Bailey: Independence #1

by Karen Nichols

  “Are you alright?” Emma watched her, her petite Asian frame coiled into the chair like a fine Siamese cat. Long black hair hung over the arm of the chair, the loose caftan she wore comfortable against her skin.

  “I don’t remember being better,” Bailey confessed softly. “He’s…I had no idea a guy like him existed, to be honest. Especially not for me.”

  “I think all girls think that. It’s strange how we get programmed to think who should be with what type of person.” Emma looked over at her husband, pale hair and teasing grey eyes. “Let’s go upstairs. I think there’s some punch left,” she stood up, stretched and winced a little.

  “Are we allowed? I really do want to be able to sit tomorrow.” Bailey offered a weak smile when Emma laughed and took her hand.

  “At private parties, it’s generally accepted that once we’re permitted clothing, the play rules are over,” she watched her handsome husband. “At least for a little while.”

  “I think I’d like some punch. And maybe lay in front of the fireplace.”

  “That we can do. I know they’ll be at least half an hour talking about the holidays and what’s scheduled at the club,” Emma tapped the light switch and went straight for a couple clean glasses to fill with the cherry colored liquid. She added ice and handed a glass to Bailey. “So, honestly…how are you two getting along?”

  “I think it’s been the most intense week I’ve ever had,” Bailey answered when they went to the fireplace, both of them sinking to the stack of pillows on the floor. “Did it take you long to…I don’t know…adjust…or accept?”

  “Accepting the other side of me?” Emma stretched out on her stomach, knees bent and bare feet swaying.

  Bailey followed suit, taking a deep drink of the rum based liquid and sighing, her head down on one of the pillows she’d gathered in her arms.

  “Sometimes it’s still hard to understand the why part,” Emma finally said. “By day, I’m ordering people around in pediatric OR but I could hear Jeremy with that sexy master voice of his and…” She shook her head and sighed. “We humans are quite complex.”

  “I’m glad it’s not just me.”

  “It’s barely been a week, Bailey,” Emma laughed softly. “Gabriel can be quite intense without the other stuff. At least Jeremy and I don’t work in the same building or even the same career field.”

  “Do you think he loved her?” Bailey asked quietly, finishing the drink and setting it aside. She was nice and warm now. Very satisfied and relaxed, too.

  “Maybe. When he was twenty-two,” Emma snorted. “I never met her. Just heard about her from Jeremy. They’ve been friends a long time. Most of them have, even Dianna. She works in the hospital where I work and she’s the best GP imaginable. But Belinda…Jeremy said she wanted what Gabe’s family had, not Gabe. Evidently his family is some big deal in Napa Valley. When it came out that Gabe wasn’t interested, and left to join the military, she flew into a rage, found a few boyfriends and divorced him. Gabe always said it was a mutual thing, but I think he’s just a polite kind of guy about that stuff.”

  “She didn’t seem to be very mutual to me,” Bailey yawned. “She wants him back.”

  “I know. I could see it, too. Guys are blind sometimes,” Emma set her glass aside and curled around the pillows. “The funny thing, though, is why did she wait until you entered his life? She’s had years to come back and chase him.”

  “And her sister. There are two of them,” Bailey reminded her.

  “I don’t see either of them satisfying Gabe,” she said firmly. “They want his money and status. The good thing is he’s not twenty-two anymore and sees through that stuff. He’s actually been smiling lately. I swore his face didn’t know how.”

  Bailey let the giggles free, which set off Emma, which had both men staring down at them a few minutes later when they couldn’t seem to stop.

  “They finished the punch,” Jeremy said with a sigh.

  “And it was very good, too,” Bailey informed him, rolling to her back and peering up. “You both are very tall. And really sexy and cute.”

  “How very true,” Emma agree, laying on her back with arms spread out.

  “Emma was telling me about the girlfriends you’ve had in the past,” one palm rose and swept around in a very wobbly manner.

