Heart of Steele (25 page)

“Is there a hotel out here?”

“No. I got a house. Figured it would be more
private.” He turned into a long driveway leading upward to a
semi-mansion on a big piece of property.

“Don’t tell me you bought this?”

He pressed the button on a remote and the
garage door lifted. “No, my people arranged a rental. But it is for
sale. Special deal for rich bad boys.”

She glanced at him, but he was busy sliding
the car into the garage stall. She got out and walked with him to
the door leading into the house.

The place was gorgeous. Hardwood floors and
thick, white carpets, cherry wood cabinets and shiny
appliances.

He gestured to the living room where
hunter-green leather couches faced each other in front of a big,
river rock fireplace. “Water?”

“No, thank you.” She sat and tucked her hands
under her legs. Her jeans were old and comfortable, her plain,
white T-shirt felt underdressed for the house.

He, of course, looked fabulous in his boots
and jeans, big belt buckle, and a nice blue plaid snap-front dress
shirt. He removed his hat and glasses and sat a space away from her
on the couch.

“Can I start by apologizing?” He slung his
arm across the back of the couch, not touching her.

“You can, if you’ll allow me the same
privilege.” She’d been an overdramatic bitch, a game-player, and
just downright foolish.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Tracy. I
was the one who listened in on your phone call. I called you a
liar, and I didn’t trust you enough to tell you about Ryder.”

“You figured out I knew about him?”

“Yeah. Then Val fessed up to letting it
slip.”

“I know it was none of my business, and
it—”

“Wait. I get to go first, remember?” The
smile that curved his lips for a second, disappeared. “I need to
tell you the whole story. I learned that Ryder was my brother at a
concert this spring. Chase, Ryder and I were on tour together,
sharing top billing. Ryder’s mother had died some months before,
but her will had a strange stipulation that took effect a half year
after her death.”

She sat back, placing her palms flat on the
butter-soft leather, wanting them to be on him, instead.

“A legal guy of some kind served papers on
Ryder, and he read them out loud with Chase and me in the
room.”

Tracy sucked in a breath.

“It was epic freaky. I called my dad and he’d
received the same papers earlier in the day and had his attorney
checking into it, but he denied all knowledge of having another
son.”

“How did Ryder take it?”

“The guy was in shock. Luckily, he’d opened
that night, so Chase went out to do the next set while Ryder and I
tried to figure it out.”

“If you figured it out, why were you so angry
about playing the Tulsa show with him? And...” She fidgeted. “I
heard the two of you arguing backstage.”

Steele closed his eyes for a moment and let
out a breath. “You’ve got to imagine my mindset right then. Ryder
had become a good friend, part of my inner circle. I couldn’t
believe it was a coincidence. I told him we would never let the
information become public.”

“I can understand that.” She’d die of shame
if the general public knew about her brother.

“Can you? Because looking back, I can’t.” He
stood and paced behind the couch. “I treated Ryder like shit, and
my dad like the shovel used to clean it up. I wouldn’t believe
Angus had no knowledge of his illegitim...” He stopped. “His other
son.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Angus, Ryder, and I had a talk in his
hospital room. I’d run for months on pure anger when all I needed
to do was go to the ranch and talk to my family to get things right
in my head.”

“I’m glad you worked it out.” He seemed a
different person now, too. More introspective, and less driven.
“Will you go public with your relationship?”

He sat on the couch across from her. “Not
right away. We need to think everything through and consult some
experts before we do anything.” He stared at her but she could tell
his mind was miles away.

Things became clear in her head. He wasn’t
here for her, he was here for his family. “So you’re here today to
ask me to keep it a secret?”

Tracy’s heart sunk like an anchor. Steele
wanted to ensure she’d never reveal what she knew.

On the couch across the coffee table from
her, he leaned forward, his brows dropping.

“Please trust me, Steele, don’t worry about
my keeping your secret. I would never betray you by going to the
tabloids.”

