Riding the Storm - Brenda Jackson [64]
And now with her standing in the middle of his living room, there was nothing he was itching to do more than to take that dress off her because chances were, like before, the only thing underneath that dress was a pair of thongs. But he knew before they could get to the bedroom, there were issues that needed to be resolved between them.
Sighing, he slowly crossed the distance that separated them and took her hand in his. “Come on, let’s sit down and talk.”
She nodded and then he led her over to the leather sofa and they sat down. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, Jayla, and you’re right. There’s nothing wrong with a woman working outside the home if she wants to do so. The reason I was opposed to it was because years ago, while a senior in high school, I thought I was in love with a girl who threw my love back in my face when I told her of my decision not to go to college but to attend the Firefighters Academy instead. She said that a man without a college education could not properly take care of the needs of his family. When she said that, something snapped inside me and I intended to prove her wrong and, with college or not, I wanted to be a man who could sufficiently provide for all of my family’s needs.”
Jayla nodded. She could see the pride of a man like Storm getting bruised with a woman saying something like that. She sighed, knowing it was time to get rid of her emotional baggage as well.
“Because Dad was so strict on me while I was growing up,” she started off by saying, “I had this thing against marrying a man who I thought would try and control me. But now I see that Dad had the right approach in raising me, or no telling how I might have turned out.”
She inhaled in a deep breath, then added, “I believe all those times I thought I was looking for Mr. Right I failed miserably because it wasn’t time to find my Mr. Right. It wasn’t time until I saw you again in New Orleans.”
Storm lowered his mouth to hers and the kiss he gave her was filled with so much intensity and passion, Jayla couldn’t help the groan that purred from her throat. Nor could she ignore the sudden rush of heat that threatened to consume her entire body as Storm continued to claim her mouth, staking a possession all the way to the darkest recesses of her soul. She kissed him back, putting into the kiss all the love and feeling that he did, claiming his mouth as well and staking her possession.
He pulled back, stood and pulled her into his arms. “Will you marry me, Jayla Cole? Will you love me for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part?”
Tears gathered in Jayla’s eyes. “Yes! Oh, yes! I love you.”
Storm grinned. “And I love you, too.” His gazed locked with hers and smiled. “Tell me again what you see.”
She smiled up at him, knowing it was time to tell him her other news. “I see my Mr. Right…and,” she whispered softly, “I also see the man who is the father of my baby.”
Jayla watched Storm’s expression and knew the exact moment it dawned on him what she’d said. For a moment, he continued to gaze at her, his dark eyes clouded with uncertainty, hope. “Did you just say what I think you said?” he asked breathlessly.
She smiled. If there was any doubt in her mind that he wanted a baby, their baby, it evaporated when she saw the look of sheer happiness in his eyes. “Yes. After taking my physical, I told the doctor that I had changed my mind about the insemination procedure and she said it was a good thing since I was already pregnant.”
Jayla chuckled. “By my calculations, I got pregnant in New Orleans but I still can’t figure out how that happened when I know for certain that protection was used every time we made love.”
Storm laughed. “Yeah, but a condom can only hold so much, sweetheart. When a man is driven to have multiple—”
Jayla placed a finger to Stone