Chasing Day Series: Chasing Day & Catching Day (23 page)

Chapter 2

Day pulled her hair up in a high bun on top of her head, with her bangs and side tendrils down and framing her round face. She wore a warm yellow, halter sundress with little flower eyelets covering the full skirt. The yellow complemented her caramel skin. The halter drew the eye to her creamy, rounded shoulders. She added a little mascara on her long lashes and clear lip gloss on her full pouty lips. Cute, white flat sandals graced her feet for walking all day.

The look her reflection was giving her said, “Why are you getting all dolled up to take a tour of London with your mentor/boss?”

“Because it’s still nice out and it’ll be gloomy before you know it. Besides, I’m in a new place and I don’t wanna to look like a ragamuffin my first few days here.” She said defiantly to her reflection. “And now I’m also crazy for talking to myself.”

She’d called Amy the night before to tell her she’d made it there safely. Amy had asked how things were going and Day had told her of their plans to tour the city the next day. Her friend had instantly reprimanded her.

“You’re not there to get another boyfriend, Day. You’re there to get more experience.” Amy reminded her.

“I know that. He’s just gonna show me around my new home. I’m gonna be here for the next two years, I might as well get to know the place.” Daylen defended herself.

“I know, Day. And that’s great. But I just worry about you.” Amy sighed before continuing. “You’ve become a serial monogamist,” Amy informed her.

“What the hell is that?!” Day instantly got up in arms, figuring it was an insult.

“You’re rarely ever without a boyfriend now. Before you broke up with Chase the first time, you were basically already in a relationship with Drew. You got back with Chase before you ended things with Drew. And now you’re moving towards a relationship with Rhys and you’ve only been single for a few months.” Amy explained. “You
need
time by yourself. To know what you want for
you
. Not for a man.”

“I’m not moving towards anything with Rhys, other than a working relationship. And he is
way
too sophisticated to be interested in me.” Day denied.

“Day, don’t be foolish. You’re gorgeous and he took entirely too much interest in you during his guest residency here. You are an
amazing
cellist. A prodigy even, when you get out of your own way. But there were other students that were pretty talented as well and they didn’t get a golden ticket to London.” Amy grumbled.

“Are you mad at me for getting to come here?” Day asked in shock.

“Maybe a little. I worked my ass off too, ya know. But he only had eyes for you.” Amy sighed and then continued when Day didn’t say anything. “Look…I’m not mad. I’m jealous. You really do deserve to be there, no matter what. I’m not trying to take away from your talent. I just want you to make sure you’re not catering to another man and focusing on his happiness instead of yours.” Amy finished.

“Thanks, Amy. I know you mean well.”

Day sighed and turned away from her reflection. She was beginning to think that maybe Amy was right though it was too late to change now. She grabbed her purse, crossed the shoulder strap over her body, and went down to meet Rhys outside.

When she opened the door, Rhys was standing there leaned against his little black car. He was casual once more, in jeans and a Rolling Stones t-shirt. His dark waves flopped on his forehead, giving him a less refined, less intimidating boyish charm. His intense blue eyes cut through her as usual.

“Bloody hell! You look positively divine,” he complimented her.

“Thanks,” Day said bashfully as she felt her face heat up a few degrees.

“Ready to see London?” Rhys rubbed his hands together.

“Ready.” Day smiled brightly as he offered her his arm.

Day hesitated and then slipped her arm under his, resting her hand on his forearm. Rhys started walking, leading her down the sidewalk.

“We’ll use the bus or tram. No use in spending the day looking for parking.” Rhys said rationally.

“Sounds good to me.”

They took a short bus ride to Hyde Park. Even though it was mid-morning, several people were out and about. Some strewn out in the grass, on blankets or chairs, trying to enjoy the last days of good weather.

After their stroll through the park, Rhys took her to brunch and they talked about the upcoming school year. They walked the few blocks to Buckingham Palace after brunch. Day squeezed her lips together to keep from laughing, as she watched other tourists try to fluster the guard in his red and black uniform and tall fluffy hat. Rhys then took her to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and their final destination the London Eye. The enormous Ferris wheel that overlooked most of London.

Day was in awe of everything. There was nothing in the States that was as old as some of the elaborate structures he took her to. And Rhys was a phenomenal tour guide. He told her some of the histories behind the buildings and British culture, also adding tidbits about music and composers.

