Bailey: Independence #1

by Karen Nichols

  “When some inconsiderate wretch didn’t keep you awake until midnight,” Gabriel kept the grin from his lips but the laughter in his eyes made her smile.

  “Just so long as you remember I did not say that out loud and am not due punishment for it,” she said around a mouthful of pancakes.

  “Those are in the freezer, Bailey. Quick and easy. And I’ll try to make bedtimes a little closer to ten, how’s that?” He closed the laptop and went to refill his coffee. “I don’t like the idea of you bustling through the building with nothing in your system.”

  “I usually grab a smoothie. Filled with fruit and nutrients,” she repeated the speech she’d used for years to cover her late rising. “And I take vitamins.”

  He glanced over at the jeans and double tops she wore. Both hung a little looser than they should and he guessed she had a bad habit of forgetting to eat.

  “Good thing you have me to watch out for you then,” he said quietly, loading things into the briefcase and striding to the closet. “You might want your jacket today.”

  “Right…be a second,” she quickly finished the buttery pancakes and sighed, running hot water and washing the plate. She let it drain in the plastic holder, dried her hands and took off toward the bedroom closet. She was going to get her car this afternoon. So she’d definitely need the warmth of the jacket. Snatching her pack off the floor, she ran back to the main room, shoving one arm into her jacket and juggling the pack.

  Gabriel watched the balancing act, the dark red hair pulled back into a high ponytail that burst with curls with each move she made.

  “I have two lunch meetings so feeding you this morning made certain you’d eat,” he said, his palm going to her back and guiding her out the door. He quickly set the alarms and led her to the waiting, warming SUV.

  Oh, good, she thought. He would be busy and she could get her car.

  “No problem. I’ll lunch with Patsy,” she said with a grin. “She thinks…” Bailey slapped a palm over her mouth and coughed. A lot.

  “She thinks what, pet?”

  “Umm…well…” that forever dilemma of sharing. Not just with the guy you’re in bed with but with another title slapped onto it, along with boss. Dom.

  “If it helps, I’ve talked to Patsy,” he laughed this time, deep and amused at the stunned expression he could make out beneath the bright street lights. “I’m pretty sure she approves of me for you.”

  “She thinks you’re sexy, like that’s news to you,” Bailey let the words out and quickly dragged in a deep breath. They weren’t twenty-four/seven. It was okay to be her normal self, right? The last bit didn’t sound so confident even in her mind.

  “Good thing my ego is grounded by an irreverent sub.” Gabriel took her hand in his and carried it to his lips.

  “It’s hard to figure out when it’s okay to be me!” She blurted out, wondering where the censure went that lived in her brain.

  “Then I haven’t been clear and I’m sorry. We’ll talk about it tonight over dinner. I always want you to be yourself, Bailey. It’s you I’m attracted to, not something I fabricated in my imagination.” He could feel her confusion, something he should have cleared up if he hadn’t been so damned baffled at his own behavior. “I hope it matters that I find the imp inside equally as appealing as the sub in my bed.”

  “Thank you,” was all she could muster, her eyes on the fingers twining with hers. The silence on the drive was nice, she realized a few minutes later, their hands still together. It made her smile and hurt a little inside. Maybe, she thought…just maybe…

  “Jump out here, pet. This rain is relentless,” he shook his head when she did as he ordered. “I’ll see you during the day.”

  Bailey offered a little wave before dashing off to the interior. She wanted work. Tons and tons of work.

  First step, text Patsy and set up lunch time drive.

  Next, she had dinner planned out by the time they returned from the drive. Patsy was still laughing about her explanations and observations at the club. They parted at the gates and went off to their own offices.

  Then she sent a text off to Gabriel at four. She could picture him scowling when he read what she’d sent but she had left the building when she hit the send button.

  “Left early to fix dinner for you. See you at the house. B.”

  “Left?” Gabriel gripped the phone a little tighter, the whole time listening to the calming voice telling him he couldn’t cage her.

