Page 22 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

Some of my joy faded.

“It’s yours, Wrenly. No one will take it away from you.”

I wanted to believe him, but I’d learned the hard way not to trust gifts. They always had conditions.

“Why did you get me a car?”

“To prove this isn’t a prison like you said. You’re free to come and go. It would make everyone more comfortable if you could ease into your freedom, though.”

“What does that mean?”

“Don’t take the car without me for a little while. The city’s still new to you. And once we’re both comfortable, always let me—us—know where you’re going so we don’t worry.”

I wanted to point out that they already tracked me, but I decided it would be like beating him with the olive branch he was extending.

“You have a deal. Thank you, Bennett.”

“Just words? I bought you a whole car.”

I’d known there would be strings. But he was right.

It was a whole car. I could give a little for that.

But what? I would have said I’d leave him alone for the rest of the summer, but he’d already made me promise to stop avoiding him.

And I doubted he would see any offer to drive him to and from work as a gesture of thanks, considering how inept I was with city traffic.

“What do you want?"

He bent forward, putting us closer to eye level.

“How about a kiss?”

Instinct and self-preservation had me shifting back half a step. I couldn’t have heard right.

“What?” I asked faintly.

He turned his head slightly and tapped his cheek.

“Show me you don’t hate me like you said.”

Was that what this was about? Relief flooded me, and I quickly darted in to kiss his cheek. Then I moved to the key locker and found the keys to my very own car.

When I turned, he was already standing by the driver’s door and opened it for me as I approached.

“I’m worried about your hands,” he said. “Can we switch before we hit downtown?”

I nodded, willing to compromise with him since he’d bought the car. Five minutes into the drive, I was glad I did. The car was perfect. However, gripping the steering wheel wasn’t fun. I hadn’t realized how much I would need to use my palms when driving.

When I took the next exit, Bennett’s only comment was to wait for him to open the door for me. He walked me to the passenger door and opened that for me, too. He even leaned in to buckle me, which I appreciated.

We arrived at the office just before lunch. Perfect timing.

“Can I still take an hour lunch break? If so, I’ll go get us something. I need to stretch my legs anyway.” When he seemed about to object, I added. “I won’t go far, and I promise to message you if anything starts hurting. Okay?”

He silently read my pleading expression and then nodded.

“Thank you,” I said before rushing away.

Several of the office girls watched me as I hurried past. I didn’t miss the way their gazes flicked from my bruised neck to my bandaged knees. The Wulf pack was large. Over five hundred members. How many of them knew Storm? How many of them had already heard the story?

As soon as I was out of the building, I sent a message to Sophia that I was on my way. She replied that she’d already gotten us a table and asked if she should order anything for me. I declined and said I’d be there in a few minutes.

I jogged, wanting to make the most of my time.

When I arrived at the cafe, I was grateful for the low ponytail and lightweight clothes because I’d broken a sweat. The AC was a relief as I went to the counter and ordered my takeout.

Turning, I scanned the tables and saw Sophia waving from hers, making it easy to find her.

She stood and hugged me. A real hug. Like Mom’s, but filled with a lot more excitement and a little bit of squealing.

“I’m so glad we could finally meet in person,” she said, pulling away from me.

Her gaze immediately caught on my cheek and neck. Her excitement faded.

“What happened?”

“A door,” I said, pointing to my face and then neck. “A chokehold.” Finally, I held up my hands. “Tripping.”

“You said your family was controlling, but that’s not control. That’s abuse.”

I couldn’t stop my smile. “Oh, this isn’t from my family. This is from co-workers and a neighbor. They’re the main reason I want to attend the school of my choice this time. The last one was full of mean girls, too.”

“Your office and your neighborhood are full of mean girls?”

“Yep. But let’s not talk about them; let’s talk about something good. Like orientation week. Have you looked through the events they posted? Did any interest you?”

She nodded, regaining some of her enthusiasm, and we talked about the dorm room, moving in, and the general roommate agreement rules. Time slipped by fast, and I never heard my phone buzz with messages, but I did hear it ring.

