Joe waddled back and forth on his heels. The old Southern woman had put him in his place. His mind couldn’t even catch up to her. Instead, he turned towards Bailey and said, “I’ll be back, Bailey. And my daughter better be here.”
As he left, Josephine shut the door behind him and went back to her flowers, smoothing out the spots that needed tending to. She sat next to Bailey’s bed in one of the large reclining chairs with an oomph. She reached out her small hand to Bailey and gave her granddaughter’s a squeeze. “My darling, Bailey. You’re gonna be a great mama. I know this for sure. I saw how you looked at your daughter when they handed her to ya. But you have to be strong for her. It’s not enough to love someone. You have to fight for them, as well.”
Bailey wiped away her tears with her free hand as she nodded in understanding. Her life wasn’t the same anymore. She couldn’t just be Joe’s punching bag. She had to be Lily’s mom. And that took courage, more than she had had in the past. As Josephine slept and Bailey rocked her newborn in her arms, she made the promise she would never let Joe or anyone hurt Lily.
It was a secret between the two of them, but an oath that would be harder and harder to keep as she grew. The distance between Bailey and Joe grew as Lily’s needs distracted Bailey from Joe’s. Dinner not on the table came with a shove. Forgetting to iron his work shirt resulted in a slap. Asking a question or making a request was followed by name-calling.
But he never once laid a hand on Lily. To Joe, his daughter was the perfection Bailey could never be. Her cries were just Bailey’s fault. Her needs were Bailey’s failings. And Joe would not go a minute without reminding the new mom of it.
Then, one day, Bailey woke up. The sun was shining, birds singing in the spring air. On her baby monitor, Lily was talking to herself as she pretended to read a book. Joe had gone off on an early morning boating and drinking trip with a friend from the city. Bailey had regretted days like this because it always meant he would come home drunk and meaner than ever.
But as she stared at the empty bed and listened to her daughter recite the pages she had memorized, Bailey knew it was her chance. Despite knowing he wouldn’t be back home for hours, she didn’t waste a second packing. Lingering would give her second thoughts or allow her to dwell on Joe’s threats that he was the only thing keeping the family together. No, she needed to be single minded. Only the essentials were coming. No money. No toys. No clothes. She would figure it out when she got to her destination.
Bailey held her breath as she knocked on her grandmother’s door. It was only 10am and she knew the older woman was a heavy sleeper. With Lily sleeping in her arms, she snuck to the backyard to the windows of the living room. Peering in, she could see the woman dozing off in her chair. She pounded harder upon the cold, dingy glass as she screamed out her grandmother’s name. The thought of Joe finding her then and there irrationally popped up. She needed to get in the house, and she needed to get in there now.
Finally, Bailey placed Lily down on the grass, took twenty steps back, and launched herself at the glass foot first. The sound of shattering woke Josephine with a start as she stared down the vision of her granddaughter and great-granddaughter standing out in the morning dew.
Bailey, with her hair pulled up tight and still in her best pajamas cried out behind the remaining screen, called in as loudly as she could, “Please, let us in!”
Josephine, coming to her senses, ran to the door and threw open the screen. Bailey handed Lily to her grandmother and then flung herself into her arms as she explained how she left Joe. But Josephine needed no explanation. Bailey’s wispy frame, battered and bruised from the wear and tear of the last few years said it all. Instead, Josephine looked at her, her hand slicking down the fly-aways on Bailey’s head, “This is your home, my dear. Always your home. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt you here.”
Bailey believed her. But every night, she stared out Lily’s bedroom window from her apartment above the garage. And every night, just around 1am, she swore she could see the outline of a man in a pair of tight jeans and a ripped t-shirt waiting for her in the shadows.
Now, almost three years later, that figure wasn’t just in her imagination. It had crept out of the darkness of Bailey and Lily’s past to find her. While she knew she was safe and secure behind the bars of Leo’s manner, her daughter was not. There was no grandma to stand up for her, no mother to protect her. He was coming for her, and it was Bailey’s job to get to her before he did.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Leo returned home from his run around the estate just in time to watch helplessly as Bailey searched through her purse for her car keys. Her urgency to get out of the home was unnerving. But what was worse was the way that she dared to not even look him in the eye while she talked to him.
“I should be gone for just a day or so. Is that okay? I don’t want to be rude, and I certainly don’t want to run out on you, but I need to get some business taken care of.” She looked distracted. Her hair flew in her eyes as she blew it away. She had no time to even handle that.
Leo stammered, “Bailey? What’s going on? What do you need to take care of? Does this have anything to do with your great-aunt and your grandmother’s place? If so, I can help you.”
Bailey placed her purse down and turned towards him as she placed a hand upon his bare arm. “I know you want to help me. But this is something you can’t help me with. Okay?”
“If you just let me give you the money—” Bailey’s harsh look cut him off. This was not the first time he had offered to give her a handout she refused. Once he heard her entire story about what her great-aunt had done by taking her grandmother’s house from her, he had insisted he purchase the house for her. He could make her relative an offer she couldn’t refuse. But Bailey’s pride said no. After all she had been through and all her great-aunt had put her through, she had wanted nothing to disturb the peace she had found.
