Devin looked over his papers to her face by his knee. “Though you tell everyone you hate the color pink, your favorite bra and panty set is the pink and white striped one Lilly gave you for Christmas last year.”
Arianna’s mouth dropped. How could he know that? She’d never told anyone. She’d never written it down or said it out loud, even. Arianna blushed as she searched her mind to figure out how he would know. There was no reason he should know such information. Arianna sat up and pulled the papers from his hand throwing them messily on the coffee table.
“Did you guys set up camera in my room or something? Isn’t that invasion of privacy?” she asked, angry that they must have been watching her for a very long time.
Devin picked back up his papers and began to read again. “First of all, it’s only invasion of privacy if it was not owned by your grandfather, but Lilly and Dean’s apartment is one of the hundreds that Lord Randolph owns. Second, I wouldn’t stoop so low as to use cameras to watch you. Cameras can be fooled. It’s far better to watch over someone in person, even if they are annoyingly drunk off their grandfather’s blood.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m not old enough to drink,” she laughed as she answered, no longer angry with Devin.
“You could save us all a lot of trouble if you’d just go to sleep until it wears off,” Devin suggested, as he set his papers down and picked her up. Walking to her room, he gently placed her in her bed. Placing his hand gently on her cheek, Arianna could feel his pulse echo loudly in her ears. Arianna smiled up at Devin as she became sleepy.
“All this following me around, and learning every detail about me, do you love me?” she asked sweetly. Devin blushed, but didn’t reply. Arianna smiled back as she could feel his answer. “Why?” she asked.
“Just get some sleep,” he instructed, not answering the question. “We can talk more tomorrow.”
Arianna pushed his hand off her face. “No, I want to talk now,” she complained. “You said you would answer every question I had today. I want answers now,” she demanded. “I’m living in a strange place where I’m basically being kept captive. My aunt and uncle have left already. I’ve listened to the whole house. I know they’re not here anymore. So, I’ve been basically abandoned by the only family I have. Then, I hear there are marriage proposals. Marriage! I’m only sixteen. Who asks for a sixteen-year-old’s hand in marriage? I am beginning to feel like I’m in a nuthouse. Vampires exist, marriage at sixteen, killing without any remorse, my blood being valuable, I have family, an uncle that kidnaps me, strange men trying to kill me, oh, and did I mention that vampires are real? What does this all mean? Why am I here? Why didn’t Aunt Lilly and Uncle Dean take me home with them?” Arianna began to sob. “Why did they leave me? Don’t they love me anymore? Aunt Lilly always told me that even though she wasn’t my real mother she always felt like she was meant to be my mom. Then why did she leave alone in this strange place? Doesn’t she love me anymore?”
“She loves you more than you will ever know,” Devin replied, gently stroking Arianna’s head as she sobbed into his chest. “She didn’t want to leave you here, but she knows that this is the best place for you.”
“Why am I this way?” Arianna asked. “If I wasn’t so different, then she would have kept me, right? Why did everything have to change? I feel so alone here. Everyone talks about me, but no one wants to talk to me. Everyone seems either in awe or a bit afraid of me. Am I always going to be alone?” Arianna pulled back and looked at Devin, her blue eyes still filled with tears.
Devin gently wiped the tears away. “I’ll never leave you,” he promised. “I’ll always stay by your side.” Tenderly he took her chin in his large hands and tilted her face to meet his. He pressed his lips briefly to hers.
TEN
Snuggling in close to the warm sensation beneath her face, Arianna opened her eyes to find that it was already morning. Outside, the birds were chirping to signal the beginning of a new day, but in the house, filled with people who slept through the morning and most of the day, there was silence. Arianna lifted her head to listen. Complete silence. No maids walking through the halls, no gardeners giving orders to the young boys that worked for them, nor were there any cooks clanking dishes. Arianna listened to the sounds around her. In the peacefulness of the morning, Arianna closed her eyes and lay back down on Devin’s warm chest.
Aunt Lilly would kill me if she saw me now, Arianna thought. Devin’s grip around her waist tightened as he continued to sleep. She wasn’t allowed to date, let alone sleep in the same bed as an unrelated boy. Arianna didn’t care that she was breaking Aunt Lilly’s rules. In this strange place where she had been abandoned, he was the only thing constant. If it weren’t for him, she would have turned, and attacked some unknown person, three nights ago, or she could still be sitting in the cell underground withering away from lack of blood. Devin had been by her side since she entered this strange, new, dreamlike reality. Of all the strange and scary people she was surrounded by, she did not fear Devin. He was safe—her protector. Smiling, Arianna compared her small hands to Devin’s by placing her hand over his. His large hands were twice the size of hers. These hands keep me safe, she thought, as her heart began to beat a little faster. Arianna’s gaze continued up the muscular arm that held onto her. She knew he was strong, yet he held onto her so gently. Arianna felt warm and safe within his grasp. Although he was serious most of the time, she knew his affection for her was real. She could see it in his eyes when he spoke. Arianna’s gaze rested on his bare chest. Gently, she traced the muscles. His well-defined muscles were a sign that he had worked hard to get where he was today. Arianna blushed while he continued to sleep, unable to stop herself from touching the man sleeping beside her.