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He reached out and pulled her back to him, capturing her mouth at the same time he picked her up in his arms and walked toward the bed. He placed her in the center of it and tumbled down beside her, his hands immediately going to her camisole to remove it from her body.
He sucked in air through clenched teeth when he pulled back and looked down at her, completely naked. At that moment he felt an unbearable desire to feel his mouth on her skin. Leaning toward her, his tongue traced a path down her neck to her breasts, where it stopped and drew a hard, budding nipple into his mouth and feasted, licking, sucking.
He felt her tremble again and heard the purring sound that came from deep within her throat. She wanted more and was letting him know it. He took his hand and ran it across the flat of her stomach, moving lower until he found the moist heat of her. He touched her there, glorying in her dampness. Deftly, expertly, his fingers went to work.
Jayla felt her breath rushing in and out of her lungs. Although there was light in the room and her eyes were open, she felt her world was on the edge of blackness. She felt light-headed, dizzy, dazed, and she was feeling things that she’d never felt before. Storm’s fingers were driving her out of her mind, and what his mouth was doing to her breasts was pure torture. Her body felt hot, on fire, in need of something it had never had before, but something it desperately needed.
She groaned deep in her throat. It was either that or scream out loud. So she clamped her mouth shut, but couldn’t stop from releasing a sound that was alien to her ears. At the moment, nothing mattered but the feel of Storm’s mouth and hands on her.
“I can’t wait any longer,” she heard him say, as he eased away from her. She watched as he stood next to the bed and quickly removed his shirt, almost tearing off the buttons in the process. Then he wasted no time in removing his pants and briefs. She continued to watch him when, with the expertise of a man who had done it many times before, he ripped the condom from the packet he had taken from his pant pockets and slid it over his erection.
She blinked at the size of him and before she could form the words to let him know of her virginal state, he had returned to the bed, pulled her into his arms and captured her mouth with his, once again giving in to the thirst of her desire; a desire that only he could quench. Want and need spiraled through her, making blood pump fast and furious through her veins. It seemed his mouth and hands were everywhere. Her insides were churning, her stomach was spinning and her brain had turn to mush. She didn’t know what was driving him, but whatever the source, it was driving her, too. She felt the tip of his erection pressing against the entrance to her feminine mound in such a way that beckoned her to part her legs for him.
Then he kissed her again, long, hard, as his tongue plowed hers in breath-stealing strokes. She savored all the things he was doing to her, all the ways he was making her feel and wondered if the feelings would ever end, hoping and praying that they wouldn’t, yet at the same thing knowing there was something else she needed, something she had to have.
She felt him place his body over hers, felt the strength of his thighs entwining with hers and relished the strong beat of his heart against her breasts. He lifted her hips into his hands.
He broke off their kiss and met her gaze, looked down at her the moment he pushed himself inside of her, with one deep, hard thrust. Her body stiffened and she gasped as a surge of pain ripped through her.
He immediately went still as total disbelief lined his features. “Jayla?”
Her name was a low rumble from deep within his throat. She saw the shock that flared in his eyes and felt the tension coiling within him. A spurt of panic swept through her at the thought that he wouldn’t finish what he’d started, so she decided to take action.
“Don’t ask,” she said, then leaned upward and recaptured his mouth with hers. Her hands clutched at his shoulders and her legs wrapped solidly around him, locking him in place. She felt his resistance and began kissing him in all the ways he had kissed her that night, letting her tongue tangle relentlessly with his. He slowly began moving, easing in and out her, claiming her, taking her, making love to her in a way she always dreamed that lovemaking was supposed to be. The only thought on her mind was the strength of him driving back and forth, rocking her world and sending her over the edge. She knew she would remember every moment of this night for as long as she lived.
A groan eased from Storm’s lips as Jayla’s body met his, stroke for stroke. His hand reached down and lifted her hips to him for a closer fit, as if they weren’t already close enough. She was tight, sensuously so, and his body surged in and out of hers, back and forth, massaging her insides the same way and with the same rhythm that her breasts were massaging his chest.
He had recovered from shock at discovering she’d been a virgin and decided since he was the one initiating her into lovemaking, that he would do it right. And the little whimpering sounds coming from her lips told him that he was definitely making an impact.
“Storm…”
He felt her body jerk at the same time she pressed her head into his shoulder to stifle a scream. The intensity of her climax jolted him, nearly stealing his breath before he followed her in his own release, yanked into the strongest and most mindless orgasm he had ever experienced in his entire life. And it was destined to be the longest…or perhaps he was having multiples, back to back. There was no way to tell since the earth-shattering sensations were hitting him all at once in every form and from every possible angle. The feeling was unique, incredible, out of this world and once in a lifetime. He hadn’t expected this and was caught off guard by the magnitude of what was happening to him. He was being hurled into something he had never before experienced.