  “Oh, no, Emma is not,” Gabriel took her wrist and tugged, dropping to his knee at the same time. He had her up and in his arms, standing up and nodding at Jeremy. “We’ll see you Friday night. That one is yours. Good night and a very happy anniversary to you both.”

  “Bye!” Bailey waved at Emma. “Happy anniversary! I had a wonderful time! Thank you!” She put one hand to her ear, thumb and finger out. “Call me!”

  Laughter followed them to the courtyard, and the waiting valets. Gabriel buckled Bailey into the front seat, tipped the valet and slid behind the wheel.

  “That stuff she makes is dangerous,” he laughed when she curled to the side.

  “I thought it was very tasty.” Bailey worked to stare at him. Her eyes just wanted to close and not open again but that would be rude. “Are you taking me home?”

  “I’m taking you to my home,” he clarified.

  “I don’t have any clothes, Gabriel. And while I like your shirt ‘cause it smells really nice, I can’t wear it to work,” she informed him clearly. “And Monday is training day.”

  “We’ll go to your place about noon and pick up some things for you to take to my house. You’re not staying alone until the police settle this,” he waited for the explosive response. He could order her to live with him. A part of him knew he could convince her that way. But that wasn’t what he wanted.

  “No one is after me, Gabe. Someone is after you and using me. What I don’t get is how they picked me out,” she yawned. “’cuse me. Even that girl tonight.”

  “That girl tonight I haven’t seen or heard from since I went off to the military, Bailey. I was all of twenty-two. What the hell Belinda thinks she’s after now,” he head shook. “I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”

  “Did your parents like her?” She asked curiously.

  “I…” he stopped and looked over at her when they came to a light. “Yes. As a matter of fact, they did,” he answered slowly.

  “Why did they like her and you didn’t?”

  “I suppose we got along well enough in the beginning. Then she found out what my plan was for my life, and it wasn’t the one my father had concocted for me. My parents have old-fashioned British upper-class issues,” he said after thinking on her question. He laughed softly at the puzzled expression on her face. She was beyond adorable.

  “You don’t talk to them much, do you?”

  “We manage the occasional visit and obligatory phone calls.”

  “Maybe they sent her up to seduce you and bring you back to the fold,” Bailey snuggled against his arm. “As a technique, I’m sure it’s worked countless times before.”

  “Does that brain ever slow down?” He asked with a laugh. “Are you drunk?”

  Gabriel listened to the soft, husky laughter.

  “Oh, lord no! Remind me to warn you heavily should you ever meet my uncles and father,” Bailey laughed again. “The O’Conner’s are Irish in the truest form and drinking is an art form to them. I’d hate to expose you, considering some morning after’s I’ve seen.”

  “I’m pretty sure I know how to handle my alcohol, but your concern is noted,” he responded, amused at her giggle. “But you’re not drunk.”

  “Oh, no. I’m feeling really warm and really, really good,” she said with a sigh.

  “Where do your parents live?” Gabriel cruised through the darkness. The night skies shrouded about them and a light fall rain splattering now and then on the windows. He tapped the heater up a little, his reward a soothing little purr from the woman leaning against his shoulder.

  “Just east of the resort, in the valley. They have a big u-pick farm and my two brothers live on the proper
ty with their families. I get to go and play when I want and bring back all kinds of veggies and fruit. I guess since we’re basically farmers, we don’t fit into the proper class,” she sat up slowly and looked out the side window.

  “Do you believe that matters to me, Bailey?”

  “It’ll matter to some,” she answered quietly. “You know people will talk, Gabriel.”

  “Have you heard talk?” He asked, his jaw tensing. His admin had tried to warn him.

  “I don’t think it’s gotten around yet,” she said with a little laugh. “Patsy is very protective and from New York. I don’t wish her temper on anyone.”

  “Why does it worry you, Bailey? We’re both single.”

