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 shoulder 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.
“Wait.” The cousin-in-law spun back around from his car to the stranger as a thought came to his mind, “Are you Joe?” Leo looked at him blankly, unsure of what to make of the question, “I know we only met for a second at the wedding, but you look different from what I remember. My apologies.”
Leo watched as the man outstretched his arm to him in greeting. He shook his head wildly as he said, “I’m not Joe. I’m Leo, Leo Connelly. Bailey is my…” He couldn’t finish the sentence, “She works for me.”
“Wait! Leo Connelly? The Leo Connelly? The Lionheart? The heavyweight boxer?” The man dropped his briefcase on the garage’s cement floor as his face beamed in recognition. He again outreached his arm as Leo, annoyed as ever, took it. “Does Bailey live with you? If so, I’ve got some of her mail here. It keeps coming to the house even though Rebecca keeps signing up for mail forwarding on her behalf. Let me go run in and get it for you. Do you mind?”
Leo couldn’t say no. He was still pondering over the name the man had given him. Joe. Joe? It didn’t make sense. The name certainly had not come up before. And why had the man in the garage known him from the wedding. He had remembered Bailey mentioned she was married before, the name had to be of her ex. But she had sworn up and down it had ended years ago. Why would Joe still be looking for her or even in her life?
The man returned with a bundle of letters as a woman dressed in a terry cloth blue robe waved from the window. She shouted, “We’re big fans, Lionheart!”
Leo took the parcel of mail and headed back to his car. Once inside, he looked through the stack. Most of them were boring spam fliers. But in the middle of the stack was an official looking long white letter with a recent post date. He ripped it open, not caring if this was an invasion of privacy for her. He needed to know everything about her.
The Boys and Girls Halfway Home Center
343 Starting Road
Chicago, IL 60666
Dear Ms. Reed,
This is a reminder that you are required, per your foster agreement, to attend a meeting with you and your daughter’s personal caseworker on the fourth of June at the Boys and Girls Halfway Home Center.
If you plan to reclaim your child at this date, please have made arrangements in advance with your caseworker so that the proper paperwork can be prepared. If you plan to continue to house your daughter in the home, we require that you attend in order to receive an update on her care. The meeting should last approximately one hour and you will get to see your child on that day. To schedule your meeting time, please call Ellen Walker at 555-589-0011.
Thank you,
Janet Daly, Director and Founder
The Boys and Girls Halfway Home Center
Leo’s mind raced. Not only was there an ex-husband who still seemed to be a part of his girlfriend’s life, Bailey also had a child that she was concealing from him. He placed the rest of the stack on the passenger seat and started the car. What he had discovered about Bailey’s past was enough for one day.
As he walked through the door, he expected her to run up to him, to jump into his arms, to plant soft kisses on his neck and shoulders. But the home was still empty. She was still missing. Leo walked into his room and into his bedroom closet. On the top shelf was a box he had passed off as shoes. But inside was the last two bottles of alcohol he had kept in the home. He returned to the kitchen and fetched a crystal glass. His mouth watered as he watched the tan whiskey pour slowly into the glass.
Leo took a slow, lingering sip, one that made him release a sigh of relief. This was where he was supposed to be. This was the life he had chosen for himself. He took another sip and then another as he remembered how Bailey had convinced him that she was worth sobering up for. A fourth and fifth shot down his throat quickly as the burn disappeared and the anger returned. He had been stupid enough to trust her. She was just as good as the Layana and all the others.
For each issue, he drank. For each pain, he drank. For each memory, he drank. By the time Bailey had returned, he was too drunk to notice the tears in her eyes that discolored her makeup and caused black smears to run down her cheeks. He did not notice the crumbled letter in her hand. All he noticed was the liar slowly circling the bed where he laid, empty glass in one hand and a quarter full bottle in the other.
Bailey choked back her emotions as she tried to muster some strength. The day had been taxing. The home had not let her take Lily. She couldn’t until her meeting in one week. She had not even been able to see the girl, though she did spot her wavy hair and sparkling smile from the center’s playlot.
“Wh—what are you doing?” She stepped back from the bed, her hands raised in an automatic defense.
“What does it look like, Bailey?” Leo held the bottle for her to see. His unsteady grip caused the liquids to swish around and spill from the top. “I’m drinking myself into oblivion—and it’s your fault.”
“My fault?” She was taken aback as she struggled to figure out what had changed in the few hours she had been away. “How is you getting drunk my fault?”
“Since you walked in those doors, I’ve struggled to figure you out. I thought you were some savior, some person there to make me better. But now I know you. You’re just a cheap skank like the rest of them.” He struggled to sit up as he continued, “Did Jonathan put you up to this? Did he convince you to save me back at that hotel just so I would feel like I owed you?”
“What are you talking about?” Bailey was lost. The hurt hadn’t even registered over all the other noise and emotion.
“It’s a pretty good plan. Convince hot hotel maid to save drunk Leo, get her to work for him so he would see her every day, tell her to sober him up, make him chase after her to seal the deal—and then bring in the bank for you and hubby back home!”
“Hubby? Home?” Bailey tried to think back on if Leo had seen the letter from her ex-husband sitting on the table. Had he taken it the wrong way? She couldn’t see how he could think Joe’s threats were a sign that they still were together. “We’re divorced Leo. I divorced him ages ago! He’s gone. Long gone.”
“Then what about Lily?”
Bailey took another step back towards the door. She had concealed her daughter this entire time, unsure on how to break it to her new boyfriend that she was actually a mother—a mother with a daughter in a foster home. “How do you know about Lily?”
Leo handled her the crumpled letter from the shelter as he took another drink straight from the bottle.
Bailey glanced over the contents as Leo’s rantings began to make sense. “Leo…Lily is my daughter. I didn’t tell you about her because I didn’t think you would be okay with a kid. She’s Joe’s child. But we left him when he was a drunk.” She emphasized the word drunk so that it would sting him the hardest.
Leo looked down at the bottle and then back to her, “Why didn’t you think I would want to know that? You think I’m some monster to be kept from your kid!” He threw the glass hard so that it smashed into pieces up against the wall. Bailey shuttered as she remembered her first days in the manner in which she would spend hours cleaning up shards of his drunkenness.
“Well yeah! When you do this—this getting drunk. You know my story, Leo. You know what Joe did to me. And now…“ She broke down as she realized that she needed to tell him the truth, the whole truth. “And now he’s coming back for me. Here, read this.”
She reached over the bed and handed the letter with Joe’s threat. Leo read through it quickly, his eyes widening in horror and then narrowing as he finished. He put the letter down and then sprang from the bed, wobbling in the process as the alcohol caught up to him. He shouted, “Tell me where he is, Bailey!”
Bailey cried out, “I don’t know! I don’t know! He wasn’t supposed to be find me. He wasn’t supposed to find Lily. And when I went to the home today to try to get her, they wouldn’t let me see her or take her home. She has to stay until next week.” She covered her eyes with her hands, “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Leo!”
Bailey’s tiny body sunk to the ground as her knees gave way and the weight of her problems sunk her. He ran to her side, pulling her close to his body. She could smell the booze ooze off of him, but still she did not flinch. Even with his mishap, she felt safer with him than she had ever with Joe.
“Tomorrow, we’re going to sit down and talk it through. We’re going to come up with a plan. Joe won't find her or take her if we figure it out before him. I promise you I'll keep both of you safe. I’m not going to let you or her get away from me again.” Despite the drink, he meant every word. He had never seen himself as a father figure, nor would he consider ever taking in a child before. But this girl was different. If she was Bailey’s child, if she was Bailey’s world, he wanted to be a part of her life no matter the cost.