Savage Storm (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Lexie Davis

  He pulled the car in the beach house driveway and parked, leaving the engine running. He wanted to scream at her. He wanted shake some sense into her brain. How could she make so many life-altering decisions without him?

  “Get out.”

  “I love you, Bo.”

  He reached across her lap and opened the door. “Get out.”

  “I want to be with you. Please don’t shut me out.”

  “Get out of the fucking Jeep, Kiley.”

  She sobbed next to him. “I’m sorry.”

  He clenched his jaw, reached for her bag, and shoved it into her arms. “Me too.”

  Kiley turned, climbed out of the Jeep, and slammed the door behind her. Bo, afraid he’d cave, didn’t look at her face again. He needed something to eat. Too bad it was eight o’clock in the fucking morning because a beer sounded real nice as well.

  Chapter Five

  Kiley crawled into her bed after Bo left her in the driveway and hugged the pillow tight. Thankfully, Lilah and Trey were still asleep, and the house was quiet enough for her to mope about.

  How did things get so screwed up?

  She cried when she pictured Bo’s angry face. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She should have told him everything from the beginning.

  Kiley sniffled. She loved him. He was right about her fighting her feelings on the boat. She loved him and she couldn’t deny it. If they got a divorce, she’d be breaking off the best thing in her life. The love of her life.

  She reached for her cell phone and dialed her parents’ number. She had to get things cleared up. She couldn’t work for her father when there was a chance she could work things out with Bo. She had to try. Even if he was angry, he’d eventually cool down, and she had to try to make things better. Her father picked up on the third ring.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “Kiley? What on earth are you calling me for? Aren’t you still in Hawaii?”

  Tears leaked out the corner of her eyes. “Yes.”

  “Are you crying? What’s wrong?”

  “Bo and I got into a fight. He came to Hawaii, too, to try to reconcile. I think I made the biggest mistake of my life, and I don’t know if I can fix it.”

  “What happened?”

  “We actually made up for a while until I told him I packed all my things and moved to Connecticut. He got really mad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that mad before.” She swiped her cheeks. “I screwed up big time.”

  “You didn’t tell him you were moving back home? Why not, Kiley?”

  “Because. He agreed to a settlement, and I knew if I told him I wanted to move away, he’d try to keep me in Miami and drag things out. I didn’t want that at the time. I just wanted to get away. But I was wrong. I want him, and I don’t know how to get him back.”

  She cried, probably confusing the hell out of her father as he tried to comfort her through the phone. Bo was the love of her life. The only man she ever wanted. Her chest hurt so bad that she was sure she could feel her heart breaking.

  “Kiley, quit crying and go talk to him.”

  “He’s gone.”

  “Go find him. Make him listen to you.” Her father sighed. “Don’t worry about this job, either. Your marriage is more important.”

  They disconnected and Kiley stood. She wiped her eyes and opened the bedroom door, surprised when she saw Bo standing on the other side with a bag of fast food in his hand.

  “Please, Bo. I’m sorry.”

  He brushed past her. “Close and lock the door.”

  She did and turned to see him spreading the food out on the messy bed. “What are you doing?”

  “Eating breakfast.” He pointed to the bed. “Sit.”

  “Bo, I talked to my dad—”

  “I don’t want to talk about that right now. Just sit and eat.” He bit into a sausage biscuit.

  Kiley moved to the bed and carefully unwrapped the food he had laid out for her. He reached inside the bag, pulled out a napkin, and handed it to her.

  “I’ll make you a deal.” Bo met her eyes. “You go to Connecticut for the month you planned on staying there. Then when you return to Miami, if you still want to stay married, we’ll talk about it again.”

  Kiley sat the biscuit aside. “I want to stay married now.”

  “Well, I’m not so sure I want to be married right now.” Bo wiped his fingers on his shorts. “You’re right, Kiley. We’ve grown apart. I don’t know what to say about that or do about it, but you lied to me. You omitted to tell me about the job at your father’s company and the fact that you’ve already packed up and moved to Connecticut. You gave me false hope that once you forgave me for something I didn’t even do, we’d get back together when, in reality, you never planned on getting back together with me.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “No, you didn’t. You were scared last night, and I guess I took advantage of that. You told me what I wanted to hear just so I’d give you the comfort you needed.”

  “Bo, that’s not it. I love you. It isn’t something that just goes away.”

  “You’re right. It doesn’t go away.” He crumbled the bag and tossed it in the trash. “It doesn’t change anything, either.”

  She swiped the tears streaming down her face. “What if you don’t want to be married in a month?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

  “Bo, please…”

  “Please what?”

  “I screwed up.” Her chin quivered as she tried to hold back her tears. “You wanted me to understand about you and the housekeeper. Please, can’t you understand my point of view on this. I just wanted to get away. I thought it’d be easier, but it’s not.” She wiped her cheeks. “I screwed up.”

  “You turned your back on me.” His voice was filled with emotion. “How can I possibly understand your point of view on that?”

