Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (78 page)

     
The first thing
I did - after checking the contents of the fridge, of course - was take a bath.
I spent a good hour in there, enjoying the feel of the water around my body.
The only downside was that the tub felt much too big without Ethan.

     
Once out, I
gingerly began drying myself. Instead of going to my designated drawer and
picking out a nightgown, I went straight into Ethan's walk-in closet. I was
hoping that the space would smell like him, but it was scentless for the most
part. My eyes began scanning the area for what would become my new precious
gem. It wasn't a plain T-shirt that I wanted, but one of his white collared
button-down shirts - the ones that I loved to see him wearing the most. Instead
of picking one of the many that were neatly organized on hangars off to the
side, I started opening the drawers, hoping that there would be more. There
was.

     
Beaming
wickedly, I pulled one out and sniffed it. The scent was intoxicating. With
nothing else on but my panties, I slipped my arms through the sleeves and
buttoned it up. It was so large that it completely covered my behind and upper
thighs. I even had to roll up the sleeves just to find my hands. Because my
neck was rather sensitive to any kind of constrictions, I left it unbuttoned at
the top. Noting that it was just as comfortable as my lovely nightgowns, if not
more, I didn't feel so bad about stealing one of his things.

     
I'd meant to go
downstairs for some food and a movie, but I somehow ended up in the music room
instead. Flicking on the lights, I stared in wonder at the piano, slightly
amused to find that the lid was now up. I chewed on my lip and felt my face
heat up as I remembered the last time I was in here.
Daphne, you lucky
bitch...Having sex on his piano. Amazing and surprisingly comfortable sex, at
that.
I quickly switched the lights back off and ran downstairs with a
maniacal grin on my face.

     
It had been a
while since I'd last seen Mr. Tilney, so I decided to watch
Northanger Abbey
.
True to his word, Ethan had stocked his fridge to the fullest. It was filled
with all of my favorite fruits, plus both Rocky Road and a box of Drumsticks. I
was also surprised to find that he had made room in one of his cupboards for
all of my favorite snacks, and even some of the stuff that he considered
'imitation junk food.' He must've checked the apartment kitchen while I wasn't
looking. I ended up having a little bit of everything, knowing that I was going
to have to do a shitload of exercising to make up for the pigging out I would
be doing here.

     
Somehow, I was
still hungry when the movie ended. Continuing the Jane Austen route, I put on
Mansfield
Park
and kept eating, only this time I stuck to only fruits and vegetables.

     
I was feeling
sleepy enough to head to bed after that. As I walked through the house up
towards his room, I was once again reminded of my previous thoughts about the
place. I thought it interesting that it no longer felt as cold as it did
before, but maybe that was just because I felt welcomed here now. That, and
also because I could feel Ethan's presence everywhere, which was probably due
to his absence. Since he was gone, this was my primary link to him.

     
I was about to
crawl into his enormous bed when I remembered that I hadn't checked my phone
since I'd left the building. Yawning, I dug it out from inside of my purse.
There was a single text from Ethan:
Find anything to steal yet?

     
It was from two
hours ago. I looked at the time, which read eleven o'clock.
That would make
it 2:00 AM in New York, right?
I climbed onto the bed and curled my body
up, biting my finger nervously as I stretched my right arm up as far as it
would go. I snapped a picture of the shirt, hoping it wouldn't come out blurry.
When I checked it, I could see that it came out clear, but…

     
Although I
hadn't meant for it to be sexy, the angle I had taken it in showcased a bit of
my cleavage. The bottom half of my face where my mouth and finger met showed up
as well, almost in a rather suggestive manner.

     
Chances were
that Ethan would be sleeping, so I could
probably
get away with it.
Possibly
.
I quickly hit send along with the words '
this is mine now
.' Then I set
the phone onto the bedside table and pulled the covers over me, loving the way
the cool silk felt against my skin.

     
I was nearly
asleep when my phone started to ring.
Ugh
. I reached over and grabbed
it, checking to make sure it was him.

     
"Why the
hell aren't you asleep?" I asked with a yawn as soon as I answered.

     
"
Kitten
."

     
One word and I
was wide awake, ready and waiting."...Yes?"

     
"Yes,
what?" he asked in a low voice.

     
"Yes,
sir?"

     
"Good
girl."

