Storm Ravaged (Storm Damages 2) (Storm Legacy) (9 page)

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Gabriel

ON THE WAY TO THE FOUR SEASONS, I keep her close to me. Everything changed once the doctor confirmed our child’s a boy. And Liz has no idea of the ramifications of that fact. I must be careful when I explain things to her. She’s resisting me. Resisting my offer of marriage. Resisting the move to a place where I can keep her and our child safe. And I won’t have that.

“If it’s okay with you, we can order from the hotel menu and have dinner here tonight,” Taking the raincoat she insisted on retrieving from the front seat, I hang it up on the foyer closet.

After she drops her purse and briefcase alongside it, she turns back to me, arms crossed. “Stop handling me and tell me what’s going on, Gabriel.”

This discussion will take a while, so I take her by the elbow and lead her to one of the three sofas in the living room. “The last time we met, you let slip my mother’s name, intimating she was the reason you couldn’t accept my proposal.”

She takes a deep breath, slowly lets it out. “You didn’t approach her, did you?” Her bravado drains out of her as fear, confusion cloud her gaze. She’s afraid of what my mother would do, afraid for me. My heart spills over with tenderness for this woman I can’t remember.

“No. Not her. I talked to her maid, Tilly, and got the truth out of her.” She’s shaking with emotion, probably fearing the worst. I pick up one of her hands, hold it my own, to lend her my warmth. “I know my mother blackmailed you. She demanded you break up with me in exchange for her silence about my father.”

Her hand clenches in mine. “You know about your father?”

“That he pushed my tutor down the stairs, killing him? Yes. I know. Mr. Snipes was a sadist who enjoyed inflicting pain on me. I don’t condone murder, but I don’t blame my father for his actions.”

“And you’re not upset about your father’s crime?”

“No.” I let out a breath, releasing the tension I’ve carried since Tilly’s revelations. Only now, when speaking to Liz, do I realize I’m speaking the truth. I’m not upset, at least not about what my father did. “What I’m angry about is my mother using that information to blackmail you. She kept that secret until she could use it to her advantage and saw her chance with you. But there’s one thing I don’t understand. Why didn’t you come to me? Tell me what she’d asked of you?”

She shakes her head and her gorgeous hair tumbles loose around her shoulders, the way it did right here weeks ago.

My hands itch to twine a finger around a curl, pull, and urge her close to me. But that must wait. For now.

“I couldn’t take the chance. She would have destroyed your family, ruined Storm Industries.”

“So you terminated our relationship and returned to the States.”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t tell me you were pregnant with my child.”

“No.”

“Did you think I would never find out?” How could she believe such a thing? Sooner or later, my sister was bound to tell me.

“Other than your mother, Brianna was the only one who knew. I hoped she would keep quiet about the baby.”

And Brianna had, while I convalesced. But once I’d begun to heal, she’d sat me down and explained about my infatuation with Liz and the child we’d created. It’s not hard to see why I became attracted to her. With her lush hair, green bewitching eyes, she’s truly lovely, And even now, with her body fertile with my child, the luscious curves of her body tempt me. To touch. To taste. To possess.

“I’m glad Brianna didn’t keep your secret, love.” My hand curls around her jaw, I thumb the soft satin of her cheek. The thought my mother could and would damage her, injure our child, stabs at me. I won’t allow it, no matter what measures I need to take.

Her hands clench on her lap as her eyes telegraph desperation. “But what’s to stop your mother from spilling that secret? She can still harm you, Gabriel, destroy Storm Industries.”

“No. She won’t be able to use that secret anymore. I sent Tilly away, and she’s the only witness to the crime. Without Tilly to back up her claims, no one will take her seriously. Not after so many years of silence.”

“But something has happened with your mother, hasn’t it? Please tell me what’s going on.” Should have known she’d put two and two together, as intelligent as she is.

“My mother disappeared, Liz. We don’t know where she is. I put her under surveillance, but she went to the loo. Half an hour later when she didn’t emerge, one of the guards assigned to her broke open the door. She was gone. Best Jake can determine is that she escaped through one of the hidden passages in the castle. One we didn’t know about. Who creates a hidey hole in a loo?”

She snorts. “A person who wants to watch someone else in the nude. How could you not know?”

“It was her en suite bathroom. I never went in there. And the castle architectural plans do not include that detail.”

“But why is her disappearance a cause for alarm?”

“She wants my heir to be born of Lady Melissande because that would make her grandson a descendant of a king. But you’re pregnant with my child which makes you vulnerable. There’s nothing she won’t do to stop our child from being born.”

She picks at her fingernail polish. Is that what she does when she’s worried about something?

“Your mother is evil.”

“Yes. She is.” She’s finally beginning to see the light.

Her head comes up. She fixes me with an unwavering gaze. “But if we don’t marry, he’ll never be the heir.”

If only it were that easy. My leg’s stiffening up, so leaning on the cane I stand up, pace the floor. “You think that will stop her from hurting you? She hurt me for merely breathing, tried to break me in so many ways.” I brush fingers across my brow. I have to make Liz understand. “You’re in danger. Our baby is in danger. I have to protect you. And the only way I can do that is if you go along with my plan.”

“To move into the Cathedral Arms.”

“Yes. And to marry me.”

Ceasing the devastation of her nail lacquer, she turns to look at me. “Wouldn’t that put me in greater danger?”

“No. I can provide greater protection to a wife than a mistress.”

“I’m not your mistress! I never was.” Her tone rises.

I kick myself. I should have known the term’s a hot button for her. “Girlfriend, lover then. Whatever we were to each other, your pregnancy has changed everything. Right now, no one except family and close friends know about us. Have you thought what will happen once word leaks out? That job of yours you value so much, can you honestly tell me they wouldn’t whisper behind your back?

