Steele Family Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  After several wonderful moments, hot embarrassment flushed through her cheeks. She leaned back and stared up at him. “I’m sorry. I went a little berserk there.”

  He chuckled and released one of his hands from her back to gently lift a tear off her face. “Don’t be sorry. I forced you to do it. Do you feel better?”

  She took a deep breath and admitted, “Yes. Who knew punching somebody could be therapy?”

  “I did.” He gave her a cocky grin. “But it’s more the release. You were able to cry and let some of it go.”

  She was humiliated that she’d hit him for so long and cried so hard, but he seemed happy with the outcome. If Preston was sincere, he was the most nonjudgmental person she’d ever encountered, and the most amazing and impressive man on the planet.

  “Thank you,” she murmured. She pulled away and said brightly, “Food?”

  “Sounds good.” He gestured for her to go ahead, and she walked toward the food boxes in front of him. She couldn’t stop herself from looking at the blood left by the snake, and her eyes darted around searching for more of the horrible creatures, but she did feel immensely better.

  Chapter Eight

  They sat with their backs propped against a tree and ate some dry crackers and jerky, then worked their way through a can of peaches. The whole time, Preston watched Ally carefully.

  She seemed calmer, and something had changed in the air between them. He was still leery about telling her how beautiful she was, even with more smears of black makeup from her crying earlier. He’d thought he’d washed all that black stuff off. At least she appeared to be more comfortable around him and trust him. Holding her in his arms had been heaven. She was soft and womanly and felt perfect cradled against him. He wondered why he’d wasted his time dating scrawny models who were all bone and hard, fake curves. Ally’s shape was so much more appealing to him.

  She closed her eyes and groaned. “If it wasn’t so hot, I’d crawl in that tent and take a nap.”

  “You could take a nap right here,” he suggested. Did he dare suggest she rest against him? He loved holding her close and hoped she felt the same, but he had to remind himself to stay in control and that he couldn’t kiss her until she asked him to. That was a stupid agreement on his part.

  Her eyes opened wide. “I wouldn’t dare. What if there is another snake out there?”

  Preston didn’t dare tell her he’d noticed several different species of snakes. Maybe he’d reacted too violently by hacking the snake in two, but it had been a good release from not being able to fight Carlos and his men and feeling so helpless stranded here. At least that one snake wouldn’t be bothering them.

  “So now we have nothing to do but sit here …” She let her voice trail off.

  Sit here. For how long? He loved being around Ally, but he felt claustrophobic and scratchy at the thought of being on this island for too long. He wasn’t used to inactivity. Maybe he could chop down trees with his knife and expand their shelter. Their spot had plenty of shade, but the trees wouldn’t protect them much if it stormed. Maybe he could figure out how to start fire with sticks or hike around and kill snakes. That sounded like a worthy quest.

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “Maybe you should tell me stories.”

  “About what?”

  Thinking for a second, she said, “Tell me about your sister.”

  “Lottie.” He smiled as he thought about her, but then a pang went through him. What if he never heard her giggle again, never got a tight squeeze as only Lottie could give?

  He swallowed and met Ally’s gaze, hoping his eyes weren’t bright. Her dark eyes were full of compassion, as if she could see straight through him and understood his fears. He talked quickly, before thoughts of never seeing their loved ones could start either of them down the road of despair.

  “Lottie’s an angel,” he said. “She’s sixteen, almost ten years younger than Gunner, the youngest of my brothers. She was born with Down syndrome. My mom has worked extremely hard to help her be high-functioning—teaching her how to interact socially, be confident when uninformed teenagers tease her, how to run her charity, and to read.”

  Ally nodded encouragingly, so he kept going with his monologue. “She loves to read romance. We love to tease her about it. You should see how she gets all fiery and then she giggles. She’s beautiful, and my mom makes sure she always has the clothes that fit right so she feels confident and attractive.” He smiled. “Lottie knows exactly how beautiful she is, and she’s not afraid to tell anybody.”

