Chapter Eleven

 

Daphne woke slowly when the music began, half closed eyes peering at the clock with a soft groan. She lay at his side on her stomach and pushed her elbows forward, her chin perched in her palms as she stared at him. He lay on his side facing her, thick, dark lashes closed and the beginnings of a midnight shadow on his cheeks. She thought he was asleep until she felt the large palm moving over her behind, her giggle swallowed.

“It can’t be morning already,” declared the gruff, raspy voice, lashes opening to a narrow slit. And he was ready to believe it had all been a dream. Long blond hair hung over one shoulder, her head tipped as she returned his stare.

“It’s Wednesday morning,” she said ruefully, her hand moving forward, one finger out to brush the thick strands of midnight from his forehead. “We have dinner with the family tonight…and I have to go shower…” She slid to the side, his groan making her smile until she realized that clothes were strewn all around the house. She grabbed up a towel and wrapped it around her quickly, snatching various pieces of clothing and mumbling to herself, ignoring his laughter when she tossed his clothes at him.

 

Daphne caught herself as she entered the play care, her fingers lifting the phone from her desk and glancing at the text that had just pinged through. She laughed and shook her head before tapping a response.

“Yes, your wife has her phone turned on.”

Daphne had finished cleaning up the kitchen and tossing laundry into the washer when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. She had heard him call out to her when he came into the house, her laughter mixed with his growl as he wrestled her onto the bed.

“Vlad! Don’t you…no! We have fifteen minutes!”

Vlad Mircea wasn’t sure how he ended up on the bed not only alone, but half hanging upside down. He shook his head to clear the spinning, a vague part of his memory recalling one of her hobbies.

“Alright…any night but Wednesdays,” he said out loud, grinning at the woman glaring at him as she worked to straighten her t-shirt from well out of arm distance.

“Yes…good answer…” She advised, working to keep the glare in place and losing with a sigh. Daphne wandered off to the living room, chuckling at the mumbling behind her. They’d been exchanging texts all day and it wasn’t that she didn’t want to tumble with him into the bed and forget dinner. She was staring into the waning sunlight when she felt the cautious palms at her waist, pale lashes closing as she sighed. Warmth seemed to trail along the path he took over her throat to the side of her face.

“Too old to explain why we missed dinner?” Vlad asked softly, turning her to accept his kiss for a long, silent minute.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said as they walked toward the large diningroom, hands together and conversation shifting along a wide spectrum.

It was easy to join the laughter and various topics around the Paddington dinner table. Daphne thought about their behavior as she helped clear the table and knew a strong pulse of desire when she looked up to find him following her with his eyes.

Like the night before, clothing decorated the apartment all the way into the bedroom, whispers, laughter and passion filling their night.

Vlad kept telling himself they were on their honeymoon, regardless of the location as he wandered through the house collecting clothing while Daphne showered on Friday morning. Gradually their clothing had become mingled in the closet and bureaus she had him move into the master bedroom. Despite the beginning, they were slowly becoming a couple.

 

 

Shortly before noon on Friday, you would have to have been blind to miss the anxiety ridden intent on the people moving at a very fast clip along the underground pathways toward the child care center. Eve looked from Cassidy to Vlad to the officer ordered to the outside area of the child care center.

“She took off at ten, Vlad. I’m pretty sure she went to the ranch. She said she had bushels of vegetables to clean and prepare and looked excited at the idea.”

Vlad had his phone out, tapping her number in and frowning before trying another number.

“Emil…have you seen Daphne today?”

“She’s here, Vlad. Arrived an hour ago…what’s wrong?” The younger brother looked up from the shovel he was using to move the compost and soil to the raised beds they had built at the west of the house.

“Get it circulated. That guy stalking her walked away from the institution this morning. They have no idea where he is,” Vlad nodded at Cassidy and parted at the junction. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. If possible, Emil, don’t tell her, okay? She’s barely sleeping as it is.”

“We’ll watch out for her, Vlad,” Emil promised, breaking the connection and lifting the walkie talkie and passing the word to the rest of the people working around the ranch.

 

Daphne loved the inside of the huge, old house. She had music playing from the built in stereo, singing softly as she cleaned and chopped vegetables. Somehow she had acquired two assistants, Sera and Louisa, barely ten years old and working and chatting with her as they prepared the dinner. Daphne allowed each one to prepare one of the large, deep pans of the ratatouille, her extra ingredient of flavorful cheeses in the center before she popped the heavy pans into the oven. She laughed as the girls ran out, excited to tell others what they’d spent the afternoon doing.

 

Vlad exhaled slowly, standing outside the huge kitchen and listening to her sing. She had sent him a text. Her phone was on the charger in their room. She’d gone to have the stitches removed and was heading to the ranch for their weekend. With her phone out of commission, she never received the message from the police about the stalker.

He’d gone to their room first, smiling at the large, festive carpet bag she had her clothing in. She’d straightened the room, hung clothing and hid his suitcases beneath the old fashioned four poster bed. The drapes were wide and new candles sat patiently on the mantle and bedside stand. He opened a drawer on the nightstand and couldn’t stop his body from reacting to the new box of condoms she had brought.

He’d always considered himself a man with supreme control, yet nothing in him had prepared him for the anger and anxiety he felt when the police contacted him. He didn’t know how to keep it from her. How to keep her safe without frightening her or angering her.

“Somehow, you fit that kitchen to perfection,” he said softly, his breath catching deep inside him when she spun at the sound of his voice, her steps quick and light as she crossed the room and came instantly to his arms.

Where she belonged, he thought fiercely.

 

 

 

Thank you for reading Daphne Paddington. Please remember that this is part of a series and will continue into Rose Maddock and the man she discovers with an Irish accent that makes her shiver. I hope you enjoy the progression and growth of the reclamation. A dream for people without greed and ego getting in the way of building a better community and a better future. Along the way you find romance, friends, fun and laughter. Enjoy!