Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (10 page)

     
At some point,
I fell asleep.

     
The great thing
about naps was the lucid dreaming that came with them - for me, at least. There
were a few times where, although aware, I could only watch in fear as my body
moved on its own, running in slow motion, unable to get away fast enough.
Luckily, this wasn't one of those. I was in control this time, walking along
the shoreline in a state of quiet bliss. It was a dream, so words like
tranquility and serenity could be used accurately. In the distance, just
opposite of the water, was a house. My castle. Beyond it was a forest that
served as a shield. No one would be able to get in. This was my safe haven.

     
When I was done
walking, I lied down on the sand. As I closed my eyes and wished for this place
to be real, I felt a single breath of air caress my cheek.

     
…Air, not wind.
It was odd. It was real. Too real. In this realm, where all physical senses
were simply an illusion, it didn't fit at all.

     
Everything went
dark then, and I knew I had woken up. The sound of the rain told me that some
time must have passed since I'd fallen asleep. It was a fitting background
effect for the soft, dreamy piano that flooded my ears. When a woman began
singing some foreign language, I felt myself smile. Letting out a small, lazy
hum of happiness, I stretched. Feeling slightly off balance, I was quickly
reminded of the hard surface floor a few feet below me.

 
    
"That's a bit dangerous, don't you
think?"

     
...
Ethan
.
Turning my head to the left, I opened my eyes to see him standing in the
doorway, leaning against the frame with folded arms.

     
"Not at
all," I replied, slowly sitting up and rubbing my eyes with my hand.

     
"Do you
often sleep on the job?" He spoke with ease, so I knew I wasn't in
trouble.

     
"Sleeping
is part of the job. You said you wanted me to be comfortable, right?"

     
"That
hardly looks comfortable."

     
"When
you're passed out, little things like comfort don't really register." I
hesitated for a moment, suddenly remembering everything that had happened
before my nap. "By the way, I'm sorry if I was rude to your…um…to the
Greene lady."

     
"Don't
be," he said brusquely. "She's a pain and everyone knows it. I'm the
one who should apologize. She'll say anything to put others down, so if you
were at all offended by-"

     
"It's
fine," I cut him off. I didn't want him apologizing for her. "Really.
I don't have the kind of energy it takes to dwell on that kind of thing. On the
bright side, I got a firsthand glance at female perfection. I can probably use
her as a model."
Another one. What is it with this place?

     
"…Right." He turned quiet then. "So you think her eyes
are gorgeous, do you?"

     
Yawning, I
flexed my neck, trying to wake my body up. "Unfairly gorgeous."

     
"I'm
surprised you can pay her any compliments at all, especially after how she
greeted you."

     
I looked at him,
somewhat puzzled. "How could you know how she...?"

     
"Patricia
told me, of course."

     
Ah. Bless
her.
"Well…with a face like that, I suppose she thinks she's entitled
to a few condescending remarks."

     
"You
think?"

     
"I think
I'll be seeing that shade of green for a few days," I grumbled, rubbing at
my eyes again.

     
"You
really think they're that beautiful?" he asked, his voice still quiet.

     
I sighed.
Why
are we still talking about her?
"They're nothing compared to yours,
but they're something alright."
Oh shit. Did I just…?

     
"…You
prefer mine to hers?"

     
I guess I
did.

     
Funny thing
was…I no longer cared. It was the truth, after all, and I saw no reason to hide
it. So why not be completely honest? "I couldn't get them out of my head.
I had never seen eyes like yours. Well…not as actual eyes." I paused,
hoping that didn't sound too weird. When I spoke again, the words came out
rather slowly. "They were…very familiar to me. They reminded me of
someplace. Of something important. Later on that day, I knew I had to have them
for myself." I took a peek at his face, which was now full of…distress?
Shit
.
"I'm sorry, I sound like a total creep right now. I'm not coming on to you
or anything, I promise. I just really like beautiful things," I finished
awkwardly.

     
"Right." His voice was slightly strained. "So, when you
say you needed them…?"

     
"I painted
them, of course."

     
His uneasy
expression shifted to slight surprise. "From memory? You ran off after
only a second or so."

     
I bit my lip.
"It was a very, very long second."

     
"…Yes. It
was." When his mouth curved into a small smile, I knew that everything was
okay. He began walking towards me at a very slow pace. "I'd like to see
it," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on mine.

     
Oh
.

     
"Um."
I frowned. "You'd see a lot more by looking into a mirror."

     
"But I
want to see it through your eyes." His stare became more intense with
every step he took and I found it impossible to look away.

     
"…I
suppose I could bring it to you sometime," I offered hesitantly.

     
"Tonight."

     
"
Tonight
?"

     
He stopped just
as he reached the scaffold. "If you don't have any other plans. Is that
alright?" Although his face remained friendly, his eyes were hard on mine,
as though daring me to say no. As though he were already certain of my answer -
which he was.

     
"…Alright."

     
His lip
twitched. "I should be finished by five-thirty today. Stay and I'll drive
you home."

     
I noticed that he
hadn't given me the option of saying no this time. Feeling slightly lightheaded
now, I could only nod in agreement.

