Page 29 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

The air outside helped cool my overheated skin as I focused on remaining calm. I could feel Bennett's gaze on me as we waited for the valet and hoped he wasn’t smelling my fear and anxiety.

“How well do you know her?” Bennett asked.

“Well enough to know she’d pick up on the third ring if you called her.”

“You don’t sound happy about that.”

“Your love life and who you choose to spend your time with is your business, not mine. If you’re interested in her, I wouldn’t stop you.”

I’d push you with both hands, I silently added.

“I’m not interested in her. Just curious.”

The car pulled up, and Bennett opened my door for me. I got in and glanced at the restaurant's entrance, half-expecting to see Lindi there. She wasn’t. She was too smart to be spotted. But she was somewhere watching, probably trying to figure out how I knew Bennett.

While at school, I’d been very careful to disassociate myself from the Wulfs.

Every time Mom and Dad had visited, I’d ensured it was on a weekend when most of the students were gone.

I’d even switched out Mom and Dad’s contact information with Grandma's on my registration form when some of the girls started to ask questions.

I was so lost in thoughts of school hell that I didn’t realize Bennett had taken a different exit until we left the neighborhoods and entered fields and trees.

“Where are we going?”

“I need to go for a run.”

“Why out here?” I asked, getting nervous.

“Because I don’t think I could handle any of the pack joining me right now.”

I glanced at him, but his expressionless mask was in place again, making his mood hard to read.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to take me home first?” I asked.

“No.”

He pulled over suddenly. “Get out.”

“What?”

“You want to run away from everyone and everything so badly? Get out.”

Was I afraid of being out in the middle of nowhere? No. I had a phone and was used to being on my own and making it work. Was I afraid of being out in the middle of nowhere alone with Bennett when his jaw was ticcing like a bomb counting down? Yep.

If he looks like he’s going to lose his temper, hug him, Wrenly.

I reached for the handle and opened the door myself.

His door slammed as I stood, and he was in front of me a second later, pinning me against the car.

“Do you want to go for a run, Wrenly?”

“In this dress? It was almost five thousand dollars, Bennett.”

His gaze dipped to my neck, where my pulse fluttered.

“You hate the dress.”

“The dress is pretty. I’m not going to wreck it just because I don’t like it.” Before the end of the summer, I planned to add it to the name-brand resale site I used to trade high-end items for cash.

“Then take it off.”

“I’m not wearing a—” I took a breath and tried again. “Bennett, I don’t care what happens at pack runs; I’m not taking off the dress to run down the road in broad daylight.”

His gaze skimmed lower, and I pushed at his chest. He caught my wrists and held them against him.

“Your insanity is showing, and I want to go home.”

His mask shattered, and the look in his eyes wasn’t healthy…for me.

“What home? You mean the place you want to leave?”

My panic skyrocketed when he started leaning into me. I closed my eyes and let myself feel all the anger, frustration, and fear I’d been suppressing.

He growled and dropped his forehead to mine.

“Get back in the car. I’ll be back in an hour. Don’t even think of driving with those hands.”

He released me.

Trembling, I stayed right where I was.

After several minutes, I slowly opened my eyes and found myself alone with a pile of clothes folded neatly on the hood.

I didn’t even hesitate. Scooping up his clothes, I found his keys and phone. The phone I left on the side of the road. The clothes and keys stayed with me as I executed a smoother Y turn than my last attempt and headed back the way we’d come.

When I reached a stop sign, I used my phone to send him a text.

Me: I’d rather high-five a cactus than wait around for your moody ass. You deserve this! Enjoy the run home.

Were my hands shaking as I used my GPS to figure out my way home? Absolutely. But not because of the drive.

I had no doubt Bennett would retaliate. I just hoped I was safely locked in my closet before he found his phone.

Forty minutes later, I pulled into the garage and almost crashed into Dad’s meticulously restored pride and joy, vintage Ford Model A when I saw what waited for me.

Slamming on the brakes, I gripped the steering wheel and stared at my harbinger of doom.

Bennett, fully nude, leaned on the hood of my grey sedan. His chest heaved with each breath. Sweat glistened on his skin, proof that he’d pushed himself hard to beat me home since wolves didn’t break a sweat easily.

My gaze traveled over his length, taking in the tension in his faux-relaxed pose, along with the impressively chiseled ridges he possessed. My heart skipped a beat. He was so… nice to look at. Why couldn’t he be nice to be around, too?

