Bailey: Independence #1 (37 page)

“Wasn’t it your intent to seduce me in the shower?” Gabriel took her glass and set it on her side of the nightstand. He efficiently arranged them down on the pillows, the blankets and quilts pulled over them both. He liked having her snuggled against him.

Bailey sighed and snuggled closer to the warmth with a low, contented purr.

“Yes. I’m thinking I’m not very good at it,” she felt his chuckle and then the touch of his lips on her forehead.

“We each have our roles, pet,” he closed his eyes and let the darkness take him far from the complexities of his thoughts about the two of them.

Chapter Thirty-One

She seriously wanted to slap the alarm. No, she corrected, she seriously wanted to slap Gabriel. Then she smelled the coffee and toast and knew he was already up and in the other room. She raised her head from the pillow she’d been burrowed into, eyes squinting just a little at the strange color on the nightstand.

“Okay, so maybe he gets another day’s reprieve,” she mumbled, angled herself to her elbows and wrapped the closest hand around the frosted glass of orange juice. Half of it was gone when the long sigh broke free.

“I’m sure my parents will appreciate the extra day you’ve granted me.” Gabriel continued knotting the autumn colored tie, watching her body freeze.

The dark red hair that had been straight after her few minutes in the shower was now a mass of thick curls that fell like a waterfall around her face.

She peered at him through the dense jungle and wisely put the glass to her lips to finish the juice.

He held his palm out, taking the glass as she scrambled to sit and finish waking up.

“Alright?”

“Good. Yes. Thank you for the juice.” Bailey scooted to the edge. Naked. Again. No, she thought, it was becoming a lifestyle in this house. “I’ll only be a few minutes. I’m fast in the mornings,” she assured him, heading for the bathroom with a firm click of the door.

“That’s how you miss breakfast,” he murmured to himself when the door closed. His little pet wasn’t a morning girl. He grinned and went back to the main room.

Gabriel had a plate waiting for her with small pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. He almost laughed when she stared at the plate on the breakfast bar. The juice had been refilled and both stood where she normally sat in the morning.

“I…”

“Eat, Bailey. We have time,” he told her as his fingers scrolled down something on the screen of his laptop.

“You didn’t have to…I don’t usually…”

“Why is it alright for you to nurture me but disturbing if I want to nurture you?”

Lashes blinked as she slid into the barstool.

“Thank you.” she started eating, aware of the rumble in her middle. She winced at the chuckle from beside her. “I’m usually better in the morning when…well…”

“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 progressed.

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.