Heart of Steele

by Randi Alexander

  Tracy opened her door and got out, closed the door, and walked around to the front of the truck.

  He met her halfway. “You should let the gentleman open your door for you.” He went back for their bags.

  “I appreciate your old world chivalry, but you can’t begin to imagine how excited I am to see your little cabin.” She shivered in the cold.

  Closing the truck door, he followed her to the entrance and pressed buttons on a keypad. The door popped open. “Make yourself at home. Anything you want is yours.”

  She looked into his beautiful gray-green eyes. There was an invitation in them, and in his words. “Thank you.” When she felt a blush heat her cheeks, she turned and walked into the house.

  The foyer was huge, all golden pine logs and gray rock. She slipped off her shoes and padded barefoot over the warm wood floor to the great room. The heat was on. Was someone here? To the left, dark blue leather living room furniture surrounded a rock fireplace. To the right, a long rough wood table with at least a dozen chairs around it separated the living room from the big, modern kitchen accented in black and gray.

  Her breath caught at the view. The wall of windows overlooked the slope down to the lake. She walked to it, crossing her arms against the thrill that ran through her. “It’s so lovely.” Cabins dotted the shoreline along the water’s edge, and pine trees stood tall and green on the snow-covered mountainside.

  Steele walked up next to her in his stocking feet. “Yeah. My favorite time of day.”

  “Cozy.” She rubbed her bare arms.

  “Are you cold?” He wrapped an arm around her, staring out the window.

  His touch sent warmth through her. “Just a little.” Would he make his move now? Or did he have a longer seduction in mind? The thought sent heat flooding to her belly.

  “Roaring fire or spiked hot chocolate?” He looked down at her.

  “Both?” She leaned a little closer. “But first, can I use the powder room?”

  He let her go, and the loss of his touch nearly made her cry out.

  “Explore a little bit.” He gestured to a wide hallway at the back of the house leading off to the right. “There are three bedrooms on the lower level, three on the upper, and my studio and bedroom are in the other A-frame.”

  “Oh, I’ve got to see this. Which bedroom do you want me to use?”

  His eyes darkened. Would he tell her she’d be sleeping in his room? Would she make a fool of herself screaming, Yes, take me now!?

  “You choose.” His lips curved into a half smile. “Whatever you want, Tracy. You call the shots this week.”

  She wasn’t breathing, and had to force her lungs to work. She heard what he was telling her, but didn’t know how to respond. “Okay.” She gave a little wave and turned, walking past the kitchen and down the curved hallway.

  The open stairway on the right led to the upper level, and on the left, the three bedroom doors stood open. She explored each one, all similar layouts with a private bathroom, and either twin beds or a queen, and a club chair facing a big window overlooking the lake.

  Upstairs, the three bedrooms were nearly identical to the ones downstairs, except for the last one, which had a big multi-headed shower in the bathroom. “Mine!” She plopped onto the big bed, sinking deep into the peach-colored quilt. “Oh, definitely mine.”

  Jumping up, she left the room and walked further to the double doors at the end of the hall. This must be Steele’s room. She cracked open one door and peeked inside, then couldn’t resist and stepped right in. Her bare feet sank into the thick, cream-colored carpet.

  A huge four-poster log bed with a dark brown quilt on it sat close to the tall windows. Across from it, the wall was stone with a big fireplace in the middle. She walked to the window and plopped down on an L-shaped sectional couch in soft brown leather.

  She could sit and watch the cozy scene for hours. Darkness had fallen and the golden lights rimming the lake made her nesting instinct kick in. She could get used to this. Imagined playing house here, with Steele.

  No. She jumped up. She wasn’t ready for any kind of long term. She had her career to think about first. She walked past the sofa into a dark room and low lights popped on.

  “This can’t be real.” His bathroom was the size of her whole apartment. Against the windowed wall, a giant whirlpool tub nestled between the walk-in shower and the long counter with double sinks. “Man, what I wouldn’t give to use that baby.”

