Riding the Storm (33 page)

Forever.

That
was
a
word
he
had
never
included
in
his
vocabulary,
one
he
had
never
associated
with
a
woman.
He
didn’t
do
forever,
and
never
thought
about
it.
But
he
had
to
admit
that
with
Jayla
Cole,
he
thought
of
things
he
had
never
thought
of
before.
And
he
was
glad
for
the
time
they
had
spent

together.
He
had
learned
things
about
her
that
he
otherwise
might
not
have
known,
such
as
her
passion
for
strawberry
cheesecake
and
how
she
volunteered
her
spare
time
at

Emory
University
Hospital’s
Cancer
Center.

“Storm,
I
need
to
get
up,
get
dressed
and
leave.”

He
stared
at
her,
feeling
a
sense
of
finality
and
a
part
of
him
felt
a
sense
of
loss
he’d
never
experienced
before
and
one
he
couldn’t
explain.
And
then,
suddenly,
he
wanted
her
with
an
urgency
he
had
never
wanted
her
or
any
woman
before.
Blood
rushed
through
his
veins
and
he
breathed
in
deeply.

“Storm…”

He
looked
at
her
and
his
breath
stopped.
He
had
to
have
her
again,
this
one
last
time.
He
eased
her
beneath
him
the
same
moment
that
he
lowered
his
head
and
captured
her
lips,
tasting
her,
mating
his
tongue
over
and
over
with
hers.
She
had
stamped
her
mark
on
him
and
now
he
was
going
to
make
sure
he
stamped
his
on
her.

For
just
a
little
while,
he
would
make
her
his,
and
if
he
lived

a
hundred
years,
there
would
be
no
regrets.
What
he
would
have
were
memories
to
last
a
lifetime.

And
from
the
way
she
was
returning
his
kiss
he
could
tell
she
wanted
those
memories,
too.

Six

“S
o,
how
was
your
trip
to
New
Orleans?”
Lisa
Palmer

asked
as
she
sat
back
in
her
chair
at
Jayla’s
kitchen
table.

Jayla
looked
up
and
met
her
best
friend’s
curious
stare.
“It
was
fine.
Why
do
you
ask?”

“Because
I’ve
noticed
that
since
you’ve
been
back,
you
haven’t
said
much
about
it.”

Jayla
drew
in
a
deep
breath
and
wished
she
could
ignore
Lisa’s
curious
scrutiny.
It
was
just
like
Lisa
to
pick
up
on
her
reference
about
the
trip.
She
knew
that
sooner
or
later
she
would
have
to
come
clean
and
tell
her
friend
everything,

including
her
planned
trip
to
the
fertility
clinic.

“Umm,
why
do
I
get
the
feeling
that
you’re
not
telling
me
something?”

Cupping
her
chin
in
her
palm,
Jayla
forced
a
smile.
“You’re
imagining
things.”

Lisa
shook
her
head.
“No,
I
don’t
think
so.”
She
gazed
at
her
thoughtfully,
then
said,
“There’s
something
different
about
you.
You
look
more
relaxed
and
well-rested
which
can
only
mean
one
thing.”

Jayla
swallowed,
wondering
if
she
really
had
a
different

look
about
her.
“What?”
she
asked
softly.

Lisa’s
lips
tilted
into
a
deep
smile.
“That
you
got
plenty
of
rest
this
trip,
which
is
a
good
thing
that
I
didn’t
go
with
you.
Had
I
gone
I
would
have
worn
you
out
with
endless

shopping
and—”

“I
ran
into
someone.”

Lisa
lifted
a
brow.
When
seconds
ticked
off
and
Jayla
didn’t
say
anything
else,
Lisa
scooted
closer
in
her
chair.
“Okay,
are
you
going
to
keep
me
in
suspense
or
are
you
going
to
tell
me?”

Jayla
took
a
sip
of
her
lemonade
before
responding.
“I
ran
into
Storm
Westmoreland.”

Lisa
placed
her
glass
of
lemonade
down
on
the
table.
“Storm
Westmoreland?
The
Perfect
Storm?”

Jayla
chuckled.
“Yes,
that
Storm.”

Lisa
stared
at
her
for
a
moment
as
she
recalled
Jayla
once
telling
her
about
the
crush
she’d
had
on
Storm

Westmoreland
at
sixteen.
And,
like
most
women
in
the

Atlanta
area,
she
also
knew
about
his
reputation
as
a

womanizer,
and
that’s
what
bothered
her
the
most.
“What
was
Storm
Westmoreland
doing
in
New
Orleans?”
she

asked,
having
a
feeling
there
was
a
lot
more
to
the
story.

Jayla
chuckled
again.
“He
was
attending
a
conference.”

“And…?”

Jayla
was
quiet
for
a
moment.
She
knew
Lisa
had
a

thousand
questions
and
decided
she
might
as
well
tell
her
everything
or
else
she
would
get
grilled
to
death.
“And
we
ran
into
each
other
and
one
thing
led
to
another
and
we

ended
up
having
an
affair.”

She
almost
grinned
when
she
saw
Lisa’s
jaw
drop.
She

then
watched
as
Lisa
picked
up
her
glass
and
drained
it
as
if
it
contained
something
stronger
than
lemonade.

Lisa
then
turned
her
full
attention
to
her.
“You’re
no
longer
a
virgin?”
she
asked
as
if
her
mind
were
in
shock.

Jayla
did
grin
this
time.
“Nope.”

Lisa
then
slumped
back
in
her
chair
and
pinned
her
with
a
look.
Jayla
was
well
aware
of
that
look.
It
was
a
look
that
said
you’d
better
tell
me
everything
and
start
from
the

beginning.

“Like
I
said,”
Jayla
said,
before
she
was
hammered
with
relentless
questions,
“Storm
and
I
ran
into
each
other,

decided
to
spend
time
together
and
one
thing
led
to

another.”

“Evidently.”