Breathless

Chapter 17

It felt like Emily had only been asleep for a hour before a loud knock woke her up. She sat up in bed, blinking a few times to wake herself up. She thought maybe she just dreamt of the knocking sound until she heard it again. Emily slowly got out of bed and walked over to the window, peaking out behind the white, see through curtains. In the gravel driveway was a black car parked next to Madi's red one.

Emily froze, 'what if it was Aaron? What if he found us?' Before Emily could run and wake up Madi, she saw Devon walk over to the black car and open the drivers side door.

Emily sighed, she was relieved  to see him, and even more relieved it wasn't Aaron. She turned around and rushed out her door and down the stairs, doing her best not to trample and trip over her own feet. Emily came to the front door and slowed down, she stopped for a moment, looking at the large wooden door, but then grabbed the door knob and swung it open, walking out onto the porch.

Devon had already been walking back over to the door but stopped when he heard it open. He looked up to meet Emily's gaze, his heart skipped a beat, seeing her here, safe and unharmed, made him overwhelmed with happiness.

She looked back, smiling at him, butterflies filling her stomach from the way he was looking at her. He quickly walked up to the porch, his feet almost gliding across the ground. Emily stood there for a moment, just watching him, but when he got to the porch she jumped up and into his arms. She wrapped her arms around Devons neck, he froze for a second but then relaxed and put his arms around her waist, holding her tightly.

They stood there for a few moments, silent and still, embracing each other. It was as if the world stood still, as if nothing bad was happening, as if everything was alright. Emily felt safe in Devons arms, she didn't know why but whenever he was near, she felt happy and worry free. Maybe it was a bit strange but she just couldn't explain the feeling. Devon just made everything, better.

Emily pulled back first, looked up at him, then took a step back. Devon smiled, looking at her for a few seconds, then furrowed his brow.

"Where's Madi?" He asked

"She's upstairs sleeping, she said driving wore her out" Emily said, Devon nodded his head.

"Sounds about right, she's usually not awake at this time" He said, Emily did a slight nod then turned towards the door.

"Do you want to go inside?" She said turning her head to look at Devon. He nodded and the two started to walk towards the front door, which was still wide open from Emily bursting out of it.

Once inside, they turned into the room next to the living room. Devon sat down in one of the chairs at the small wooden table that was in the center of the kitchen area. He stretched out his legs and leaned back in the chair. Emily leaned against the wall and just watched him, she found it nice to see him relax, he was always on guard and ready to fight.

Devon looked up from his stretching to see Emily with a goofy smile on her face. When she noticed he was looking at her she blushed and looked away. He yawned and put a sleepy smile across his face.

"Are you tired?" Emily asked, Devon nodded and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, all the driving, plus with the sun being up has just worn me out" He said, Emily stood up straight.

"Well you should get some sleep, we can get you settled into one of the rooms upstairs" Emily said, Devon smiled and stood up. They walked into the living room, passing the plastic covered couches. Then they walked up the creaky wooden stairs and down the hall.

"I use to sleep in the furtherest room whenever I came here to visit Madi and her family" Devon said in a somber tone, he walked over to the white door and opened it. Inside was a bunch of clutter, mostly paintings, lamps and other things probably meant to be put around the house. There wasn't a bed in the room though, and even if there was, you wouldn't be able to get to it with all the stuff shoved in it.

"Never mind then" Devon said chuckling and closed the door. They walked to the very first room, the one next to Emily's. Inside it was a desk and bookshelf that had no books, just dust. On the floor was an old rug and some more paintings leaned up against the wall.

"There's really only two beds here?" Emily said, the house was so big, she expected more.

"I can sleep on the couch, no big deal" He shrugged and shut the door, Emily shook her head.

"No, take my bed, I'll stay up and find something to do, I'm not that tired" Emily said but then accidentally yawned, she was actually very tired but knew Devon was way more exhausted than she was. She at least got a few hours of sleep in the car ride here, plus the sun didn't bother her like it bothered him. Devon shook his head and smiled.

"No need to lie, I know you're tired too" Just before she could disagree with him, he grabbed her hand and started to walk over to the other room, pulling her along. He opened the door and practically threw Emily inside.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, her face turning beet red.

"Taking a nap" Devon said with a ridiculous smile on his face "and you should too, you need some sleep just as much as I do" he took off his shoes and lifted up the sheet, getting into the bed. Emily just stood there, frozen in place.

She had never in her life slept in the same bed with a man, she never had many boyfriends, or even guy friends. Devon looked up at her, scooting over and patting the bed next to him.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't bite" he said winking, a devious yet playful look in his eyes, Emily rolled her own eyes, she couldn't help the smile that crept out from his comment. She walked over to the bed, trying to relax but felt stiff and nervous.

She really was tired and her body practically begged her to get in the bed, but her mind was freaking out at the thought of sleeping in a bed with a guy. Emily kicked off her shoes and crawled in the bed, slowly laying down, her movements a bit robotic. She faced Devon, trying to calm herself down but then her eyes suddenly felt heavy. He smiled at her sudden sleepiness, knowing how much she wanted to sleep.

"Goodnight" she mumbled, her eyes slowly closing.

"I think you mean good morning" Devon said, Emily smiled and drifted off to sleep.

                        **********

"Arthur" Aaron said as Arthur walked over to him, Aaron turned slightly to look at him.

"Good morning my lord" Arthur bowed to him, then turned to look out the balcony, Aaron did the same.

"What news do you have for me?" Aaron asked

"We might have a location on Emily, my lord" Arthur replied, Aaron raised his eyebrow. "We believe Lady Madison has taken her to Michigan, one of our scouts spotted her car crossing the Indiana and Michigan border"

"Very good, contact the others" he said, Arthur bowed and left the room, leaving Aaron alone.

Arthur walked quickly down the stairs and out of the mansion. He thought about what he was doing, why he was doing it. Why was he tracking down this girl anyways?

At first, it was for the money, Aaron had paid him quite handsomely for keeping her under his control, but the money had stopped. Arthur was only doing it now because Aaron was ordering him to. He was doing it not only out of fear of his wrath, but also because of his royal bloodline. Even if he didn't want to do as Lord Aaron asked, he had little choice. To defy him would basically be a death sentence.

Arthur got into his car and started it, quickly driving away from the mansion. He knew what he must do, even if it went against his own beliefs. Everyone believed Arthur to be this heartless and scary creature of the night, and he was, but there was more. He knew what Aaron wanted was not good for anyone except himself, and he knew he could stop him, but he wouldn't. Arthur would not go against Aaron, for he was a coward, and he knew this was true.

He gripped the wheel tighter and picked up his speed. This would not end well for anyone, and that girl would be caught right in the middle of it all.