Brenda Jackson - Westmoreland Desires - Riding the Storm / Jared's Counterfeit Fiancée / The Chase Is On

“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.

“So, 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.”

Now it was Jayla who pinned Lisa with a look. “And don’t expect me to tell you everything because there are some details you’re better off not knowing.” Her mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of everything she and Storm had done. They had made love so many times she had lost count, and each time had been better than the last.

What she held special was the first time and how, afterward, he had drawn her bath water, gently picked her up into his arms and carried her into the bathroom. But it was the last time they’d made love on the morning she’d left, that stood out in her mind more than the others.

With a loving tenderness that had almost brought tears to her eyes, he had used his hands and mouth to drive her over the edge, making her body burn out of control for him. And it was only when she was about to come apart in his arms did he fill her and begin moving back and forth inside her, combining tenderness with compelling need, and sending her escalating into a sharp, shattering orgasm that had taken her breath away and had left her sated, exhausted and spent. And as much as she’d tried to stay awake, she had drifted off to sleep. They both had. When they had awakened, she’d dressed quickly and returned to her room to pack.

He had gone to her room with her to help her pack and the last kiss he had given her before she had walked out of the hotel room door for the airport had been off-the-charts fantastic. She knew that if she never made love to another man, she would always remember having that time with Storm. It had been more than just good, mind-blowing sex. For three days, he had made her feel special, as if knowing he’d been her first had been extraordinary and he was still in awe of the gift she had given him.

“Jayla?”

She jumped when Lisa snapped a finger in front of her face. “What?”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

Jayla frowned. “What question?”

“Do you have any regrets?”

Jayla immediately shook her head. “No. Twenty-six years was long enough to be a virgin, but I’d never met a man I felt worthy of giving myself to until Storm.”

Lisa raised a dark brow. “With Storm’s reputation, you thought he was worthy?”

“Yes, because he didn’t try to snowball me into doing it with him. In fact, at first he actually tried resisting my advances. I’m the one who came on to him. And he always behaved like a perfect gentleman, giving me choices and not assuming anything.”

Lisa nodded, and then a curious glint shone in her dark eyes. “Is everything we’ve heard about him true?”

Jayla tried to ignore the heat that was settling between her legs when she thought about just how true it was. When it came to lovemaking, Storm Westmoreland was a practiced and skillful lover. She couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, everything we’ve heard is true.”

A silly smirk appeared on Lisa’s face and she sat back in her chair. “Damn. Some women have all the luck,” she said with envy. She then smiled. “So when will the two of you see each other again?”

Jayla tried to ignore the ache that suddenly settled around her heart, convincing herself it was only indigestion. “We won’t be seeing each other again. What we shared was nothing more than a no-strings-attached affair, and since neither of us is into relationships, we decided that when we returned to Atlanta, he would continue to do his thing and I would continue to do mine.’’

Lisa lifted a brow. “You don’t have a ‘thing’ to do. You basically live a boring life. All you do is go to work and come home, except for those days when you’re volunteering at the cancer center.”