Steele Hearts Redemption

by M. P. Hingos

  “Oh Tess, the only thing I ever lost in my life was you and now that I’ve found you nothing’s going to tear us apart ever again. I promise. My mother, Alexis and I are biologically tied but that’s all they are to me. DNA. I never belonged with them and I never wanted too. Please believe that Tess. You’re my family.”

  She hugged me, holding me as tight as she could, as if she was afraid to let go.

  “I have a surprise for me.”

  Gabe and I decided this morning we would put off telling everyone of our engagement until the mess with Alexis was cleared away and now that it was it seemed a good time as any to tell.

  “Gabe asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

  She pulled back from me, her eyes going wide before she started squealing with joy. I had to give a few minutes to calm down before I continued.

  “We’re staying in New York Tess. It’s something Gabe has been thinking of for sometime and apparently decided on even before he and I got together.”

  The look on her face told me she was beyond happy.

  **********

  Chapter 25

  Two months later….

  “I swear if I don’t find a dress soon I’m going to get married naked,” I swore with an exaggerated sigh, causing the women around me to chuckle.

  They though I was joking but it was a thought I was seriously considering after the last three hours. I really don’t know how brides could be so excited about wedding dress shopping.

  After Gabe and I announced our engagement everything started moving in warped speed. Gabe and I agreed we wanted to be married as soon as possible but we also had to consider Tess when picking a date. Tess was due in three months so we had to decide whether we wanted to get married before or after the wedding. Tess took the decision from our hands. She wasn’t going to let her popping be the deciding factor for our wedding date, so after consulting with Gabe’s mom, Mavis and Betsy it was decided for us that the wedding would be doable in ten weeks, two weeks before she was due. In the last eight weeks everything was decided and done, location, we opted for the privacy of Gabe’s parents back yard, just like Tess and Connor, food, music, flowers and every other detail that went into having a perfect wedding. Never one to be emotional, I found myself battling tears ever so often when things started falling into place. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have the love and support of everyone around me. If only I was so lucky with my dress.

  I turned and looked at the smiling faces in front of me. it was the same look they had on their faces after I tried on the last six dresses.

  Betsy dabbed her eyes with her pristine white handkerchief once again, exclaiming “ You’re so beautiful Ally.”

  The rest of the gang nodded their heads in agreement. The dress was really beautiful, a princess dress, if you wanted to put labels to it but it wasn’t right for me. I didn’t get that overwhelming feeling of awe.

  “Okay you guys are not helping. You think every dress I try on looks great.”

  Sophia, Gabe’s mother, stood up and came to me, taking me in her embrace.

  “Sweetheart, it’s because you’re very beautiful. Everything you wear looks great on you.”

  She was the mother I wished I had growing up. She always knew the right things to say. So did Mavis and Betsy. I didn’t have to wish anymore though. They were the mothers I wanted and had now, that’s why having them here with me today made this day even more special. Tess, as big as she was at this stage in her pregnancy, was adamant about being here and I knew without a doubt I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Anna, on the hand had to take some convincing. After the situation with Alexis cleared up, thankfully she’s behind bars now awaiting her trial, we had to deal with Anna’s situation. With her consent, Connor filled in the family on Anna’s situation and with the support of everyone, she moved out of her marital home and was now living safely in one of Connor’s executive apartments and Conrad was dealing with her divorce. Her husband was livid when he was served with a restraining order but he kept his distance and so did his Russian friends. The only mystery left to uncover was that of her and Tyler. After returning from the beach house the tension between those two was palpable. They avoided each other but couldn’t help but stare at each other when the other wasn’t looking. Over the last few months she and I grew closer than we were before after she came to me and asked me to teach her some self defense moves. After the beating she took from her husband the self defense classes I set up for her were proving therapeutic. Today was the first day in a long time I saw her smile.

  “Okay Ally, one more dress and if you don’t think this is the one then you can wear whatever you want,” Sophia said, before calling out to Celeste, the designer whose showroom we’ve taken over.

  Celeste came out with a dress draped over her arms. I took one look at the dress and felt something I didn’t feel when I saw the other dresses. Sophia and Celeste hustled me into the dressing room and had me strip before Sophia left me with Celeste who helped me into the dress. I closed my eyes as she did so and kept them closed as she fastened me up the back. When I felt her step away from me I opened my eyes. It was then I felt that “awe” moment. Without a doubt this was the dress. The intricate beaded top was amazing. It should have felt heavy but instead it felt right. The straight cut above my breast should have left me feeling naked but instead it made me feel sexy, just as the very low cut back did. Instead of a flowing skirt, it had a slim fitting lace skirt that embraced me like a glove, pooling at the bottom of my feet to accommodate a pair of very high heels. The train was yards of the same lace that the skirt of the dress was made of. Instead of just hanging on my slender frame this dress contoured to every curve of my body as if it was made for me. Celeste finished the look by placing a lace veil on my head with a hand made headpiece that went with the dress and five inch heels on my feet.

