You Belong To Me (18 page)

Thanks again, bye.”

Glad that's taken care of, thought Mitch. Now I can concentrate on helping Danielle get better and hopefully there will be no distractions. Pulling into his driveway, he was glad to see the home alarm technician along with the glass installer already waiting for him.

“How are you feeling Dee?” Asked Shayla as she and Jason walked into her
room.

“Oh, hey guys, I'm feeling much better thanks, you guys didn't have to come here, I know you must be busy.”

“Oh Dee, I won't be able to get anything done until I know that you’re okay girl.”

“Well thanks Shay, I appreciate that. The doctor says I can
leave soon, I just have to figure out where I'm staying,” she said laughing.

“Well no worries there Danielle,
 you and Mitch are both staying at our place tonight.  And don’t worry we already told Mitch when we saw him outside.” 

“Oh, you saw him?” Daniel
le said with a frown.”

“What’s going on Dee?”

Danielle began to pout, “Nothing is going on, it's just that this morning he looked so exhausted and had such a forlorn look on his face when he told me he had some errands to run.  I got the feeling he wasn’t coming back, ever.”

“What?”
  Said Shay and Jason in Unison.

“Danielle, are you crazy? Mitch, really did have some errands to run hun,
  he had to get the windows replaced at his place and he set up an appointment for the two of you to go and pick yourselves out a guard dog, so those errands are all about you.”

“Wait back-up, a guard dog? Are you serious?”

“Yes Danielle, you need a dog. Especially when Mitch isn’t around and your alone, won't it be nice to have some company, and Mitch says these dogs are not only guard dogs, they become part of the family,” said Jason.

“Well I do love dogs and I hope it never needs to attack,
 but it's good to know he can and will if needed.”

“That’s more like it Danielle, now
get those negative thoughts out of your head, the doctors coming in.”

After spending a relaxing quiet evening with Shay and Jason, Mitch and Danielle headed up to the room that Shay had prepared for them. Lying in bed, Danielle felt Mitch wrap his arms around her. “Mitch, it feels so good to be in your arms again, you know there was a moment there when I wasn’t so sure I’d ever see you again.”

“Danielle, seeing you in that much harm hurt me so much, I have never felt such helplessness.

But I won't let that happen again because I've armed the house and were picking out a guard dog in the morning.”

“I know that it's going to be hard for you to go back to my place, our place babe, but would you consider it? I mean, if you absolutely cannot
go back there, I'll put it up for sale Danielle and we'll find someplace else.”

“Don’t be silly, I still love your home and I would never ask you to give it up.
  I was stupid for not locking up anyway when I went upstairs.  But you know what handsome, I don’t want to think about that terrible day. Let's try and put it behind us and concentrate on the here and now. Are we going back to the house tomorrow?”

“No babe, we're not.”

“Well where are we going?  I don’t want to impose on Shay and Jason any longer than we absolutely have to.”

“Oh don’t worry babe, we're not staying here either. It's a surprise and that's all I'm going to tell you, so stop asking.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes that’s so now get some sleep, we've got an early day tomorrow.”

“You know Mitch, if I really wanted to find out I could. You know I have ways of making you talk,” she joked.

“That you do babe that you do. And if I weren’t so exhausted I’d let you try out your ways, but unfortunately... Danielle?”

Mitch laughed quietly as he realized Danielle too had been exhausted, so exhausted she had fallen asleep during their conversation. He whispered, “Goodnight Danielle, I love you.” And kissed her softly on the cheek.

Dressed in denim capris and an aqua colored tee, Danielle felt incredibly well reste
d as she and Mitch said their goodbyes to Shay and Jason and headed out into the warm morning. 

“It's so good to see you so relaxed and happy Danielle.”

Mitch I feel amazing and you know why?

“No, why?”

“I feel amazing because I slept next to my amazing guy last night and I missed that.”

“Me too babe, me too. But don’t worry, we'll be sleeping next to each other every night.”

“Mitch you say that now, but things change, people change. You could get sick of all this drama and decide that you don’t want to be with me. And I have to admit after all that’s gone on, who could blame you?” She said with sadness.