But Leo could still not believe it. She was hiding something from him, and he could not shake the feeling no matter how much she insisted on reassuring him that it was all right. As she reached up to kiss him, he noticed how her lips only grazed his roughly shaved face and how one arm only dangled around his neck for a second.
He couldn’t take her just leaving him in the cold like that. After all, he was fighting to hold on to her with everything he could. Her shoving him off was unacceptable. As she spun around to head out to the hallway, he grabbed her by the wrist. The small silver tennis bracelet that dangled from her arm jingled as he forcefully led her back into the dining area, cornering her with his powerful body locking her up against the black marble island.
“I want you to stay. Do not make me repeat this.” He lifted her downcast chin so that her eyes met his sharp glare. He was not messing around.
“I – I have to do this, okay? I’ll be back.” Bailey could feel the heat radiate off of his body. He looked at her as if she would never come back. She looked at him as if she would break if she didn’t.
“Kiss me like you mean it, and I’ll let you go.” Leo waited as Bailey’s eyes darted around the room. He had boxed her in. There was no escaping him. And she knew from past experience that if he wanted something, he was going to get it no matter what.
Bailey popped up on her toes, her black leather flats bending as she struggled to reach his pink parsed lips. As they made contact, she could feel his hands reach around her waist, pulling her close. Another shot up to her head, pulling at where her hair gathered into a long ponytail. She let out a gasp of shock as he yanked her head back, forcing her eyes wide open.
He wasted no time, slipping the spaghetti strap of her red sundress down her arm, exposing her fair skin to him. His fingers made pathways from the neck to her chest, tracing the tops of her sweetheart neckline. The other strap magically disappeared with it, causing the dress to sink lower down her body. Her arms wanted to shoot up and repair them, but she too was now wrapped up in the way the tips of his bruised and battered fingers caressed her should
er blade.
Leo lifted his knee, parting the skirt of her dress and resting up against her underwear. His leg began to move slowly, putting pressure on her clit. Her body gently swayed with him as Leo’s mouth moved from her lips down to her shoulders, to her chest, and then to one of her erect pink nipples. His tongue was soft, following the same pattern of his fingers and knee as they circled, twisted, and swayed against the tips. It was just the right amount of moisture. It was just the right amount of longing.
Everything in Bailey tightened and contracted as he sped up. Even his lips began to suck harder, tighter around her. She braced herself as she felt the tops of his teeth gently gnaw at her, leaving little bite marks in places no one else but they would see. He wanted to leave more of a mark on her delicate, untouched skin. He wanted no one else to lay claim on her.
Leo’s arms moved from her arms to around her ass, first getting their fill of her cheeks. A finger pinched at her from way underneath. As she squirmed in surprise, he lifted her up, placing her on the large island. Her legs dangled in front of him as her back shivered from the coldness of the surface.
“Don’t move.” He pressed down on her stomach, holding her firmly in place. She couldn’t move an inch if she tried. Though, she had no idea why she would ever want to.
He removed her shoes, one at a time, wrapping his hands around her tiny ankles, admiring the way her calf and thigh flexed with the motion. He took her foot and placed it up to his face. She could feel his breath tickling at the pads of her toes before feeling the wetness of his mouth take the big toe inside. His tongue swirled around it as his hand pressed down on the sensitive pressure points in her heel. The sensation gripped hold of her bod as she was unsure if she should yell in pain or scream for more. Instead, all she could say was his name over and over again.
A hand reached up her thigh, etching her skirt higher up. Bailey placed her arms behind her head, forcing them from batting him away. She wanted whatever tantalizing action he had in mind. She was not about to let herself take him out of the moment even as he began to tickle at the place where her two thighs gently touched together.
Leo let go of her foot, placing her leg down against the side of the island. The other leg instinctively spread out wider as well, leaving him a clear path to follow. He leaned over her, kissing her along the way. He lips and mouth didn’t miss a blemish on her as Bailey’s face grew red. She wasn’t used to being exposed like this.
His teeth yanked around her panty line, pulling the lacey white fabric down. The small, clipped hairs around her pussy stood on end as his breath mixed with the juices already flowing on her. The rough side of his face pressed against her thigh as he guided the panties off of her legs.
She watched his shadow as he undressed. His shirt first, him unbuttoning it as his finger began to flick against the outside of her folds. Then, his pants fell, the large belt buckle clicking as it hit the tiles. As he knelt down to shake his legs out, he glanced up at her pussy. Even though he just had her hours ago in his bedroom, she was still as pristine and gorgeous as he had remembered.
He pulled her closer to him, her legs sliding around his waist, just a bit higher than his cock. “Dammit!” Leo muttered under his breath. He took one look at her before he took hold of the situation. His hand on her stomach pulled her down off the counter and then turned her around so that her backside touched his hard, stiff cock. She reached an arm up to graze her fingers up against his neck and hairline. His arm reached around her chest to her bare, perky breast. He pinched her softly, feeling the nipple roll and harden.