She’d brought along a digital camera to document it all. She knew that her mom and Amy would love to see pictures of her journey. She couldn’t wait to send them an email of the pictures she’d taken so far.

They stopped at the front door of her building, ending the long tour. Day hadn’t seen everything and she was still exhausted. Rhys looked down at her with his usual blue intensity and an awkwardness fell over them. It almost felt like the end of a date, which was usually awkward in itself. Add to it, the fact that it hadn’t been an actual date and he was her mentor/boss, Day didn’t know what to do.

“Uh…I had a wonderful time today. Thank you so much for showing me around, Rhys.” Day said shyly.

“It was my pleasure,” Rhys responded.

He raised his hand to her face and brushed an errant tendril with the back of his fingers. The pad of his thumb caressed a path down her temple and cheek. A shiver ran over her skin, raising goosebumps on her arms.

“I-I better g-go inside. I’m exhausted.” Day stammered out quickly, needing to get away.

“Have dinner with me soon,” Rhys said, not as a question but as a statement of fact. His self-assurance boggled her mind though she still found herself nodding.

“O-Okay,” she blinked up at him with wide dark eyes.

“Good. If you need anything…directions, suggestions…anything. Call me.” Rhys offered kindly, before bending down and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

He quickly turned away and walked to his car. Day stood rooted to the spot as she watched him drive off.
Damn you, Amy! I’m so screwed.

Chapter 3

Several weeks went by and Rhys continued to court Day. She tried to keep her distance but considering she hadn’t really made any friends yet and he was the only person she knew. It was a hard feat to accomplish. Also, school had started, which made it even more difficult.

Life had become crazy busy. Rhys taught Music History, as well as conducting for the senior symphony orchestra. As the TA, Day met with students when Rhys couldn’t. She printed, passed out, collected, and graded papers and exams. All of that didn’t even include her own performance class, faculty masterclasses, and evenings practicing and performing at local theaters for exposure. Though somehow through her busy schedule, Rhys found time to have lunch with her a few times a week and dinner on the weekends.

Rhys had a controlling and arrogant side to him. As most conductors did. There was no way that a man nor woman could command anywhere from seventy-five to one hundred musicians at once. If they didn’t have a compelling and dominant presence.

Most of their conversations revolved around his life and experiences thus far. Day didn’t mind so much since he was such an intriguing person and she had a lot to learn. His knowledge of classical music was overwhelming, though when he did focus on her, it was intense as usual.

Her hectic schedule and her time spent with Rhys thankfully kept her mind off of Chase. But he was never far from her thoughts. Football season had begun back home and Day found herself going to a nearby sports bar that played the games on Sundays. She couldn’t help but root for him from thousands of miles away. And she always went online to ESPN’s website to see any postgame interviews that he may have had. She didn’t know why she tortured herself, because every time she saw him, her heart bled. The videos she did find, she’d always watch a couple of times, to search his face to make sure he was okay. And as far as she could tell and she knew him better than anyone, he was doing alright.

Day was deep in thought about Chase as Rhys walked her to her door after dinner, on a chilly and wet October night. She started to open the door to her building when Rhys gripped her arm. She looked up at him questioningly.

“You’ve been quiet tonight,” Rhys said, reaching up to tap her nose lightly with his index finger.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m terrible company.” Day shook her head sadly.

“If you’d let me, I could make you forget about him,” Rhys said confidently.

Day didn’t have it in her to tell him that no one would ever be able to erase Chase from her memories. He would always be branded on her soul. Instead of answering him, Day looked down at the ground self-consciously.

Rhys lifted her chin with gentle fingers. His other hand brushed her bangs from her eyes. Day looked up at him with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. She bit her bottom lip and he used his thumb to pull her lip slowly from her teeth. He lowered his firm lips to her lush mouth. When his mouth touched Day’s for the first time, she was shocked by the heat that radiated through her body. Chase had been the only one that could make her melt. With him, it was love, passion, and desperation. With Rhys, it was purely carnal. She hadn’t had sex since before she and Chase had broken things off, so her body responded instantly to Rhys’ skilled mouth.

He started off soft, placing delicate pecks against her lips. Then he gradually drew her bottom lip into his mouth and between his teeth. Day’s hands gripped his forearms as he let his teeth slowly scrape across her lip, finally releasing it.