“Danielle, I won’t decide that. Look at me, you're my girl and I'm your guy, you got that?
  I'll admit that some of the events that have happened have been a little unorthodox but so is the way we feel about each other. I mean the way it all happened so fast and everything so listen when I tell you; this is just something that we have to get through together and is making our relationship stronger each and every day.”

“Mitch, what would I do without you?”

“You'll never have to find out Danielle because I'm not going anywhere.”

Before leaving the guard dog kennel, they had picked out a lovely, yet very fierce pure bred German Shepard.
 

“He is a gorgeous dog Mitch, Why couldn’t we take him today though?

“Well he'll be brought over to the house when we get back Danielle.”

“Back from where?”
  Danielle asked inquisitively.

“Oh you'll see babe, we are heading there now.”

“Mitchell Conway, you tell me right this instant where we are going,” giggled Danielle.

“You'll see Danielle, you'll see.”

“Well wherever we’re going for a whole week, I hope they won't mind me wearing the same clothes day after day. Mitch I haven’t anything packed.”

“Don’t w
orry about a thing Danielle, I have taken care of it all, now just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“If you say so, but I’d enjoy it much more if you told me where we are going,” she said singsong voice.

“You'll enjoy it much better if you stop worrying about it,” Mitch said in his best singsong tone.  Both laughing, they kissed each other deeply before heading onto the interstate.

“Thank you for calling all-star rental, this is Tim how may I help you?”

“Yeah, this is Mr. Tillitson, I'm going to need the SUV much longer than I’d expected.”

“Okay, sir, since you've had it for three weeks sir, it's our policy that you come into the office. You need to basically re-rent the vehicle, this way you can let us know the exact amount of time you'll be needing the vehic
le sir. And might I suggest a longer rental time, and if it turns out to be shorter, we can credit your account.” 

“That all sounds well and good but why do I have to come into the office again? Can't you take down my information over the phone? I really
can't get out right now, is there a manager I can talk to please.”

“May I put you on hold
 a moment sir?” 

“Yeah, yeah go ahead.”

While he was holding, Ethan realized his mistake.

“Thanks for holding sir, I did speak with the manager and he said we can tak
e your information over the...”

“Hold on, one second thought, I'll come into the office, but I am going to need to switch cars.”

“Oh? Is there anything wrong with the explorer sir?  No, nothing is wrong, I just want something different, can be a car or SUV doesn’t matter.”

“Well sir, unfortunately all of our SUV’s are reserved until next week, but we can offer you a midsized sedan.”

“That’s fine, just have it ready for me when I arrive, I'll be there shortly.”

“Will do sir, see you soon.”

 After hanging up the phone, Ethan realized that with the exception of the cops finally catching up to him and questioning him about the break-in at Mitch’s, things were working out perfectly.
Ah the cops questioning me wasn’t pleasant
, he thought to himself.  It was only a few days ago that they caught him leaving his apartment; he’d gotten too cocky and began coming and going as he pleased, but on this particular day, officer Talon caught up to him and immediately brought him in for questioning.

Once at the station, two
detectives brought him into a small interrogation room where they proceeded to bombard him with questions about his whereabouts the day of the break-in. He didn’t show any fear though because he had it all covered. He had managed to secure a pretty good alibi for that day and he knew that when the cops checked it out, they would have no alternative but to release him, and that’s just what they did. I'm not as dumb as you may think Danielle, he thought to himself. I outwitted the cops and soon I’ll outwit you and your Mitch. You’ll never doubt me again my love, he thought to himself as he grinned a sickening grin.

After his alibi checked out and he was released, the cops stopped coming by and knocking on his door. The officers that were sitting outside his ap
artment almost every day, now only drove by once every few hours. All he had to do was make sure no one saw him leave his apartment.

Even though he was in the clear, he still had to be careful. He didn’t want to arouse anymore suspicion around him, he knew
he was still under surveillance and he had to be careful. He didn’t want to get caught and that was easy enough, he only had to watch and wait. Once the surveillance car drove past, he simply walked out of his apartment and gotten into his rental car. And as long as he kept changing cars, no one would ever catch on. No one, especially Neanderthal and Danielle.
Once I pick up the car from the rental agency, I think I’ll take a nice drive out by ole Mitchy poo’s place, see what the lovely couple is up to,
Ethan said to himself while a nasty smirk covered his face.