  “Oh yeah?” Steele’s voice came from behind her. “What would you give?”

  She laughed, the sound echoing off the golden tiles lining the walls and floor. “How about a year of acting lessons?”

  He walked toward her, shaking his head. “I’ve got no illusions that I can act. I can barely do my own music videos.” He took her hand. “But it’s yours to use any time.” He gestured to a cabinet. “My sister stocked it with lots of bubbly, smelly, salty whatevers.”

  “Thanks. I will take you up on that. Repeatedly.” She liked the feel of his hand holding hers. Jitters reached her belly and her nipples puckered. She could become addicted to the feel of him close to her.

  “Have you decided on a bedroom?” His voice was low and sensual. Almost a caress. He looked into her eyes.

  She could dive in and live forever in those depths. “Yes. This one.” The words were out before she could stop them. She wanted this. Wanted him to pull her close and kiss her.

  “One problem. You’d have to share it with me, you know.” His mouth quirked up.

  She noticed the bruising around his mouth. Damn. They should really talk through the mess from the studio before they jumped into bed. Shouldn’t they? Maybe they could... She banished the temptation. “You can have the couch, but I get the bed.” She moved back a fraction.

  He nodded once, seeming to understand her hesitancy. “C’mon. Let me show you the man cave.”

  “You have a man cave.” He seemed too serious to play games and watch porn on a big screen.

  “What rich bad boy doesn’t?” He’d remembered her comment. Holding her hand in his, he tugged her past the bed to the back of the room where a circular room held a stairway that led downstairs. In the middle, a fire station pole started at the ceiling and went all the way down to the floor below them.

  “Are you kidding?” She’d never imagined he had a playful side.

  His grin lit his face. “Watch.” He grasped the pole, swung over and wrapped his legs around it, and slowly disappeared below the floor. She leaned over to see him land on what looked like a padded area around the pole.

  It might be fun, but with the way her luck was going today... “I’ll take the stairs.” She stepped to her right.

  “No. Come on, Tracy. Live a little. I’ll catch you.” He banged twice on the pole. “You know you want to.”

  Oh, man, did he ever have her categorized correctly. She did want to. And after she did it, she would want to run up the stairs and do it again. But she didn’t want to crash and break a bone. On either one of them.

  “If you do this, I’ll even run your bath water for you later.” His face seemed so young, so devoid of life’s worries.

  Oh hell. Her luck had actually been getting better as the day progressed. “Deal.” She grabbed the pole and paused. How did she slide without giving herself a pole burn?

  “Go!” He drummed his palms on the pole, sending vibrations up to her.

  “Catch me!” She wrapped her legs around and slid, a heck of a lot faster than she wanted to.

  He grabbed her mid-flight and spun her around. “That’s my girl.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, dizzy and giggling. “That was scary.”

  Lowering her legs, he pulled her tight against him, her feet not touching the floor. His lips were inches from hers, and his beautiful eyes shone. “Lot of things are scary and exciting, Tracy.” He tipped his head and touched his lips to hers.

  Instant warmth flooded her body, racing through her veins. She kissed him,
pressing her mouth closer.

  He groaned and his hand slid down to her butt, holding her to him. His lips slowly rubbed and molded hers.

  Against her belly, his erection pressed hard. Her core shuddered and spread tingles through her hips and down between her legs.

  When his tongue touched her lips, she opened for him, inviting him in.

  Slowly, with exquisite care, he eased his tongue into her mouth, just tickling hers, exploring, tasting. He ran his tongue along the inside of her lips.

  The sensation overtook her and she sucked in a breath as chills puckered her nipples, tightening her breasts.

  His hips moved slowly, rocking his shaft against her mound. His tongue took up the rhythm, lapping hers to the same beat, he had every nerve in her skin firing to the sensuous pulse.

  His tongue traced her lips, then withdrew. Sliding her body down his an inch at a time, kissing the corner of her mouth, then nibbling his way to the other side, he ended the kiss. Pulling his mouth from hers, his breath puffed and mingled with her panting exhales.

