Releasing a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, I inhaled harshly and reached to rub my neck and sternum as a disgusting taste coated my tongue.
Chapter 27
Hailey
“♪L- is for the way you look at me… O- is you’re the only one I see… ♪” Giggling as Antonya waved her tight, pudgy fists in the air, I worked on changing her diaper with easy fingers. “♪V- is you’re very, very extraordinary… and E- is even more than anyone that you adore can—♪”
“Babe, did you move th—” Cutting off my song only for Anthony to do the same, I twisted with both my hands on our daughter. His lips thinned, jaw ticking, and narrowed, hungry eyes scanned me from top to bottom to linger on my ass. “Why are you naked changing a diaper?”
“… Because Antonya needed a diaper change, and I couldn’t do it with my towel on? Why? Does it turn you on?” A sly smirk stretched my lips, and I wagged my ass to the tune of Anthony’s low growl. Striding fully into Antonya’s nursery, he gripped my hips firmly to grind against me, and a gasp flew from my throat. Leaning back on my heels automatically, my knees weakened, and my core ached with need as the bulge in his jeans grew and firmed.
“Yes, it does… but you’re not wearing a bra, and you need to get to work in an hour. Don’t worry—I’ll make it up to you when you get home.” Kissing hotly down my spine, Anthony dug his fingernails into my flesh as I shivered. On the changing table, Antonya stared up at me, and I smiled at her as her fingers grappled for my hair. “My new contraption is arriving today.”
“Oh my God—” Thrill pushed my heart into my throat, and I arched sharply into Anthony’s mouth as he tongued my vertebra. “I totally forgot about tha-a-ah-h…”
Moaning softly when Anthony grabbed at the back of my neck to squeeze, my eyelids fluttered shut for the briefest moment. Memories bombarded my mind’s eye, and I clenched my ass cheeks together while he continued his torturous movements. Nearly two weeks ago, now, we’d gone online together to look for something new and exciting to use during sex.
And we found it in the form of a plain, wooden block large enough for my body with leg straps and wrist restraints. From the pictures, the leather bindings would encase my leg from knee to ankle, and there were a variety of accessories that came with it.
“Hurry up and get ready for work. I’ll finish changing Antonya.” Whispering in my ear, Anthony’s demand rang in my skull, and I let out a yelp when his warm, dry palm cracked over my ass. His wasn’t a hard smack, but it tightened my nipples until beads of milk seeped from them, and I frowned deeply as he shuffled his way between our daughter and I.
“You did that on purpose! Now I have to use an extra set of pads. Those are expensive, you know.” Anthony’s laugh bounced around the room, and Antonya let out a happy squeal as I picked up my towel from the floor.
“Believe it or not, but I love that I can get you to do that, Hailey.” Heat suffused my cheeks, and I covered my chest to make my way across the hall and to my own bedroom. Anthony’s soft cooing eased into my ears, and a sigh soft floated up from my depths as I stood in front of my dresser.
Antonya was almost three months old now, and I let my towel fall once again to stare at myself in the full-body mirror leaning against the long dresser. Even without a scale, I could see how much weight I’d put on since my 6 week OBGYN visit, and I ran my hands down my sides absently. I had never realized how much stress I’d been under; relying on Kelly to take care of Antonya and Tommy all by herself had subconsciously eaten away at me. Thinking of how far I’d come—how far Anthony had come—pulled at the corners of my mouth.
Pulling open my underwear drawer, I picked out a plain, cotton bra and pair of panties to wordlessly slip into them. I’d always been fit, but the faint definition of my abs stared back at me as I adjusted the wireless scrap of fabric under my breasts. Snatching two pads off the top of the dresser, I nibbled my lips in concentration before Anthony’s familiar, heavy gaze landed on me once again.
“By the way, did you move the bottles, or am I just not looking hard enough?”
“I got new ones—they’re in the big pot on the stove. I sterilized them overnight.” Answering smoothly as I shuffled to the closet, I scrunched up my face as I picked through a mix of my and Anthony’s clothes. “You need your own closet. Mine is packed.”
“Well, you don’t have another closet, so…” Trailing off, Anthony’s tone left an atmosphere of anxiety hanging heavily in the air, and I twisted with a skirt-suit laden hanger in my hand. His expression tightened, arm wrapped around Antonya securely so they both face me, and I arched a brow in silent urging.
“… Let’s get a house.”
I choked on air as surprise clogged my airway, and Anthony’s eyes narrowed as they caught mine to hold tight. Opening my mouth only to close it, my chest tightened, and tension thrummed under my shoulder blades.
“A… a house… like… a house… that we’d share? In the suburbs?” Haltingly forcing out the questions, I tightened my grip on my clothes hanger when Anthony nodded without a fraction of a second’s hesitation. “Uh, can… can we talk about it a little more? I don’t think, I mean, we shouldn’t make a decision like that hastily… especially with your dad looming over us, and my job is in jeopardy, and—”
“Relax, Hailey. We’ll talk about it.” The intense relief that surged through me weakened my knees, and I exhaled a harsh sigh. Anthony didn’t seem at all put out by my reaction, and his gaze sparkled with expectation—as if he knew what I’d think about this. “I just thought I’d bring it up, so we could think about it.”
