Read Online Tropical Storm by Stefanie Graham - Free Book Online Page A

the reason they had resurfaced was because ofStorm. She was disrupting his equilibrium. If he wanted to return to a normal life, he had to get her off his island and fast.
    Unable to go back to sleep and not due at the hotel until the afternoon, Cairo got up early, swam in theturquoise blue sea to clear his head and then headed for the summit. His feet nearly flew over the terrain in his haste to get there. He had a lot of thinking to do and he couldn’t think of a better place to do it; as it was, he had been gone too long. He was smiling by the time he was near the top of the summit. When he got there the smile abruptly left his face.
    “What the hell are you doing here?” The words came out one-decibel shy of a roar.
    The intruder looked down at herself in her short shorts and baby tee with her body oiled for maximum effect, and her limbs strategically draped across a beach towel and said, “I’m relaxing and enjoying the sun. What does it look like?” Storm answered smoothly as she shifted position so her long legs and toned thighs were displayed to their best advantage.
    Cairo stomped forward. “It looks like your damn well trespassing to me.” She must have bribed half the hotel staff to find his sanctuary. Did his employees think he would welcome the intrusion? They were wrong. Everyone knew this was his private domain. It was where he was happiest.
    “Why are you here?” He felt his jaw clenching.
    “I told you already, I came to relax.” Storm responded her expression appearing less certain than when the conversation first started.
    “No, I mean why are you here on my island? Why are you back in my life? I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work. I don’t want to have anything to do with you.” Somewhere deep inside Cairo knew he was overreacting but he couldn’t stop himself. “I left you and New York for a reason. You already have everything you want. You have a rich husband, a child and enough money in the bank to make most people happy for a lifetime. Why must you have me too? I don’t want you, Jessica. I’ll never want you again. Your so-called love nearly killed me the first time and I will not let you poison me with it again.” He pointed to the surrounding area. “This is all that I have. This island and this summit are mine. I won’t let your presence taint and destroy it.” Cairo said furiously finally giving full rein to his temper.
    Jumping up to her feet, Storm confronted him. “Why so much venom, Cairo? We were young. Barely more than teenagers!” she yelled. “What did we know about love? What did I know about fighting for what I wanted? I came to make peace. Is that too much to ask? Don’t you have any more love left in you?” She challenged her hands planted firmly on her hips.
    “Love? No, I don’t have any more love left in me. Not for you.” His words were cold. “The only things I love you have come to destroy and I won’t let you succeed. This is my place, my sanctuary.” He flung his hands out to encompass the landscape around them. “They must have told you at the hotel that it’s special to me but you had to come anyway. You had to ruin it for me.”
    “Cairo, I’m sorry,” she said gathering her things. “I didn’t know it meant so much to you. They told me that you came up here because it was beautiful. I simply wanted to see why.”
    Cairo thought he heard sincerity in her voice but he was too raw to care. Storm had tainted hisEden; he had to deal with that.
    “Cairo, will you accept my apology?” She asked coming up to him.
    Cairo looked at her and turned away. “Enjoy the summit, Jessica.”
    “Wait!” Storm said holding on to his arm. “Don’t go,” she said gathering the last of her things. “I’ll leave. It’s your summit, I won’t intrude again.”
    The dark chocolate of Cairo’s eyes glowed.
    “Everything you touch, you destroy. The summit is just another one of those things. Don’t bother leaving, it’s all