Day licked at her tender lip and looked up at him with dark chocolate doe eyes. Rhys’ control slipped and he grabbed her face. Their mouths collided with their need to taste each other, Day giving as good as she got. She wanted to forget, she wanted to feel passion again, and she wanted to be desired. If Rhys could give that to her, Day would gladly take it.

His tongue stroked against hers, and her body immediately responded by melting into him. Rhys pulled her close as she kissed him back, and she could feel the ridged outline of his arousal against her stomach. Her pulse pounded in her ears and her skin felt like it was on fire. Day knew that they’d have to stop soon or they’d be arrested for public sex. She personally didn’t want to go to jail in a foreign country.

Day reluctantly pulled away from the heated kiss. Rhys’ chest rose and fell rapidly as he looked down at her. The look was predatory. She was Red Riding Hood and he was the wolf. Chase had always looked at her with love and adoration, but the look in Rhys’ eye was consuming.

“I s-should go inside.” Day’s voice trembled.

“You should.” Rhys said as a warning and a shiver ran down Day’s spine.

“G-Good night, Rhys.” Day turned to open the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow to practice for your solo,” Rhys said quietly, almost as a threat.

“Mmhmm.” Day mumbled and quickly escaped into her building.

Once she made it up to her studio, she slammed the door shut and fell against it. She had a very strong feeling that cello wasn’t going to be the only thing she was practicing the next day.

~~~

The next evening, Day was in the middle of Rhys living room, in his beautiful yet masculine London flat. He had made her a standard guy meal of spaghetti for dinner, and it was phenomenal. She was beginning to wonder if he did anything badly though all she wanted to do at the moment was strangle him.

“Stop! Do it again, Daylen.” Rhys bellowed in frustration. “You’re better than this!”

“I don’t know what you want, Rhys! I’m doing my best. I’m playing with passion. What more is there?!” Day shouted back, equally frustrated.

Rhys let his head fall back in exasperation. He put his hands on his hips, looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. When he had calmed down enough, he looked at Day and spoke in a quieter tone.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be an asshole,” he apologized. “As always, you’re technically flawless. And yes, you are playing with passion. But there’s one more thing that’s lacking.”

“What?!” Day said, literally on her last straw.

“Confidence!” He exclaimed passionately. “You hide behind that cello as if it’s a bloody shield. You’re entirely too timid. And I know you have fire in you. I felt it last night.” Rhys looked at her pointedly. “You don’t kiss like a shy and timid girl. You kiss like a confident woman. So where the hell is she?!”

“I don’t know! This is different. I’m playing an instrument, not making out with someone.” Day frowned at him.

“I beg to differ.” He quirked an eyebrow at her.

“How so?” Day asked, her face looking doubtful.

Rhys walked towards her and he stopped in front of her, forcing her to look up at him from her chair.

“Have you ever taken the time to really look at your cello?” Rhys asked as he squatted down in front of the instrument.

“Huh?” Day scrunched up her face.

“Have you looked at the curving lines? Or noticed that it has a remarkable resemblance to the female form?” Rhys’ voice dropped a few decibels and his cultured accent swirled around her.

His fingertips caressed up the polished, red-stained wood. Day could have sworn she felt the gentle stroke up her own body.

“How the curving form rests between the legs of its player?” Rhys’ fingertips moved to the tops of her thighs, covered by her long black skirt and stroked down to her knees. “In my personal opinion, the cello is the sexiest fucking instrument there is.” Rhys got up and walked behind her. Day’s breath hitched when she felt his breath next to her ear. “And you, my dear, are an incredibly sexy woman playing it. There is no need to hide,” he whispered in her ear.

Rhys reached for her legs from behind. His hands gathered the material of her skirt and pulled it up until it bunched around her hips. Her thick caramel thighs in beautiful contrast to the deep reddish brown of the cello between them. Rhys nipped at her neck as his thumbs softly caressed the skin high on her thighs, where the skirt was bunched. Day’s eyes rolled back and her lips parted, small pants escaping through her lush pink lips.

“When you play, you become a part of the cello, because she is you. You don’t hide behind her. You play her like you’d want to be played.” Rhys breathed against her neck.

His long elegant fingers wrapped around the front of her neck. He positioned them like he would on the neck of the cello, in E minor. Rhys’ right hand slid over Day’s thigh, towards the apex of her legs. She trembled, helpless because she couldn’t shut her legs with the cello in the way.