  Something flickered in Ally’s eyes, something uneasy, but she simply said, “You love her a lot.”

  “Oh, yeah. She softens all of us crazy brothers, who like to kill things.” He winked, and she gave him a full smile. “She’s pretty much my favorite person on the planet.”

  “What do you like to do together?”

  “She loves the water, so we take her sailing or swimming often. She also loves chick flicks.” He studied Ally’s deep brown eyes. Most of her makeup was gone now, and she looked even more attractive to him. “Do you like chick flicks?”

  “Of course. My sisters and I used to always see the newest ones together.” She turned wistful again, but then she quickly said, “What are Lottie’s favorites?”

  “She’s luckily not that picky.” He smirked. “All of us brothers take turns vetoing ones that are just too cheesy. But my mom is the one that vetoes the most because of …” He paused, realizing where he was going with this train of conversation. Ally had seemed uncomfortable with him until just recently; he didn’t want to somehow mess that up again.

  “Why does she veto them?”

  “Well, you know, if they’re too … intimate.”

  Ally smiled softly at him. “That was pretty cute.”

  “What?” His neck felt hotter than this tropical heat could make it.

  “The big tough and famous athlete who not only goes to chick flicks with his little sister, but gets embarrassed if there’s a sex scene in the show.”

  Okay, maybe he was the one being awkward now. “Yeah, we get pretty crazy if there’s a bad scene. Have you seen I Feel Pretty?”

  She nodded. “One of my favorites.”

  “Really. Why?”

  Ally looked away. “Just a relatable story for … a lot of women.”

  Preston thought back over the story line. “So you think a lot of women are too hard on themselves and don’t understand that they’re beautiful in their own way?” Maybe he shouldn’t have phrased it like that, but he felt bad for women who thought they had to fit a certain mold, and he didn’t like the way Ally couldn’t accept his compliments.

  “Waxing philosophical now,” she said, but the darkening of her cheeks betrayed that she was uncomfortable with the subject.

  Preston didn’t push it, but he wanted to reassure her she was absolutely beautiful to him—inside and out. “If we stay here very long, we’ll solve the world’s problems. Right?”

  “Right.” She laughed. “Now what were you going to tell me about I Feel Pretty?”

  “Oh, yeah. So my mom tries to keep Lottie safe from certain scenes, but Lottie’s friends had seen I Feel Pretty, and she’d heard all about it and begged and begged. So my mom made Slade and I promise to not let her see anything she shouldn’t. You should’ve seen us in the theater during the … intimate scene. I had my hand over Lottie’s eyes, Slade had his hand over her mouth because she was screaming to ‘let her watch,’ and we both were trying to control an innocent sixteen-year-old girl who just wanted to see her movie.”

  “Oh my, I can just see it. That’s hilarious. Poor Lottie. Let her watch her show.” She winked. “I’m just kidding. It’s very honorable that you want to keep her innocent.”

  “Thanks.” He shuffled his feet through the dirt; they’d both given up on shoes pretty quickly. He missed seeing Ally put her shoes on. He glanced at her; she looked tired. “Why don’t you close your eyes for a few minutes?” Did he dare suggest she le
an against him?

  “No way! What if another snake comes? I’d be like a little mouse just curled up and waiting for the snake to sink its venom into me.”

  Preston smiled. The way she phrased things was so funny, and she was dealing with this situation better than any woman he’d ever met could’ve. Being stranded on an island wasn’t ideal, but he couldn’t complain about being here with Ally.

  Chapter Nine

  It had been one of the longest days of Ally’s life. She couldn’t believe that only this morning they’d woken on the yacht and then been stranded on the island. As soon as the sun buried itself in the trees, she started dropping not-too-subtle hints that she’d like to get settled in the tent—partly because she was exhausted, and partly because she didn’t want to be out here when it was dark and have a snake catch her unaware. Yet she was afraid because she didn’t know how she and Preston were going to sleep cuddled up in that tent. As the day had worn on and she’d gotten to know Preston, she’d let herself relax and found he wasn’t just irresistibly attractive; he was a funny and kind person.