  When she didn’t respond, he scoffed and stood to clean up his mess. That was it. Just like she’d made her decision before coming to Hawaii, he’d made his.

  She moved from the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist. How could she have been so stupid to even think about letting him go? He held her, allowing her to cry against him. He thought she turned her back on him. The very thought made her sick.

  “Stop crying.” Bo rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. “I’m going back to Miami early. I checked with the airlines and they have a plane leaving out for L.A. tonight at ten.”

  She pulled away. “What about the rest of this week?”

  “I think it’s best for me to go.” He bent to retrieve a shirt from his suitcase. “I’ll meet with a lawyer tomorrow. My boss recommended his divorce attorney, so I’ll see what he has to say.”

  “I thought you were giving us a month to sort things out?”

  “I am.” He clutched the bag next to him. “It’s best to be prepared though, don’t you think? I’ve never been divorced, so I don’t know what to expect.” He went to the door and unlocked it. “I guess I’ll see you in a month then.”

  She couldn’t bring herself to look into his eyes. It hurt too much to simply stand to the side and watch him walk away.

  * * * *

  Miami was home. Bo smiled when he pulled into the drive of the house he and Kiley shared and parked. He walked up the sidewalk and unlocked the front door. The security system beeped, and he punched in the code for that before tossing his keys in the bowl beside the door. He hadn’t been home in nearly a month. After she kicked him out, he stayed on the houseboat and at the office. He had demanded his parents fire the housekeeper and had begged Kiley nearly every day they were apart to take him back.

  He sorted through the mail and tossed it aside before making his way upstairs to the master bedroom. He searched through the drawers and sure enough, none of her clothing was in the dresser. He sighed and went to the spare room they had converted into an office. She left everything exactly the way they had it—minus her stuff.

  Bo went downstairs
and decided to fix something to eat. His phone rang while he sorted through the food in the refrigerator. Glancing at the caller ID, he groaned. “Fuck.” He flipped it open. “Hello?”

  “Trey called me. Is everything all right between you and Kiley?” It was his mother.

  “I swear he and Lilah are like the marriage police.” Bo grabbed the makings for a sandwich, even if it was nearly nine in the morning.

  “Please tell me you two haven’t finalized anything about the divorce. It’s a huge mistake, Robert. Everyone on the face of the earth knows this.”

  “Mom, no offense, but I’m too tired to hear you yak on and on about my relationship with my wife. I just got in from Hawaii, and I’d like to eat, shower, and sleep before I face anymore people telling me how big of a fucking mistake I’m making.”

  “Do not use that tone with me. You might have messed up when Louisa did what she did, but that is not grounds for a divorce.”

  “No? What is?”

  “If you went through with it.” She sighed. “Robert, she’s your wife. It seems like yesterday that you came to us and informed us that you wanted to ask her to marry you. You told us that very night that you wanted to create a life with her, create children with her. Why have you forgotten about that?”

  He reached into the fridge for a cold beverage. Kiley must have thrown out all his beer when he moved out. “I haven’t forgotten about that, Mom. It’s not even about that.”

  “What is it about, then?”

  “She lied to me. For the first time in our marriage, she lied to my face. How can I simply ignore that?” He switched the phone to the other ear. “I know you mean well, I really do. But she’s a grown woman who needs to deal with her own problems. I thought we had a chance. She blamed me—accused me—of cheating on her, and I tried my damndest to prove to her it didn’t happen. Then once I think we’re back on track, she informs me she’s not coming back to Miami with me to work on our relationship. She’s already moved out of the fucking state without even so much as talking about it with me first. She moved on with her life and had no plans to reconcile with me.”

  Bo took a bite of his sandwich and ate while his mother spoke.

  “She’s your wife, Bo.”

  She said it as if those words made everything clearer. He propped his phone between his shoulder and ear. “I’m giving her space.”

  “She doesn’t need space. She needs her husband.”

  Those words hit him like a blow to the gut. He suddenly didn’t feel like eating.

  “I really thought you two would work it out.”

  Bo lifted the bottled soda to his lips. “So did I.”

  He didn’t know what he wanted to do about the situation. In Hawaii, he’d basically left it up to her. If she wanted him, she’d come back to him. If she didn’t, she’d go to her parents’ house. It didn’t seem like rocket science to him.

  “Mom, I need to go. I’m tired and cranky. I want a shower and to fall asleep in my bed.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow. Maybe you can stop by for lunch?”

  “We’ll see.”

  After they disconnected, he dialed Kiley’s cell. She answered on the third ring. “Bo?”

  “Yeah. It’s me.” He cleaned up his mess, flipped off the light, and headed toward the stairs. He glanced at the pictures lining the hall walls. Several of them were of family and friends. Some were of their honeymoon. He smiled when he stared at Kiley’s bright face. She’d been so happy then. They both had been happy.

  He turned the corner and walked into the master bedroom. “Kiley…”

  He stopped, unable to come up with a logical conversation in his mind. He wanted what they used to have back. He wanted to hold her like he did last night and know no matter what, everything would be okay if they stuck together.