“Jayla!”
Her name was torn from his lips and he threw his head back as he continued to pump rapidly into her when he felt another climax claim him—his third, possibly a fourth. With a growl that came low from deep within his throat, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her mouth as his body continued to tumble into oblivion, and he knew what they had shared was nothing short of heaven.
“I did as you requested and didn’t ask then, but I’m asking now, Jayla.”
Storm’s words gave her pause. She let out a deep breath and wondered why he couldn’t be one of those men who just accepted things as they were?
She looked up at him and saw the intensity in the depth of his dark eyes. She also saw the impressive shape of his lips and his well-toned, broad chest that was sprinkled with dark curly hair. And it wasn’t helping matters that they were both naked in bed, with him leaning on his elbow and looming over her. She closed her eyes and shook her head. The man was too handsome for his own good…or for hers.
“Tell me,” he whispered, then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her bare shoulder. “Tell me why, in this day and age, a twenty-six year old woman would still be a virgin.”
She met his gaze. “Because women in this day and age have choices,” she said slowly, then asked. “Have you ever taken a love compatibility quiz?”
Storm arched his brow. “A what?”
She smiled at the confused look on his face. “A love compatibility quiz. There’s a site on the Internet where you can go and take this quiz if you’re looking for Mr. or Miss Right. Well, after a few dates with losers—men who lacked confidence but had plenty of arrogance and who also acted as if it was a foregone conclusion that our date would end in my bed—I decided to take the quiz and my results indicated that my Mr. Right didn’t exist.”
Storm frowned down at her. Would he ever understand women? “You’ve been avoiding a serious relationship because of some quiz?”
“Pretty much…yes. I discovered like oil and water, me and relationships don’t mix because I have a low tolerance when it comes to men who expect too much too soon.”
It took Storm a minute to analyze everything she’d said. “What about those guys you dated off the Internet?”
Jayla released a single, self-deprecating chuckle. “That was my way of trying to prove the quiz wrong. From then on, I never wasted my time going on a guy hunt.”
“But…but didn’t you date in college?” Storm sputtered. Why hadn’t her going off to college assured her returning to town with her hymen no longer intact?
She smiled again, a bit sadly this time. “Yes, but unfortunately, not long after I got there I met a guy name Tyrone Pembroke.”
“What happened? He broke your heart?”
She chuckled derisively. “On the contrary. Actually he did me a favor by showing me just what jerks some guys were. He opened my eyes to the games they played, games I wasn’t interested in. After Ty, I made it a point not to get serious about any one guy and since I wasn’t into casual sex, I never felt pressured into sleeping with anyone.”
Storm nodded. “So why now and why with me?
To Jayla’s way of thinking, that was an easy question. “Because of timing. I know you and I like you. I also know your position on relationships. I’m not looking for anything beyond what we shared tonight and neither are you, right?”
Storm held her gaze. “Right.” The last thing he needed was a clingy woman who wanted to occupy his time. Still, although he didn’t want to feel it, he felt a special connection to Jayla since he had been her first. He couldn’t recall ever taking a woman’s virginity before.
“Now that I’ve answered your question, do you think I can get some sleep? I’m exhausted.” Jayla asked softly.
Storm glanced down at her. Was she dismissing him? “Do you want me to leave?”
She smiled. “Actually…” she began, as she snuggled closer to him. “I was hoping you’d want to stay all night.”
A grin spread across Storm’s lips. Hell, yeah, he wanted to stay all night. “I think that can be arranged,” he told her as he leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. “Excuse me for a second while I go into the bathroom to take care of something. I’ll be right back.”
“All right.”
There was just enough light in the darkened room to let Jayla admire Storm’s nude form as he crossed the room to the bathroom. She inhaled deeply as heated sensations shot through her. He’d been the perfect lover. He was confident, secure in who he was, but not arrogant. She felt tired and yet exhilarated at the same time. Slightly sore, but still smoldering from his lovemaking. Funny how things worked out. Storm was the man she’d been trying to get to notice her since the time she had started noticing boys. She was beginning to believe the cliché that good things came to those who wait. Now timing had not only finally worked for them, it was working against them as well. At any other time, she would have loved to take what she’d shared with Storm tonight to a whole other level, but not now. What she had needed was him out of her system so she could focus on the baby.
