Page 11 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

Lying on my stomach on my bed, I stared at my closet, which was devoid of any new purchases because Bennett had turned around like I’d asked him to.

And now everyone was worried.

Mom had tried calling me twice. I hadn’t answered. Aiden had tried next. Then Karter. Like I wanted to talk to any of them. They wouldn’t understand.

How could I possibly be sad? I could have anything I asked for. A luxury car? No problem. Purses that cost over nine thousand dollars. No big deal. Freedom to do what I wanted when I wanted? Hold on…let’s not get crazy. How could I be sufficiently smothered if I had any freedom whatsoever?

The muffled sound of Bennett’s voice reached me through my door. “I don’t know.” There was a brief pause. “I tried.”

Tried knocking on my door a million times? He wasn’t lying.

“She said she wants to be alone.”

Also true.

“Fine.”

A few moments later, he knocked on my door again.

“Mom wants you to call her when you’re up for it. Okay?”

“Got it.” I knew from all the previous attempts to communicate with me that if I didn’t answer, he would just come in anyway. Answering at least meant he stayed in the hallway.

“I’m going out for a run,” he said.

“Okay.”

I rolled onto my back to stare up at the ceiling and willed myself to shake off my current mood.

If I wanted freedom, I couldn’t have a meltdown whenever things didn’t go my way.

Was it upsetting that I’d gotten that nervous while driving into the city with Bennett and that he’d smelled it?

Yes. Was it the end of the world? No. If Bennett had been willing to let me drive once, he’d probably let me drive again.

I just needed more time behind the wheel and to have better control of my emotions.

Rather than shut him out, I needed to pull him in…for more than just driving, too.

I needed to win him over so he’d be on team “Let Wrenly go to human college” when I brought it up to Mom and Dad again. Instead, I was being a pain in his butt because Mom was worried and making him babysit.

“Why is everything so hard?” I mumbled, getting up.

After making faces at myself in the mirror, I left my room.

The house was quiet, which was fine. I glanced at the clock in the kitchen and started putting together a sandwich, hoping that Bennett would appreciate the effort enough to listen to my apology.

His run wasn’t very long because he strode in ten minutes later. His expression didn’t bode well for my apology. It didn’t stop me from lifting the plate and giving him my best smile, though.

He stopped walking, and the irritation in his expression melted away, replaced by his stoic mask.

“I made you a sandwich,” I said, trying to sound upbeat.

“I’m sorry about before. Since getting my license, I haven’t had much opportunity to drive.

I thought I would be fine in traffic, and when I wasn’t, my frustration got the better of me.

If you’re willing to let me try again—maybe not into the city yet—I promise not to get moody with you. ”

“You shut yourself in your room because you were frustrated?” he repeated.

“Yeah.” I watched him inhale deeply. “You think I’m lying. Why?”

He shook his head slightly and took the plate I was still holding out to him.

“Thank you for the sandwich.”

“You're welcome.” I moved around the island to get him a drink. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

He considered the glass I set on the counter and slowly sat with his food.

“I don’t have any plans.”

“Is that normal for you on a Saturday?”

“No. Usually, I work.”

“Did you take today off to relax, or did Mom and Dad ask you to babysit me?”

He took a bite of his sandwich, which was answer enough.

“Okay…so do you want us to work from home, or should we have some fun together?”

He paused mid-chew to look at me. When I wriggled my eyebrows with a mischievous grin, he swallowed hard and choked. I hurried to pat his back.

“Don’t panic. I promise the fun I have in mind isn’t anything crazy, and Mom and Dad won’t get mad about what we do together…if you say it’s your idea.”

A slow flush consumed his face, and he took several gulps of water.

“I need you to tell me what you want to do,” he said, his voice rough.

That bite really had to have gone down the wrong tube. I patted his back again in sympathy, even as I smiled.

“Let’s go to an arcade.”

Everything about his curious demeanor changed. He completely shut down.

“No.”

“Oh, come on. It’ll be a fun way to unwind.” I pinched the loose material on the side of his shirt and tugged on it like a kid. “Please. You’ll have fun. I promise.”

He slowly turned to look at me. His pupils started to expand, and I scrambled to find something flattering to say to defuse his annoyance, like Grandma had suggested.