  When he opened his eyes, the gray of his irises was transformed into a stormy green, like the sea during a hurricane. “Tracy.” He swallowed. “I’ve wanted to do that for too damn long.”

  Her fingers pressed upward, into his soft, dark brown hair. “I know the feeling.” It took all her willpower to step back from him, slide her hands over his big shoulders, and off his body. “There’s nothing I’d like better than to go back upstairs with you.”

  He reached for her, a low growl between his lips.

  “But after what happened today, I would rather get things cleared up between us before we...” She looked up at the ceiling, then into his eyes.

  “I know you’re right to feel that way, sugar, but I’m willin’ to forget the talking. Just for one night.” He held up his right hand, three fingers in the air. “Scouts’ honor, we can discuss the hell out of it all day tomorrow.”

  He looked so hopeful, she wished she could give in. “Do you really think that’s the best way to do this?” This? What was this? Was she talking a fast fling, or a relationship?

  Dropping his head back with a grunt, he turned away from her. “Yeah. It’d be better to do it your way.” He reached back and took her hand. “I gotta distract myself, or I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my paws off you.” He led her into the room. “Lighting. On. Low.” Sconces and lamps turned on.

  It was a man cave. Recliners in front of a big-screen TV, guitars, drums, a keyboard, and amplifiers in one corner. A pool table and a bar on the other side of the room. “This has got to be the world’s most amazing guy’s hangout. All you’re missing is a hot tub, and you’d be—”

  “In here.” He pulled her to a set of glass doors and led her through into the long, low room she’d seen from the truck. A big pool with a diving board and a slide took up most of the room. In the far corner of the pool, a raised hot tub bubbled and steamed.

  “Wow. This looks like fun.” She spotted another bar near the doors, and, still holding his hand, walked to the opposite end of the pool, near one of the groupings of cushioned chairs and chaises that sat around the concrete deck. A two foot-high black area in the glass wall touched the far side of the pool’s surface. “What’s that?” She pointed.

  “You can open it or swim under it to get outside to the outdoor pool.”

  “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  “Want to swim?” He tugged at the hem of her shirt. “Get a little bareskin exercise?”

  She turned into his arms. “Tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.” He brushed his fingertips over her cheek. “I can wait.”

  Her chest expanded. “You’re a very special man, Steele.” She placed her palms on his narrow waist. “I don’t want to rush this, and make a mess of it.” God, she sounded like she was looking for a forever with him, instead of just a few wild days. But she needed to do this right, and she couldn’t ignore that deep-seated instinct. She stepped back.

  Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he guided her back into the man cave. “I’ve got a proposition for you.”

  “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” She batted her eyes and smiled.

  Chapter Five

  Steele could barely walk with his erection pressing tight against his jeans. He’d made a move on her, pulled her in for a kiss, but it felt right. He’d been dreaming of doing it for months, and there she was, in his arms.

  He would wait for her to make the next move, though. This wasn’t something he wanted to lose, and pushing her might do that. He pointed to the pine log pool table. “Do you play? We could play strip pool.”

  A soft laugh bubbled out of her. “No. I never learned, especially the ‘strip’ version. But I’d love to hear you play guitar.”

  “Pick one.” He gestured to the acoustic, electric, and bass guitars set carefully on stands around the room.

  “You play all of these?” She wandered toward the music area and strummed a banjo.

  “Yep.” His mother had made sure he learned at least two musical instruments each year.

  Turning to him, she tipped her head. “The drums and the keyboard?”

  “Yep. And the fiddle. I can handle the pedal steel guitar and the mandolin if I have to.”

  “Wow. Where should I have you start?”

  He leaned back on the pool table. “Do you play an instrument?”

  She shook her head. “I tried to sing when I was young.” She rolled her eyes. “It didn’t work very well.”

  He laughed. “What’s the story?”

  Tracy sat on the throne behind the drums. “I was performing with the other kids in my second grade class, and I hurled.”

