by Ella Frank
Confessions: Bailey
Ella Frank
Ella Frank, LLC
Contents
Copyright
Synopsis
Also by Ella Frank
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Epilogue
Thank You
Special Thanks
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Ella Frank
www.ellafrank.com
Cover Design: Hang Le
Cover Photographer: Dylan Rosser Photography
Cover Model: Ashley Morris
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Synopsis
Black and white. Right and wrong.
That’s how Craig Bailey has always lived his life.
The son of a fallen, decorated police officer,
he’s had no choice but to follow the rules.
Until he met the ultimate bad boy
and decided to follow him instead.
Henri Boudreaux is everything Bailey never knew he wanted.
Mysterious, sexy, and hiding more secrets than friends.
He’s exactly the kind of man Bailey knows could break his heart.
But there’s a vulnerability to Henri that calls to Bailey.
A longing for a connection that Bailey is unable to resist.
And while Bailey has always lived his life on the straight and narrow, he is now beginning to understand that falling in love is never so black and white.
Also by Ella Frank
The Exquisite Series
Exquisite
Entice
Edible
The Temptation Series
Try
Take
Trust
Tease
Tate
True
Confessions Series
Confessions: Robbie
Confessions: Julien
Confessions: Priest
Confessions: The Princess, The Prick & The Priest
Confessions: Henri
Confessions: Bailey
Sunset Cove Series
Finley
Devil’s Kiss
Masters Among Monsters Series
Alasdair
Isadora
Thanos
Standalones
Blind Obsession
Veiled Innocence
PresLocke Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
ACED
LOCKED
WEDLOCKED
Fallen Angel Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
HALO
VIPER
ANGEL
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
Sex Addict
Shiver
Wrapped Up in You
All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend
Dedication
To Henri,
Never have I met a person more deserving of love.
Let me be the one to show you that.
Let me be the one to love you.
~ Bailey
Chapter One
CONFESSION
I always thought the best way to get a jump start on the day was coffee.
I was wrong.
THE SOFT BEAT of a classic rock song filtered through Craig Bailey’s bedroom hours later, where the curtains were still drawn, casting shadows around the room.
As he opened his eyes and stretched beneath the duvet, the sheets slid over his naked body and a delicious lethargy overtook his limbs. The sleepy haze of dreams lifted next, and one by one all of the reasons his body felt so unbelievably satisfied came crashing back in. Reasons that began and ended with Henri Boudreaux.
A lazy smile curved Bailey’s lips as he rolled to his side and reached across the bed for the man responsible for his good mood. But when his hand came up empty, he froze in place, his heart skidding to a stop when all he felt was a cool, empty sheet beside him.
No, Bailey thought as his smile fell and his stomach twisted. Please don’t have vanished. But as reality began to intrude on his perfect little fantasy, a sense of dread began to knot in his gut, because the truth of the matter was that of course his bed was empty. Vanishing was Henri’s forte.
As disappointment flooded him, Bailey told himself not to read too much into it. It wasn’t as though they’d made plans for later in the day, nor had they discussed whether Henri would stay. As far as he knew, Henri might’ve had to go to work—and speaking of work, Bailey still had no idea what it was Henri did for a living.
In fact, he knew next to nothing about him. But as Bailey lay there in his empty bed, his muscles languid and relaxed in the best way, he decided he wasn’t going to dwell on that. Hell, for once in his life, he was going to embrace and enjoy the moment of spontaneity that had had him speeding home earlier that morning to jump into bed with a man who’d consumed his thoughts ever since they’d met.
He wasn’t going to overanalyze, wasn’t going to freak out. Instead, he was going to get off his ass and actually do something about this attraction he was feeling. He wasn’t going to sit idly by and mope around waiting for Henri to call him. After his shower, he’d be the one to call. He’d be the one to see what Henri was up to and invite him out, because while Henri might not be the kind of man to stick around after a hot-as-hell roll between the sheets, he was most definitely into what they had going on here. Of that, Bailey was certain, and he didn’t plan to let some last-minute shyness or misunderstanding get in his way.
Tossing back the covers, Bailey swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and padded through to the en suite. Fumbling for the light switch, he winced when it flicked on and the room lit up brighter than the morning sun. But when his eyes adjusted and roved around the room, Bailey’s cock stiffened with renewed arousal as it remembered in great detail the expert way Henri had stroked him to orgasm in that very room. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so free with another person, so…himself, and when his eyes cut to the empty shower stall and he recalled his hungry response to Henri, Bailey knew nothing was going to stop him from reaching out and tracking that man down today.