  He paced his office before finally giving up and heading home. He ignored the surprised look on Janet’s face that turned into a grin as he stalked the elevator.

  He hadn’t heard from the Lieutenant. Neither of the people he had doing an in-depth background check on the detective had gotten back to him yet. That was the most annoying. But if the Lieutenant hadn’t uncovered something, then maybe his instinct was off where the detective was concerned.

  He was still pondering how she was getting inside the house when he pushed the door quietly open from the garage side. The spicy scent assaulted him first off. Second came the sound of music, a female salsa singer’s voice bouncing off the vaulted ceiling. Adding to the sultry sounds was Bailey’s voice singing along. And dancing around the kitchen.

  He stood silent for several minutes, a couple songs working their way through as he watched her hips and feet moving to the music. Both brows arched at the sexy gyrations and belly dancing moves. Until she spun and found him watching her.

  How did such a big guy move so silently? She cursed softly and tried hard not to stumble into the counter, failed and winced, her hip striking the edge.

  “Easy, pet. Dinner and a floor show,” he teased. “Not something I expected to ever see in my kitchen.”

  He knew she was waiting for him to scold her and it took a large portion of his control not to do just that. Yes, she might be in danger because of him, but she was, as she kept pointing out to him, an adult. He didn’t want and wasn’t interested in a twenty-four/seven Dom/slave relationship. So that meant he was the one who had to learn to temper his control and the urge to shield her from the world.

  “You’re early.” Okay, not her best opening line ever, she groaned inwardly, just glad he wasn’t glaring at her.

  “I am,” he shrugged out of the heavy coat he’d worn and carried it to hang in the large closet behind the front door. “I’ll change and join you.”

  Bailey really needed to work on breathing around him or she’d better get used to being a shade other than natural. She finished setting up the table, head tilted as she appraised the layout. Perfect, she thought, returning to ladle the soup into the white glazed tureen she’d found in the cabinet. She was slicing through the crusty bread when he came into the kitchen behind her, his hands on the counter on either side of her while she worked.

  Gabriel watched the slender fingers work the knife and then load the small wicker basket before folding the white cloth over the warm bread. Only after she put the knife against the back of the counter did he let his hands cover hers. Soft and warm, he slid his palms along her arms, over her shoulders to frame her face, tilting her head to the side for his kiss.

  Soft and tempting; warm and arousing. Bailey felt herself melt against him as easily as the hot butter would melt on the fresh bread.

  “Now that’s a welcome home from a rough day greeting,” he said gruffly, pulling his desire inside and stepping back to let her finish her preparations. “Would you like wine?”

  “Oh, that would be nice,” she hadn’t quite gotten around to exploring all of the kitchen, still a little uncertain on what was allowed when. “I didn’t think about something to drink.”

  “Have a seat. I’ll find us something appropriate and the glasses,” he knew his kitchen and moved around it confidently, carrying a bottle of red and two glasses by their stems to the table she’d already laid out. “It smells amazing.”

  “It’s a delicious barley vegetable,” she told him, relaxing slowly as the meal progres
sed.

  He talked about his day and the people he was working with on another game project. He laughed when she told him about things that happened during her day and before she knew it, the bread and soup were both gone and they were cleaning up. Together.

  “It’s still early,” Gabriel loaded things into the dishwasher and waited until she decided it was all to her satisfaction. “What would you like to do tonight?”

  “Can I swim?”

  “Bailey,” Gabriel leaned back against the counter. “If you wanted to crawl into bed and sleep until the alarm went off, then that’s what you can do. Somehow I don’t think your imagination would limit your choices. Especially in this house,” he laughed at the flush of color to her cheeks, his palms gliding up her arms and tugging on one of the curls dangling down her back. “So tell me how you got inside the house without me.”

  “I found spare keys on the hook by the garage and watched you input the code,” she answered instantly.

