Page 23 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

The chocolate in my mouth prevented me from interrupting and forced me to listen until the end. And I was glad for it.

Bennett didn’t hate me.

That didn’t erase all of our history, but it helped me see that I had been reacting to everything based on that assumption, which contributed to the broken relationship we had.

That didn’t mean Bennett was completely blameless in my anger toward him—he’d relocated every bed in the house except for his.

Yet, most of the anger I’d felt toward him since coming home was based on my misunderstanding of his intentions.

“So, will you tell me how you know her?” he asked.

He was certainly persistent. But trust like he wanted needed to be earned.

“She’s a friend I’ve been talking to online for a few months now. We’ve video-chatted before, but this is the first time I've met her in person.”

“She’s not from school, then.”

I knew he meant the one I’d graduated from, so I said, “No.”

“Can I ask why you were upset that I asked who she was?”

I looked down at my sandwich and thought over the question. Was Bennett truly extending an olive branch? If he was, I needed to grab onto it. I needed an ally so I could leave. But there was still a chance everything I said would be repeated to Mom and Dad. I needed to be careful.

“Because I’m afraid of being told no,” I said. “No, I can’t have her as a friend. No, I can’t meet anyone outside of work or home. Just no. Everything is a no.”

He was so quiet next to me that I gave up playing with my sandwich and looked at him. He was watching me again, but I couldn’t read anything in his expression.

“I don’t like it when you do that,” I said.

“Do what?”

“Go quiet. Hide behind that mask. I can’t tell what you’re thinking or feeling and don’t have a supernatural nose to figure it out like you do.”

“Why do you want to know what I’m thinking and feeling?”

“So I can prevent another moody outburst. They’re exhausting.”

“Do you want the couch? You can take another nap.”

“If it’s pre-paying for a mood swing later, I’ll pass.”

“No. You look tired.”

“Do I get paid for napping?”

“I won’t tell if you don’t tell.”

I almost smiled. This version of Bennett was breaking rules, which was a step closer to toeing the fun line. But more importantly, he was listening, and he seemed to actually care about me.

The scrapes and my throat hurt, and I was emotionally exhausted, not that I would admit any of that to him.

“A nap isn’t the worst idea.”

Like the day before, I ate lunch then stretched out for what I thought would be a power nap. Two hours later, I woke up covered by his suit jacket. My knees felt bruised when I swung my legs over the edge to sit up.

Bennett caught my wince since he was leaning back in his chair, watching me again.

“Are we both taking a two-hour break when I nap in here?” I asked, rolling my shoulders.

“No. I was working until your breathing changed. Do you need a pain reliever?”

I shook my head and stood. “Do you know how much I’m getting paid per hour?”

“Why are you asking?”

“I’m trying to decide if I should feel guilty about taking a two-hour paid nap.”

He grinned. “Definitely not.”

I couldn’t stop my answering smile. As I moved to leave, I remembered my conversation with Mom and turned back to him.

“Mom said that my paycheck would be deposited in an account she started for me ages ago. She told me to ask you about it.”

As soon as I said it aloud, I realized how weird that sounded. “Why would she tell me to ask you about it?”

“The paperwork is still at the big house.”

“Ah.” Having me ask him made more sense now, since I was living there and they were in the city. “Can I have it?”

“It’s at home.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “I didn’t mean right now.”

“Ah.”

His response got a second eye-roll from me before I left. I removed the Post-it note from the door. When I turned, I saw Miranda, the woman who’d pinned me to the bathroom door, sitting at my desk.

“Another long lunch,” she commented. “Anything exciting happen in there?”

“If you consider a nap exciting, then yes.”

She stood suddenly and forcefully. “He slept with you?”

“Don’t be dumb. That couch isn’t big enough for two. I napped. He worked.”

Seeing her slow inhale, I made an annoyed sound and gestured at myself.

“If you all want me to spend less time with him, maybe cause fewer injuries. Pity gets this poor little charity human a longer lunch break and access to Bennett’s napping couch.”

“People might be nicer to you if you weren’t such a bitch,” she said.

“Doubtful since none of you are interested in my personality, only my proximity to the Wulf brothers. Now, is there something you need, or are you just looking for a place to avoid working?” I motioned to Bennett’s closed office door. “He wasn’t angry when I left, if you want to give it a try.”

She scowled at me. “I thought you were supposed to keep us out.”

“Pfft. An entire office filled with resentful she-wolves is way more dangerous than an angry Bennett.”