When I saw Bennett’s name, I cringed.

“I need to get this.”

Without waiting for her reply, I stood and answered it on my way to the takeout shelf, where my order had been waiting for a while.

“Tell me you’re all right,” Bennett said, sounding angry.

“I’m all right. I just lost track of time.”

“It’s been an hour. You didn’t answer any of our texts. What have you been doing?”

I understood he was worried, but the question grated on my nerves.

“Not breaking any rules.” I grabbed the bag and waved at Sophia, motioning that I needed to go. She nodded and waved goodbye. “Can we talk about this when I get back?”

“Who is she?” Bennett asked.

Panicking, I scanned the cafe and spotted Bennett outside the wall of windows near the cafe’s entrance. He didn’t look angry, just worried. But that didn’t make me feel any better.

A warning tingle started in my nose, and my chin trembled. To hide it, I looked down at my phone to hang up on him. Then, I swallowed hard and tried to relax everything as I started walking toward the door so Sophia wouldn’t know how fucking messed up my life was.

He opened the door when I reached it and took the takeout bags from me.

I couldn’t look at him. If I did, I’d lose what fragile hold on my control I had. I was good at keeping things in. I’d done so for years. But I’d started to trust Bennett. Trust that he’d been listening to me despite what I’d heard the night before. All because of his dumb offer to listen.

“You’re not okay,” he said. “Did she do something to you? I can smell her scent on you.”

His voice carried a warning growl, and he turned toward the door.

I grabbed his arm, ignoring the pain, and started towing him away from the cafe.

“ She’s not the problem, Bennett. Why are you here? Why can’t I have an hour to myself? Why does it feel like I did something so wrong that I can’t even breathe without someone monitoring me?” I stopped walking and spun around to face him.

“You asked me to come to you when I’m having a problem. This is a problem. I’m feeling very trapped and very angry right now because you were standing outside that cafe like some kind of stalker.”

He cupped my face and wouldn’t let go even when I tried knocking his hands away.

“This,” he said, rubbing over my cheek bruise with his thumb. “And these.” He gently touched the bruises on my throat. “And these.” He caught my hand and held it so we could both see the bandage.

“All of these within six days, Wrenly. When you didn’t answer any of our texts, I panicked. When I saw you inside, smiling and talking, I thought I was keeping my word and giving you space by calling instead of going in to make sure you were all right. Tell me what I should have done instead.”

His words and imploring gaze hit my guilt button hard. Everything he said was reasonable, and I knew that if Aiden or Karter had been hurt like I had, the rest of the family would have reacted the same way to an hour of no contact.

So I told the truth. I said what had really set me off.

“You shouldn’t have asked who she was.”

He searched my face.

“Why?” His confusion suddenly vanished behind a stoic mask. “Do you like women, Wrenly?”

People on the other side of the busy street probably heard my frustrated “gah” as I turned around and walked away from the most annoying man on the face of the planet.

He followed me back to the office in silence.

However, even knowing that I was upset with him, he insisted that I join him for lunch in his office again.

“Why?” I asked, sitting on the couch. “What do you get out of this? It certainly isn’t my cheerful presence.”

He set the food out on the sofa table in front of me and then went to his desk. I watched him pull a piece of that wrapped chocolate from the drawer.

Was I bribable? Not really. Yet, I didn’t get mad when he held the chocolate out to me. Actually, it kind of made me feel better. A little calmer. But only a little.

While I ate my piece of chocolate, he set out our lunches and sat next to me.

“I asked who she was because I was genuinely curious. We both know that I’m completely clueless about your life despite all the information your teachers sent.

I know you left the school grounds. I don’t know why or what you did.

So I was curious how you knew her well enough to look relaxed when you talked to her.

Something you’ve never done with me once during the thirteen years we’ve known each other.

“And that’s not an accusation. I’m not trying to start a fight. I just want to fix this distance between us—the misunderstanding that I hated you because I went away to school.”