“Mitch, this is where we came on our official first date? Are we stopping here to eat lunch honey?”

“We are stopping here, but not just to eat babe, I booked us a room here for the week.”

“Mitch babe, are you serious? Is this my surprise? Because if it is, it's the most wonderful surprise you could have ever given me. I love it, thank you so very much babe.”

Hugging and kissing him wildly, Mitch accepted Danielle's enthusiasm with open arms
.

“I'm glad you’re happy babe, and I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you that way.
  I know this whole ordeal has wreaked havoc on your nerves, and I remember you telling me that you would love to stay here, so when the doc said you shouldn't go home right away, this place popped into my mind.”

“Well I'm glad that you remembered that Mitch, you have made me a happy woman. But

there's just one thing Mitch,  please tell me I won't have to spend my time here in this gorgeous inn alone.”

“Nope, I tu
rned the reins over to Hank and I'm all yours for the week Danielle, I hope you won't get tired of me.”

“No chance of that babe.
  Oh Mitch I'm so excited, I love this you’re the best! I love you!”

“I love you too Danielle, now let's go check in,” he said a
s he placed his hands around her waist and guided her inside the beautiful inn.

“Everything is as you requested Mr. Conway; your bags are already in your room. You’ll be staying in our largest suite sir, room 405.
  We'll let you two get settled and please enjoy the complimentary wine and cheese basket in your room sir and if there’s anything, anything at all that we can do to make your stay even more comfortable, please don’t hesitate to ask.” 

“Will do, thank you.”

“Mitch this place is so beautiful, this must be costing you a pretty penny. At least let me pay for our meals.”

“Danielle don’t be silly, this is my treat to you, to us and what kind of man would I be if I made you pay?”

“Well Mitch it is the twenty first century and believe it or not woman can pay for luxuries such as this.”

“I know babe, don’t get me wrong, I understand where you’re coming from Danielle, it's just that I want to do this for you. So will you let me pamper you? Please?”

“Well since you put it that way, of course Mitch,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you Danielle, and besides, it's not like I can't afford it, I do own my own business you know. And to be honest, it's nice being able to have someone to spend money on. I like it, just wait till Christmas babe.”

“I'm liking the sound of that,” she grinned. “And as long as you're comfortable Mitch, then it’s fine with me.”

“Oh I'm more than comfortable Danielle believe me, now let's check out our room.”
 

Using an old fashioned key to unlock the door to the suite, she let out a gasp as
 they gazed upon one of the most beautiful rooms she had ever seen. In the center of the room was a king sized bed reminiscent of a kings bed from the Victorian era. There were small step stools to climb upon the bed if needed, the entire four poster bed with canopy was draped with rich burgundy colored velvet and upon the bed was a matching velvet comforter embroidered with tiny satin roses, complete with their own little green stems. Plush throw pillows added even more fullness to the gorgeous bed.

Underne
ath the picture window stood a hand crafted mahogany table for two, complete with tea service.

In the center of the table was the wine and cheese basket along with a tiered platter of all kinds of sweets. Ornate curtains hung from the oversized window that
looked over the expertly landscaped grounds of the inn. The private bath included an oversized bathtub, two thick and cozy robes, soft towels hung from crystal hooks on the wall and the his and her vanity sink was adorned with every amenity possible, all organic and locally made.

“Mitch this is stunning, just stunning. I love it, and I can't wait to take a nice hot bath with you.”

Eying the tub, Danielle wanted to strip down and get into it immediately.

“Danielle babe, anything your heart desires, we will
do”.

“Well in that case, even though the tub looks inviting, and there are plenty of treats here on the table, I have an appetite for something a bit more substantial. I'm starved; let's get something to eat shall we?”
 

“Would you like to order in or go
down to the restaurant?”

“Mitch would you mind if we went to the restaurant? It's just that I feel like I've been cooped up in that hospital, I want to get out for a bit.”

“Of course Danielle, we have the whole week, we're going to be doing some sightseeing, shopping, eating, making love, whatever you want Danielle.”

“Well babe, it's your week too, what would you like to do?”

“What I’d like to do Danielle, is keep you in this room, lock the door and make love to you all day, every day, stopping only to eat.”