“No. That’s not why I’m here.” His eyes
darkened and his jaw clenched. “I have no doubt that I can trust
you, and it never occurred to me you’d sell our story.” He stood
and stepped in front of her then sat on the coffee table, their
knees touching. “I’m here to apologize for being a total ass, and
to ask you to give me another chance.”

Her breath caught in her lungs. Joy bubbled
out of her in a soft laugh. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” He took her hands in his. “I
don’t want to go another day without you.” He shook his head. “I
realize you’ve got your career to think about, but let me have
another try at working it out. We’ll keep it quiet. Sneaking around
will be an adventure.” He rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles.
“We’ll go slow this time. As slow as you want.” He blinked a few
times, looking into her eyes for an answer.

Her chest expanded and ached with love for
this man. “I don’t want to go slow. I want it all right now.”

A smile slowly curved his lips, “Yeah?”

Tugging his hands, she got him to sit next to
her on the couch and wrap his arm around her. “I want to meet your
dad and your brother, I want to spend long weekends at your ranch
and your cabin.”

“And the resort?” He cocked a brow.

“Yes, that luscious resort, too.” She slowed
her roll and bit her lip. “But I need to tell you something first.”
Something that might make him change his mind. Just the thought of
revealing her past made her stomach churn.

“Okay. Shoot.” His thumb traced circles on
her shoulder.

The motion calmed her, gave her the courage
to do this. He had to know all her secrets.

“I told you that Mom worked nearly her whole
adult life at the grocery store, the evening shift. My dad worked
days at the garage. When he’d come home, he drank until he passed
out. Every night.”

“Tracy.” He leaned in and kissed her
temple.

She’d love to melt into him, but this was
where she needed to find her own strength.

“I’m five years younger than Donny. I don’t
know how little I was, maybe three? But I remember very clearly
walking over to play with his toys. He shoved me until I fell.
After a while, the shoves turned into slaps, then as I got older,
he’d hit me with his fist, somewhere that the bruises wouldn’t
show.”

His hand tightened on her shoulder. “God,
Tracy. If anyone ever...” He breathed deeply to regain his
composure.

Was he thinking of his little niece and
nephew? She said a quick prayer for their safety, but she knew
their family life was nothing like hers.

Tracy shook as the memories came back. “When
I could talk, I would try to tell my mother what was happening, and
Mom would talk to Donny. Then, that night when Dad passed out, the
beating would be twice as bad. By the time I was nine, I’d been in
the hospital with cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a spine
injury caused by a punch to my back.”

Steele’s eyes flooded and he pulled her
against him. “Sugar, I’m so sorry.” His voice shook. “I can’t
imagine how scary that was.”

She rested her head on his chest and let the
tears escape. Let his touch, his concern for her start to heal her
soul.

“I took to locking my door and bracing it
shut with my dresser. I wouldn’t drink anything in the evening so I
didn’t have to come out of my room to use the bathroom.” It was so
much easier telling him this from the comfort of his arms.

His breathing was uneven and he rubbed his
cheek against the top of her head. “I just want to...”

She knew. He wanted to kill someone. Maybe
more of her family than just Donny.

“When he was fifteen, Donny found a gang of
boys, and roamed the streets all night, and left me alone. By
sixteen, he’d been arrested four times. Finally, he was arrested,
convicted of a robbery and assault so brutal, they termed it
‘attempted second-degree murder’ and sent him to a juvenile
detention center until he was twenty-one.” The best five years of
her childhood.

“He got out and moved back home when I was in
my first year of college, and I began to lock my bedroom door
again, but he never came after me.”

“That had to be hell for you.”

“It was, but I qualified for free therapy
sessions at school, and that helped during the day. At night, it
was like living with strangers. Dad drank himself into a coma every
night, I never saw Mom because she worked so late and I went to
school during the day. Donny just sat in his room watching
television.”

