Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (61 page)

     
She laughed.
"We'll all be demons."

     
Instead of just
dropping us off, Ethan parked and turned the car off. "I'd like to talk to
you. Down here or up there. Whichever you prefer," he said softly, looking
at me through the rearview mirror. He had given me the option - but really, he
hadn't. His gaze was enough to get the order through: he wanted up. So much
that if I chose down here, it would have felt as though I were directly
disobeying him. But I wasn't sure I wanted to have Jillian in the same building
when he told me whatever it was he wanted to say.

     
"You guys
can talk upstairs," she offered, opening her door. "I'm just gonna
take a shower and crash. I want to have enough time tomorrow for some more fun
before catching my plane."

     
Ethan nodded
and exited the car. Sighing, I followed my friend out. It remained quiet during
the short ride up, with the exception of Jillian's low whistling. I held onto
her the whole way as though she were a life raft. When we entered the
apartment, she stretched her arms wide above her head, letting out an even
greater yawn than in the car. After saying goodbye to her, Ethan headed
straight into my room.

     
Jillian looked
at me as she began removing her jewelry and shoes. "Jeez, Baby. That man
is something else. As dreamy as he might be, he's also kind of…I dunno, scary?
How you manage to deal with him one-on-one for extended amounts of time is
beyond me."

     
Scary? Huh.
That's right…it's so easy to forget most of the time.

     
"And did
you notice the way he was looking at you tonight? Or were you too busy in that
little head of yours?"

     
I hadn't. I had
been more focused on surviving the night.

     
"He's
completely smitten," she continued. "As is Dale." When she was
free of all accessories, she returned her attention to me. "It's good to
see that you both are doing well here. I can go home knowing that you guys are
alright." Pausing, she came up to me and squeezed my hand. "Baby…I
trust him to take good care of you. Let him. But be careful, too."

     
I waited until
I heard the shower go on before I finally stepped into my room. I closed the
door quietly, searching for Ethan. He was standing by the window, staring out
into the darkness. Pressing my lips together, I shuffled uneasily towards him.
After a few lingering seconds of absolute stillness, he abruptly pulled the
curtains closed and turned to gaze at me, his expression still marred into a
scowl. Without saying a word, he took my face in his hands and kissed me
harshly. His lips crushed against mine as his tongue seared its way in, tasting
every corner of my mouth. Both unable and unwilling to move, I could only yield
to his actions.

     
Eventually he
pulled away, leaving us both gasping for breath. "Dammit."

     
"...What's
wrong?"

     
"Do you
really have to ask?" he scoffed, pushing me away.

     
As I stumbled
back, I felt the hairs on my neck stand. "I don't understand. What did I
do?"

     
"It's what
you're doing to
me
," he answered with gritted teeth. After taking a
deep breath, he began speaking in a painfully quiet voice. "I have never
been a jealous man, Daphne. Such inconsequential emotions have always been
beneath me. But tonight…" He paused again and ran a hand through his hair.
"What the
hell
were you thinking?"

     
His question
hurt me. Was I wrong in wanting to take part in tonight's activities to avoid
embarrassment? Had I overdone it? "I
wasn't
thinking. Was it the
dancing? It couldn't have been indecent or anything, it's not like I was up
there stripping. What's the problem?"

     
"The
problem is that no one else was supposed to see you like that. You don't have
to be indecent to attract attention, you do that by simply walking into a room.
But when you go so far as to put on a performance like
that
…Why couldn't
you just sing? Why did you have to go on stage for the whole damn world to
see?"

     
I backed away
even further. I couldn't explain it. He wouldn't understand - how someone could
sing in front of a crowd of strangers but were too fucking chicken to do it in
a room of familiar faces. A wave of nausea and shame washed over me. I guess I
had
overdone it. But I honestly hadn't meant anything by it. I'd done it plenty of
times before. Why torture myself by just singing alone when I could lose myself
by doing so much more? But apparently I'd ended up a boasting spectacle, making
a complete fool of myself by putting my body up on display. I felt sick. I
wanted to hide. I didn't want Ethan to see me. I didn't even want to see
myself.

     
"I'm
sorry," I said, keeping my eyes on the ground.

     
"…Shit," Ethan exhaled. "Kitten…don't. You didn't…Look,
I'm
sorry, alright? Is there still ice cream here?"

     
I didn't want
ice cream. I didn't want anything.

     
"Hey..." His voice was soft now. He came up to me, gently rubbing
my shoulders with his hands. "Talk to me."

     
I didn't want
to talk. I didn't want to breathe. Swallowing, I took a long, deep breath and
let myself go void. I couldn't be allowed to feel right now. Not while he and
Jillian were around.

     
Pulling away, I
looked up at Ethan blankly. "It was three minutes. It was karaoke. After
one minute, probably even less, everyone would have forgotten - same as always.
No one but you sees me, anyway. Stop overreacting." I went to my closet to
change.

    
 
"That wasn't karaoke, Kitten. That
was…it was just
you
. It was…" He pressed his lips together, trying
to find the right words. "…
art
, if you will, on display for other's
enjoyment."

     
"I didn't
do it for anyone but myself."

     
"…I know.
And it showed." After a moment of silence, he sighed and ran another hand
through his hair, watching me as I undressed. "Don't go distant on
me."

     
I reached into
my closet for a simple black nightie. I didn't feel like wearing anything
special. I didn't feel like wearing anything at all, really. "What do you
want?" I asked, now tired.

     
"I want
you to understand."

     
"Are you
asking me to never do it again?"

     
"…No." But his voice sounded unsure.

