Riding the Storm (4 page)

Maybe
it
had
been
a
blessing
that
she’d
turned
down
his

invitation
to
dinner.
The
last
thing
he
needed
was
to
share
a
meal
with
her.
In
fact,
spending
any
amount
of
time
with
her
would
only
be
asking
for
trouble,
considering
his
attraction
to
her.
He
released
a
moan,
a
deep
throaty
sound,
and

realized
that
the
only
thing
that
had
changed
with
the

situation
was
that
Adam
was
no
longer
alive
to
serve
as
a
buffer
and
a
constant
reminder
of
the
one
woman
he
could
not
have.

“Damn.”

Just
thinking
about
Jayla
sent
a
jolt
of
desire
straight
from
the
bottom
of
his
feet
to
the
top
of
his
head,
leaving
an

aching
throb
in
his
midsection.
Storm
rubbed
a
hand
down
his
face.
Nothing
had
changed.
The
woman
was
still
too

much
temptation.
She’d
been
a
handful
while
growing
up;
Adam
had
been
faced
with
the
challenge
of
raising
his

daughter
alone
after
his
wife
died,
when
Jayla
was
ten.

Adam
had
been
a
strict
father,
too
strict
at
times,
Storm

thought,
but
he’d
wanted
to
keep
his
daughter
safe
and
not
allow
her
to
get
into
the
kind
of
trouble
other
teenagers

were
getting
into.
But
Adam
had
also
been
a
loving
and

caring
father
and
had
always
placed
Jayla
first
in
his
life.
Storm
had
always
admired
the
man
for
that.

Storm’s
thoughts
went
back
to
Jayla
and
the
outfit
she
was
wearing.
It
hadn’t
been
blatantly
sexy,
but
it
had
definitely

captured
his
interest.
But
that
was
as
far
as
he
would
allow
it
to
go,
he
thought
with
a
resigned
sigh.
Jayla
was

definitely
not
his
type.

He
enjoyed
his
freedom-loving
ways
too
much
and
no

matter
what
anyone
thought,
he
knew
the
main
reason
he
lived
a
stress-free
life
was
because
of
his
active
sex
life.
In
his
line
of
business,
you
needed
an
outlet
when
things
got
too
overbearing.
And
as
long
as
he
was
responsible
and
made
sure
all
his
encounters
didn’t
involve
any
health
risks,
he
would
continue
to
engage
in
the
pleasures
of
sex.

Okay,
so
he
would
admit
that
he
was
a
man
with

commitment
issues,
thanks
to
Nicole
Brown.
So
what
if
it
had
been
fifteen
years,
there
were
some
things
a
man

didn’t
forget
and
rejection
was
one
of
them.

He
and
Nicole
had
dated
during
his
senior
year
in
high

school
and
had
even
talked
about
getting
married
when
he
finished
college.
He
would
never
forget
the
night
he
had
told
Nicole
that
his
future
plans
had
changed.
He
decided
that,
unlike
his
brothers,
he
didn’t
want
to
go
to
college.
Instead,
he
wanted
to
stay
in
Atlanta
and
attend
the
Firefighters

Academy.
Nicole
hadn’t
wasted
any
time
in
telling
him
what
she
thought
about
his
plans.
A
man
without
a
college

education
could
not
provide
adequately
for
a
family,
she’d
told
him,
and
had
broken
up
with
him
that
same
night.

He
had
loved
her
and
her
rejection
had
hurt.
It
had
also

taught
him
a
very
valuable
lesson.
Keep
your
heart
to

yourself.
You
could
have
sex
for
sex’s
sake,
but
love
and

marriage
would
never
be
part
of
the
mix.
So
what
if
his

uncle
Corey,
who
had
pledged
to
remain
a
bachelor
for
life,
as
well
as
his
older
brothers
Dare,
Thorn
and
Stone,
had
all
gotten
married
in
less
than
a
year?
That
didn’t
mean
he
or
his
twin
Chase
would
follow
in
their
footsteps.

His
thoughts
shifted
back
to
Nicole.
He
had
seen
her
at
a

class
reunion
a
few
years
back
and
had
been
grateful

things
had
ended
between
them
when
they
had.
After
three
marriages,
she
was
still
looking
for
what
she
considered

the
perfect
man
with
a
good
education
and
plenty
of
money.
She
had
been
surprised
to
learn
that
because
firefighters

made
it
a
point
to
constantly
study
to
improve
their
job

performance
and
prepare
for
promotional
exams,
he
had

eventually
gone
to
college,
taking
classes
at
night
to
earn
a
bachelor’s
degree
in
fire
science
and
later
a
master’s

degree
in
public
administration.

His
thoughts
left
Nicole
and
went
back
to
Jayla.
He

remembered
when
she
had
left
Atlanta
to
attend
a
college
in
the
north.
Adam
had
wanted
her
to
stay
closer
to
home,
but
had
relented
and
let
her
go.
Adam
would
keep
him

updated
on
how
well
she
was
doing
in
school.
He’d
always
been
the
proud
father
and
when
she
had
graduated
at
the
top
of
her
class,
Adam
had
taken
all
the
men
in
his
squad
out
to
celebrate.
That
had
been
four
years
ago….