Rhys’ fingers reached her panties and he wasted little time, pulling them to the side. His fingers stroked up her drenched cleft, saturating them before moving up.

“Now sing,” he whispered as his fingers strummed her clit.

“Ahh!” Day cried out.

Rhys’ fingers on her neck moved to another chord position. While his fingers below continued to strum her hardened nub. Day whimpered and moaned as he played her in time to the Vivaldi sonata she had been practicing. At the song's crescendo, Day cried out as she came around his fingers.

“Beautiful,” Rhys breathed against her neck. Day turned to kiss him, but he pulled back. “Play first, then we continue where we left off.” He taunted her as he raised his wet fingers to his mouth and sucked gently.

Day bit her lip with the need for more. She felt languid and sensual as she clutched the neck of her cello, placing her fingers on strings in E minor. She positioned the bow on the strings below. Day pulled the bow across them as she began the song again.

“Feel the cello reverberate against your thighs. Let it radiate up to your clit. Connect with her on another level.” Rhys coached her softly, sensually.

Day closed her eyes and bit down hard on her bottom lip, as she indeed felt the vibrations of her instrument pulsate through her. She’d never thought of her cello the way he’d broken it down for her, and playing it felt different. Day lost herself in the music and the sensations that it brought to her body. Again, at the crescendo of the song, her body clenched in a mild orgasm. It wasn’t as powerful as when Rhys played her, but it was still shocking nonetheless. Her mouth popped open and a small cry escaped her lips. Day’s eyes flew to Rhys and he smiled at her intimately. She ended the song and they stared at each other for a few heated moments.

Rhys walked towards Day from across the room. He took the cello and bow from her and laid them in their case. He then turned back to Day and she looked up at him as he held out his hand to her. She took it and he instantly pulled her into his arms. His fingers wrapped around the back of her neck. He used his thumbs under her jawline to push her mouth up to his.

Even when he wasn’t pretending to play her, he still was. Every stroke of his tongue against hers. Every part of her body that his hands touched as he stripped her bare in the middle of his living room was a testament to his control over her.

He walked her backwards to his bedroom. The back of her knees hit the mattress and she fell back. Normally Day would try to cover herself with her arms and hands, embarrassed by her chubby, soft body. But the way he’d broken her down earlier, pulling out her sensual side. Day felt sexy and confident.

She watched as Rhys pulled off his shirt, displaying his lean muscled soccer player’s body. Her eyes followed his hands as they went to undo his pants. There was no shyness on his part, as Rhys confidently pushed down his jeans and boxer briefs. His erection bobbed proudly before her. He wasn’t as large as Chase, but he had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in the penis department.

The quick thought of Chase nearly doused the flames that had been licking at her flesh, since Rhys had first started his seduction. Day blinked back tears, sadness filling her. The fact that she was about to sleep with someone else felt like a betrayal. The worst part was that she hadn’t thought of Chase for even a second during the last couple of hours. Letting go of him hurt more than she could’ve imagined.

“Don’t.” Rhys spoke, pulling her out of her misery. “Don’t do that. Don’t feel guilty or sad or whatever it is that you’re feeling.” He leaned over her and kissed her lips softly.

“I’m sorry.” Day’s voice trembled as a few tears slipped down her temples.

“He can’t have you now,” Rhys demanded. “You were mine the moment he let you go.”

Day wanted to deny it, to shut down his arrogance. But he was right. Chase had practically tossed her to Rhys when he didn’t fight for her. Chase had even known what Rhys wanted even before Day did, or at least before she admitted it to herself. And yet he still let her go.

She angrily pushed thoughts of Chase aside and grabbed Rhys’ face, pulling his lips to hers. He devoured her mouth till he had his fill. Then he moved down her jaw and neck, to her luscious, dark-tipped breasts. His tongue flicked against her tight nipples and her fingers dove into his thick mane of dark waves. Day’s hips rolled up towards him, seeking him out. She ached to be filled.

Rhys pushed up off of her and reached for the drawer of his nightstand. He pulled out a silver packet and ripped it open with his teeth. He quickly rolled the condom over his hard length and came back to rest between Day’s legs.