“What the hell, Bailey?!” Leo yelled at her as they entered the black limo. Despite the black tinted windows, she could still see the flashes of cameras going off like lightning. “Why would you lie! Do you know what you just did?”
“Yeah, Leo, I do: I saved your ass. How awful of me!.” She wanted to throttle him. She’d done it in return for saving her daughter’s life—and she had no regrets. She would have told ten thousand lies for him if she had to.
“You’re a goddamn idiot, Bailey! I seriously cannot believe—” He shook his head hard and collected his thoughts. “I just can't believe you would do something so—so—stupid.”
“Excuse me?” Bailey bellowed, her temper rising. “Stupid? Me? You son of a bitch.” This might be their first real fight as boyfriend and girlfriend, but that wasn’t about to make her cower or back down. He was about to be her punching bag for all she cared. “You're the one with the hookers, the booze, the anger issues. I wasn’t the one reason you ended up in court in the first place, you bastard!” Her eyes narrowed as the details came back to her. “And while we’re on the subject, what the fuck was going on on that boat with Layana? When exactly were you planning on telling me about that?”
“Okay,” he responded coldly, “So, yeah, I took a boat trip while on probation. So what? I was mad as hell and needed to blow off some steam.”
“So you did it out in the middle of the ocean for a cheap threesome that is now gonna land you in jail?” It suddenly came to Bailey. “Holy Christ, Leo, is—is that what the blackmail is all about? ‘Cause when you told me it was just about Layana being the commissioner's wife, I knew it had to be something more. Is that what the five million is all about?”
Leo pounded his head into the back of the leather seat as the car drove onwards. “Yeah,” he sighed resignedly. “Yeah, Bailey, it is. Alecia Rhodes apparently found my boat and took the photos of me in the middle of the ocean. And now she's gonna take them to the court or the press. Who knows.”
Bailey looked out the window as they drove out of the parking lot. Press still ran next to their car, snapping away at the blank windows in hopes of being able to capture some private moment. She should have been used to it by now. After the media found out about Leo’s involvement with the missing girl, television crews and photographers were practically camped outside the gates waiting for a glimpse of Bailey, Leo, or Lily.
The estate had returned to boarded up windows and the landscapers installed huge hedges in the lawn. Still, it do not stop one photographer from scaling a bush for a shot of Lily running in the grass alongside the new brown and white puppy Leo bought her as a welcome home gift. The next day, the image was plastered on every celebrity gossip website imaginable with the headline, “The Lionheart Opens His Heart to Little Girl.”
Now that the trial had taken their attention off of the softer side of Leo, the photographers and reporters had become crueler. Jonathan Winters, Leo’s agent, had been fielding nonstop media requests to discuss reports from call girls and groupies about his affairs. Bartenders practically lined up to talk about his drinking issues. Even another maid from the Beacher Inn had wanted her fifteen minutes of fame to discuss Bailey’s work ethic and her firing on the night she had met Leo.
The small, enclosed world that the two had built themselves had suddenly come crashing down on top of them. And Bailey couldn’t help but feel as if she was part of the crumbling rubble.
“Look,” Leo grunted, grabbing Bailey’s hand, bringing her back to her reality. “I know you think you're protecting me. But you’re not. If you were to get in trouble for me, I don’t know what I would do. You’re my rock, Bailey. You’re the only solid ground I’ve got to stand on. That person you heard about in court, that guy with the girls and the booze—I don’t want to be him anymore. I don’t want to be some jerk fighter with nothing to fight for except sidechicks and paychecks. I want to be able to fight for you and Lily and our lives together, and I can’t do that when you’re in prison because you lied about who I was in a past life. I’m sorry if that makes me a bad guy that I’m pissed at you.”
Bailey sighed. He was right. She had no right to lie for him like that when she knew what she was risking. It wasn’t fair for Lily either to put her mother on the line. Leo was a man, and she wasn’t allowed to take away that from him.
She smiled and reached out her hand to stroke his cheek. His face was still smooth from his morning shave. Without his trademark stubble, she could see the lines of past scars that marked up his tan and sturdy jaw line. She smiled as she sat at the edge of her seat and turned to face him, “I’m sorry you’re pissed at me. Would you consider forgiving me?” Bailey batted her eyes slowly as she squeezed her chest together. The way she spun her legs inwards towards the leather seats had made the black pencil skirt inch up higher on her porcelain colored thigh. It revealed the knee-high stocking line underneath.