  “Maybe I’m just worrying about nothing. The police have been really good about keeping my name out of the papers, but it’s only a matter of time before someone talks. Whether from the club or…”

  “I’d like to say no one from the club would say something, mostly because very few of them actually know who you are,” he pointed out simply. “Jeremy and the people I trust from the party tonight wouldn’t sell you out, Bailey.”

  “I’m not worried about being sold out.”

  “Then what is worrying you? Jeremy and the people you met tonight would never talk about you and I…not in a negative, mean way,” he clarified quickly when she just blinked up at him.

  “I’m not even sure how we got on this topic.”

  “I think the road began with a class structure. Which in the states, probably equates to our positions in business or entertainment.” Gabriel pulled the SUV into the large garage, the door closing slowly behind them. “It really isn’t relevant, Bailey.”

  “I don’t think we can talk about this one without arguing,” she said simply, sliding out of the car and grateful he’d given her permission to remove the plug. She had it in the small purse she’d carried. “You don’t understand because you’re at the top.”

  “I’m hardly at the top, Bailey. In the middle somewhere, definitely. But it isn’t something that will go away. Letting others dictate who we choose to date…”

  “Is like giving away your power?” Bailey looked him in the eye and offered a tired smile. “I seem to be okay with that in the right situation.”

  Gabriel clenched his jaw and let her walk past, locking the door and setting the alarms on the house and grounds.

  “That is not the same thing, Bailey.”

  “Do tell,” she returned with a laugh, her head shaking. “It’s never the same for the guy, is it? People aren’t going to talk about you.” She turned in the dim hallway, the path lighted by small lights in the ceiling. “But at the moment I don’t care, Gabriel Garrett.”

  He wasn’t sure how his cock knew, but the fire in her eyes was definitely a sign that had him moving slowly toward her. She continued backing up cautiously on the heels, the sweet bow of her mouth a teasing come-hither signal when she brought her tongue out to stroke over her lower lip.

  “Tell me what’s on your mind, Miss O’Conner,” Gabriel let himself relax, his eyes darkening and going from the sexy heels and over the expanse of legs.

  The little purse she carried fell to the floor and she reached behind her, her arm beginning at the top and lowering. He watched the dress fall to the floor and she only paused long enough to step back out of the pooled circle of red.

  “Having my wicked way with you,” she kept her hand behind her, opening the clasps on the corset and letting it glide very slowly down her arms. She dropped it to the floor, her eyes lowering from his face to the front of his slacks. Definitely interested.

  “I should be concerned about losing my Dom status.”

  “I’m pretty sure it isn’t concern I see, Gabriel.” Bailey reached for the buttons on the front of his shirt, their feet crossing the threshold into the bedroom as they continued backing up. She let one finger trail down the erection bulging against the front of his slacks. “Do you think you would be totally bored with me seducing you? I haven’t heard you tell me to stop.”

  “I can’t recall the last time someone wanted to seduce me,” he answered honestly.

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Perhaps I phrased it wrong.” Gabriel stopped moving, her hands warm against his chest. “I’ve never been seduced where all the woman wanted was me.”

  “I don’t need anything but you.” Bailey pressed against him, her palms stroking over his shoulders and into the thick, dark hair. He offered no resistance when she pulled his mouth to hers, her tongue out and toying with his. “It’s as if the play at the party aroused every nerve inside me, even though you set it all free.”

  “It’s never free, Bailey,” his palms came around her, gripped beneath her behind and lifted her against him. “That’s the pure excitement of it.”

  He loved the way she wrapped around him, the excitement he spoke of evident and sparkling in her eyes. And all his. He eased them back onto the bed, his feet working free of his shoes before she released the hold on his mouth, both of them gasping for breath as she backed off. He studied her through half open eyes, saw her favor her knee as she slipped to the floor and reached for the opening to his slacks.

  Gabriel was being honest with himself in that he wasn’t sure he knew how to just lie back and allow a woman control over their sex. But he did love watching her expressions. A dusty tint struck her cheeks when she looked up from his slacks to find him leaning on his elbows and staring at her.

