Steele Hearts Redemption (5 page)

“Good night Gabriel.”

“Oh and Ally if you’re wide awake at four in
the morning you can come find me if you want to, I’m right across
the hall. I’m sure I would be able to find something for you to do
to occupy your time until daybreak.”

With a super sexy smile on his face he left
me standing there with my mouth wide open.

**********

My eyes slowly opened, embracing the sunlight
that brightened my room. I lazily stretched out on the bed enjoying
the sinful feel of the silk sheets that cocooned me. I reached out
for my cell phone and checked the time.

Holy crap, it was 9:23 am. I couldn’t
remember the last time I slept for more than four hours much less
twelve. I knew I wasn’t here for a vacation but that was not going
to stop me from enjoying a few more minutes of lazy time.

Completely rejuvenated and full of energy
after a long, hot shower I went in search of Gabriel.

With him nowhere to be found upstairs I
headed downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Hi sweetheart, did you sleep well?”

Startled, I turned in the direction of the
voice, coming face to face with Marianna. Her ever-present smile
had me smiling at her.

“I can’t remember the last time I slept for
twelve hours,” I replied, hoping she didn’t think I was going to be
a lazy houseguest.

“It was all the traveling you did yesterday
sweetheart. Your body needed it.”

She had no idea how much I needed that twelve
hours of sleep.

“Come, sit, and let me fix you something for
breakfast.”

She didn’t have to ask twice. Making myself
comfortable at the breakfast bar I watched her as she bustled
around the kitchen, whipping up eggs. Watching her work I felt
guilty for missing breakfast and giving her extra work.

“I would be fine with just toast you
know.”

“Child if you’re going to keep up with my
boy’s busy schedule you’ll need a full tummy. Sometimes I feel if I
don’t shove something down his throat he’d forget to eat.”

She reminded me of the women back in New York
who made it their business to baby me. Mrs. Mavis Montgomery or
Mrs. M. as Tessa affectionately called her, was Tessa’s
sixty-year-old best friend. She became the mother and family Tessa
needed when she believed she had no family left. Mrs. M. and her
sister Betsy worshipped the ground Tess walked on and when I met
them they accepted me with the same warmth and love they showered
her with. I was bombarded by their phone calls on a daily basis
filled with all the concerns a mother would have for a daughter. I
could say it was a bit overwhelming at times but it made me feel
loved.

Then there was Sophia, Connor’s, Gabriel’s
and Tyler’s mom. She treated me with the same love and affection as
she did her sons and Tessa. She also hounded me like she did
Gabriel and Tyler about finding someone and settling down. If she
knew I was with her son in California I could only imagine the
possibilities she’d come up.

There was also, Rebecca, Connor’s and Tessa’s
housekeeper. She was the one always shoveling food down my throat.
If I didn’t show up at the penthouse for breakfast or dinner she
made it her business to walk across the hall to my apartment with a
plate and a frown, for not showing up, for me. I loved them all and
thanked God everyday for bringing them into my life.

I look at Marianna and wondered if she knew
the real reason I was here.

Digging in into the delicious plate of eggs,
bacon and toast with fresh fruit on the side I finally asked
her,

“Where’s Gabriel this morning?”

“He’s in the study. The fire inspector
personally came by early this morning and he’s been holed up there
ever since he left.”

Eager to find out what news he got I quickly
devoured my breakfast and with a heartfelt thanks and a peck on her
cheek I left Marianna, and once again went in search of
Gabriel.

Gabriel opened the door just as I was about
to knock.

“Hey, I was on my way to find you. Did you
sleep well?”

Was he nervous? He sounded nervous. Or was it
just me.

“Best sleep I’ve had in years and a great
breakfast too,” I replied with a smile, hoping to put him at
ease.

“Good, good.”

He stepped aside for me to enter the
study.

It was a huge, very masculine room, furnished
with dark stained oak furniture. The bookcases were filled with
hundreds of books, all in mint condition and the showcases
contained all the statues he received as validation for his
talent.

I turned and faced him.

“Ally…”

“Gabriel…”

“You go first,” he conceded.

“Thanks,” I replied, taking a deep breath
before launching into the little speech I rehearsed in the
shower.

“Gabe, I had my doubts about coming here but
you needed my help and I am here for that. There is no denying that
there’s something more between us, there always was and I
appreciate you giving me time to come to terms with that. I can’t
predict the future so I can’t say if something is going to happen
or not. If it does we deal with it but no matter what I am here to
help you as best as I could.”

“It’s going to happen Ally, it’s just a
matter of time and I appreciate you being here and your help. There
isn’t anyone else I trust to deal with this shit that’s landed at
my feet.”

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way why
don’t you show me everything you got from your little friend.”

I turned to walk away from him but he grabbed
my hand and turned me back to him.

“One condition, kiss me before we start.”

“Gabriel…”

“One kiss Ally.”

His lips on mine were magic. He tasted like a
little piece of heaven and I leaned into him for a little bit more.
Intense and erotic were the only words I could use to describe
it.

“I want you so much,” he whispered after we
pull our lips apart.

“I know,’ I whispered back, knowing if I
admitted my want as he did we’d be naked in seconds.

“Good, want to get started now?”

I nodded, thankful that common sense
prevailed.

He laid out a number of books on his desk
before dragging a chair next to the one that was already at the
desk. I counted five books, each one meticulously bounded with a
bold, neat, handwritten title, “The Real Gabriel Steele” on the
cover.