“Do you know how many women would kill for eyelashes like yours? It’s just not fair that you look so pretty.”

His pupils calmed, and he frowned slightly. “Pretty?”

“It’s a compliment,” I said quickly. “And you’re right.

We need to ease you into fun. Too much too quickly could shock the system.

You might actually get funstroke. You need introductory-level amusement.

” I thought about it for a second, then smiled widely.

“You like dessert, right? Let’s walk around downtown and find this dessert place I heard about. ”

Dessert to sweeten his mood, a big dinner to appease him and stall for time, and then lure him into the arcade to loosen him up. And once he was suitably relaxed, I could begin my interrogation to determine what Bennett wanted so we could make a deal that benefited both of us.

“Okay,” he said finally. “I’ll go change. But you have to promise you’ll be with me the entire time.”

I held up three fingers and promised. He didn’t quite look convinced but eventually left with his partially eaten sandwich. I quickly pulled out my phone to call Mom.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Mom asked, her voice laced with real concern. The level of her love for me was both a blessing and a curse.

“I’m fine. I just got frustrated and emotional while driving and wanted to come back home.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yep. I made Bennett a sandwich to apologize, and since he doesn’t have anything else to do, he said we can go have some fun at an arcade.”

“Bennett said that?”

“He did. You can call him yourself and ask.”

The beat of silence that followed made me nervous until she said, “I don’t know, Wrenly. Those types of places are usually really crowded.”

“Which isn’t a problem. I’m not allergic to people, and I already promised Bennett that I’d stick to him like glue.

It’s not like an arcade is that much different from shopping, and he was willing to do that, right?

Besides, I’ve been locked away for seven years, Mom. Why can’t I do normal people things?”

She didn’t immediately say anything, which I knew meant she was seriously debating the matter.

“And it’s not just for me, Mom. It’s for Bennett, too. He needs to stop making people cry at work. Maybe a little bit of fun time on the weekends will help with that.”

“It’s Bennett I’m worried about, Wrenly. You know how he is. Are you going to be able to smooth things over at the first sign that he’s about to lose his temper?”

“Yes,” I said confidently.

“Oh? How?”

She had me there. I’d never witnessed him losing his cool, only the aftermath.

“Different situations require different responses,” I said smoothly. “I won’t know the right one until I know the situation. I promise it’ll be fine.”

She said something under her breath that I didn’t catch, then said, “If he looks like he’s going to lose his temper, hug him, Wrenly. Okay?”

Weird and a little awkward, but doable. He couldn’t exactly throw things or people if his arms were full. Well, he could throw me, but…nah, he wouldn’t throw me too hard. Mom would get mad.

“Deal,” I said.

“All right. You two have fun. I think Dad and I will stay in the city tonight.”

“What are you two up to?”

“Nothing you’d care to hear about.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Goodbye, sweet girl.”

“Bye, Mom.”

I hung up and washed off the counter. By the time I finished, Bennett was back. He’d showered and changed into a pair of well-worn jeans paired with a white T-shirt and an off-white button-up. I had to admit that with his dark hair and eyes, it looked pretty good on him.

“If you want less female attention, you might want to change. The shirt you’re wearing accentuates your shoulders and chest.”

He stared at me. I stared back. It felt like he was waiting for me to connect the dots on something, but I had no idea what.

He looked away first, and I noted his jaw muscles starting to twitch. Some games and sweets would hopefully help improve his mood.

The drive into the city center was quiet since I was plotting how to sweet-talk him into the arcade if the desserts failed. But he surprised me by parking near the arcade instead of the dessert place.

When he opened the door for me, I looked from him to the arcade hopefully.

“Are you sure you want to go in there?” he asked.

I smiled brightly, knowing then that he’d either heard what I’d said to Mom or she’d messaged him. Either way, he wasn’t going to fight it.

“More than I want to draw my next breath. Come on. Let’s go have some fun.”

The arcade was filled with flashing lights, loud music, chaotic game sounds, and people. So many people. And I loved it.

However, no matter how hard I tried to pull Bennett in, he didn’t know the meaning of the word fun. He scowled at the games…at the people playing them…at anyone who even looked in our direction.

After twenty minutes, I gave up.

“Let’s go get something to eat.”

He followed me out of the arcade like a six-inch string attached us.