Riding the Storm (37 page)

think
about;
all
he
wanted.

And
then
there
was
the
look
on
her
face
whenever
she

came.
It
was
priceless.
It
was
as
if
the
force
of
what
she
felt
stole
her
breath
and
the
intensity
of
it
exploded
her
world

into
tiny
fragments
as
she
tumbled
into
mindless

completion.
Seeing
that
experience
on
her
face
would
then
push
him
over
the
edge
into
the
most
potent
climax
he’d

ever
experienced;
usually
more
than
one—back
to
back.

“Damn,”
he
let
out
a
low
growl
and
wiped
a
sheen
of

perspiration
from
his
forehead
with
his
hand.
He
was
used
to
sexual
experiences,
but
getting
seduced
by
memories

was
something
that
he
was
not
used
to
or
comfortable
with.
Hell,
he
had
even
thought
about
dropping
by
her
house
to
make
sure
she
was
all
right.
If
that
didn’t
beat
all.
He
had

never
checked
up
on
a
woman
after
the
affair
ended.

“Storm,
are
you
okay?”

He
inhaled
deeply
when
he
heard
his
sister-in-law’s
voice
and
quickly
decided
that
although
it
was
dark,
it
wouldn’t
be
a
good
idea
for
him
to
turn
around
just
yet.
There
was
a

glow
of
light
filtering
out
from
the
living
room
and
he
had

gotten
hard
just
thinking
about
Jayla.

“Storm?”

“Yeah,
Tara,
I’m
fine.”
Seconds
later
when
he
was
sure
he
had
gotten
his
body
back
under
control
he
turned
around

and
smiled.

Tara
Matthews
was
beautiful
and
had
nearly
blown
Storm
and
his
brothers
away
the
first
time
they
had
seen
her
at

their
sister
Delaney’s
apartment
in
Kentucky.
And
he
might
have
even
considered
having
a
relationship
with
her,
but

he’d
soon
discovered
that
Tara
was
a
handful.
He
and
his
brothers
had
quickly
concluded
that
the
only
man
who
could
possibly
handle
her
was
their
brother
Thorn,
so
they
had

deemed
her
Thorn’s
challenge.
Now,
a
little
more
than
two
years
later,
she
was
Thorn’s
wife.
But
she
still
held
a

special
place
in
his
heart
as
well
as
the
hearts
of
his

brothers
because
in
the
end
though
Thorn
may
have

handled
her,
Tara
had
proved
that
she
was
capable
of

handling
Thorn,
which
wasn’t
an
easy
task.

He
met
her
gaze
and
saw
concern
in
her
eyes.
“I
was

worried
about
you,”
she
said
softly.
“When
I
passed
through
the
dining
room
and
saw
you
missing,
your
brothers
said

you
had
needed
fresh
air.
I
didn’t
know
if
you
were
coming
down
with
something,
especially
when
they’d
said
you’d

been
playing
badly
tonight.”

Storm
laughed,
then
gave
her
a
playful
grin.
“Hell,
they
claim
I
play
lousy
even
when
I’m
winning.”

Tara
nodded
smiling.
“So,
how
was
your
trip
to
New
Orleans?”

Funny
you
should
ask,
he
thought
as
he
slumped
back

against
a
column
post.
He
sucked
in
a
deep
breath
when
another
vision
of
Jayla
floated
through
his
mind.
He

envisioned
his
mouth
finding
her
most
sensitive
areas,

especially
her
ultra-hot
spot
and
tilting
her
up
to
his
mouth
and
making
her
scream.

“Storm?”

“Huh?”

“I
asked
how
was
your
trip.”
She
took
a
step
closer
to
him
and
looked
deeply
into
his
eyes.
“Are
you
sure
you’re
okay,
your
eyes
seemed
somewhat
dazed.”

And
my
body
is
hard
again
but
we
won’t
go
there,
he

thought,
thinking
the
best
thing
to
do
was
go
back
inside

and
play
cards
and
hope
that
this
time
he
could
keep
his

mind
on
the
game.
“I’m
fine
and
I
had
a
great
time
in
New
Orleans.
I
even
saw
Ian
while
I
was
there
and
he
mentioned
that
he
would
be
in
town
for
that
charity
benefit
that
you’re
working
on.”

A
smile
touched
the
corners
of
Tara’s
lips.
“Really,”
she

said
excitedly.
“That’s
the
night
we’ll
unveil
the
charity

calendar
for
Kids’
World
and
everyone
will
get
to
see
Thorn
as
Mr.
July.”

Storm
laughed.
“I
don’t
think
that’s
the
only
reason
Ian
is
coming,
Tara,”
he
said,
thinking
that
maybe
if
he
kept