He pushed away from the hood, muscles rippling hypnotically, as he stalked closer to the car.

I slammed my eyes closed before I looked where I shouldn’t.

He’s your brother, Wren. He is not good-looking. Not even a little.

He knocked on my window, and I shook my head, grateful the car was still running and the doors were locked.

“I’ve enjoyed my run home and want my clothes, Wrenly,” he said, sounding surprisingly calm through the glass.

“No. I don’t trust you,” I said without opening my eyes.

“What would it take for you to unlock the doors for me?” he asked.

Dammit. I couldn’t pass up this chance. But it had to be something big.

“I want my bed back and five thousand dollars,” I said.

“Done. Now, unlock the doors.”

“And you need to go into the house first,” I added.

His chuckle sent a shiver down my spine. A second later, the car’s horn honked twice as the door unlocked.

My eyes flew open, and I looked at Bennett through the glass as he held the spare fob.

“Put it in Park.”

Damn him for knowing I was thinking about slamming it into reverse. Too bad my Y-turn skills wouldn’t allow me to whip the car around fast enough to escape. So, I parked the car and turned off the engine.

Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I heard, “Good girl,” through the window as he retreated a step and opened my door.

I knew nudity wasn’t a big deal to them, but it still was to me, and I was extremely uncomfortable with the potential view at eye-level, so I quickly got out.

“Clothes are in the passenger seat,” I said, bolting.

He caught me around the waist, and a second later, I was up in his arms.

“Why are you carrying me? Put me down!”

“Look at your hands, Wrenly.”

“Who cares about my hands. You’re naked.”

“You noticed?”

“I’m not blind.” As soon as those words were out, my face flamed with embarrassment, which was good. Safe.

He shifted my weight to one arm and carried me into the house. Not stopping at the stairs, he marched right up them and into my room.

“You have two minutes to change; then I’m dealing with your hands. You’ll get your bed back after.” He put me down, turned around, and left.

I looked. Bennett had a really nice ass. And noticing that was not okay. I released a freaked-out breath, hurried to my closet for my pajamas, then closed myself in my bathroom.

When I opened the door almost fifteen minutes later, my bed was back, fully made, and Bennett was on sitting on it, wearing a loose pair of shorts and nothing else. Seeing his bare chest bothered me more than it should have.

“Let me see your hands,” he said.

I made a face, cautiously moved a little closer, and held up my newly bandaged hands.

“Not good enough,” he said. “Closer.”

He stayed right where he was as I inched toward him until I could almost touch him. This time, when I held out my hands, he captured one, turning it and running a finger lightly over the bandage.

“You can get mad at me. You can leave me in the middle of nowhere without clothes—thank you, for leaving me the phone, by the way—but you can’t hurt yourself. Ever. When you want to get away from me, tell me. Do you understand?”

“I want to get away from you,” I said.

A hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “I know. Why are you so nervous around me, Wrenly? You weren’t like this yesterday. What changed?”

“Your unpredictability leveled up.”

He looked down at my hand and smoothed his thumb over my bandage again.

“It has. But I promise I’m trying.”

I wasn’t sure what, exactly, he was trying to do. Not to kill anyone or break anything? Those were good things. Not to use me as a substitute for his missing mate? Also good, but very concerning.

He’s more patient than most. He’ll give her the time she needs, even if it drives him crazy.

“I really want to get away from you,” I said, my voice a stressed whisper.

His gaze snapped to mine, searching.

“Please.” It was almost a whine.

I was so close to breaking down under the intensity of his stare, and I didn’t like what that meant. The delusion I was clinging to was a fragile, thin shard that would take nothing to shatter.

“Okay.”

He released me, and I stumbled back several steps, my hands tingling and trembling. I hid them behind my back so he wouldn’t see as he stood.

“Get some sleep.” He paused at the door on his way out. “What do you want for breakfast? Pancakes with chocolate chips?”

I nodded, not caring about breakfast but wanting him to leave. Once he did, I hurried to the door and locked it.

You made it through seven years of hell. Ten more weeks will be nothing.

My shaking grew more pronounced, and I hurried to my bed.

* * *

The soft snick of a door closing brought me fully awake. I opened my eyes and saw that it was daylight, and my bedroom door was closed. Gazing around the room, I saw that both my bathroom and closet doors were open.

My gaze returned to my bedroom door. I’d locked it. I knew I had.