“The next few years, he was in and out of
jail, prison, halfway houses, and drug rehab. He’s been in prison
for three years now on a drug-related robbery with, of course,
aggravated assault. He was just approved for parole, and Mom told
him he could live with her.” She sat back. “I’m frightened for her,
Steele. I don’t want him anywhere near her. He steals from her, and
he is not kind to her.”

He smoothed her hair and looked into her
eyes. His glowed with compassion. “That’s what all the paperwork
is? Finding a place for him to live? Let me help.”

She shook her head.

“I didn’t mean that as controlling and taking
over your life. I just thought if you needed me...”

She did need him, but not for that project.
“I think Mom has it figured out, now. She’s made some good friends
in her apartment building, and she admits she’d rather not have
Donny living there.”

“It’s good that she realized it. If there’s
anything I can do, you’ll let me know?”

“I will.” She melted back into his arms, her
head on his chest. “Right now, just being close to you is all I
need.”

“Sugar.”

“Thank you for listening. It wasn’t easy to
tell you, but now that it’s all out, I just feel relief.”

“It was the same for me, telling you about
Ryder. Thanks for giving me the chance to talk to you.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“Once I stepped back and saw what I’d lost, I
couldn’t get here fast enough.”

She needed to erase the tension still hanging
between them. “Make love to me, Steele.”

His breathing stopped for long moments. He
stood and picked her up in his arms. “I almost convinced myself
you’d be better off without me.” He carried her up the curved
staircase to the second floor and into a modern white and blue
bedroom. He set her on her feet.

She cupped his cheeks. “Never. I don’t want
to be without you again, even for a day.”

He stared for a moment. “Don’t ever hide
anything from me again. There’s nothing you can do or say that I
won’t want to share with you. Good or bad.”

She laced her fingers behind his neck.
“Promise.”

“And I promise you’ll know all my
secrets.”

“Any more that you’ve forgotten to
reveal?”

He touched his lips to hers. “Just one.” He
placed her hand over his heart. “But I think it’s too soon. Let me
keep this one to myself for a while longer.”

Her heart double-pumped. She had to swallow
before she could suck in a breath. How could they be in love so
quickly?

“What about you, Tracy? Any last revelations
before we seal this with a kiss?”

“You’re here inside me, Steele.” She turned
her hand and pressed his knuckles to her chest. “I carry you with
me every moment.”

He kissed her, slowly, pressing his lips to
hers as he swayed them back and forth to a song they both felt
rather than heard. He traced her lips with his tongue, then parted
them to follow the edge of her teeth.

Heat melted from her stomach down to her
core. She touched her tongue to his as they parried and tangled
them together, melding their breaths into one.

Against her tummy, his erection swelled and
the place between her legs that needed him with a ferocious hunger
began to swell and quiver.

“I want this to be slow, sugar. I want to
taste you and watch you come for me. I want to be inside you
forever and make you fly a dozen times.”

Nibbling on his lips, she rubbed her tight
nipples against his chest, letting the flow of desire hit her low,
wetting her pussy lips. “I can’t think of anything I’d like
better.”

He hummed his approval and tugged her shirt
up and off.

She grabbed his belt buckle and in seconds
they were both perfectly naked.

He pulled back the comforter, picked her up
and set her on the bed, the blue sheets soft beneath her back.

Sliding her to the edge, he knelt between her
thighs.

His dark head there at her apex sent a
shudder of pure lust racing through her, contracting her core and
jerking her hips in tiny little thrusts.

His gaze met hers, his eyes dark and slitted.
“This is what I need, sugar. All of you, bare and horny, just for
me.”

A fresh wave of heat hit her down low and she
cried out with the sweet ache.

He set her legs on his shoulders and bit her
thigh, sucking, leaving his mark on her. “Mine, Tracy.”

“Mm. Yes. All yours.” She’d give herself to
him any way he’d have her.

His tongue traced the exquisitely tender
flesh between her inner thighs and her pussy lips, then he did the
same on the other side.

Her slit clenched with craving and she
shifted to put his lips where she needed them.