“Yeah, okay. That sounds good.” Nodding furiously, I raked my free hand through my hair before making my way to my bed to set down my burden. Pulling on my clothes with practiced ease, I took deep, steadying breaths as the tight knots in my abdomen slowly began to loosen. “You almost gave me a heart attack…”
My grumble earned me a deep, sensual chuckle, and Anthony crossed the room to kiss my cheek firmly. Buttoning up my shirt, I picked at the fabric absently before heading back to my dresser to open my jewelry box. The blood pounding in my eardrums lessened, and I rubbed my fingertips together to get them to stop tingling.
“I didn’t know how else to put it. Sorry, babe.” My ears twitched at the heaviness that dragged down Anthony’s tone, and I caught his gaze in the mirror sitting above the dresser as he frowned. “I got a call from the hotel last night—they said I got some mail, and I needed to come pick it up.”
“You’re still paying for the hotel room?” Surprise laced my tongue thickly, and I watched Anthony jerk his head in a nod as I worked a bracelet onto my wrist.
“Yeah. It’s from my father’s lawyers… so, that’ll be fun. I think it’s just to take back control of his companies. He can’t sue me or anything for disappearing on him.” My brows shot up at that, and Anthony shrugged absently before adjusting Antonya in his arms. “I expected it. I’m not too concerned, you know? He did this to himself, and I don’t want to ruin this by worrying about what’ll happen to him.”
Maybe it was because Antonya was in his arms; maybe it was because he’d finally gotten the better of his father; maybe it was because he realized that this crappy situation affected more people than just him—I wasn’t sure, but, for the first time, Anthony didn’t look murderously angry at the mention of his father.
Smiling broadly, I wandered the short distance between us to kiss his lips firmly, and pride bubbled up to stick to my ribs.
“You make me so happy.” Murmuring softly, I winced slightly when Antonya yanked on my hair, but Anthony cupped my cheek with his free hand to kiss me harder. His passion, his need for me, slathered along my tongue, and I groaned softly even as our daughter pulled harder to force us apart.
“You make me happy too, babe.” Smiling as he thumbed my cheek, I carefully extracted Antonya’s hands from my hair, and she let out a squawk in protest. Sighing in content, I raked my fingers through my gnarled locks while Anthony
worked to turn her to face him. “Let Mommy get ready for work, my fire Ant. Let’s go find something fun for you to do until you can’t stay awake anymore.”
“She’s been up for an hour already—I doubt you’ll make it to the living room before she falls asleep.” My declaration only earned me a dismissive grunt, and Anthony held our daughter away from his chest to bounce her lightly on his way out of my room. Watching them disappear beyond the cornered door frame, another content sigh escaped my lips.
Anthony had never let his money get to his head, but he seemed more humble than ever. His embarrassment over his father’s actions stretched far before the old man’s appearance at Marissa’s party. Snatching my hairbrush off the dresser, I smiled broadly at my own reflection. My biggest worry about him had been dashed, and my life wouldn’t radically change as I had so vigorously feared.
My sisters liked him. My life was on track just the way I’d always wanted it to go.
Everything was perfect—Anthony’s father be damned.
Epilogue
Anthony
Following Hailey through stark, wide corridors, I held my breath to keep back the harsh stench of cleaning chemicals and disinfectant. She walked with languid, easy strides, and there wasn’t even the faintest hint that she was angry or uncomfortable. Her strength gave me hope that, one day, I’d be able to face my demons and come out for the better.
I hadn’t told Hailey, but I had started looking into therapists under Owen’s advice. He encouraged me to stay, fading away into obscurity as the weeks turned into months. Summer had turned into Autumn, and the onset of colder weather had been reflected in how I treated my father.
Just like Hailey had anticipated—hell, just like everyone anticipated—my father threw a rich-kid tantrum of epic proportions. We’d filed a restraining order against him just two weeks before he found out about Antonya. He’d shown up at Hailey’s apartment, demanding I take a DNA test—calling her a manipulative whore—and swearing up and down that he’d cut me off from every cent I’d ever made.
That had been a rough day, and it was only made worse when my father started harassing her at work. George had been fantastic about defending her, but the higher-ups didn’t want the publicity and put Hailey on paid leave until this blew over. Honestly, it was a miracle she wasn’t fired just as my father wanted, and we were beyond lucky that no one realized she’d slept with me when I was a client.
My father had sent his lawyers after me, and I’d gladly signed the paperwork to hand his companies back to him. The main lawyer—some middle-aged guy I’d only spoken to twice before—had snuck in a nice ‘fuck you’ to my father into the contract that allowed me to keep what money I had in my personal accounts.
