Storm Ravaged (Storm Damages 2) (Storm Legacy) (32 page)

“I did it to protect you, damn it, to protect Andrew.”

“I don’t want to be protected. Don’t you understand? I want to know everything that affects me, affects our marriage. Maybe I would have agreed with you, maybe I would have suggested a different path. But no you decided my entire future on your own without once consulting me.”

He breathes heavy, in, out. “I love you.”

Oh, God, this is all I need. A declaration of love. Now. When he’d never said it before. “You don’t love me, Gabriel. You love this woman you’ve created in your mind. The sweet wife who cares for your child, waits for you to come home every night, spreads her legs every night for you. The perfect woman, the perfect mother, the perfect wife. I told you once I wasn’t like that, but of course, you didn’t listen to me. You thought if you wanted something bad enough I would change for you.”

His eyes turn moist, his lids grow red rimmed.

“But don’t you see?” Tears roll down my cheeks and I angrily swipe them away. There’s no room for weakness. Not now. “That would change who I am. I would wither away, day by day, night by night, until I’d become a bitter woman, regretting all the chances I missed. I love you, Gabriel. I do. You brought me so much joy, gave me a son. But I won’t give up on my dreams. Not even for you.”

“Don’t you tell me you love me and then walk away.”

“I have to. Because if I stay, you’ll find some way to change my mind. Oh, yes, I admit, I’m weak when it comes to you.”

“You’ll be miserable without me.”

I hitch up chin. Two can play at this game. “As much as you’ll be without me.”

“Stay and fight for it, damn it, fight for us.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing all these months? I’m tired, Gabriel. I can’t do it any more.”

His chin drops to his chest. He’s run out of ammunition. “Where will you go?”

“Tonight? To a hotel. I’ll look for a permanent place tomorrow. Somewhere close. Thanks to the money you settled on me, I have enough money to buy a decent apartment.”

He raises his head. I don’t like the light in his eyes. “You’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

“Since that day you broke into Sebastian’s office. I’m going to work for him, by the way.”

“Everything’s becoming clear.” He smirks. “Sebastian. He’s a marquis. You’re trading up, aren’t you?”

I punch him in the gut. Hard enough for him to double over. “You bastard. When have I ever given a damn about your title? Until Andrew came along, all I ever cared about was you.”

A myriad of emotions run rampant across his face as he rubs his stomach. That old familiar grin pops up. “If this is your way of showing you care for me, you’re failing miserably at it.”

How can he joke at a time like this? “Goodbye, Gabriel.” I go to move past him, but he grabs my hand.

The grin disappears, replaced by a tight white line to his lips. “Don’t go. Please.”

“I have to. Let go of me.”

He releases my hand. I go to our bedroom, grab a duffle, throw some clothes, toiletries into it. In five minutes, it’s filled. It will have to do until I have time to retrieve the rest of my wardrobe. I retrace my steps through the hallway to the lift. He’s still standing at the entrance to the study, his back to me.

“I’ll be in touch about Andrew.” I choke out, wiping the tears from my face.

He doesn’t say a word.

Chapter 47

______________

Gabriel

UNABLE TO WATCH HER GO, I turn away. Only when I hear the lift bell ding and its door open and close, do I turn back. The space seems so empty like the life has gone out of the place.

What am I going to do without her? She is my life, my soul, my very reason for living. I can’t catch my breath. Desperate for air, I claw at my throat. But all I do is I draw blood.

Breathe you bloody wanker. Breathe.

Darkness beckons as the room closes around me, but in the pit of my despair, a voice emerges.
I love you, Gabriel,
the words she whispered, right before she walked out on me. My throat relaxes and I choke in a breath, cough, take a deeper one. I can win her back. I can. I just need to plan for it. But right now, I need to hold my son, hold something with a connection to her. I walk into the nursery to find nanny changing Andrew.

“Milord? Anything the matter?” Nanny stares at me out of knowing eyes.

“No. No.”

Andrew stares at me. Green eyes, so much like hers. There’s nothing of me in Andrew. He is all Elizabeth. My son will remind me of her the rest of my life. “Has he been fed?”

“Yes, milord and changed.”

“Give him to me.” Holding Andrew, I trudge to my bedroom, lock the door, and crawl into bed with him.

I cradle him against my chest and soothe his upset. “Don’t cry, darling boy. We’ll get her back, you’ll see.” Only then do I realize the tears on my face don’t belong to my son. They belong to me.

Somehow, I drift off to sleep. Not a surprise, I haven’t slept in three days. And, of course, in my dreams, I dream of her. Her gardenia scent drifts into the room. How can that be? I locked the door.

“Come, darling boy,” she says, “you’re coming with me.”

The bed dips as she takes Andrew. I struggle to wake up, but my body refuses to obey.

“Where are you taking him?” I mumble, mostly asleep.

“I have him. He’s safe.”

Satisfied with the answer, I dream of happier days. Elizabeth, the first time we made love. Elizabeth, striking me stupid on our wedding day. Elizabeth, holding our son the day he was born and smiling at me. The dreams allow me to get the rest I need, while I sleep the sleep of the dead.

Hours later, I wake up to the harsh reality of day and come face to face with my nightmare.

Future Releases

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About the Author

Magda Alexander loves piña coladas and walks in the rain. Okay, enough of that. Rewind.

Magda loves reading steamy romances which she’s been doing since she was ten. Ummm, that’s not quite true. Steamy romances did not
exist
when she was ten, and if they had, she’s pretty sure her mother would not have allowed her to read them. She did read the hand-holding, longing-glances kind, along with her catechism, which got her into trouble more than once. Mother Superior was
not
amused.

Anyhoo, as soon as sexy romances came into existence, thank you Rosemary Rogers, she’s been lapping them up. So when it came time to write one, guess what she wrote. A no-brainer, right?

If you’re still with me, thank you for reading STORM RAVAGED! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other people find this book by: 1. Writing a review at Amazon and Goodreads; 2. Signing up for my mailing list (see below) so you can find out about the next book as soon as it's available and giveaways; and 3. Liking my Facebook Author page (also below) so I can tell you about my next book. Is there an echo in here?

P.S. Magda really does like piña coladas and walks in the rain, along with . . . Oh, why bore you with all the details. You can read about them on her Facebook Author page.

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Acknowledgments

I’ve been singularly blessed by, first and foremost, my critique group, the Crit Divas, Sariah Aarons, Lexa Chase, Lula Diamond, Teresa Hearl, Loni Lynne, and A. Palmer. Without them, this book would not exist. Second, I’m grateful for my family, including my in laws. They’ve been a constant source of support after the publication of STORM DAMAGES, even if half of them are shocked by the “sexy stuff.” Last, but certainly not least, to the many readers who fell in love with STORM DAMAGES. You not only wrote great reviews, but were a constant source of joy and motivation while I wrote STORM RAVAGED. I offer my gratitude to each and every one of you.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Magda Alexander.
Cover Design: Magda Alexander
Cover Photograph: Conrado/

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The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status of the following items/ brands, etc. mentioned within this work of fiction: Mercedes Benz, Four Seasons, GQ Magazine, Guinness, Jaguar, Washington Nationals, Washington Redskins, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Courvoisier, Macallan, Chanel, Valentino, Dior, Jell-O.

Magda Alexander, Publisher
First Edition: January 2014