     
When I woke up,
I felt thoroughly well-rested. The aching in my limbs was long gone thanks to
the bath, the lounging on the sofa, and the comfort of the bed. Not to mention
Ethan's specific instructions that led to the unwinding of my body. Sitting up,
I reached my arms over my head and flexed my fingers, blushing madly. It was
fine while we were on the phone, but so long as it wasn't happening in the
moment…

     
Even so, I was
glad to find that I had no problem following his orders. I couldn't say that I
would be okay with getting physical with him in person just yet - I still
wasn't over what had happened Sunday night, but it was a small step in the
right direction.

  
   
I was in no rush to get ready this morning. I
took my time, deciding that I would not leave Ethan's home until I looked like
walking perfection.
Hah, what a lie
. Okay, so maybe not, but I at least
wanted to look as good as I was going to get.
For it should be known that
one could not walk out of Mr. Desmond's house looking like a frump.

     
Preparing my
lunch was a lot more fun thanks to all the ingredients I had to choose from.
Calling a cab was a bit nerve-racking, though I couldn't really explain why.
Perhaps it was because I had never left his home by myself before. When it came
time to leave, I suddenly felt very uneasy. As soon as I walked out his front
door, I was itching to get back inside and hide away from the rest of the
world. But I reminded myself that I would be able to lock myself up for as long
as I wanted once I was finished with the mural.

     
After spending
a few minutes chatting with Samantha and Beth at the front desk about how the
date with Coops went, which apparently ended up being pretty spectacular, I
left to return to my angels. The final layers of the blue paint on the ceiling
had dried, leaving the room almost entirely dim without the backing of the sun
to light it up. Oh well. In the end, it ended up more of an
underwater
heaven
than a
heaven made up of water
. I'd just have to give Ethan a
flashlight.

     
I turned the
floor lamp on and eagerly jumped into creating the lighting effects with the
oils I had brought in the day before. I worked on the ceiling first, taking my
time to create dozens of ripples, tiny glints and glimmers. Because I was
nearing the final stages of the mural, I finally broke out the project-themed
playlist I had created when I'd first started. All the songs on the list
reminded me of the color blue, of water, of angels, or of heaven. It wasn't one
particular genre, but a mesh of certain classical pieces, gregorian chants,
video game and movie soundtracks, and some extra songs by modern-day artists.

     
I was relieved
when it finally came time to work on the walls again. Even though there was
more space to cover, the process would be much quicker than it had been on the
glass ceiling.

     
It was just
after three when I was almost ready to move on to the third wall. My stomach
had already begun growling an hour before, but I was determined to get through
this step. It was uncomfortable. Before, I could go hours without food. But now
I had fallen into a routine and it was almost as though I couldn't continue
working unless something was in my stomach. My phone rang then, and I took it
as a sign from the heavens that it was time for me to take a break. I carefully
set my brush and palette down and shuffled to where my phone was. I saw Ethan's
name as the caller and quickly hit the talk button.

     
"Hey,
you," I greeted.

     
There was a
long pause before he spoke. "I have something to tell you."

     
Taking notice
of his serious tone, my heart sped up and I immediately began to worry.
Now
is he breaking up with me?
"…Something bad?" I asked hesitantly.

     
"We got
her."

     
My breath
caught in my throat, the air in my body struggling to leave all at once.
"…What?"

     
"We were
able to catch up to her in Galveston, where we tracked down one of her
hideouts. She was caught approximately twelve hours into the stakeout."

     
How?

     
I know I had
said so myself only the other day that everything would be okay, but…
really?
All this time, and then...
bam?
"…Just like that?"

     
"Just like
that," he repeated softly.

     
Huh.

     
I didn't know
what to feel. I mean, I know I should've felt relieved. But I just couldn't
bring myself to feel anything other than uncertainty. "How? It hasn't even
been a week since you started looking for her. How is that even possible? Are
you sure it's her?" I sank to the floor and grabbed onto the nearest
object - a bucket of glaze.

     
"It's her,
we're positive. And it's very possible. I told you, we sent out professionals.
Finding someone isn't that hard at all, so long as you know what you're doing
and who it is you're looking for." He scoffed. "Did you honestly
think I would actually allow you to stay behind not knowing how long it would
take before she was found? This is a part of what we do, Daphne."

     
I was stunned.
"…Neither the business site or the wiki page said anything about you
specializing in hunting people down."

     
"Of course
not. You think we're able to get stuff done so quickly without breaking at
least a few laws?"

     
Oh.

     
Well, then, I
guess that answered the
illegal shit
question. "So what happens
now?"

     
"As you
said, the chances of turning her in without Wilhelm somehow getting involved
are near impossible. We can talk about what will happen in person, after I get
back. But for now, just know that she's in captivity. She's not getting out.
You're safe now."