically
unmoving
as
he
watched
her,
enraptured,
while
hot
desire
surged

through
his
bloodstream.

She
was
dressed
in
a
short
dress
that
totally
flowed
over

her
figure,
emphasizing
the
gorgeous
shape
of
her
body
as
well
as
her
long
beautiful
legs.
His
gaze
lowered
slightly
to
those
legs.
It
had
been
hard
to
keep
his
eyes
off
them
this
morning,
and
it
seemed
this
evening
wouldn’t
be
any

different.
She
had
the
kind
of
legs
any
man
would
just
love
to
caress
and
have
wrapped
around
him.

He
drew
in
a
deep
breath,
not
wanting
to
think
such

thoughts
but
discovering
he
was
hard-pressed
to
stop
them
from
coming.
Whether
he
liked
it
or
not,
he
was
undeniably
attracted
to
Jayla
Cole.

“Sorry
I
kept
you
waiting,”
Jayla
said
when
she
came
to
a
stop
in
front
of
Storm.

“You
were
worth
the
wait.
Ready
to
go?”

“Yes.”

They
took
a
cab
over
to
the
restaurant
and
Storm
was
glad
he’d
gotten
the
hotel
to
make
reservations
for
him.
The

place
was
packed.
“Something
smells
delicious,”
he

whispered
to
Jayla
as
a
waiter
showed
them
to
their
table.

“Everything
in
here
is
delicious,”
she
said
smiling.

Including
you,
Storm
was
tempted
to
say.
He
wondered

how
he
could
assume
that
when
he’d
never
tasted
her,
but
he
just
knew
that
she
would
taste
delicious.

The
waiter
presented
them
with
menus.
“Just
coffee
for
me
now
and
I’ll
wait
for
later
to
order
dessert,”
she
said
handing
the
menu
back
to
their
waiter.

Storm
glanced
over
at
her.
“Since
you’re
familiar
with
this
place,
what
do
you
suggest?”

Jayla
caressed
her
upper
lip
with
the
tip
of
her
tongue
as
if
in
deep
thought.
“Umm,
I’ll
have
to
recommend
Chef
Paul’s
Duck
&
Shrimp
Dulac.
I
had
it
the
last
time
I
was
here
and
it
was
totally
magnificent.”

Storm
nodded
and
returned
the
menu
to
the
waiter.
“Then
that’s
what
I’ll
have
and
I’d
like
a
bottle
of
sparkling
mineral
water.”

“Great
choice,
sir,”
the
waiter
said
before
walking
off.

Storm
leaned
back
in
his
chair.
“So,
do
you
return
to
work
on
Monday?”

Jayla
shook
her
head.
“No,
I
won’t
officially
return
to
work
until
a
week
from
Monday.
Then
on
Tuesday
of
that
same
week,
I
have
a
meeting
with
a
Dr.
Tara
Westmoreland.
Is