  “Hurled...on the stage?”

  “Yes.” She tapped the ride symbol, creating a haunting ring. “After that, I wouldn’t try it again.”

  “That’s too bad. I bet you have a nice voice.” Her speaking voice was sweet and melodic. He’d love to hear her calling his name as she came beneath him on the bed, scraping her nails down his back... Jeez, he had to stop doing that to himself. He shifted to relieve some of the pressure behind his fly.

  “I took voice lessons after I moved to LA, but just to help me with acting. That’s where my dreams lie.” She swiveled the backless chair to look at the guitars.

  He’d had dreams like that, too. His had come true, and gone far past what he’d envisioned his life would be like. Now it felt as if he was on the other side of that rollercoaster ride, heading back down to earth, his goals more basic and domestic.

  The timer in the kitchen buzzed, and she swung around, her eyes wide. “Did you cook something?” She stood, sniffing the air.

  He held out his hand to her. “The pizza kitchen in town makes unbaked. My assistant had the caretakers pick one up for us when they stocked the cabin. You just pop them in, and it’s instant gourmet.”

  Taking his hand in hers, she opened her mouth, took a breath, then paused.

  He waited.

  “Steele, thank you for making this more like a vacation than a jail term.” That cute worry wrinkle appeared between her brows. “I appreciate it.”

  He could tell her how interested in her he was. Tell her how he’d fantasized about her for months. Tell her he’d been trying to find a way to get her alone somewhere. But that was moving too fast, and she was looking for slow.

  “It’s my pleasure, Miss Tracy.” They strolled into the kitchen, the scent of spicy red sauce mingling with baking dough and as many garbage ingredients as they could load on one pizza.

  He opened the oven door and slid out the hot baking stone with the pizza on it, put it into its thermal holder, and set it on the middle island.

  “Oooh, yum.” She reached over and plucked a pepperoni from the top. Blowing on it, her lips formed a sexy little ‘o’. Her gaze met his. “You want my pepperoni, don’t you, rich bad boy.”

  He crooked a finger at her. He wanted a whole lot more than that from her.

&
nbsp; She held out the pepperoni and Steele took her wrist in his hand, ate the slice from her fingers, then sucked her thumb into his mouth and ran his tongue over the pad.

  “Oh.” She sighed the word as her lids dropped and her tongue touched her teeth.

  “Yeah.” With a kiss to her palm, he released her. “It’s getting hot in here.”

  “Uh huh.” She swallowed. “Can I do anything?”

  He lifted one brow and quirked the corner of his mouth. She could do a whole hell of a lot of things for him.

  Her cheeks pinked up.“I mean like pouring a couple glasses of water for us.”

  “Water, beer, or wine?” He pulled the pizza cutter out of a drawer and cut the pie into little squares.

  “Wine sounds nice.”

  He gestured to the bottle he’d opened when he’d put the pizza in the oven. “Grab that bottle and let’s go sit by the fire.” When they settled on the couch with plates of steaming pizza and glasses of ruby wine, he noticed her staring out the wall of windows. “I never get tired of this view.”

  “It’s fabulous. The golden lights rimming the lakeshore. The moon reflecting off the water.” Tracy finished her pizza and set down her empty plate. “How did you find this place?”

  “It’d been on the market for a few years. The price was high because of the acreage, and the old house was falling down. Literally.”

  “You had this built?” She tilted her head and looked at the ceiling. “It’s a great design.”

  “Thanks. I saw the view and knew what I wanted. I found an architect to draw up the plans.” He’d also had plans drawn up for a big house on his family’s ranch, but he hadn’t started building that place yet. Without someone to share it with, it’d just be a sad, lonely house, a reminder that he’d failed to reach the most important goal on his list. “I paid a premium to get it done quickly, and eight months later, here we are.”

  “You designed this?” She sipped her wine. “It could be in a magazine.”

  “That was suggested. I don’t get up here often, and I value my private time too much to deal with a camera crew.” He slid a few more pieces onto his plate.