“And why is that? He wasn’t even tolerating Aiden and Karter these last few months.”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged cockily. “Ask him yourself if you’re brave enough.”

I spun on my heel and opened Bennett’s door, avoiding my palm. He was on the phone and looked at me.

“Did you do something to Aiden and Karter before I got home?”

“I’ll call you back in a few minutes,” he said. Once he hung up the phone, he added, “Come in and close the door, Wrenly.”

“I don’t think so. You tell me now, or I’ll ask people who will answer me honestly.”

He sighed.

“Aiden and Karter stuck their noses where they didn’t belong, and I reacted,” Bennett said.

“How did you react?”

“After putting them in their places, I suggested Mom and Dad send them out to find their own mates.”

“What business of yours didn’t they stay out of?” I asked, trying to give Bennett the benefit of the doubt.

“My mate.”

I blew out a long breath and shook my head at him. He remained silent as I closed the door and turned to Miranda.

“What did he leave out?”

“He threw Aiden out of his office so hard it took three days for them to fix that wall.” She pointed to the wall beside the entrance to the office suite. “And Karter had a broken nose. It healed quickly, but it was still a serious enough fight…from Bennett’s standpoint.”

“What did they say about Bennett’s mate that set him off?”

She shook her head slightly, losing some of her resentment. “I don’t know. Something about him waiting too long.”

Even as a human, I knew the longer a wolf-shifter waited to claim his mate, the more volatile he got.

Grandma had told me about the whole shifter mate thing during the human birds and bees talk she’d given when I’d been younger.

Curious about the differences between myself and them, I’d asked questions she’d been nice enough to answer, maybe a little too openly.

“They aren’t wrong,” I said.

The resentment surged in Miranda’s gaze and in the way she crossed her arms. I held up my hands and stepped away from the door.

“I’m not your roadblock. By all means, go in and have your way with him.”

“Do you really not know who his mate is?” she asked.

“How could I? I just got home last week. They don’t tell me anything.”

She made a face and glared at the door. I could see her thinking about going in. The blinds suddenly snapped open, and Bennett’s gaze flicked from me to her.

“I think whatever call I interrupted ruined his not-so-angry mood,” I said to Miranda. “You might want to try later.”

She left without another word, and I went to my desk to start another spreadsheet.

Before I numbed my thoughts with endless numbers, I checked my messages. Bennett had messaged once, close to the end of my hour break, and six more times the minute the hour was up. Mom had messaged twice about ten minutes before Bennett had shown up and called.

He’d respected my hour break.

Feeling a little guilty, I sent a quick text to Mom that I’d lost track of time and everything was fine, then I got to work. My productivity wasn’t the best because of my hands, but I still managed to get something done before Bennett opened his door at five.

“Hungry for pizza?” he asked.

“Not really. Are there any good burger places around here? I haven’t had one of those in forever.”

“Sit down or fast food?”

The question surprised me, mostly because I knew the Wulfs weren’t fast-food kind of people, not with the sensitive noses they had.

“If you honestly don’t have a preference, I’d like a fast-food burger. I don’t think I ever had one. At least, not that I can remember.”

I had another motive for fast food, too—getting home sooner. It’d been a long day, and I was ready for it to be over.

A few more women lingered at their desks when we left today. They didn’t talk, but they watched. The way they watched was a tad…unsettling. Like those creepy pictures on walls with moving eyes.

They needed hobbies that didn’t involve chasing men.

I looked forward to suggesting fur-crocheting to Miranda the next time she sat in my chair.

When the elevator doors closed, I felt Bennett looking at me.

“What?”

When he didn’t say anything, I gave in and looked at him. His gaze swept over my face.

“Would I be an ass if I said today was a good day?”

“Only if you’re saying it because I was tripped this morning and we got mad at each other.”

“No, it’s good because you’re less angry at me.”

“Give it some time,” I said, facing forward. “I’m sure you’ll do something.”

The elevator doors opened, and Walt got on along with two other men. I wanted to laugh so badly.

Walt caught my smirk and smiled back before his gaze dipped to my neck and new bandages. His humor faded.

“Those weren’t there last time,” he said.

“Yeah, I need to stop picking fights with stronger people.” I lifted my hands. “And get better at running from them.”

“Or maybe just keep better company,” Walt said, not unkindly.

“Oh, I’m working on that part.”

Bennett’s fingers caught the tips of mine, tugging them in warning.