Content To Be Claimed (Beauty And The Beast #1)

Chapter 16

I looked up at the knock on my door. I'd been reading in bed, and was just now shutting my laptop off. "Come in."

Dane walked in, clearly well rested. He came and sat on the bed. "Been good while I was gone?"

I grinned, handing him my laptop to pass to my desk. "Who wants to know?" When he rolled his eyes, I asked, "Did you enjoy your visit?"

"It was alright," he shrugged, then he smiled slyly. "So, I noticed your slip today." I raised a brow and he explained, "You told that guy Warren that I'm your brother but you didn't tell me who he is to you."

I looked away, desperately wishing my face wasn't an oven right now.

"Oh no, no way!" He was laughing too loudly for my liking. "I don't believe this!" He laughed on and I dropped my eyes, toying with my fingers. "I leave you alone for five days!"

"You pushed me into society weeks ago," I mumbled.

"Still, how the hell did that happen?"

"Oh, you know, my life is a fairytale now," I said evasively. The last thing I needed was to get excited and let on that my boyfriend was a panther. One that didn't hurt people, though... I let myself dreamily enjoy that fact.

"Hello?" Dane was waving in my face.

"Sorry, what?"

"Jeez, I'm still here, you know," he grumbled. "Anyway, aunt Lily called - you really should give her your new number - and said Jenny needs help with a project."

"Jenny? They give four-year-olds projects now?"

He shrugged. "Guess so. She's coming in next week but we figured you'd wanna get on it now."

"Okay, what should I do?"

"Basically stick pictures of princesses into a scrap book," he shrugged. "You get to choose ones you like."

I groaned. I couldn't remember ever having been a fan of fairytales, of that phony life with nothing but perfection.

"Good thing your life's a fairytale now," Dane grinned. "Just take pics of your princess friends and you'll be set."

I glared at him. He laughed and got up. "Night, kid."

I sighed. "Goodnight."

I flopped onto the couch the next morning, deciding that it was a testament of my love that I would do this on a Saturday.

"I don't get why all this is necessary," Dane said, watching me from the kitchen doorway.

"Call it research," I replied. I'd figured that the project was a bit more involving that 'sticking pics into a scrapbook' so I called aunt Lily and got the gist of it. "By the time Jenny gets here, I need to have the thing ready, and she can adjust it."

He grumbled as he came and sat next to me. "This is only because I'm the best brother in the world."

"Sure, sure," I said, hiding a smile and trying to figure out which of the gazillion movies to start with. "Wanna start from the start, or work backwards?"

"Is that the original Cinderella?" he asked cautiously.

"Hell no! I got as many of the recent adaptations as possible. They have people in them, which should make it bearable."

He visibly relaxed. "Start wherever." His phone rang as I poised the remote over the player, then sighed and chose Sleeping Beauty. I could get all the animation out of the way first, I decided.

"I gotta meet up with Kian," Dane announced. "But have fun with this."

I stuck out my tongue at him as he left. I drew my legs up onto the couch, clutching the remote in both hands as I was subjected to the bright and frightfully lovely colors of Disney's animation pictures. The idea of being home alone with talking Barbies for company did not strike me as brilliant. Just as Flora blessed the little princess, the doorbell rang.