  They took turns using the bathroom, then waded into the pool to wash their faces and brush their teeth. Preston let her use the toothbrush first. It was gross that they had to share, but he wasn’t a bad person to share with.

  Once they’d dried off their faces, legs, and feet with the towel, Preston hung it over a bush and then unzipped the tent door. “Ladies first.”

  She forced a smile and took a deep breath. This was the moment she’d stressed about most of the day. She was exhausted, so hopefully she’d crash and not dwell on pressing against him in this small tent.

  Ducking inside, she sat on the edge of the thin pad, covered with the soft fleece blanket, and waited for him to come in. Preston stepped inside, crouched over because it was so small. He zipped the flap closed.

  “Zip that tight,” she said. “No snakes in our tent.”

  He chuckled. “Finally safe from the snakes.”

  It was stuffy and warm in the tent, even though the window-type flap up high had been open. “Hopefully it’ll cool off,” she murmured.

  “Hopefully.” Preston sat down next to her. The tent was small, but it seemed to shrink even further. It was too dark to see more than his outline, so she couldn’t read his expression as he turned toward her and murmured, “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but we’re going to have to get close.”

  “Too late on not making me uncomfortable.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, good. Let’s figure out how to fit in here, then, so we can sleep.”

  “Okay,” she squeaked out.

  “Why don’t you lie down; then I’ll … curl around you.”

  Oh my, that sounded much too intimate. Ally had no experience cuddling with a man. She couldn’t even speak as she lay down on her side, trying to press her body back against the side of the tent so she’d take up as little space as possible. At least she was only five-four and she could stretch all the way out and not touch her head or feet to the tent wall.

  Preston lay down and stretched out, but the tent was too short for him to completely stretch out, so his knees bent, pressing into her legs, and his chest brushed against her shoulder. Ally sucked in a breath. She realized right then she should’ve lain down facing away from him, but it was too late now as their bodies were inches apart and rolling away would be obvious.

  The air in the tent seemed to crackle. She wished she was comfortable around men like her sisters, but she wasn’t, and she could feel that her awkwardness was projecting onto him.

  It was nice to lie down after such a long day, but the pad underneath them was thin and any slight movement would have them touching more places than their legs. She took shallow breaths, prayed for help from above to be able to sleep, and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Long minutes passed with only her jagged breaths and his more even breathing filling the tent. His breath brushed her forehead time and again, and she longed to feel it intermingle with hers. The sound of birds and insects from outside were some accompaniment, but even the fears of the snake and the anguish of being stranded on this island were secondary to how uncomfortable she was in this tent. She didn’t worry anymore that Preston might take advantage of the situation, but the seconds seemed unbearably long and awkward thanks to her own attraction to him and her worries that he couldn’t possibly mean it when he complimented her or looked at her in that special way.

  She had no clue how long they lay there motionless, but her breathing wasn’t calming down. He had to know how uncomfortable she felt, how attracted she was to him, and how deep inside she only wanted him to pull her close. If only she could rest her head in the crook of his neck, feel his body against hers; then she wouldn’t even care if she slept. Sheesh, her heart was thumping out of control at her silly fantasies. Her mom would be so disappointed in her unrealistic desires; she’d raised her girls to be independent and strong and never rely on anyone.

  “Are you awake?” Preston murmured into the miniscule space between them.

  Ally laughed uneasily. “What gave that away?”

  Preston chuckled, and as he shifted closer, she felt his laughter against her own chest. “You’re breathing … a little fast. I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

  Why did he have to be such a nice guy? “It’s not your fault,” she said.

  A few seconds passed before he said, “Tell me about your family.”

  “What? Why?”

  Preston shifted his arm so it stretched above her head. Ally sucked in a breath. He wasn’t even close to cuddling her, but she felt surrounded by him.