Leo took her in. She was a sight worth getting up for every morning. Her perky breasts, her wavy hair, the piercing blue eyes that reminded him of clear blue day…all he could do was sit back and watch her as she lowered her hand towards the collar of his shirt. Her petite hands unbuttoned the top and then the second and the third. Her lips began to trail along his cheeks and forehead until they made their way down to his lips. She parted them with her own—the delicate skin seeming to force themselves onto him.
She pulled away to ask him again, “Forgive me, Leo?” She looked at him playfully as she whispered into his ear, “Please…”
He couldn’t take much more. With one quick motion, he grabbed her by the hips and hoisted her up onto his lap, her legs straddling his thighs. She squealed in surprise as she tried to grab anything in the limo to hold onto. He only held her tighter, his palms pressing down into her waist so she could feel him slowly growing harder from underneath her position.
It was his turn to pull her head closer to his and whisper softly in her ear, “I can think of a few ways you could make it up to me.” His hand took hers and inched it down under her skirt to his belt and zipper.
She obliged his wishes, unfastening him from his tight suit pants. “Now what, sir?” Bailey finished by undoing his shirt and slowly removing it from his body.
“So polite, Miss Reed…But you know you can do this on your own.” He winked at her and released his grip on her waist, waiting for her to take control. “Surprise me.”
Bailey looked at him, her eyes laser focused on him as she balanced herself on his legs and then moved to her red blouse. Slowly, allowing him to savor every motion, she began to inch the silky fabric from her hip up to her waist, exposing her bellybutton to him. “More?” She asked. He nodded eagerly. She stretched her arms higher and folded the fabric up once again, this time so he could look at the hourglass curve of her waist and the outline of her bra at the very top. Again, she asked him, “More?”
His mouth had gone completely dry. “Yes, please.”
Bailey complied with his request. This time, lifting the shirt over her head completely revealing her perky breasts in their white lace bra. She rolled the straps down one arm, letting it fall against her skin. Her naked shoulder rolled towards him as he leaned in to gently kiss it.
He removed the next strap as he tasted her sweet skin. His other hand released the clasp on her bra as Bailey tossed it aside with her shirt. Leo lowered his head to her chest, resting it in the valley between her breasts. She leaned back, letting her hands balance on his knees. He reached his tongue to one nipple, making a tiny circle with the tip. Almost instantly, the pink top balled around the sensation. He followed it with a tiny nibble and suck. Bailey tried her best not to arch back, but the shock of his mouth on her body made her unsteady.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and took him downwards towards the seat. His hands quickly went towards her skirt, removing her matching panties. His pants, too, fell to the floor—both fully undressed and ready to go.
But Leo had other plans. He grabbed a bottle of champagne from the limo’s small fridge. His fingers popped the top, sending a loud burst echoing throughout the car. “Open your mouth, but don’t swallow,” Leo commanded.
She parted her lips as he poured a small amount of the bubbly liquid into her mouth. It tasted like heaven to her. He lunged his tongue in, lapping at the liquid. He pulled away, only saying, “Swallow.” She obeyed.
“Now, get on your knees.” He sat on the seat while she knelt before him, placing her hands on his bare lap. “Open your mouth again. This time, do what I did to my cock.”
Bailey looked at him with big, curious eyes. She had never mixed food in the bedroom. Something about it seemed so foreign. But she knew Leo was an expert about these things. This time, he poured more of the champagne into her mouth. She had just enough room to open up around his member. The bubbles formed around him sending shockwaves up and down him. She could feel his skin prickle and tingle from the feeling. It made her move faster up and down his cock. Every few minutes, she would stop and replenish the liquid, still the sensation of the bubbles, her lips, and the deep suck lost no power over him.
She finally swallowed the last amount, this time going all in. Her tongue dragged along the curve of his cock as she sped up. He grabbed hold of her hair, pulling her head closer and farther from the spot. She could hear him rumble with desire causing her to speed up. Up and down, her head bobbed and circled. Her fingernails dug into his skin. His eyes rolled back into his head.
The urgency of it grew inside him as he wanted to bottle up the feeling as much as possible. But the way she plunged him into her mouth made it impossible to hold. He gripped hold of the leather upholstery with his arms outstretched. One of his hands shot up towards the ceiling of the car, hitting the ceiling with a bang as he let out a long heavy sigh—his cum pouring out from him into her warm, wet mouth.
She swallowed quickly and then took another long sip from the champagne bottle. She shot up to his lap, draping her arms around his neck. He pulled her in close for a kiss as he took in the taste of champagne from her lips. He longed to reach down for the bottle, but she was enough. Her own scent, her own taste, overpowered whatever need he had to drink up.
