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

Chapter 37

I looked myself over critically in the long mirror. My hair was in wet tendrils, my pale skin glowing with a slight blush from the hot shower. My wounds looked a little raw and I absently ran my fingers over them. I was still feeling chilled, an after effect from the nightmare.

Making sure that the towel was safely wrapped around my body, I walked into the next room. Warren had tried to take me to an expensive hotel but I'd balked and we compromised on a less exclusive one. After all, we just needed to shower and change.

He lay on the little bed, his long, rangy frame easily filling it. His feet hung off the end. His arms were under his head and his ankles were crossed. He looked completely, deceptively relaxed. He'd changed into a long gray Tee along with his signature black jeans and ankle boots. The Tee clung to him, giving a hint of the perfect, supple muscles underneath.

As I walked in, his eyes slid over to me. I was suddenly immersed in a slow burning green fire. I wondered how he did that and why my skin suddenly prickled under his gaze. His eyes skimmed over every inch of me and I self consciously tugged on the hem of the towel. Warren's gaze zeroed in on my legs and lingered there, suffusing me with heat.

When his eyes snapped back to mine, they scorched me where I stood. He looked away and stood suddenly. "Pardon my lack of manners," he said softly. "I will remain in the hall."

He was gone before I could blink. For the first time, I saw the clothes on the bed and the new bag next to them. I found a hair drier under the jacket and fixed my hair, then got dressed and packed away what I'd not worn. True to his word, Warren stood near the door. He turned to me as I stepped out, and automatically took the bag from me.

When I looked up at him, his dangerous eyes captured me again. All it took was one intense look and I was blushing deeply again. His look spoke of pure desire and I had to gulp to be able to breathe. He stood simply studying me for a moment. A soft frown tempered his features as he whispered huskily, "At times it is impossible to decide whether my inability to detect your thoughts is a liability or an advantage to my sanity."

In a flash he had me pressed against the door, his hand braced close to my hair. He lowered his dark head, leaning so close he was looking at me through lowered lashes. For some reason, he was unleashing his full power on me this morning. A girl was not meant to deal with such an assault before breakfast!

When he spoke again, his voice was smoky, seductive. "For instance, at this moment, I wonder wildly what's going through your mind. I can sense how I affect you physically but I do not know what you believe of me. If this" - his hand came to my chest, covering my heart, and it fluttered at his touch - "is desire, or if some sense of fear of my true nature is wrapped up within it."

Even if he could have read my mind, at that moment he'd have found a scrambled channel. I was fighting for breath and felt faint. He groaned my name, the hand on my chest sliding down to my waist, and he pinned me to him. He buried his face in my hair and drew a deep breath.

That did it.

I melted against him.

He stepped back, alarmed. Then he laughed and his tone was light as he said, "It appears you've gone too long without breakfast."

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. I gulped again and blinked, then stepped back. "Um. Yeah, blame it on food."

Shaking his head, Warren picked up the bag at his feet and took my hand. When we got into the empty elevator, he pulled me to the back and leaned against the wall, his head tilted back as he watched me. His brooding dark gaze stoked the embers of the flame he lit earlier, and I looked away. The entire time, he just watched me silently.