     
Distance. I
need distance.
"Um…"

     
"Yes?" He waited, eyes still unrelenting.

     
My next word
came out as a whisper. "Down."

     
He finally
blinked, moving his attention towards the scaffold. Quietly, I let out all the
air I had been holding in. I was out of breath and dizzy.
What the hell just
happened?

     
"Would you
like some help getting down?" he asked, looking back up at me. Thankfully,
he was no longer using whatever Jedi mind trick he had just pulled.

     
"I think I
can manage." As I moved to pull the blanket off of me, the stuffed rabbit
fell onto the ground. Ethan bent down, elegant as always, and picked it up.

 
    
As he stood, he studied it with a smirk
before setting it back down beside me. "Please, I insist." He took a
small step back and held his arms up towards me.

     
Am I still
dreaming? Or is all of this really happening right now?

     
By this time, I
was chowing down on my bottom lip, torn. I knew I should have said no, but
something inside of me longed to do as he said. Right now, that was the only
thing that mattered. So I didn't think of the consequences that would come from
this simple act - they were irrelevant for now and could wait until I got home.

     
Keeping my legs
together, I twisted my body to face him while trying to be as modest as
possible. I leaned forward and hesitated.

     
"Come," he ordered, and my body moved on its own.

   
  
He caught me at the waist with ease. I placed my hands
on his biceps for support as he slowly lowered me to the ground, never taking
his eyes off mine. When he let go and stepped back, I moved to the left to
widen the distance. Completely unaware of what I was doing, one foot hit the
other, causing me to tip over. There was a quick second of me trying to
maintain my balance, but it was a lost cause. I fell back and landed on my ass
with a small huff. But I at least managed to keep some of my dignity by having
kept my knees pressed together. A second after the shock had passed, I felt the
stinging pain in my behind.

     
"
Ow
,"
I laughed.

     
"Are you
alright?" Ethan sank down in front of me, looking more amused than
worried.

     
"It
hurts," I admitted.

     
He chuckled and
quickly inspected for any damage. When his smile turned into a frown, my
laughter died down as I followed his gaze. I had managed to keep my legs
closed, but the skirt of my dress had cinched up a few inches, revealing the
upper decorative lace part of my stockings and my bare thighs.

     
Closing his
eyes, he sighed. "
Fuck
."

     
One word and my
entire body was suddenly hot.

     
As I fixed my
dress, he reopened his eyes, focusing them on me again. His face was tense -
almost angry, even. I was about to ask him what was wrong when he suddenly leaned
forward to kiss me. His mouth was on mine for approximately four seconds before
he backed away and continued watching me, only this time his face was visibly wearier.

     
It was at that
moment that my brain stopped functioning.

     
"You
kissed me," I stated.

     
"...I
did," he confirmed.

     
I blinked,
unsure of what to do next. I had never been in this situation before. I mean, I
had
, but not like
this
. I had a major thing for the guy, true,
and I had even hoped that he might feel the same way, but never did I actually
think that he would act on it. I couldn't allow myself to think like that. It
wasn't safe.
This
right here…was not safe.

     
I looked around
the room for a clue, a message, a sign...anything at all that might direct me
on where to go from here. I needed to go
somewhere
. Anywhere.

     
I felt his
fingers on my chin as he turned my head to face him.

     
"Well?" he asked with a guarded expression.

     
I swallowed.
"Well…?"

     
Slowly, he
crept forward, warning me with his eyes. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't move.
I couldn't even speak. I was frozen-still with shock. I wasn't sure whether it
was due to old habit or not, but I let him kiss me again. His lips were warm.
Soft, yet firm. After a few seconds, I felt my body relax. When I inhaled,
desperately in need of air, his scent flooded through me.

     
Suddenly, he
was
everywhere
.

     
I wasn't sure
if it was his body wash or his shampoo, but it smelled divine. There was
another underlying scent that wasn't as easy to define. It was faint, but very
familiar. Definitely not cologne or aftershave. Perhaps it was just
him
.
Whatever it was, it caused a growing hunger from deep within me, and before I
even knew it, I was kissing him back.

     
Of course, at
that moment he had no way of knowing what had just transpired. I, on the other
hand, was all too aware. That was the moment that everything changed for me.
For the first time in my life, I was responsive. I wanted this. I wanted
him
.

     
When I felt his
tongue gently trace the bottom edge of my lower lip, I opened my mouth ever so
slightly. It was all the approval he needed. It was an odd sensation, the way
our tongues met, but not at all unpleasant. Just the opposite, in fact. As he
worked the innards of my mouth, I felt the warmth from his touch shoot
downwards to the apex between my thighs in a way that was both familiar and
foreign. It radiated in long, pulsing waves, heating up my blood more and more
with every passing second. Mimicking his movements, I took my turn in tasting
him. I didn't think it was possible for a mouth to actually taste good, but his
did. His hands moved to take hold of my face, gently coaxing my head back to
deepen the kiss. Timidly, I brought my own hands up to run my fingers through
the silky smooth strands of his hair.