Leo couldn’t take it anymore. He threw her back down, her bare chest now resting up on the countertop. He lifted her by the waist, her legs hooking around his waist. With one swift movement, he was inside her, plowing deeply into her as she tried to grip anything to hold her in place. His hand grabbed her hair as he began to speed up. The sudden pull of her head backwards caused her to scream out. “FUCK! LEO! Oh FUUUUUUCKKKK!!!”
Her voice, the way she sighed between the two words only made him move faster, move harder. She was wet, soft, and unending. He could screw her everyday and never grow bored with how her pussy seemed to engulf him. Every bit of her was as new and exciting as their first lay. Leo watched as her body moved up and down the black countertop with each stroke. She wasn’t just shying away from him. She was letting him take her to new places. She was along for his ride.
And he was about to give it to her the best goddamn trip of her life.
Bailey could feel her orgasm growing. Every bit of her tingled, her toes had begun to curl, she bit the bottom of her lip. But she wasn’t ready yet. She wanted to make the moment last longer. Her legs’ backwards grip on his waist only tightened, sending him even further into her. Her hands darted to her sides as she propped herself up into a pushup position. They slipped on the smooth surface as he pulled her closer to him with each thrust. As she came, her body collapsed into a heap on the edge, dangerously close to falling.
“Don’t you give up on me yet,” Leo said as he dropped her down to her feet, allowing her to stand. “I’m not done.” He took one last look into her blue, swelling eyes as he again picked her up to face him, his cock back in her. He carried her towards an empty wall, pushing he back up against it. She floated upwards as he moved his pulsating cock inside her. A fury took hold of him as every bit of him burst through her. As his cum exploded in her pussy, he gave three last full jerks, sending Bailey’s arms flying around his neck.
The two sank to the ground, neither caring that they were still in the kitchen. The cool, glossy floor sent shivers up their spines as both searched for their breath.
Leo watched Bailey as she blew away another fallen strand of hair, just as she had earlier when she attempted to leave. He cleared his throat as he grinned at her, “Did that distract you enough?”
“Yes, yes. I think it did.” She gave him a half smile. Whatever was on her mind had crept back in despite the waves of pleasure that still flowed through her body. “Thank you for that.”
She sat up slowly, fixing the ponytail and then pulling the discarded dress over her body. She slipped on her shoes as she looked back at him. Her shrug of the shoulders told him that she wasn’t about to stay put. Whatever she was doing, it had to be done.
He got dressed as he watched her from the window as she ran to her car, not even looking back at the home she had begun to call her own.
Leo went back up to the office and again made a phone call to Jonathan’s office. “Hey man. I need another favor. Can you get me the address of Bailey’s great-aunt? I need to check something out, and I need to do it tonight. It’s a surprise, okay?”
“What are you planning on doing, Leo?” Jonathan was suspicious. He knew his client was anything but a surprise kind of person. He was one who liked routine and control. Even being on the giving end of a surprise would just throw him off his game.
Leo coughed as he struggled to conceal the frantic tone in his voice, “I just need it, man. Can you get it to me in the next ten minutes or not?”
Jonathan paused and then softly said, “Yeah. She gave it to me a couple weeks ago. I’ll text it to you…But, Leo, if you're planning on doing anything, I need to know about it. I can help you.”
“Just text it to me as soon as you can.” Leo hung up his phone and ran down the stairs to the hallway closet where his leather jacket hung. He flung it over his shoulders as he listened to his phone buzz in his pocket. He studied the address as he started his slick black Lexus and hopped onto the highway towards the suburbs, following the monotone directions from his phone’s GPS.
The old Victorian home stood out among the new brick mini-mansions. It’s white siding with the bright red and navy window dressings were a great contrast to the metallics of all the other homes on the block. It certainly gave off the appearance that it had once belonged to an older generation.
Leo drove around several times, each time eying the driveway for signs of his girlfriend’
s car, but there was only a white SUV sitting parked in the open garage. An hour passed and then another, but no sign of Bailey.
Finally, a man in an oversized black suit and red tie emerged from the front door carrying a black briefcase. Leo parked his car as he raced towards him, unsure of what he wanted to say or even ask. The mystery man watched nervously as the muscular man approached him.
“Hey! Do you know a Bailey Reed?” Leo shouted at the man as he attempted to unlock the SUV. He fumbled with the keys as she kept his eye on him.
The man gave up with his keys as he turned to face the stranger, “Bailey’s my wife’s first cousin...She—uh—used to live here.”
Leo pieced the parts together as he realized the man was most likely telling the truth. Still, he had questions. “Have you seen her or heard from her recently?”
“No…no…no...Maybe my wife has. I dunno.” He looked towards the house in hopes his wife was watching him being accosted in his own garage. But the windows were empty. She was most likely distracted with the new baby.
Leo grew frustrated as he realized just how little he knew about Bailey and her past. This was all he had: an address and a story about a grandmother and her home. With nothing left to go off of, he was hopeless on finding out what was wrong with her and why she had left him so suddenly.
Possessive_Sons of Chaos MC Page 33
