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

Chapter 40

I was in shock for the first few minutes after we boarded Warren's private jet. It was huge and the interior done up in soft whites and creams with deep mahogany wood to set the color off. Warren drew me to a seat next to him and Ashley sat across from us with a contented sigh.

I curled up in my seat soon after we took off, attempting to sleep. Warren sat next to me and hung out with Ashley. From time to time, his fingers drifted over my cheek, my hair, my hand. After an hour I gave up on trying to sleep and just listened to them talk. I would have joined in but I knew my lack of sleep was stressing Warren out so I just pretended.

Ashley finally excused herself and went into the next room to sleep on the huge comfy bed. A few minutes after she was gone, Warren leaned closer to me. "Still failing to sleep, love?"

Crap. How did he know? "I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled. "I've been asleep for hours."

He chuckled and twined our fingers. "Would you like me to sing you to sleep?"

I cracked an eye open. "You sing?"

"I have many hidden talents," he grinned wickedly.

"And yet you shove me into the spotlight," I grumbled, then sighed and sat up. He turned to me fully. "Don't stress. I'm super tired, I'm bound to fall asleep sometime."

"What would you like to do in the meantime?"

"Um, can we just talk?"

"Very well."

"This morning, can we talk about that?"

"Are you referring to my Oscar-worthy performance as the illustrious Antoine de Alleonce?"

I laughed with him. "Gosh, that was incredible! Even I was starting to believe you for a minute there."

"But of course, my daisy," he said, slipping into character. "I am compelling."

I laughed again, waving him off. "I wanna talk about before that. The whole letting me into your mind thing. Was that real?"

His brow furrowed as he considered my question. "Hmm. Well, do you recall last night on the flight?"

I shivered. "Only too well."

He squeezed my fingers comfortingly. "I knew that your dream was undesirable even before you commenced screaming and attempted to wake you. When I failed to I came to the conclusion that you were mentally transported elsewhere. The knowledge that, had you been any other human on the planet I would have easily intervened, frustrated me no end.

"In retrospect I realise that my mental skills must have focused on you to a fine point, and I felt you...respond." He paused, kissing my hand as he watched me carefully. I just gazed at him expectantly. "You yearned to rid yourself of the nightmare and you clung to my ability to draw you out. By willpower alone you cast off sleep, yet the nightmare would not be dispelled so easily. I felt your mind cling to my voice until you were freed."

He paused again, struggling for the words as I tried to process what he was saying. I'd done that? "Based on this discovery, I sought to verify my observations and discover the nature of your mental abilities." He leaned in closer now, his eyes earnest. "You must understand, my curiosity was inexcusable and I shall make no attempt to justify it. I simply wished to discover if you could actually probe my mind. As I spoke, you responded to my voice again and automatically took advantage of my lowered shields."

He paused and took a deep breath, then said wonderingly, "I had expected to control your movement in my thoughts. What I was unprepared for was the...the sheer strength...of your presence. I felt your presence to my very core and it simply overwhelmed me. When I finally grasped the situation I only reacted. My shields snapped into place automatically."