Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound Chapter 37

'Who do you think,' I teased him, turning to face him, propping my face up with my arm. I was now wide an awake due to having this man in the room with me.

'Hmm, let me think,' Gideon grinned.

'Don't think too hard,' I joked, as he moved to sit on the bottom of the bed.

It would seem that he was...thinking too hard. I could just make out his profile in the dull light, his head bowed slightly, his hands held loose between his legs. He looked like a man who was tired and there I was in his bed.

'Why don't you join me,' I offered without thinking, which had him looking at me like I might have gone bonkers.

'You do realise what you've just said,' he remarked, with a hint of uncertainty there.

I just looked at him before I nodded at him. He wasn't the first and I doubt he would be the last but he would be the first man who'd share a bed with me full clothed.

'You're really sure?' he persisted and I nodded again.

'I'm no shrinking violet you know,' I reminded him and myself.

'Okay, just to sleep, I'm an honourable man,' he jested, as he moved smartish to slip under the duvet with me.

It did feel a bit strange though to not be naked with a man like Gideon. It felt even more weird that I wasn't wearing pyjamas, although my type of sleepwear would have given Gideon an eyeful. Not that he would have minded, but seeing as we were both dead on our feet with tiredness, it wasn't like anything naughty would be going on under the bedcovers.

'Gideon,' I broke the silence, as we lay next to each other.

'Yes?'

'Do you have a plan for tomorrow?' I quizzed him.

'Hmm,' he mumbled to me, obviously not bothering to reply to me in more than one syllable.

'Well, tell me,' I ordered him, rolling over onto my side to face him.

'Can't we talk about this tomorrow,' he yawned out.

I felt a little insignificant about the fact that I was keeping him from his beauty sleep, but wanted to prepared for when morning came.

'No, we talk now,' I told him.

'Oh alright,' he sighed out.

'So, the plan,' I urged him.

'Everyone has hidden their cars in the outbuildings, we will make it seem like no one is at home. Then we take them by surprise,' he drawled out.

'Am I going to be bait again. They have guns,' I questioned him.

'No, you will be with me and we have shotguns,' Gideon put my mind at rest.

'But Devon,' I pleaded with him.

'Will be in so much shit if he even thinks to come after you. There is no way I'm letting him lift so much as a finger onto a single strand of your hair,' I growled in a menacingly like way.

I gave up on trying to not touch him and snuggled into his warm body, meeting no resistance from him. I hummed in bliss as, he wrapped his arms around me, transferring his body heat. I felt safe cocooned in his arms like nothing would hurt me, but I knew that in the morning we would have to face the men after the dress and probably me when they saw that I had escaped.

'Gideon, why do you have a picture with me in it? I thought that we never met until Meg accosted me,' I questioned him.

'That I have to thank her for,' Gideon squeezed me gently.

'Or not, you would have met me eventually, what with Lizzie married to your brother,' I teased.

'I was just Theo's big brother to you.'

'But... you never talked to me,' I stammered.

'You had your head in the clouds. I've fancied you since our teenage years. I could hardly pick up the courage to be in your presence let alone talk to you,' He informed me, dropping that bombshell on me.

'That long?'

'Yes. You were too busy growing up and thinking of ways to get out of town the minute you were of age to do so.'

'I'm sorry Gideon,' I apologized.

'Hey, there is nothing to apologize about.'

He clasped my hands in his to prove his point. How stupid had I been to not see what had been in front of me all those years ago. A man who was kind, caring and cared about my thoughts and opinions.

'Yes, there is, I left everybody behind me just because I couldn't stand living with mum and dad, just so I could chase a dream that turned out to be false' I gulped out like I was short of breath.

'Oh, Cara darling, you are not selfish, your human like the rest of us,' Gideon comforted me.

'But I never saw dad the way you saw him,' I argued.

'Yes, but you are still his daughter, his own flesh and blood. You and Mr Tucker were so similar it was scary sometimes,' he joked.

I smiled in the gloom at his words. Now that I thought of it, he was correct. Dad and I were very stubborn people. I wistfully thought back to the times that we had fallen out where mum had been forced to sit us down and get us to make up, as we were to proud to say sorry first. Many a time we had been forced to sit around the kitchen table, so that we could hash out my problems, with mum being the judge and jury in one.

'We better get some sleep, if we have to be up early tomorrow,' I urged seeing the time on his bedside clock, thinking that if we stayed talking until the small hours, I wouldn't wake on time. The days where I pulled an all-nighter were well and truly over.

'Don't bother to put the alarm on. I don't need it,' Gideon ordered.

'What about me?'

'I'll wake you,' he whispered.

'Goodnight,' I spoke into the night, turning over, getting comfortable before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

I woke in the morning, or rather dawn, as Gideon shook me awake.

'Morning,' he drawled out in a husky way. Why hello I thought as I realised that we were linked together due to the fact I had thrown my leg over him and lay half on him and half on the mattress. I had obviously decided to use him as a pillow during my sleep. Well what could I say, he was comfortable. What a way to wake up, I thought, I could get used to waking like this every day.

'To you to,' I yawned, blinking my eyes to rid myself of the haze of sleep that threatened to take me under once more.

I stretched my limbs, sliding on his T-shirted clad chest.

'Would, you mind moving off me,' he inquired.

'No,' I pouted, stopping his attempts at taking the bed covers off us. I burrowed deeper into him.

'Why not,' he coughed fighting the urge to laugh.

'Comfortable,' I winged out.

'Cara, could you move darling,' he sing-songed to me. I ignored him, not wanting to leave the warm bed for what I knew was going to be a cold dawn.

The bedroom door clattered open, to reveal Isaac and Theo dressed in black, looking rather gangster like.

'Do you know what time it is,' Isaac huffed.

'Yes, I do, try telling that to Cara,' Gideon brought their attention to me. Isaac took one look at me thrown over Gideon like a blanket and erupted into hysterics. Theo was no better, giving us a lewd smirk. I glared at him.

'Nice position Cara,' Theo bellowed as I threw a pillow in his direction. It missed.

They vacated the room, cackling at the top of their voices. I huffed and finally removed myself from Gideon and began to get myself ready for the day.