  I made my way out of the dressing room and held my breath as I anticipated everyone’s reaction. The tears in their eyes said it all.

  I turned to Celeste and said, “This is definitely the one.”

  “I know,” she replied, a smug smile on her face.

  “I knew it would be perfect,” Tess said, her tears flowing freely and a big smile on her face, “didn’t I say that mom,” she said, addressing Sophia.

  “Yes you did love,” Sophia said with an equally big smile on her face.

  Okay so I was now confused and I guess it showed on my face because Tess took pity on me and said,

  “Mom and I wanted to surprise you. We met with Celeste a month ago and gave her the specifics for this dress and with her magic she got it done in time for today.”

  I think I stood there with my mouth opened for more than a minute.

  “You guys had this made for me?”

  They nodded their heads.

  “And yet you tortured me by having me try on seven different dresses today?”

  They nodded again.

  “Why?” I asked, trying to look distraught but was undoubtedly happy.

  “For our own entertainment sis,” Tess said as everyone tried to hold back their laughter.

  *********

  “So they made you try on seven dresses for their entertainment even though they knew you’d hate it before showing you the dress they had made for you?” I asked, trying but failing miserably to understand women and their shopping habits.

  “Yup,” Ally answered.

  “And you were happy to the point of tears?”

  She nodded.

  “Not a tad bit angry or irritated?”

  “Nope” she said, with a huge smile on her face.

  I jumped on the bed and took her in my arms.

  “Baby as long as you’re happy then I’m happy.”

  “Is that so?” she asked, her hands gently caressing my face.

  “You know it is so,” I replied, loving the way her hand felt on my face.

  “What if I told you there was something you could do that would make me even more
happy,” she said in a seductive tone.

  I liked where she was going with this.

  “Baby, just say the word.”

  “How about I show you,” she said as her hand traveled down my chest, stopping at my hips where my jeans hung low. With a little tug she unbuttoned my pants and a quick flicker had me unzipped. Her lips captured mines just as she shoved her hand in my pants and stroked my already hard cock. I moaned in her mouth from her touch and tried taking control, but she had her body firmly planted on top of me and was using her legs to keep me on my back. She broke the kiss and straddled me, pulling her dress off in the process. Her bra flew off next and I felt my cock wanting to burst out of my jeans. She moved off me and quickly pulled her panties of before relieving me of my jeans and underwear. My cock was aching for her attention and as if sensing it’s frustration she smiled before straddling me again. She rubbed her core’s heat on my cock before lifting her beautiful ass up, took my cock in her hand and came down on me, her slit opening up to envelop me in her wetness. I grabbed her by the hips and pressed her down on me. She smiled and pushed away my hands as she started moving up and down on me. She developed a rhythm, moving her hips, as she came up and down on me. This was her moment and I allowed her to have it without taking control. She controlled the pace and I knew when her movement became frenzied she was on the verge of exploding. She sent me wild with her movements and after I felt her tighten around my cock I took her hips and held her down once again before thrusting deep inside her. We both exploded, our erratic heartbeats becoming one as she collapsed on top of me.

  Brushing her hair back, I pressed a hard kiss to her lips.

  “I love you,” I whispered after I was done kissing her.

  “I love you too,’ she replied.

  **********

  Chapter 26

  It was a week before the wedding and I was eagerly awaiting the return of my fiancé from L.A. Over the last few months, he’s made several trips in order to facilitate his permanent move back to New York but this one was the one we anticipated the most. It was the trip where everything was finally finalized, for want of a better word. Yes he would be back and forth for work and he made no secret about the fact that he hoped that I would accompany him on location while he was filming, but for the majority of his time he would spend it in New York. Marianna and Jonah both returned to L.A. with the promise of returning for a week for the wedding. Gabe kept his house there so we’d have somewhere to stay when we were in L.A. and he was adamant about Marianna staying on as his housekeeper, even though the house would pretty much be empty. Gabe surprised Jonah by adding on to his responsibilities. When he was not in school he would act as the liaison for the production company in L.A. and the new offices he was opening in New York.