“They’re whispering now. I hate it.”

“But if we were engaged, married, the whispers would be of envy, not derision, as I suspect they are now.”

She stands, walks around the couch to stare out the window..

Rain pelts the glass, tinkling the surface. Gusts of wind lash branches on trees, bending them to its will.

She runs her hands up and down her arms, as if she’s cold. “I don’t want to be a subject of gossip.”

Wanting to lend her my warmth, I take a couple of halting steps, circle my arms around her. “I’m afraid that can’t be stopped, not anymore. It comes along with the territory of being with me.”

A shiver runs through her. “What about my law studies, my career?”

“You can continue law school. Neither our engagement, nor marriage would stop that. Let’s come away from the window, love.”

Rather than heed my advice, she turns in my arms, puts a hand on my chest. “You wouldn’t treat me like a sweet little wife and imprison me in a golden cage, would you, Storm?”

His brow knits. “Wherever did you get that idea?”

“From you! At the time I thought you were joking, but now.”

“Liz, if you married me, you’d be a viscountess. Do you realize the power my name would invoke? The doors it would open for you? You could do anything, be anything you wished.”

“I want to get my law degree and work as a corporate lawyer. That’s what I want.”

“And you could still have that. As my wife, you’d gain entry into the top law firms her in the States or in London. I’d make sure of that.”

My mobile rings, interrupting our discussion. “Jake.”

“Storm.” He answers in his deep American voice. An ex-Navy Seal, weapons expert, used to command. I hired him eight years ago when one of our projects came under fire, literally. He runs a tight operation, hiring only the best and most competent people in the business, most of them ex-Special Forces and British SBS.

“I’m putting you on speaker so Liz can hear. I’ve explained things to her.
Anything new?” Even though he’s in Brazil watching over my sister, he’s got his pulse on the entire grid.

“Ms. Watson.”

“Hi.” Her voice sounds shaky. No surprise. I’ve laid quite a lot on her.

“Have you found her?” I ask.

“No. She withdrew a sizable sum from her bank, all in cash, and transferred over a million pounds to a Swiss account. The Swiss refuse to cooperate. They won’t even admit receipt of the money.”

“They are famous for their secrecy. I don’t expect we’ll get much out of them.”

“I agree. Our operative, Sarah Simmons, has also gone missing. My guess is your mother bribed her to help her escape.”

I don’t respond. Not much I can say.

“I’m sorry, Storm. She came with a spotless record, passed every background check. I don’t know what I missed. I’ll resign, if that’s what you wish.”

“I don’t want your resignation.” I grit out. “I want you to find my mother. You can beat yourself black and blue later. Where do you think they’ve gone?”

“My guess. France.”

He’s right about that. It only takes two hours by Eurail to reach Paris. But she could have taken a plane, jumped on a ferry. Too many ways to travel to find her easily. “Keep looking. Focus on the continent, but don’t discount London or other places in the UK.”

“Hard to direct the search from Brazil, so Brianna and I are flying back. Knowing what her mother is capable of, Bri’s as jumpy as a Mexican jumping bean.”

I allow myself a tight smile. “Keep her safe, Jake.”

“I always do.”

“Call me when you land in England or if you hear anything beforehand.” I click off.

Liz’s eyes are wide and luminous. She’s biting down on her lip. And she’s trembling. I can’t tell if it’s from the cold or fear.

I hate what this is doing to her but I push through. “Convinced yet?”

“I need to think about it.”

“Fair enough. Take a bath, take a nap. We’ll order dinner when you wake up. The hotel has quite an extensive in-room menu. I can personally vouch for the chateaubriand.”

She laughs.

“What’s so funny?

“The day we met. I asked for a steak dinner, a bath and a massage. Don’t you remember?”

I swallow hard. My gaze cuts to the floor. I was hoping to avoid this conversation for some time, but it seems we must address my lack of memory now. “No, I don’t.”

A shadow skitters across her gaze. “Did you forget me, Gabriel? Forget us?”

I take a deep breath, release it. "I only remember a remnant here and there, but mostly . . . I don’t recall much. Maybe in time, I will."

Her face crumbles. Pain registers across her features.“So your interest in me is because of the child I carry. Nothing more.”

I capture her face, rub a thumb across her wet cheek. “No. Not just because of the child. I need
you
. Badly.”

“Don’t say that. Please. Don’t lie to me.” Her lips tremble. Her soft underbelly’s showing. She’s hanged in so tough this entire day, and now she’s crushed by the thought my only interest lies in the babe.

A well of tenderness rises up within me. “I’m not lying. I take her hand, drive it to my cock which throbs hard with need. “See.”

She chokes out a bitter laugh. “What is
that
supposed to prove?
You react that way to every woman, Storm.”

“No, I don’t. Since the accident, only you can get a rise out of me.” Not only does she carry my heir, but she’s given me back my virility. The warmth of her hand lights a fire within me, and I harden to a painful degree. I must be inside this woman. Now.

Chapter 11

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Elizabeth

HIS LIPS TAKE MINE in a hungry, voracious kiss while his cock thrums beneath my hand, a pulsing, living presence between us. He might be hiding things from me, but he’s not lying about this.

“Come, let me show you the intensity of my need.” Turning, he leads me deeper into the suite. “Wish I could carry you, but my leg won’t allow that much.”

“I don’t need to be carried, Storm.”

He opens the bedroom door where a bed fit for a king awaits. Pulling me into him, he drops a kiss on my throat before he unbuttons the front of my blouse. After he strips me of the garment, his nimble fingers go to work on the zipper of my skirt. When it swishes to the floor, I’m left wearing nothing but a blue lace bra and matching panties.