     
With a sigh, I
slowly turned around, trying to figure out what exactly had ticked him off. I
tried to imagine myself in his place, but I just couldn't comprehend it. He had
no reason to ever be jealous. "Does it matter?" I asked. "I only
see you. I only want you. So whether anyone else sees whatever it is you
think
they're seeing or not…does it really matter?"

     
He swallowed
before answering. "It does when they don't know that you're mine."

     
"…Huh." So it was just a caveman thing. Well, I didn't know
how to fight that. "Anyway, it won't be happening again anytime soon.
Moments like those only happen once in a blue moon, so it's best to just forget
about the whole thing."

     
"As if I
could."

     
I had my
nightie on and was about to lean over to remove my stockings when he suddenly
grabbed me by the waist and pulled me towards him.

     
"I'll make
you understand, then," he spoke into my ear, his voice low and harsh.

     
When I felt his
stiff member press against me from behind, I inhaled sharply, feeling slightly
confused, more than a little embarrassed, and instantly turned on by his sudden
mood switch.

     
"
This
is what you do to me. To men. Look, I won't ever tell you not to do it again. I
want nothing more than to see you happy and having fun. But listen carefully,
Daphne…You are not just some average girl with a decent voice and a few dance
moves. You're a young woman - beautiful, with a damn near angelic voice who
knows her own body." As he spoke, he ran his hand down my waist towards my
inner thigh, slowly making circles with his thumb. "Like I said, I won't
ever tell you not to. But understand that the next time you do something like
that, there
will
be consequences."

     
I squirmed
underneath his touch. "Consequences for what?"

     
"For
teasing me." He began fingering me through the fabric of my gown.
"For turning me on. For turning
others
on. You didn't mean to, but
you did."

     
"…Are you
serious?" No matter what he said, I had a hard time believing it. Not only
that, but the thought of turning other guys on made me feel more than a little
uncomfortable.

     
"Do I
sound like I'm joking?"

     
Déjà vu. Hadn't
we been here before? "…What will you do to me?"

     
"Want to
find out?"

     
By now I was
already feeling the effects of his hand, and I realized that I no longer cared
about anything else. Whether I meant to or not, I had caused him some amount of
frustration. I had to fix that. Tentatively, I moved my hand behind me and
began stroking his erection through his pants, biting my lip when he hissed
into my ear.

     
Leaning my head
back, I looked him directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry I teased you. What can
I do to make it up to you?"

     
He gazed down
at me, eyes narrowing. Moving in closer, he spoke barely above a whisper.
"...Get on your knees."

     
I did. As soon
as he gave the order, I was already sinking to the ground, trying to steady my
heart while he went to lock the door behind me. My eyes followed him nervously
when, slowly, he began circling around me.

     
"They were
fantasizing about you - trying to figure out how to get you to go home with
them. Do you want to go home with other men?" he asked quietly.

     
"No."

     
"Are you
sure about that?"

     
"I only
want you," I replied desperately.

     
"And here
I am. And why is that?"

     
Because
you're mine.
"…Because I'm yours."
Is that what he wanted to
hear?

     
He stopped in
front of me, staring down impassively. "Prove it."

     
Automatically,
I felt tension knot up in my stomach at the sudden thought of having to be in
charge, but it was quick and fleeting as desire took over.
Only with this
man.
I made quick work of his belt, button, and zipper, then lowered his
pants just enough that I could set him free. He fell into my hands, his tip
already glistening with pre-cum. I licked it up, savoring the unique taste
before trying to take all of him into my mouth. It still wasn't possible. I
pulled back and, no longer caring about being pretty, spit on his length before
spreading it up and down with both of my hands. As I did that, I lowered my
head to lick the base. My tongue glided down to his balls and, very gently, I
wrapped my lips around one and began rolling it around in my mouth.

     
"…
Fuck
,"
he hissed.

     
I hummed
quietly, not wanting to be overheard by Jillian. When I thought his cock was
wet enough, I ran my tongue back up, tracing over any veins on the way. After
circling his tip with my tongue, I quickly blew on it before taking as much of
him as I could into my mouth. I began moving up and down, using my hands to
work the areas my mouth couldn't reach.

     
After a few
seconds, he took hold of the hair at my nape and stopped me. I glanced up at
him, wondering if something was wrong. He was looking down at me, his eyes
heated with lust. Bending over, he grabbed me by the upper arms and lowered my
body to the floor, then straddled my stomach and began moving the thin straps
of my nightie to the side, lowering them until my breasts were exposed. He kept
his eyes focused on mine the entire time, and I almost got the impression that
he was testing me, trying to gauge my reaction.
Is he going to titty-fuck me
or something? He hasn't done that yet…
Suddenly, he was pulling off his belt
completely.

     
"You're
not to make a sound. Understand?" he spoke quietly.

     
I nodded
quickly, now a little worried. It was unlikely that he would start whipping me.
So was he going to fuck
me
instead? And if he did, would I be able to
keep quiet? He moved back and, in one swift motion, had me flipped over so I
was lying flat on my stomach beneath him. Then he took both my wrists and
started tightly winding his belt around them. So long as I didn't try to escape
from the binding, it didn't hurt. Once done, I felt the heat of his body
disappear completely, soon followed by a cold wisp of air as he shifted the
skirt of my gown up over my backside and grabbed my hips, lifting my ass up. I
crossed my feet and rested the side of my face flat onto the floor, trying to
put all my weight onto my knees so I wouldn't lose balance and roll over. I
felt Ethan begin to pull my panties down as far as they would go - to the bottom
of my thighs. Then his cold fingers made contact with the most sensitive area
of my body.