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

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СКАЧАТЬ met his gaze. “I’ll think about it.” And without saying anything else, she took her sunglasses from his hand and walked away.

      Storm shook his head as he watched Jayla stroll across the deck. She’d had a lot of nerve asking if she made the cut, as if she hadn’t felt the sparks that had flown between them yesterday as well as most of the morning. Fortunately for him, it was an attraction that he could control. But he had to admit that when she had pretended to come on to him a few moments ago, he had almost broken out in a sweat.

      He remembered her teen years. During that time Adam had described her as headstrong, free-spirited and an independent thinker. It seemed not much about her had changed.

      Storm watched as she moved around the tables that were filled to capacity with an assortment of food and knew he had to rethink his relationship with her. A lot about Jayla had changed and he was looking his fill, taking all those changes in at that very moment.

      He couldn’t remember the last time any woman had gotten his attention the way Jayla had. She didn’t know how close she’d come to getting a kiss from him when she had molded her body to his. His gaze had latched on to her lips. They had looked so soft that he’d wanted to find out for himself just how soft and kissable they were.

      He sighed. Her ploy had been no more than teasing, but his body was still reeling from the effects. However, no matter what, he had to keep her best interests at heart, even if she didn’t know what her best interests were and even if it killed him.

      Why couldn’t he keep his eyes off her? Hadn’t he decided she was off-limits? He glanced away and tried to focus on the beauty of the river as the riverboat continued to move through it. It was a beautiful September day and he had to admit he was enjoying Jayla’s company. She had a knack for making him want to see her smile, hear her laugh; he could honestly say he had relished his time with her more than he had any woman in a long time.

      He wondered if she was romantically involved with anyone. He recalled Adam mentioning once that he felt she was too nitpicky when it came to men and that she would never meet the “perfect man” that met her satisfaction. That conversation has taken place years ago and Storm couldn’t help wondering if her attitude had changed. Had she found someone? Something or someone had definitely had her smiling when he’d first seen her at breakfast that morning. All she’d said was that she had just received some wonderful news, news she hadn’t bothered sharing with him. Did the news have anything to do with a lover?

      “Storm, don’t you want something to eat?”

      The sound of her voice grabbed his attention and he glanced back over to her, met her gaze and had to swallow. The hue of her eyes seemed to pull him to her. And he didn’t want to think about her mouth, a mouth that now contained a pulse-stopping smile. It seems the feathers he had ruffled earlier were now all smoothed. When he didn’t answer quickly enough, she quirked a brow and asked, “Well, do you?”

      He fought the urge to tell her yes, that he was hungry, but what he wanted had nothing to do with food. Instead of saying anything, he strolled over to join her at the table and took the plate she offered him. “Yes. Thanks.”

      “You’re welcome. You might want to try these, they’re good,” she said popping a Cajun cheese ball into her mouth.

      Storm’s breath hitched. He watched her chew, seeing her mouth barely moving. He quickly decided it wouldn’t be that way if they were to kiss. He definitely intended to get a lot of movement out of that mouth. He continued to stare at her mouth for a moment and then sighed. Thinking about kissing her was not the way to go. He needed to concentrate on sharing a platonic relationship with her and nothing more,

      “If you eat enough of these, there might not have to be a later.”

      Her words reclaimed his attention. “Excuse me?”

      She smiled. “I said if you eat enough of these you might be able to forgo dinner later. They’re so delicious.”

      His first instinct was to tell her that to him, food was like sex—he rarely got enough of it. But he decided telling her that wasn’t a good idea. After they had both filled their plates, they walked up the steps to the upper deck where tables and chairs were located.

      His attention shifted to claiming a table close to the rails so they could continue to enjoy the view of the river while they ate. When they were both seated, he turned his attention back to her. Her hair was blowing in the midday breeze and he stared at the magnitude of her beauty once again. While his attention was on her, her attention was on her food. Most people who came to New Orleans appreciated its culinary excellence and he could tell by the way she was enjoying her bowl of seafood gumbo that she was enjoying the cuisine, too.

      Instead of concentrating on his food, Storm was becoming obsessed with a question. When he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to eat before he got an answer, he decided to come out and ask her the one question that was gnawing at him.

      “So, are you seeing anyone seriously, Jayla?”

      He watched her lift her head and met his gaze. She smiled. “No, I’ve given up on men.”

      Storm frowned. Her answer was not what he had expected. “Why?”

      She leaned back in her chair. “Because there’re too many out there like you.”

      He leaned forward, lifting a dark brow. “And how am I?”

      “The ‘love them and leave them’ type.”

      He couldn’t dispute her words since he was definitely that. But still, there was something about hearing it from her that just didn’t sit well with him. “Not all men are like me. I’m sure there are some who’d love to get serious with one woman and make a commitment.”

      She tipped her head back and grinned. “Really? Any recommendations?”

      His frown deepened. There was no way he would ever introduce her to any of his friends. Most of them were players, just like him, and his only unmarried brother was too involved with his restaurant to indulge in a serious relationship. His thoughts then fell on his six male cousins, eight now if you counted the most recent additions to the Westmoreland family—the two sons his uncle Corey hadn’t known about until recently. But still, he wouldn’t dare introduce her to any of them either. If she was off-limits to him, then she was off-limits to them, as well.

      “No,” he decided to answer. “There aren’t any I can recommend. Where have you been looking?”

      She chuckled as she went back to her gumbo. “Nowhere lately, since I’m no longer interested. But when I was interested I tried everywhere—bars, clubs, blind dates and I even used the Internet.”

      Storm’s mouth fell open. “The Internet?”

      She smiled at the look of shock on his face. “Yes, the Internet and I have to admit that I thought I had gotten a very promising prospect…until I actually met him. He was at least fifteen years older than the picture he had on the Web site made him seem and instead of having two hands, it seemed he had a dozen. I had to almost deck him a few times for trying to touch me in places that he shouldn’t.”

      Storm’s hands trembled in anger at the thought that she had done something so foolish as to place herself in that situation. No wonder Adam had asked him to look out for her. Now he regretted that he hadn’t done a better job at it. СКАЧАТЬ