We both sat and he reorganized them in front
of me, placing the first one he got at the top. I slowly opened it.
Each page contained a page-sized photo of Gabriel with a caption at
the bottom, detailing the date, time and place the photo was taken.
All five books were the same. Whoever did this put in a lot of time
and thought into this project. The note written in the inner cover
of the last book was written in the same handwriting as the books’
titles.

“When and how did you receive these books?” I
asked him.

“They were all mailed to the house except the
last one. I don’t allow my work staff to come here so all my mail
to the house is opened either by Marianna or Jonah. They were the
ones who found the first one about eight months ago and brought it
to my attention. The last one came on Monday, in the same package
as the others but instead of being mailed it was placed in my truck
sometime during the night. I found it the next morning.”

“Do you have the packages they came in?”

“Yes.”

“Okay good. I need to see those.”

I started flipping through the books again,
this time taking note of the dates the photos were taken. With the
exception of the last book he received, the other books contained
one or more photo taken for every day he was in California dating
back ten months ago. The angles at which the photos were taken, the
places they were taken and the expressions they captured made a
very telling story. The person who took these photos did not
romanticize him by taking intimate pictures. They were bold and
captured his seriousness and dedication to his work. They were
neither posed nor glamorous. They captured him in the moment, at
business meetings, on set, in restaurants and events he attended.
This was someone who was familiar with his itinerary. I believed it
was someone who worked for his production company, someone he did
not have any contact with but was around him every day, someone who
admired Gabriel for the man that he is despite the glitz and
glamour that came with his life. This was someone who liked the
path of Gabriel’s life and as much as they craved his
acknowledgement, had no confidence to interact with Gabriel. A fear
of rejection forced this person to remain in the shadows and praise
Gabriel from afar but my instincts told me the moment Gabriel
deviates from the path his stalker deemed right for him there was
going to be serious repercussions. From all the evidence I had in
front of me I learnt something else. Gabriel’s stalker was male, my
guess, between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five.

I explained it all to Gabriel, who seemed
stunned for a moment that his stalker was male. After that he took
it all in stride.

“Gabe, tell me about the fire yesterday.”

“The fire inspector was here this morning. He
said it was deliberate. Someone lit up a bunch of promo posters of
Julie Summers and I in the storage room. If it wasn’t discovered in
time the damage could have been a lot worst.”

“I want you to think about what you did
before the fire yesterday, the conversations you had. Did you say
anything that was not work related?”

He sat there, chasing the memories in his
mind.

“We were reshooting a small scene for the
movie yesterday morning before I had to leave to pick you up at the
airport when the fire occurred. It was a closed set so other than
the crew and production staff there wasn’t anyone out of the
ordinary there.”

“Did you mention that to anyone?” I asked,
knowing his answer before he said it.

“I remember saying to one of my assistants
that I had to pick you up at the airport, but it was only so she’d
know where I was if I was needed.”

“He was there and he heard you Gabe. He
didn’t like the idea of you rushing off to pick up a girl at the
airport. You were going to deviated just a little from the part he
wants you on so he did something to keep you there.”

That truth hit home for him and I knew he
didn’t like it. We were at this for a couple hours now and I
decided it was time for a break. My ideal afternoon would be
spending it on the beach and I hoped he didn’t have plans for the
afternoon so he could join me.

“I assume you gave the surveillance videos
from yesterday to the fire inspector?”

“Yes, but I can get you a copy if you’d
like.”

“Great, now last thing before we stop. We
need a cover story for my presence. You’re a public figure and
everyone knows your family. I’m thinking we could say you’re
thinking about doing a biography and I’m a friend of Tyler’s, whose
here to help you with that. I’m following you around for a couple
of weeks to get a feel of what your life is like to know what
direction we should take for your biography.”

“Smart and beautiful Ally, I like that, I
like that a lot,” he said leaning forward and smacking my lips with
his.

“I’m all yours for the rest of the day baby,
do with me as you please,” he said before jumping up and stretching
his gorgeous body.

**********

The weather was perfect, with a slight, cool
breeze embracing us on the beach. When she mentioned she wanted to
spend the afternoon on the beach I immediately ran in search of
Marianna and had her pack us a late picnic lunch. I left her in the
house to change and hurried down to the beach to lay out a blanket
and lunch for us. I was not there for more than five minutes when I
heard her shuffling down the path towards me. I turned to her and
immediately let out a small moan as she walked towards me. My body
reacted to the sight of her, in a tiny blue bikini with a blue wrap
tied at the waist, instantly.

This was going to be a long, tortuous
afternoon. My cock was already rock hard and I wanted to take her,
right here on the blanket I laid out on the beach. She was nearing
me now and before I embarrassed myself in front of her or scare her
off with my uncontrollable want for her, I turned away and very
awkwardly and uncomfortably started running, straight into the
ocean. I felt her eyes on me and knew she was probably wondering if
I had somehow lost my mind. I knew I was. I am a grown man whose
spent my entire adult life surrounded by and bedded some of the
most beautiful women in the world so why is it every time I’m
around her I turn into a bumbling, sex starved, hormonally charged
idiot with an erection? Because everyone paled in comparison to
her. She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

I turned towards her and she was just
standing there staring at me, when, suddenly, she pulled of her
wrap and made her way into the water. She waded in far enough to
dive in and disappear under the water. The rippling around me told
me she was circling around me and I felt her emerge behind me.