Which was a lot—much more than my father might’ve realized. I’d pay money to bet that he didn’t even read the contract, just trusted these professionals that he treated like shit.
“You’re scowling.” Hailey’s soft voice drew me from my thoughts of the past two months, and I refocused my attention on her to find we’d ended our journey. Standing outside a closed door to a hospital room, she watched me beneath furrowed brows, and I reached to wipe my mouth with my palm. “It’s okay, Anthony. Everything is working out. This isn’t something that’s going to be over quickly… honestly, I’m kind of glad we’re having this problem.”
“Why would you be glad?” Pursing her lips together, Hailey didn’t answer me verbally, and I held my breath as she reached for the door handle. The barrier gave way easily, without a single squeak in protest, and she entered the room first.
An old, decaying man laid unconscious on the hospital bed in a stark, empty space, and the machines he was connected to beeped shrill and rhythmic. Realization hit me hard and fast, and I sucked in a sharp breath tainted by chemicals and death even as I wandered closer.
Hailey’s father was pale, wrinkled, and frail, and I tore my eyes off him as my heart thundered in my chest. She crossed her arms under her bust, a drawn expression marring her features as weariness and dark, disgusting memories flashed in her eyes. For a long moment, she was silent, and my blood pounded in my ears until she opened her mouth.
“You know my dad got physical a lot. It was just something we had to deal with… we could never blame it on alcohol or drugs because he was always sober. When I was 17, and Marissa was 16, he found out she’d had sex for the first time.”
The blood rushing in my ears suddenly went silent, draining from my face while Hailey’s low, monotone voice took over my scope of comprehension. Her face twisted in ugly hatred, and she glared at her father as he lay, oblivious, on the bed across the room.
She didn’t get within 20 feet of him, and I was trapped between them off to the side.
“When he found out I was having sex, he beat me so bad I was in the hospital for six weeks—I was 15. It’s the reason I finally decided to really go for employment. Marissa had managed to keep it a secret for, like, five or six months, but somehow, he found out. He went crazy on her… not as badly as on me, but still really bad. I was upstairs with Tracy and Kelly, and I locked them in my room when he started yelling. I got downstairs and he’s just wailing on Marissa, and she’s on the floor curled up, and he’s kicking the shit out of her. It couldn’t have been more than 30 seconds. They weren’t too far from the basement, and the door was open because my mom was doing laundry. So, I pushed him.”
“He fell down the stairs, and he just never woke back up. It’s been 10 years, but he just won’t fucking die. My mom refuses to take him off life support. Even if he did wake up, he’s got charges for attempting to murder Marissa and I.”
Darkness coated Hailey’s tone thickly, and she took a shallow, shuddering breath; not once did her glare waver, but I couldn’t feel—couldn’t think—of anything at all. “The police and CPS got involved, but I somehow managed to convince them that I could take care of my sisters. I got the grunt job at Slanders, and I finished high school online. My mom only got involved if CPS was coming to visit or we had court or something. No one lied to the police, and they ruled me attacking my father as defending my minor sisters. The case was sealed, and this… this is the first time I’ve come to see him. My sisters haven’t at all.”
“You thought I’m important enough to bring me here even though you’ve never come before?” My bare, shocked whisper echoed around the otherwise quiet room, and Hailey jerked her head in a nod. Her fierce, heated gaze seated holes into my retinas, and I clenched my hands by my side even as my mind tried to catch up with her story.
“We can be better than our parents, Anthony… but we can’t do it alone. I had my sisters, my teachers, my co-workers… I had Mark, who became like a father figure to me. I brought you here to show you what’s going to happen to your dad.
He’s going to end up like this, and you’re going to lose your opportunity to make peace with what he did to you. Once he’s gone, he’s not coming back, and that makes it a lot harder.
You can’t forgive him. Believe me, it’s impossible to forgive, and you shouldn’t believe anyone that tells you otherwise—but it is possible to accept and move on. It’s not going to happen in a month, or six months, or a year, or even two years or more… but it will, eventually.”
How did I get so lucky?
The question had no answer, and I could only nod before my brain mustered into action. Taking the five feet between us in two strides, I wrapped my arms around Hailey to hold her tight. Burying my face in her hair of dirty blonde hair, I took a deep breath as Antonya’s chubby, toothless, smiling face flashed blindingly bright in my inner eye.
“It will happen, Hailey.”
The End
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Hometown Virgin
She deserved the world.
I thought leaving was the only way to give her that.
So I left… Allowing her to finish college, having faith in her talents and that her dreams would come true.
Breaking both our hearts in the process.
Seven years I lived without her.
Putting my own talents to work in New York, making my own success.
But, never forgetting her.
My faith reassuring me I’d made the right decision.
But how wrong can one man be!
She never even left her hometown.
No big cities. No career. No husband. No kids.
It was all for nothing.
Now I’m back! I’m not going anywhere. I’m not living without her anymore.
***Hometown Virgin is a stand-alone novella with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.***
Needing Her Page 14