  As for me, I finally figured out what I wanted to do. I knew law enforcement was out of the question, especially now that my face was plastered over ever tabloid and gossip column you could find since news of our engagement broke. It all came to me after I made one of the quick trips to L.A. with Gabe. He took me to the same shelter where he met Marianna and Jonah years ago. Every time he was in town he made the time to volunteer there and he financially supported the shelter. It was primarily a shelter for battered women and their kids and single mothers and their kids. It broke my heart seeing the bruises that marred some of those women’s faces and it was then I decided. I was already helping Anna, teaching her self defense, why not help these women and other women like them as well. I spoke to Gabe about it and with his encouragement and financial support we decided to open one of many self defense centers and women’s shelters in New York. It was perfect for me because I had so many people like the Steele family, Max and his wife, Dell and Cane and everyone on Sterling’s staff wanting to volunteer. It was all coming together and within a couple of months the location we picked out would be ready.

  I really couldn’t be happier. I was marrying the love of my life in eight days and I finally had a family who loved and cherished me.

  My phone rang and as I looked at the number of the incoming call on the screen I froze. So much for everything going perfect in my life. The call was from the prison where Alexis was currently locked up at while awaiting trial and ironically where my mother was at as well. Everything inside me screamed to hit the decline button but then there was a little part of me that was curious. After this call I had to remember to change my number.

  “Hello?”

  A recording came on asking if I would accept the charges for this call from my mother. Foolishly, I said yes.

  “Alexandria, darling,” my mother’s high pitched voiced sang out from the other end.

  “Mother, to what do I owe this call too?” I asked, getting straight to the point.

  “Is that any way to speak to your mother Alexandria? Not even a how are you mother? Or how is Alexis?” she asked.

  I instantly regretted answering my phone.

  “Mother, what do you want?” I asked with some force to my voice.

  “Fine, you want to be like that, I’ll get to the point. You my dear daughter, need to get your sister and I out of this dreadful place.”

  “Excuse me?” I asked, not believing what I thought I heard her say.

  “You heard me. You’re going to get us out of here.”

  “And why, pray tell, would I even consider that?”

  “You’re not going to consider it Alexandria. You’re going to do it because I am your mother and I say so. I have spent enough time in here and this is no place for your sister. Now I don’t care what you have to do, I know you have the resources being engaged to a wealthy movie star and being a FBI agent so do whatever you need to do and get us out of here.”

  “Are you insane mother?”

  “Now you listen to me you little ungrateful bitch, you do exactly as I say. Understand.”

  Her voice was the same harsh tone she addressed me with until the day I moved out of her house.

  “You must really be insane to think for just a moment that I would try to get you and Alexis out of prison. Are you forgetting why the both of you are in prison in the first place?” I screamed at her over the phone. I have had enough with both her and Alexis and it was about time she knew it. “You tried to kill someone and Alexis did kill, more than once. Not forgetting the fact that she wanted both Tess and I dead. You must be going for an insanity plea to even think somewhere in your deluded mind that I would, for one second, want you out of prison.”

  Silence.

  Then I heard the quite snicker from the other end.

  “So that’s how it’s going to be is it?”

  “Yes, mother, that’s how it’s going to be.”

  “I’m giving you one last chance to reconsider Alexandria, or else….”

  “Or else what mother? What more you or Alexis could possibly do to try and hurt me.”

  “Oh Alexandria, you underestimate how much more I could possibly do to you and that handsome man of yours. Did I tell you I’ve had several offers for your life story? Think about how the public would feel after I get done telling the world about what a wretched person you are who used her FBI connections to have her own mother and sister arrested on trumped up charges. How much of a manipulative person you are and how you confided in me that you purposely set out to trap that handsome movie star, and that’s just the beginning Alexandria. Bt the time I get done weaving my story the whole world’s going to despise you. It’s your choice Alexandria. Do as I say or face the consequences.”

  Oh my God. Was she serious? The laughter I was choking back burst out. She was serious. More laughter. I heard her shouting my name but the laughter wouldn’t stop. I felt the tears streaming down my face as my laughter became uncontrollable. Okay time to end this shit. Amidst burst of laughter I had my final say,

  “Oh, mother is that all you’ve got. You think for one second I’m worried about the lies you may or may not sell. I have a man who loves me and real family who loves me. You and Alexis mean
nothing to me. Thank you for giving me life but quite frankly if I don’t ever hear from you again I’d be eternally grateful. Have a nice life being someone’s bitch in prison mother.”

  And just like that I hung up. The laughter took over and became so uncontrollable I didn’t realise that the tears that were flowing down my cheeks were real. Laughter turned into sobs and I cried, cried for everything I’ve had to put up with growing up and the turmoil my life became through the hands of two very evil people. Gabe, who thought to surprise me with an early return, found me sitting on the floor, crying my eyes out. Without saying a word he sat down next to me, took me in his arms and held me as I got it all out.