Her baby.
“I’m back.”
Her nipples peaked in instant response to his words. She watched as he made a casual stroll over to the bed, totally at ease with his naked state. Seeing him that way stirred up desires within her again and she no longer felt as tired as she had earlier.
“Do you want me to prepare you some bath water to soak in for a while before you go off to sleep?” he asked coming to sit on the side of the bed next to where she lay. “If you don’t, you might wake up feeling a lot sorer than you probably do now.”
Jayla leaned back against her pillow, seriously doubting that most men were as considerate as Storm was being. She pressed her lips together, liking his suggestion. “You’re right, a soak in the tub sounds wonderful.”
He smiled as he stood up. “I’ll be back when your bath is ready.”
“All right.”
Again she watched him cross the room, finding it hard to tear her gaze from the sight of him, especially his tight behind. She smiled, feeling downright giddy at the thought that he’d agreed to spend the night with her. She might as well stretch this out for as far as she could because when they returned to Atlanta, things would be different. She would go her way and he would go his. They would both resume a life that had nothing to do with each other. He would go back to being a hero by fighting his fires and saving lives and she would eagerly prepare for the most lifealtering experience she’d ever encountered—pregnancy.
“Ready?”
Hearing the sound of his voice, she glanced across the room. A thick surge of desire shot through her veins at the sight of him leaning in the doorway, naked and aroused. If she wasn’t ready, he certainly was.
“Yes, I’m ready,” she said, barely able to voice the words. She moved to get out of bed and then he was there, sweeping her up into his arms. The heat of his skin seeped through the heat of hers and the feeling was electrifying. She immediately knew the meaning of the words raging hormones. Hers were totally out of control. She quickly decided that she needed to get back in control of things.
“I can walk, Storm.”
“Yes, but I want to carry you. That’s the least I can do.”
She clamped her lips tight, deciding not to tell him that he had done quite a lot. He had turned their night into more than a one-night stand. It had become a romantic interlude, one she would remember for the rest of her life.
As he carried her into the bathroom, her breasts tingled from the contact with his skin. And when he leaned down, shifting her in his arms to place her into the bubbly water, sliding her body down his, the sensations that rocketed through her almost took her breath away.
“The water might be a little warmer than what you’re used to, but it will be good for your muscles,” he said, in a voice that let her know he, too, had been affected by the contact of their bare skin touching.
She nodded as he placed her in the water. He was right. The water was warm, but it immediately felt good to her body. She glanced up at him as he stood beside the tub looking down at her. She tried to keep her attention on the top part of his body and not the lower part. “You seem to be good at this, Westmoreland. Is this how you treat all your virgins?”
He chuckled and his gaze captured hers. “Believe it or not, I’ve never done a virgin before.”
She lifted a brow. “Never?”
His smile widened. “No. never. You’re my first, just like I was your first.”
Jayla watched as his features shifted into a serious expression as if he had to really think about what he’d just said for a moment. “Do you need my help?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “No, I can manage. Thanks.”
He nodded. “Call me when you’re ready to get out.”
She smiled. “Storm, really, I can manage things.”
“Yeah, I know you can but I want you to call me anyway.” Then he left, closing the door behind him.
Storm poured himself a glass of ice water and tipped it to his mouth, wishing it was something stronger but appreciating the cool liquid as it soothed his dry throat.
He had sworn off having anything to do with Jayla years ago; yet now, after finally making love to her, he was aching so badly for her again that it actually hurt. To make matters worse, the taste of her was still strong on his tongue and, before he could contain himself, he groaned, which was followed by a growl that erupted from deep within his throat. Jayla Cole had no idea just what a desirable and sexy woman she was. Even being a novice at making love, she was every man’s fantasy. He could see her attracting the wrong kind of men and felt a heartfelt sense of pride, as well as relief, that she had kept her head on straight and had not been taken in by any of them.
But was he any better? His no-commitment, hands-on-but-hearts-off, no-strings-attached policy left a lot to be desired, but he and Jayla had been struck by that unique kind of passion that had sent her straight into his arms and had propelled him unerringly into her bed.
And he had no regrets.
Frowning, Storm took another huge swallow of water. No woman had ever gotten to him like this. It was time for him to start building a defense to the passion she aroused in him. He pulled on his pants and did his best to reorder his chaotic thoughts and unruly emotions.
He heard a sound and turned around. Jayla was standing in the doorway wearing one of the hotel’s complimentary bathrobes. His heart fluttered as he assessed her from head to toe. She looked refreshed. She looked incredible, blatantly sexy. With a steadying breath, he asked, “Why didn’t you call me when you were ready to get out of the tub?”