  He entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. The place was too fucking neat. It looked like a model home instead of one people actually lived in.

  “I want to come home to you,” she said.

  He stopped and stared at himself in the mirror. “To stay or for comfort?”

  “Both.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry, Bo. I made all those plans before the trip. I was angry with you. I thought by moving home, getting a job, and showing you I could support myself that I would prove that I didn’t need you anymore, no matter how bad it hurt inside to think that. But I do need you, Bo. Not in the ways I just mentioned, but I need you in my life.”

  He closed his eyes. If she wanted him, she had to come home—to Miami. His mother’s words echoed in his mind. She doesn’t need space. She needs her husband. “Come home to me.”

  “I plan to. The airline doesn’t have any available seats until our scheduled flight home.” He closed his eyes as he listened to her voice. “I’m sorry, Bo. I want us to work things out.”

  He sighed. “Me, too.”

  For the first time since he heard about her moving out of the state, he felt a sense of hope for the future for them. Neither one of them was perfect, but he believed that they did love each other. Through all the pain and hurt they caused, they still loved one another. That was something they could deny all they wanted, but it didn’t make it go away.

  “I love you, Bo.”

  Clenching his cell phone in his hand, he stared at the shower stall. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter Six

  Kiley entered the house quietly, grateful to be home. Two days with the lovebirds was enough to make a saint want a drink. She stood a moment, simply listening to the sound of peace and quiet. How did her life turn out this way? She had everything planned out when she and Bo got married. The life she lived, however, somehow became one big plan gone up in flames.

  She pushed away from the door and went to the stairs. After a shower, she’d call Bo and start working on her marriage. She hadn’t realized how dumb she’d been until he told her he didn’t want to be married to her. She’d felt like a fool for even suggesting they breakup.

  She climbed the stairs, went to the master bedroom, and stopped short when she saw rose petals tossed about on the bed. He’d made a path from the doorway, to the bed with silky, sweet-smelling bloodred roses. He had even lit a couple of candles and scattered them about the room.

  “Do you want a glass of champagne?”

  He stood to the side wearing only a pair of red silk boxers with a bottle of the same delicious champagne he’d purchased for their anniversary.

  She let go of her luggage. “Yes, please.”

  He poured two glasses and held one out to her. “This is my reconciliation. You deserved the perfect anniversary, and it’s my job as your husband to give it to you.”

  “You didn’t have to do this.” She took the glass.

  “Yes, I did.” He paused and she took a sip. “We both screwed up. I may not have slept with Louisa, but I did cheapen what we have on our anniversary. I shouldn’t have taken that call, and I should have proved to you our marriage means something to me. You mean everything to me.”

  Kiley wrapped her arms around him and settled against him, surrounded by his warmth. She was right where she wanted to be. Bo kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Bo. For acting childish and being stupid this past month. I was scared, and I didn’t know what to do or how to handle the situation. I thought by moving away it would make things easier. I thought if you weren’t around life would be easier, that eventually I would get over you. It didn’t work. I was miserable and angry.”

  She pushed back to face him. “We’ve both got a lot of changes to make, and I want to make them. I want us to stay together. I was mad at you, but I still wondered what you were doing and if you were okay each night. I missed you like crazy and it made me more angry.”

  She smiled. “I love you, Bo. I want you with me, sharing this big house. It’s really lonely with you gone.”

  Bo brushed her hair from her face. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. “Shh. Tonight we’re starti
ng over. It’s our anniversary, and I don’t have any clients. I created a romantic setting in our bedroom just like that of our wedding night. You just came home and I handed you a glass of champagne. Instead of instantly fucking like we did in the original version, I prepared dinner. I didn’t burn the chicken this time.”

  Kiley leaned up and kissed him. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything as long as you take me off your shit list.” He rubbed her arms. “No more fighting.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip. “Agreed, but before we start, I need to tell you a few things.”

  She moved away from him and crossed the room to the bed. She sat her champagne glass on the nightstand. “Right after I kicked you out, I needed something to take my anger out on.” She paused. “Do you know the fifteen thousand dollar painting that used to hang in the dining room? The one your mother bought us when she went to that fancy art show in New York. I might have spray painted it black in a fit of rage.”

  He sighed. “I loved that painting.”

  “I know. It was original artwork, too. I hope your mother won’t be too mad at me.”

  “My mother likes you too much to get mad.” He sat his glass on the dresser. “Is that all?”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “No. Your stainless steel grill. I might have taken a baseball bat to it. The hood is full of dings.”

  “We just bought that.” His voice rose slightly.

  “I know.” She opened her eyes and met his. “There’s more.”

  He waited, albeit patiently. “I don’t even want to know, do I?”

  “I’m just being upfront and honest. No more fighting, remember.” She blew out a breath and turned toward him. “I was really angry.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “I know…now.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry for not trusting you, I really am, but it looked bad. I couldn’t tell if your pants were undone, but her lips were parted and I didn’t want to see the rest.”