CEM Book Five: DARK WATERS

Time

It felt good to put her feet on the ground and let her mind drift on the breeze as they moved her from one place to another, a return to the semblance of normality despite the long nights and travel she found herself caught up in. After the attack, she was suddenly thrust into the swirling chaotic world of touring with a band as she was pulled out on the road with Avi and Pentatonix. Everyone they sought advice from concurred that staying with them was her safest course of action and Avi was not about to let her get too far away from him. It was best for her to remain with the band until the threat to her was neutralized. Under normal circumstances she would never let anyone assert that much control over her or be forced into such a demanding compromise, however, the situation was dire and Avi had a special place in her heart she wanted to explore. So she stayed with him. It was either that or relocate since it had become obvious that the boy that had attacked her was capable of finding her and getting to her no matter where she was. Therefore, she remained with the band, where someone was always beside her unless she was behind locked and closed doors. Once she was safely delivered and the room cleared, she could be left alone. Avi rarely left her alone, but she didn't mind that. Her greatest fear was that the boy would return with a gun and hurt or kill someone especially Avi. There was no way she could handle that loss.

Ester graciously found a place for her among the crew. It wasn't very difficult. She became Avi's personal and technical assistant. She helped him with just about anything and everything he would let her help him with. He was never without tea or water never cold or hungry. She made sure that he worked out, slept and ate well was always on time if not slightly early was always in tune and perpetually happy. She kept him in top form happy and healthy.

In turn, Avi watched over Rayne. He never let her fall asleep without knowing that she was loved wanted and needed. He was courtly and kind, always remembered to say thank you, never forgot to say please, and limited his requests to only the things he absolutely needed that she was usually already in the process of gathering for him. He gave all his spare time to her often fell asleep to the sound of her heart beating and woke to the same. Yet in all of this, he remained a near perfect gentleman, more out of necessity than desire.

Avi's hunger for Rayne's quiet and gentle touch almost consumed him, but his need for privacy and respect was far greater. Those moments were theirs and theirs alone to share. He had no desire to explore their sexuality only to be forced to sleep with someone else in the room while he lay safe in her arms. The last few dates of the tour before they had a break he was roomed with Kevin or they were on the bus at night. That was not the ideal situation for either of them. It most certainly was not something that either of them wanted.

She would be the first and hopefully last woman he would ever give himself to. It was a significant moment in their relationship, in his life, and they both had a pretty solid idea of how they wanted that to go. So, they were both willing to wait for everything to feel right in their hearts before they would cross that bridge. But that didn't curb their desire for each other or stop them from exploring each other. They found ways to give each other pleasure and express their love for each other physically without ever crossing that line.

***

Weeks passed and the assailant never emerged. She didn't find him lurking around corners in hallways or stairs. He was nowhere to be found. He had simply gone to ground disappeared. They all began to relax as they approached a break in the tour. A few weeks later Rayne found herself in LA with Avi while he took a short break from touring. They laughed softly and they smiled warmly as they walked side by side under the bridge. Their pace was slow and easy relaxed compared to the heavy pace they kept while moving about when they were on the road. They didn't feel any pressure as they walked along in near silence. It was just another warm day in sunny LA. Rayne's eyes shone bright as she placed one foot in front of the other and looked around. She had never been to LA before. It all amazed her. She wanted to grab his hand and pull him along to the next crazy little thing that caught her eye.