  “I’d love to know more about you, Alyandra Heathrow.” She could hear a smile in his voice, but it wasn’t mocking; it was as if he was sincerely interested. “I know about the driven, intelligent, and funny marketing manager. I’d like to know more about where you come from.”

  Ally cleared her throat, unsure how to share without really sharing. If he started to understand her family dynamic, he’d know why I Feel Pretty was so relatable to her. He’d acted surprised by that, saying something about how women were too hard on themselves and didn’t appreciate how they could be beautiful in their own way. Could he truly believe that? Were his compliments not just empty? Could she be beautiful to him, in a different way than the rail-thin models he usually dated were?

  “Well, I’m the oldest of three,” she started. “My sisters, Shar and Kim, are … adorable.” That was putting it mildly. They were the most gorgeous, accomplished women she knew. She was very proud, and sometimes let herself be jealous.

  “Like you,” he murmured.

  Ally’s heart rate doubled and she was afraid she might hyperventilate. He needed to stop saying things like that, or she might believe they were true. “Um, yeah, we kind of look alike, the dark hair and coloring.” She rushed on before he could say anything more. “My mom raised us to be strong women. She always said I had the brains, Shar had the cooking ability, and Kim had the talent with acting. Do you know Kim?”

  “Yes. I remember her being in Disney shows, and I met her and her fiancé Colt Quinn through Gunner.” He paused and then said, “I just realized that was the same party I met Sutton Smith at. Isn’t it crazy that my brother is working for Sutton Smith?”

  “Pretty crazy. That’s who Colt works for too.” The connection was interesting. She’d known Colt was a security specialist for the philanthropic billionaire Sutton Smith, but the realization that she was stranded on this island because of Gunner, who also worked for Sutton, felt surreal.

  “So do you get along with your sisters?” Preston steered the topic back to her family.

  “Not as teenagers.” She smiled. “We fought over everything from wearing a certain shirt to who used up the last of the good hair gel. But we appreciate and love each other now.” Her sisters would be mortified if they knew how petty she was, envious of them because their shapes were incredible and hers was … too much. Kim had been so busy wi
th her career and then lived in Costa Rica the past five years, so they didn’t talk much, but Ally and Shar were very close. Shar was always telling Ally how beautiful she was and trying to convince Ally to give men a chance, saying silly things about men being interested in Ally. Ally appreciated her sister, but knew she only saw the good and couldn’t possibly understand how insecure Ally was around men.

  “And Kim’s starring in that new chick flick coming out with Scarlett Lily,” Preston said.

  “Yeah, she’s excited to get back into acting.”

  “Why’d she take such a long break?”

  “Well, that’s a crazy story. She had a stalker for over ten years, and she finally broke down, stopped acting, and moved to Costa Rica. Then Colt Quinn found her again—they’d dated before but he broke her heart—and he caught her stalker and she forgave him. Happily ever after and all of that. I’m condensing the story, a lot.”

  “You could tell me long drawn-out stories. We’ve got all night.”

  “I’m hoping to calm down in this miniscule, awkward space and actually get some shut-eye. I’m exhausted.”

  He chuckled. “I’m with you.” Clearing his throat, he said, “Maybe if you … laid your head on my shoulder, we could get more comfortable.”

  “Your arm would fall asleep with me lying on it.”

  “Aw, come on, don’t insult my manliness.”

  “How is that insulting your manliness?” He had far too much manliness, and the rumble of his deep voice just reiterated that fact.

  “A little thing like you, making my arm go to sleep? I’m tougher than that.”

  Instead of lying on his shoulder like he’d suggested, she pushed up to a seated position, wishing she could see his face clearly. “Do you mean any of the crap that spews out of that mouth of yours?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m serious. Did your mother raise you to just schmooze women, or are you really delusional enough to think I’m pretty and ‘little’? Nobody in my life has called me little.”