His words, spoken low and in a husky tone, intruded into her thoughts. She glanced around and saw that the riverboat had returned to the Toulouse Street Wharf. “We returned sooner than I thought we would,” she said, forcing down the lump of disappointment that suddenly appeared in her throat.
“We’ve been cruising the Mississippi for over three hours,” he said, returning the irrepressible smile that had recently vanished from his lips. “Don’t you think it’s time we got back?”
She shrugged, wondering if he’d gotten bored with her already. Without saying a word, she stood and began gathering up the debris from their meal. He reached out and stopped her. She looked up and met his gaze.
“I’m not one of those men who expects a woman to clean up after him.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. His hand was still on hers, holding it immobile, and she could feel the sensuous heat from his touch all the way down to her toes. She pressed her lips together to fight back the moan that threatened to escape. How could he overpower her senses in such a way that she couldn’t think straight?
Frowning, she blew out an aggravated breath as she pulled her hand from his and resumed what she was doing. “I don’t consider it as cleaning up after you, Storm. It’s an old habit. Whenever Dad and I ate together, I always cleared the table afterward. We had a deal. He cooked and I cleaned.”
“Really?” he asked, studying her intently as his lips quirked into a smile. “And why was that? Can’t you cook?”
She glanced up at him and the deep dimples in his cheeks did things to her insides that were totally beyond her comprehension. She figured it would have been a lot easier for her to understand if she wasn’t a twenty-six year old virgin. While in college she’d almost gone all the way with a senior guy by the name of Tyrone Pembrooke. But his roommate had returned unexpectedly, interrupting things. For her, it had been fortunate since she’d later discovered he had made a bet with his fraternity brothers that he would get into her panties in a week’s time. She had almost learned too late that the name the senior guys had given the freshman girls was fresh meat.
“Yes, I can cook,” she finally answered Storm. “Dad loved home cooking. He thought food wasn’t worth eating if it wasn’t made from scratch. He just couldn’t get into those little microwave dinners that I was an expert at preparing.”
Storm chuckled as he helped her gather up the remaining items off the table. “Hey, I can understand your father’s pain since I like home-cooked food, too.”
They walked over to the garbage container and tossed in their trash. “You cook for yourself every day?” Jayla asked as they headed toward the lower deck to depart.
“No. Since my shifts run twenty-four on and forty-eight off, I eat at the station when I’m working and the days I’m off I eat at Chase’s Place, my brother’s restaurant.”
She nodded, remembering that his twin brother, Chase Westmoreland, owned a restaurant in downtown Atlanta. It was a really popular place; she had been to it several times and always found the food delicious. She glanced down at her watch. “When we get back to the hotel, it will be nap time for me.”
“Umm, not for me. There’s still more for me to see. I think I’ll go check out that club on Bourbon Street that’s located right next to the drugstore. I hear they have good entertainment.”
Jayla lifted a brow. She knew exactly what club he was referring to, since a group of the guys who’d also attended the convention had visited there. And if what she’d heard about it was true, its only entertainment was of the striptease kind. She frowned wondering why the thought of Storm watching women bare all bothered her. Why did men fail to realize that there was more to a woman than what was underneath her clothes?
“Well, I hope you enjoy yourself,” she said. Her tone had been more curt than she had intended.
“Oh, trust me, I will.”
And she knew, just as clearly as he’d said it, that he would.
Three
Storm was having a lousy time, but when he glanced over at his cousin Ian, it was evident that he was enjoying himself. Ian had contacted him last night and told him that The Delta Princess would be making a stop in New Orleans and suggested they meet for drinks at this club.
A few seconds later, Ian must have felt him staring and looked over at him. “What’s the matter with you, Storm?”
Storm decided to be honest. “I’m bored.”
Ian lifted a brow. “How can you be bored looking at women take off their clothes?”
He shrugged. “It all looks basically the same.”
A smile curved the corners of Ian’s lips. “Well, yeah, I would hope so.”
Storm couldn’t help but return the smile. He and Ian were first cousins—their fathers were brothers. While growing up, they had always been close. They were the same age and one thing they’d always had in common was their appreciation of the opposite sex. Storm wasn’t surprised that his cousin thought the fact that his lack of interest in women stripping naked was strange.
“Okay, who is she?”
Storm looked confused. “Who’s who?”
“The woman who’s ruined your interest in other women.”
Storm frowned. He glared at Ian. “Where on earth did you get a crazy idea like that from? No one has ruined my interest in other women.”
Ian met his glare. “And I say you’re lying.”
Storm released a frustrated sigh. Ian was damn lucky he hadn’t hauled off and hit him. But that was his brother Thorn’s style. Thorn was known for his moody, ready-to-knock-the-hell-out-of-you temperament. At least, that had been his attitude until he’d gotten married. Now Tara had unruffled Thorn’s feathers and the last few times he’d seen him, Thorn had actually been easygoing. Marriage had certainly made a happy man out of Thorn, as well as his brothers Dare and Stone. Storm found it downright sickening. He’d also been curious as to why his brothers were smiling all the time. As far as he was concerned, they weren’t getting anything at home that he wasn’t getting out there in the streets.
Or were they?
“I can’t believe you just sat there calmly after I called you a liar, so it must be true,” Ian said, taking another sip of his beer.
Storm rolled his eyes. “I just don’t feel like knocking the hell out of you right now Ian, so back off.” What he preferred not to let his cousin know was that he had pretty much hit on the truth. For the time being, Jayla had ruined him for other women and he couldn’t understand why. He certainly hadn’t ever been intimate with her and he never ever intended to be. And yet, here he was bored to death at the sight of these half-clad dancers, while the thought of Jayla taking off her clothes made him break into a sweat.
“Want another drink, cuz?”
He glanced over at Ian. What he wanted was to go back to the hotel and call Jayla to see what she was doing. “No, I’ll pass. When will you be back in Atlanta?”
Ian leaned back in his chair and smiled. “In a few weeks. I promised Tara I’d be in town for that charity ball she’s working on. Why?”
“I’ll check you out then.” Storm stood and tossed a couple of bills on the table. “I’ll let Uncle James and Aunt Sarah know you’re doing okay.”
Ian nodded. “And for heaven’s sake if Mom asks if I was with a woman when you saw me, please say yes. With your brothers getting married, she’s starting to look at us kind of funny.”
Storm grinned. His mother was beginning to look at him and Chase kind of funny, too. He glanced around the room before turning his attention back