  “Need some help?” Gabriel kept his humor down but there was nothing he could do about his cock as it strained against his boxers. She tugged his slacks down his legs and left them lying in a puddle on the floor.

  “I’m managing, thank you,” she told him, deciding to lie on her stomach and play awhile. She laid herself out at an angle from his body, her fingers stroking heavily up the hard length. She liked the sounds he made when her touch pleased him, the low sup of air and the thumping of his pulse beneath her fingers as she caressed along his inner thigh.

  She liked hearing the low rumble because she lay her head on his lower abdomen and peered down at his cock before sliding her mouth over it. Then the sound definitely thickened almost as much as the staff in her mouth. She swirled her tongue, softly and more firmly, drawing out the obvious pleasure and seeing him lie back on the bed finally, one hand going to tangle in her hair. She shifted slightly to the side, sending her feet more toward his head as she tried for different angles so she could explore.

  Gabriel ground his teeth, searching for something to recite and keep the control the male in him wasn’t prepared to surrender. That’s when the firm, round globe of her behind bounced a little closer. Close enough that he could bring one palm up and down with a stinging slap.

  He thought about the action afterwards and was grateful that her reaction had been a yelp and slight jump without her teeth doing damage to his anatomy. Her head popped up, eyes wide and scowling.

  “Don’t scowl at me,” he ordered firmly, focusing on the large green eyes when he brought his palm down again. “Spread your legs apart, Bailey,” he instructed, swallowing the groan when she took that moment to suckle and sink a little further along his cock. He saw the defiance in her eyes and brought his palm down again. “Don’t move, pet, it’ll be worse for you if you do. And I’ll punish you if you make me come too soon.”

  Bailey felt the moisture between her thighs when his palm slipped along her thighs to the center. Then she wanted to move closer, her mouth moving very slowly, teasingly along the length of him. Down one side and then up the other before taking him into her mouth in one quick move.

  This time it was his turn to gulp for air. She used her tongue to stroke the thick vein at the very bottom, suckling and slowly letting the air around them touch the trail of moisture she’d left on his skin.

  She liked his touch. Liked the way his fingers probed and jumped when he brought some of the damp heat to the untried rosebud of her anus. Breathing with his cock in her
mouth was only a problem until she remembered to breathe through her nose. His finger probed where the plug had been, teasing circles that made her groan and vibrate his flesh deep in her mouth.

  Gabriel withdrew his finger at the same time the loudest shrill alarm ripped through their peace.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Bailey felt every ounce of passion vanish, her hands moving to the surface of the bed and shoving, rolling her up and sitting. She stared at him, watching him push his legs into his slacks.

  Gabriel grabbed a blanket and threw it around her. His hands went to her shoulders and lifted.

  “It’s the external alarms,” he said quickly. “You go into the bathroom and lock the door until you hear from me. Clear?”

  Bailey started to open her mouth but closed it and nodded. Before she knew it, she was set on her feet and given a swat on her behind to head her to the bathroom. She turned at the door in time to see him pulling a gun from a small cabinet in the closet. His hands worked over the weapon with movements she’d only seen in television shows and movies.

  “Move, Bailey!”

  She went inside, turned the light on and locked the door. She sunk to the floor with the blanket held tightly around her. She didn’t want to be in here. She might be helpful. She listened at the door, pressing her ear against it and cautiously sliding the lock back.

  He hadn’t turned the lights out so she could see around and the bedroom was empty. She moved quickly, dropping the blanket and pulling on the shirt she had worn earlier, hastily buttoning it over her. She tugged on the hem, wishing he hadn’t destroyed her panties. Not that they covered all that much, but it still felt better to be wearing them.

  She moved into the walk-in closet, looking for something, anything to use as a weapon and found a black duffle bag. It looked like the kind sports equipment was carried in so she opened the zipper and breathed a sigh of relief. She lifted the baseball bat that looked like it had several good seasons behind it. This she knew how to handle.