“You’re amazing, Miss Reed.” He kissed her forehead as his breath struggled to catch up.
“You’re not so bad yourself. But I think we’re going to have to hold up…” She peered out the window, noticing the scenery had begun to get familiar. “We’re almost home.”
Bailey handed Leo his suit pants as she slipped on her skirt and bra. She began to ask him about dinner choices and his plans for the evening, but Leo was not paying attention. Instead, he was focused on the blinking light of his cellphone illuminating his pocket. It was a message from an unknown number.
He clicked his phone off as he returned Bailey’s question. “Yeah, I could do meatloaf tonight. Could you make some extra? Timothy is coming over for a training session in a few days so I want to start eating more.”
“Your new trainer? Really? That’s great. I’d love to meet him. I’ll make another serving for you.” Bailey went back to buttoning up her top and fixing her hair in a tight and neat bun. Leo quickly dressed as the car pulled up to the gate. Photographers were waiting, cameras and flashers set. They didn’t miss a moment of their arrival. Even from the distance, Leo could see their gigantic lenses pointed at the couple’s direction as they exited the car.
Leo lingered behind by the car as Bailey walked towards the door. She listened in the distance as the unsteadying sound of cameras clicking, stealing their glimpses of the couple’s private moments, filled the air. The new housekeeper, Ms. Penny, greeted them. “Are you coming, Leo?”
“Yeah, Bailey. I just have to make a quick call. Go on without me.” He took out his phone as she quickly, somewhat nervously, walked into the home. He could hear the prancing feet of Lily greeting her near the entryway as Ms. Penny shut the door behind her.
Leo quickly dialed the number and listened to the ring. On the third ring, he heard the man answer. “Jonathan, it’s Leo. We’ve got an issue, man.”
Jonathan was passive and calm, totally unlike his usual high-strung self, “I know. I heard Bailey’s testimony went a bit haywire today, but the lawyer says it’s just a hiccup. The stuff she said about your character is gonna make a difference…”
“No, listen to me. It’s Alecia, Calvin’s sister. She sent me another picture. This one has the name of the boat in the shot. If the prosecutor sees it, he’s gonna be able to pinpoint where I was that day.” Leo leaned down and picked up a piece of tiny gravel from the driveway, throwing it in the direction of where the reporters waited.
Jonathan groaned loudly until he released, “Damnit! I thought that us ignoring it would send a message. Shit!”
“I can’t let anyone see these pictures, Jon. No one.” Leo tried hard to hide the desperation in his voice, but was failing. It oozed off of him.
“Then the only thing we can do is give her what she wants. We've got to pay her off.” Jonathan hated losing. But he especially despised giving in to someone more ruthless than him. “I’ll arrange it tonight. Can you meet me tomorrow at the Davenport at noon?”
Leo agreed and hung up the phone quickly. He picked up another, larger piece of rock as he screamed out. “Dammit!” He threw another, and then another.
“Leo?” A small voice startled him, causing him to spin round towards the door. A small girl with wavy blonde hair clutched a small quilt and a teddy bear.
He tried to smile, but the motion felt so strange and forced. She looked at him with wide eyes, fearful of what she had seen. Her voice quivered as she said, “Mommy wanted me to tell you to come inside.”
Leo rushed to her side, scooping her up in her arms. “Hey there, kiddo! How were you today?”
Lily’s face instantly changed from fear to pleasure. She was not used to having someone take so much interest in her. “Ms. Penny and I went to the store and bought new shoes for school. And, she let me get this!” Lily proudly handed Leo a small, fuzzy creature with big purple eyes and golden fur. “It’s a Catchall! It hears what you says and remembers it.”
Leo laughed as he spoke into the Catchall’s speaker, “Lily Reed is the smartest girl I know.” He pressed the play button as It repeated it back in a high pitched voice. Lily giggled as she continued to press play. Leo then knelt beside her and said excitedly, “I have an idea. While mommy is cooking dinner, how about you, me, and Scooter take a trip down to the gym? I can teach you how to box with those new gloves I bought you. What do you say?”
Lily’s eyes lit up as she squirmed to be let down and then raced inside the house shouting into the empty hallway. “Mommy!” she called. “Leo’s gonna teach me how to fight!”
Leo remained outside for a few moments longer with her toy still in his hands. Inside, two of the most precious things waited for him, depended upon him. And as much as he tried to be a changed man for the girls in his life, his past had still managed to find him. But this time, he vowed to make it disappear for good.