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

Chapter 41

Warren was getting furious.

Not that I blamed him really. We'd probably been sitting in his meadow for hours, yet I'd barely said two words to him. I was toying with the hem of his shirt, trying desperately to lift myself from despair. Even though I was in his arms, I was overwhelmed by a fear of losing him.

He lifted me from his lap and started to slide out. "No!" I choked, clutching his shirt and looking up in alarm.

He sat back but his raven brows dipped over his excruciatingly lovely, extremely worried eyes. I looked away - his beauty only made me sadder at the thought of not seeing him again.

"The heat shall make you dizzy!" he ground out.

Yeah, heat. It was a blazing hot day and the meadow gave no protection from the glaring sun overhead. Added to that was Warren's unnaturally warm body.

"I don't care," I sulked.

"Annabelle, dearest one -"

"Okay," I sighed and bit my lip. "Take me out of the sun, then."

He silently gathered me into his arms and we were under the canopy of trees in a matter of seconds. He set me gently on a fallen log and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. I grabbed his shirt to stop him from leaving. Frowning, he stepped back to me, crouched. "Is your melancholy in any way connected to the discussions yesterday?"

"No."

"Belle!" he gritted, frustrated. "Speak with me, please! What has you so bothered?"

I looked up to find his eyes tortured. "It's silly."

"Let me judge that."

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "I don't want to lose you."

"I will never leave you," he vowed, still frowning.

"See? You think I'm being silly."

"Is that the issue? The same one from last night?"

Oh, that. "No, not that." I blushed. My mind wasn't in the gutter all the time. "It's just... I have this feeling. I don't know where it came from but I feel like I'll lose you soon. Like my days with you are literally numbered. And that terrifies me."

He tilted his head, thinking about it as he traced my hand lightly. When he finally looked up, his eyes were free of pain. "Then I suppose I must simply stay by your side until it passes."

I stared at him then smiled softly. "I've been a bit clingy, haven't I?"

He sat next to me, faking pain. "True, I find it torturous to be constantly desired by a stunning woman, but I can manage. For the sake of the world," he added importantly as I laughed. He drew me against him, placing his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned against him gratefully. "At some point, however, we shall have to journey to Strandton House so mother can watch you adore me."

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "I think Mom would've loved you."

He tipped my face up, eyes still tender. "You have never spoken of your mother."

"That one's still raw." But here, in the cool forest with Warren's emerald eyes coaxing me, I realised that I could talk about it. For now, at least, the pain was held at bay. "She died when I was fifteen. It broke us all, Dad most of all. He just couldn't deal... So aunt Lily took us in and he packed up everything and moved here. I guess for aunt Lily, having her sister's children with her helped her cope with her grief."

"You are related to Lily maternally?"

I laughed. "She'd be so offended that anyone ever thought she was related to Dad. Mom was her baby sister. Completely spoiled, according to her."