Last night and this morning had been a wake-up call for him. For far too long, Bailey had convinced himself that he hadn’t been missing out on much in the way of dating and physical intimacy, that he was content with his everyday, normal routine. All that other stuff? It just seemed like another chore he had to go through, something that was expected of him as a single guy in his thirties who must be looking for companionship or love. But when the results had been less than exciting the last few go-arounds, he’d all but given up.
This was different,
though. Henri was different. Everything about him was exhilarating, impulsive, and so unexpected that Bailey found himself willing to put himself out there just to see where this connection would take him next—and so far, he was yet to be disappointed.
About to head to the shower and turn on the hot water, Bailey was brought up short by a loud whirring sound that echoed up the hall of his house and cut into the silence.
Jerking his head to the left, he snatched a towel off the rack and wound it around his hips. Then he quickly headed to the bathroom door and scanned his bedroom again.
There were no scattered clothes, no evidence of another person in sight. The room was, as it always was when he woke, empty. But as he stepped out into the hall, he spotted a leather jacket slung over the back of his couch as a muffled curse came from the kitchen.
Bailey’s lips curved despite his raised blood pressure and hammering heart—Henri was still there.
Clutching the towel at his hip, Bailey headed down the hall through his living room, and as he came to a stop in the doorway, his eyes landed on a tight white t-shirt that stretched across broad shoulders, and well-worn jeans that cupped an ass he suddenly wanted to grab.
Bailey tried to find his tongue to announce himself, to get Henri to turn around so he could once again look at his striking face. But before he could find his voice, those shoulders straightened as though Henri felt him standing there, and then Henri looked over.
Good God. If Bailey had thought the memory of Henri did crazy things to him, the full-on impact of the man standing at his coffee machine in the flesh was like a one-two punch that just about rendered him useless.
With dark, disheveled hair, unbuttoned jeans, and a look in his eyes that guaranteed the erect cock behind Bailey’s towel was going nowhere soon, Henri was better than any cup of coffee Bailey could’ve made to get his day jump-started.
“Well, hey there,” Henri said as he turned and leaned back against the counter, his eyes taking a slow tour of all the naked skin Bailey was now highly aware was on display.
“Hey,” Bailey managed under that perusal, as Henri pushed off the counter and made his way across the kitchen.
“I was trying to be quiet and not wake you, but”—Henri gestured with a thumb at the counter behind him—“you have a really fucking complicated coffee machine, Bailey.”
Bailey grinned as Henri continued in his direction, a smirk now crossing that wicked mouth, reminding Bailey of all the reasons he’d given in to this bad boy in the first place.
“You could’ve gone out and gotten coffee…”
“I could’ve,” Henri said as he finally came to a stop opposite him. “But then I would’ve missed out on seeing you dressed like this. Or not dressed like this. Damn, Bailey, you look fuckin’ good first thing outta bed.”
Bailey swallowed as Henri took his chin between his fingers.
“I wasn’t sure you were still here.” Bailey licked his lips. “You know, when I woke.”
Henri ran the pad of his thumb over Bailey’s lower lip, his dark eyes roving over Bailey’s face as though searching for some kind of hidden meaning. “Did you want me to go?”
Bailey’s stomach twisted at the thought, that dread from earlier again making an appearance as he shook his head. “No.”
“Good.” Henri lowered his head and brushed his lips over the path his thumb was taking. “’Cause I’m finding it more difficult to leave than stay these days. That’s your fault. You know that, right?”
Bailey’s heart thumped so hard that it was a miracle it didn’t start to echo in the kitchen like a backbeat to Henri’s words.
Then Henri kissed his way up to his ear and added, “I was trying to let you rest for a bit. You worked a long shift, and I figured you needed the sleep.”
The genuine concern for Bailey’s well-being, coupled with the sensual spell Henri was weaving, had all of those crazy emotions swirling inside Bailey’s brain again, as he turned his head to look into the face that made his blood run hot, even as it made him long for things he didn’t yet understand.
“Thank you. I appreciate your concern,” Bailey said, and then wanted to slap himself in the back of the head.
Here he was standing half-naked in his kitchen with the sexiest man he’d ever met, thanking him for letting him sleep. Jesus, how lame am I?
