After the Storm (All I've Ever Needed) Read Online Free PDF

a deep voice and a much more pronounced Trinidadian accent than Natalie’s.   The man had left no message, just said that he would see her at home later.
    When he had informed her of the call, hoping that she’d shed some light on the man’s identity, she had just thanked him politely.   The man had been equally tight-lipped months later when Stephano had answered her phone when she had stepped away from her desk to grab a cup of coffee, just saying to tell her Nathan had called.
    Stephano had wanted to kick himself for not immediately grabbing her once he’d broken things off with Renata.   Then last Thursday he had eavesdropped as Morgan had asked Natalie how she planned to spent her weekend.   She’d would give her house a thorough clean on Saturday as usual, she’d replied, and attend an art exhibition with her brother Nathan and his fiancée on Sunday.
    Nathan!   Of course he’s her brother!
    Stephano had realized belatedly that he’d missed the similarity of their names.   He had been so stunned by the man saying that he would see Natalie at home later, his mind had conquered only one interpretation.   On reflection he realized that Natalie’s accent did deepen when she was on her mobile phone talking to family members.   Sometimes she called her parents ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’.   He’d chuckled silently when he’d first heard her do it, but he had somehow gotten used to the fact now.
    He’d barely refrained from punching the air with glee on hearing that the man was not his competition.   They both had busy weekends, so he would make his move on his return from Harry’s wedding, he’d decided.   Then she had hurt her wrist and all his protective instincts had been awakened as he’d gone rushing to her aid.
    He had never touched her silky skin before, except for a brief handshake on her first day of work and he had marveled at the texture, neither had he ever been close enough to smell her subtle perfume.   It had gone to his head like wine, laying waste to all his plans.
    He knew most women liked to wined and dined, before having sex with a man.   He hoped that Natalie didn’t feel cheap because he had done neither.   Even though they knew each other pretty well as work colleagues, she was more reserved than any woman he’d ever dated.   He’d prepared himself for the months of waiting before she slept with him, never anticipating the fire under her cool exterior.
    He was still stunned that he hadn’t used protection.   He no longer walked around with condoms in his back pockets as he had done as a teenager, but he ensured that he prepared if there was a likelihood that he would engage in sexual activity.   But lust had hit him like a fist that Friday and at no point, from kissing Natalie’s wrist to coming harder than he had done in years, had he thought about protection.
    Despite what she said, he knew that she’d wanted him as much as he wanted her.   The proof had been there in her rapid response to his touch.
    It would be tough, but he would back off a little and allow her some space, a chance to miss him a little.   A week, no more than two, and then he was going in for the kill.
    ***
    Natalie reached over, turned the radio on and grabbed the topmost of the pile of brand-new romance novels on her bedside table.   She snuggled deeper under her vanilla-scented duvet, just leaving her face and her hand outside.   It was cold and she needed her morning coffee, but she was too lazy to get up.   The central heating would come automatically on in an hour at eight, and she needed to reduce her caffeine intake, anyway.
    She re-read the blurb of the interracial romance novel before she turned it over and admired the picture of the couple on the cover.   She had always loved the subgenre, but never in a million years had she imagined that she would contemplate one of her own.   Sometimes the couples in the novels had to go through a lot for the sake of their love and she often