  “I should have given you both,” he kissed her fleetingly. “I’m sorry. I need to check a few things and I’ll join you. No clothing.”

  “I…” Bailey swallowed and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  It wasn’t like she remembered to bring a swimsuit to begin with. So why did it send a thrill through her that he always wanted her naked? Bailey stood before the mirror in the bedroom. Maybe it was better not to look, she decided quickly, grabbed up a thick towel and wrapped it around her. Somehow, it never mattered what a girl looked like, it just wasn’t right. She carried some extra towels with her from the hall closet that seemed loaded with them and even an extra pair of shower shoes.

  She set the extra towels on the table when she noticed the large double doors just inside the huge pool room. She really didn’t know why anything inside the man’s house surprised her. Now she knew she didn’t have to bring towels, they were already here. Along with a whole lot of other things.

  One eye closed as she looked at the hygienically wrapped plugs and dildos; the little basket with all kinds of clamps and lubes that came in flavors as well as condoms. In orange flavor? She felt her cheeks flare with heat. Who knew?

  Bailey quietly closed the doors, dropped her towel and went straight into the water to submerge for as long as she could hold her breath. And lately she’d been getting a lot of practice.

  She thought about the costume she’d worn to the club the first night and had to laugh. She hadn’t had that much clothing on around him when they were alone since then. He was always stripping her.

  Maybe it was the warmth and relaxation of the pool room, she wasn’t sure, but abruptly her body bolted upright. Hands came up and swept the hair back from her face. Her feet clung to the bottom of the pool, her body frozen as her mind processed the image in her brain.

  She knew she was breathing too quickly and dove beneath the water, long arms out and cutting through the crystal clear liquid. She had five laps complete when she finally had her mind settled, the sight of Mistress Janelle blending with a woman from Immersive Games.

  She’d have to check in the morning. If anyone knew anything about her, it would be Patsy. The woman worked in the quality assurance labs and had flunked the software class twice before finally managing to squeeze past the acceptable level on the test. And she had been incredibly angry that Bailey had informed her supervisor that she had not met minimum standards for completion.

  Bailey was out of the pool, wrapped in a towel and headed to bed. She placed her small alarm next to her on the nightstand and settled down, staring out the window and inhaling the sweet smell of the burning logs from nearby.

  Why did her mind finally register the face of the woman from the club? No, she thought, why had it taken so long? Oh, gee, maybe because there were tons of other things messing with your head. That might be it. Then her body began to hum when a weight settled on the bed and a palm ran heavily along her thigh.

  The room wasn’t incredibly dark. Lights from the exterior flickered with the falling rain drops over the window. Bailey rolled to her back to peer into dark eyes that seemed to seek out every one of the fantasies she’d ever created in her mind.

  “I’ve given some thoughts to your seduction techniques.” Gabriel stroked his hand over her stomach, fingers dragging beneath one breast and higher to brush the back of his palm along her jaw. He liked the humor and passion that flared in her eyes and grinned down at her. “I think I should volunteer for practice.”

  “That’s very noble of you.” Bailey managed to say without laughing at the teasing in his eyes. “Does that mean I get to find some cuffs?”

  “It means I get to guide you in your efforts toward perfection.” His mouth came down on hers, barely touching, barely whispering a kiss that pulled their bodies closer together. “Just keep in mind when you achieve perfection, practice is necessary to maintain it.”

  “Yes, sir,” she whispered back, her hands up and wrapping around his neck.

  This time it wasn’t entirely all his fault that they weren’t asleep before midnight.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  If there was ever a distraction, it was the man she was spending time with in bed. He woke her before the alarm went off, stroking and arousing and making her body come alive before her brain was willing to face the morning. She didn’t know why and she really didn’t want to ask questions about why he seemed lighter when he was feeding her bits of toast as she struggled with her comfortable boots and rolled the pant legs of her jeans to her knees. She almost rolled her eyes when he slid the glass of orange juice toward her with one brow arched patiently.