But then Henri chuckled, and the deep rumble made all thoughts other than lust disappear in an instant.
“You’re lying.”
Bailey’s mouth fell open, but then Henri grinned like the devil himself.
“You don’t appreciate it at all. You wanted me to wake you up, roll you over, and make you come all over again. That’s okay. You can admit it. There’s no need to be shy, remember? Not with me.”
AS BAILEY’S EYES darkened, Henri thanked whatever good fortune had brought this man into his life and wound his other arm around Bailey’s waist to hold him in place.
He hadn’t been sure what kind of reception he’d get when Bailey woke up and found him still there this afternoon. It could’ve gone one of two ways, but as he smoothed a hand over the towel covering Bailey’s ass, Henri had to admit that this way was most definitely the preferred response.
This was exactly what he’d needed after banishing that hellish nightmare he’d had earlier back to the dark depths of where it had come from. This physical connection, this chemistry between them, to remind him exactly why he thought he still had a right to be there.
But this is why, Henri thought, as Bailey’s body molded to his once again. His cop was on fire, had been a lit stick of dynamite waiting to go off ever since he’d walked into the kitchen and Henri had turned to see him standing there in nothing but a fucking towel. And when Bailey looped his arms around Henri’s neck, and that material dropped to the floor? The fuse ignited, and Henri knew nothing was going to make him walk away. Not now. Not that first time.
There was something about Bailey that drew him in and wouldn’t let him go, and while Henri knew that was incredibly dangerous for the both of them, he also found the draw intoxicating.
Henri scraped his teeth along the stubble of Bailey’s jaw as he walked him backward so his ass was up against the table of the breakfast nook.
“So, since I can’t get your damn coffee maker to work, how about we see if I can wake you up some other way instead?”
Bailey’s chest rose and fell as he eyed Henri.
“Ever been naked in your kitchen before, officer?”
Bailey shook his head, his cheeks coloring, making Henri want to push this a little further.
“No?” Henri took a step back and openly admired the spectacular body now on full display for him, then he reached down and unzipped his jeans. “Hmm. Well, from now on, I think you should implement a new rule around your house. When I’m here, just forget your clothes altogether.”
Despite his obvious shyness at his nudity, the corners of Bailey’s lips tilted up as his eyes fell to the hand Henri was now shoving into his jeans. “So just walk around here naked, huh? Does that rule apply to both of us? Because if that’s the case, you’re wearing way too many clothes.”
Henri glanced down at himself, and then back to Bailey, who was chewing on his lower lip.
“You know what?” Henri said, and winked. “You’re right.”
Henri reached over his shoulder to grip his t-shirt and pull it off, and as it came free, he tossed it to the floor and shoved his jeans down. Then, before he could blink, his cop was on the move.
Bailey stepped forward, closing the distance between them, his palms landing on Henri’s chest, his fingers flirting with the piercings he was obsessed with, and when their lips connected—that was it.
Henri opened to Bailey in a heartbeat, his lips parting to grant access to the rapacious tongue that was now shoving inside, as their cocks grazed up against each other and greedy hands grabbed for naked hips and waists.
The air in the kitchen all but sizzled with sexual energy as lust, desir
e, and need crackled around them, and when Bailey walked Henri backward to the center island and straddled either side of his thigh, Henri grabbed on to Bailey’s bare ass and began to rock into that built body, more than happy to be the one Bailey was using to get himself off.
“Fuck.” Henri ripped his mouth free to get a good look at the gorgeous face in front of his. Bailey’s cheeks were flushed, and with that buzzed hair and his eyes alight, he looked like a wild man.
Henri could feel the sticky pre-cum on his thigh as he dug his fingers into Bailey’s rounded ass and pulled him in harder, and then he bit down on Bailey’s lip and said, “I’m about two seconds away from dragging you to your kitchen floor.”
Bailey all but crawled up him then, and when they were eye to eye, he said, “Do it,” and Henri didn’t need a second invitation.
With more dexterity than he would’ve imagined they could possess, Henri wound up on his back between the kitchen island and counter, with the cool tile under him and Bailey—fucking hell—straddling his waist.
He smoothed his palms up Bailey’s muscled thighs as his cop wrapped a hand around his dick and stroked, and when Bailey rocked back against Henri’s stiff length, Henri gnashed his teeth together.
