Riding the Storm - Brenda Jackson [2]
“Your father was a very special man, Jayla, and he meant a lot to me,” he said softly before releasing his grip and taking a step back.
She nodded, putting how intense Storm’s nearness made her feel to the back of her mind while holding back the tears that always flooded her eyes whenever she thought of losing her father to pancreatic cancer. He had died within three months of the condition being diagnosed.
Although while growing up she had thought he was too authoritative at times, he had been a loving father. “And you meant a lot to him, as well, Storm,” she said, through the tightness in her throat. “You were the son he never had.”
She watched him inhale deeply and knew that her words had touched him.
“Promise that if you ever need anything that you’ll call me.”
She sighed, knowing she would have to lie to him for a second time that day. “I will, Storm.”
Evidently satisfied with her answer, he turned and walked away. She watched, transfixed, trying to ignore how the solid muscles of his body yielded beneath the material of his shirt and pants. The last thought that came into her mind before he stepped into the elevator was that he certainly did have a great-looking butt.
When the elevator door swooshed shut, Storm leaned back against the back wall to get his bearings. Seeing Jayla Cole had had one hell of an effect on him. She had been cute and adorable at sixteen, but over the years she had grown into the most breathtaking creature he’d ever set his eyes on.
“Jayla.” He said her name softly, drawing out the sound with a deep, husky sigh. He would never forget the time Adam had invited him to dinner to celebrate Jayla’s return to Atlanta from college. It was supposed to have been a very simple and quiet affair and had ended up being far from it. He had walked into the house and felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. The air had miraculously been sucked from his lungs.
Jayla had become a woman, a very beautiful and desirable woman, and the only thing that had kept him from adding her to his To Do list was the deep respect he’d had for her father. But that hadn’t kept her from occasionally creeping into his dreams at night or from being the lone person on his Would Definitely Do If I Could list.
He sighed deeply. She had the most luscious pair of whiskey-colored eyes he’d ever seen, medium brown hair that shimmered with strands of golden highlights and skin the color of creamy cocoa. He thought the entire combination went far beyond classic beauty. And he hadn’t been able to ignore just how good her body looked in the shorts and tank top she’d been wearing and how great she’d smelled. He hadn’t recognized the fragrance and he’d thought he knew them all.
She had actually trembled when he’d reached out and touched her hand. He’d felt it and her responsiveness to his touch had given his body a jump-start. It had taken everything within him to pretend he wasn’t affected by her. Since he was thirty-two, he calculated that Jayla was now twenty-six. She was now a full-grown woman. All woman. But still there was something about her that radiated an innocence he’d seldom found in women her age. It was her innocence that confused him most. He was an ace at figuring out women, but there was something about her that left him a bit mystified and he couldn’t shake the feeling. But one thing he was certain about—as far as he was concerned, Jayla was still off-limits.
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