  Bailey decided not to push her luck and drained the glass with only a small glower before carrying things to the sink and rinsing everything out. He talked about the housekeeper and how the woman kept the house basically clean and in order. He talked about the meetings he had and laughed at her comments and she decided it was getting easier and easier to leave the SUV with him in the morning.

  He leaned in and whispered in her ear that they probably decided they were a boring couple and moved on to someone else as a topic of curiosity.

  Gabriel figured he was adjusting her slowly because she only offered a slightly reproachful glance when his palm slid over her jean covered ass as they parted at the elevator. He stood long enough to watch that twitching, bewitching behind saunter off and greet her friends before vanishing behind the locked doors into the first floor offices.

  Bailey made it through most of the day before cornering Patsy on break and asking what she knew or could find out.

  “Stuck up Nelly?” Patsy wrinkled her nose. “No one is ever good enough for her. She’s been here…hmm…maybe two and a half years. Not too many like her because she’s flat out mean. Did you run into her in training?”

  “I flunked her,” Bailey admitted, leaning back in the chair and staring out the window in the cafeteria. “Twice,” she caught the grimace on her friend’s face. “Yeah. I’m finding out that being on her bad side isn’t a good thing. She…”

  “Uh-oh, I’ve seen that look before,” Patsy scooted her chair closer. “What happened?”

  “Evidently she enjoys being a Domme,” Bailey began quietly, one finger up with Patsy’s mouth opened. She snapped her lips tightly together and gaped. “Yeah. Well, she also isn’t particularly pleasant.”

  “You met her at the club?” Pasty whispered in disbelief. “Seriously?”

  “Not met her exactly,” Bailey inhaled slowly. “She uses a riding crop and doesn’t follow the club rules of not punishing subs that belong to another Dom.”

  “Girlfriend, you want me to go take her down for you?” The New York street girl came out low and clear, big, dark eyes flashing angrily.

  “Gabriel suspended her membership until further notice for striking me with the crop without his permission.”

  “She hit you? She hit you!”

  “Shhh!” Bailey felt the heat in her cheeks.

  Patsy raised one finger. “You were aware th
at she prefers females.” She saw the answer on Bailey’s face. “Guess not. Yeah, girlfriend. Last rumor had it, she had a girl she was seeing who was on the police force.”

  Bailey felt the bells going off inside her head and every drop of moisture evaporated from her mouth. “No kidding. A cop.”

  “I don’t think I like the look on your face. What’s going on?”

  “You know about the murders. You know someone sent me the costume,” she watched her conclusions fill in the puzzle pieces on Patsy’s expression.

  “You’re serious. You think…a cop…oh, god, girlfriend…” Patsy fell back in the chair, her head shaking. “You need to tell someone. Talk to the police or…or Gabriel.”

  “I can’t just go out accusing a police officer of murder!” Bailey hissed furiously. “They’ll lock me away or…or circle around and shield her.”

  “And your grand scheme? You’re a computer geek. You’re not CIA or some wild mercenary like in the games,” Patsy reminded her flatly, keeping her voice down. “And what will happen when your Dom finds out your suspicions and you didn’t share them with him?” She watched Bailey winch and twitch on the seat.

  “I’d really rather not think about that,” Bailey said with a hard swallow. “But why go after Gabriel? If she’s angry at me, why target him?”

  “This is worse than those books I read.” Patsy leaned on the table, her upturned palms holding her chin. “There’s too much stuff we don’t know.”

  “The detective came to the club the other night,” Bailey said thoughtfully, finishing her smoothie with a slurp. “She wanted to talk to me about the murders. But they hid me. Gabriel said something is off with her…”

  “If she’s friends with the QA troll, yeah, I’d say something is off,” Patsy stood up with her and they walked toward the exit.

  “He told me to stay away from her. To only speak to the Lieutenant.” Bailey tried avoiding the palm that was up and on the back of her head with a little swat.