She smiled and his pulse kicked up a notch. “Because although I was tempted, it wouldn’t be a good idea to start becoming dependent on you.”
For him, it wasn’t an issue of dependency. He’d known she could manage on her own but he had wanted to be there to help her anyway. There was something about her that pulled at his protective instincts…among other things. “Do you feel better?”
“Yes,” Jayla said, blowing out a ragged breath as her gaze roamed over him, noticing that he had put his pants back on. What a shame. She was beginning to get used to seeing him naked.
She met his gaze again and couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were dark, very dark, and her body’s reaction to it was spontaneous. “I, ah, need to get a nightgown out the drawer,” she said in a voice that sounded soft and husky even to her ears. She swallowed deeply when he slowly crossed the room to her.
“Have you ever slept in the nude?” he said, reaching out, opening her robe and sliding his hands over her bare skin, beginning with her waist, moving to her hips and then reaching around to cup her bottom.
“Ah, no,” she said, barely getting the words out.
He gave her that killer smile. “Would you like to try it? I can’t think of anything I’d like better than to have your naked body next to mine all night.”
A small purring sound left Jayla’s throat when he leaned forward and his tongue licked the area underneath her right ear, then the left. A sensuous shudder ran all through her, and she thought that a woman could definitely become dependent on his kind of treatment. And then she ceased to think at all when he stopped messing around with her ears and shifted his focus, opening his mouth hotly over hers.
Images of how intimate they’d been less than an hour ago flooded her mind. They had been together in bed with him on top of her, their legs entwined, their bodies connected while making love the same way they had done numerous times in her dreams. But this was no dream; it was reality. And the scent of his body heat and the sound of his breathing while he was kissing her did more than stir up her desire; it was stroking her with an intensity that shook her to the core, forging past those emotions she kept tightly guarded.
The thought that Storm was seeping through the barriers she’d set around her emotions disturbed Jayla, but she was too absorbed in the way his tongue was stroking the insides of her mouth to worry about it. This kiss was so full of greed and sensuality that she could feel the air crackling around them, and she was returning with equal vigor everything he was putting into their kiss.
And then slowly, reluctantly, he pulled back and his gaze locked to hers. “So, do we get naked?”
She swallowed. The huskiness in his voice made her want to do a lot more than get naked. “Yes,” she managed to get out in a shaky breath.
“Good,” he murmured, then reached up and pushed the robe off her shoulders, letting it fall in a heap at her feet. “Let’s go back to bed.”
Taking her hand into his, he lifted it to his lips and placed a warm kiss against the center of her palm. And then he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. He placed her in the middle and then stood back to remove his pants.
Jayla watched him while thinking that nothing, other than a fire alarm going off, could distract her at that moment. She wanted to see every inch of him again, especially that part that had given her so much pleasure. He kept his gaze on her as he slowly eased down his pants. Then she watched as he pulled a condom packet out of his pants and went through the process of sheathing himself.
When he had finished, he glanced over at her and smiled. “Although I don’t plan for us to do anything but sleep, there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe.”
She sighed and it took a lot of effort to concentrate on his words and not on him. “Umm, yes, that’s smart thinking.”
He quickly got into the bed, pulled her into his arms and felt her shiver. “You’re cold?” he asked in a low, husky voice.
She shook her head. “No, quite the contrary. I’m hot.”
He smiled. “I know a way to cool you off,” he said, shifting his position to reach down between her legs to slide his fingers back and forth through her feminine curls.
She closed her eyes and moaned as he slowly but thoroughly began stroking a fire within her. “I—I don’t think that’s helping, Storm,” she murmured, barely able to get the words out.
“Sure it is,” he whispered close to her ear. “Just relax, feel and enjoy.”
And she did.
His fingers literally drove her crazy. The sensation of his fingertips as they intimately skimmed her feminine folds at a sensuously maddening and erratic pace had her purring and moaning.
She made the mistake of opening her eyes and meeting his gaze. Something she saw in the depths of his eyes took her breath away. Her senses suddenly became filled with an emotion that caused a tightening in her chest at the same time that her body lost control, exploded. The sensations that shot through her made her cry out, call his name and then he was capturing her mouth with his, kissing her deeply while he continued to skim the tip of his fingers between her legs.
Moments later, she felt her body become weak and she could barely reclaim her breath as he cuddled her limp body next to his, holding her tightly. She knew if she wasn’t careful, that she was going to fall—
