Page 32 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

“Don’t I?” I asked, turning my head to meet his gaze, letting him see my anger.

He ran his hand through his hair again.

“No. Just…just let us know where you’re going so we don’t worry.”

“Right.” I now understood that “us” and “we” only meant Bennett, and it hurt more than it should have.

Getting off the elevator, I walked through the lobby and out into the sunlight, ignoring my unwanted companion as I focused on relaxing. I passed by all the sandwich shops and fancy bistros without stopping. His offer to eat somewhere else hadn’t interested me as much as time in the park had.

When we reached the park entrance, Bennett pointed to a food truck.

“How about trying that?”

I had to admit, it tempted me. But so did a run in the midday sun.

“Maybe after I’m done exorcising my mood. You can sit on a bench and watch me lap the pond…unless that’s too dangerous?”

He looked like he wanted to break something. “You need fuel to run like you do.”

“That’s what this morning’s coffee and my rage are for.”

Without waiting for his answer, I took off running. It felt so good.

Tension slowly melted away as I warmed up, and I realized I felt more relaxed than I had in a while. When I pinpointed why, I frowned.

With Bennett watching, I knew no one would be able to trip me. At least, not like Storm had. And no one would try to chase me, not like the group of guys someone at school had paid.

Having someone who actually had my back was new, and I didn’t hate it. In fact, I wanted that more than anything. Just…not with Bennett. His level of protection came with stifling restrictions, and I’d already had enough of that.

Don’t hate your life, Wrenly. Fight to make it what you want until you love it.

I sped up, letting myself run all out, not caring about sweat or anything else as I lost myself in the one freedom I had. Before it felt like I’d pass out, I slowed to a jog and focused on breathing.

All the endorphins were doing their job when I finally slowed to a walk. I felt good. Really good.

When I finished my lap and approached Bennett, he held out a bottle of water, which he’d already opened for me. Had it been anyone else, I wouldn’t have trusted it.

“Thanks.” I tipped it back, taking two long gulps, and sat next to him to let the breeze finish drying my sweat.

“Why do you run like that?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You push yourself to go as fast as you can. Are you training for a race?”

I grinned at the thought. “No. I just like knowing I can outrun anyone chasing me. Anyone human, anyway.” I glanced at him, still riding my high and not thinking clearly. “I know I can’t outrun non-humans. That’d come in handy if I could, though.”

“Do you have a lot of humans and non-humans chasing you?”

“Even one is too many, but it’s enough to learn to run.”

“Who chased you, Wrenly?”

The smooth rumble of his voice set off all my internal warnings, and I choked on the water I was sipping. He patted my back gently, and I coughed longer than necessary to collect my thoughts.

There was no recovering from that slip, and I wasn’t about to admit any past abuse to Bennett. Not in his current state. I didn’t trust his reaction.

“Do you think they have hot dogs?” I asked when I stopped coughing. “I could really go for a hot dog.”

“Do you know how frustrating you are?”

“Yep.”

He removed the hand from my back to run it down his face.

“This is one of those moments when, if you let it go, our afternoon will be much happier,” I said.

He sighed. “Okay.”

Maybe Bennett wasn’t completely impossible to deal with after all.

He got up and ordered from the food truck, and we ate on the way back to the office.

No one commented on our late return, but I heard some whispers about my clothes and sweat stains.

Bennett silenced those with a warning glare, but they weren’t wrong.

I wasn’t upholding any kind of corporate image, and I definitely wasn’t up to the wealthy Wulf family’s standards.

When I got back to my desk, I sent Grandma a text asking her to meet me in the city for dinner; then I started working. Bennett brought me a water not long after and one of the salads I’d ordered. Since I was still hungry, I munched while I worked and waited for the afternoon to pass.

Before quitting time, Miranda showed up at my desk with a retail clothing bag. She glanced at Bennett’s open door and blinds before meeting my gaze.

“Pretty quiet afternoon,” she said.

“Yeah. Is that why you went shopping?”

“This is for you. Heard you’re having dinner with your grandma and thought you might not want to go smelling like anger, frustration, and…” She leaned in and sniffed. “Grief? Did you drop your ice cream cone while at the park?”

I grinned at her, finding her question more funny than antagonistic. She surprised me by almost smiling back.

“How much do I owe you?” I asked.

“You don’t.”

She held up Bennett’s credit card and arched a brow at me.

I shrugged. “Mom said he owes me for being an ass and to think of him as a wallet with legs.”

“Well, that’s a picture I won’t forget,” she said, glancing at Bennett, who was now standing in the doorway to his office.

“Mom didn’t say I was being an ass.”

“It was inferred.”

He let out a long breath that screamed barely checked patience, then said, “You can use my bathroom to shower and change. I can drop you off at the restaurant after.”

“Restaurant?” I asked even as I picked up my phone to check for a message.

Grandma: You know I hate texting. I’ll meet you at Rexbies Pub at 6.

“What’s Rexbies?” I asked, looking up at Bennett.

“A bar that serves burgers and sandwiches.”

“It’s better than the hot dog you ate for lunch, but only barely,” Miranda said.

I took the bag of clothes and peeked at what she’d bought.

Jean shorts and a T-shirt. Even underwear and a bra.

I didn’t see a single tag on anything, though.

I wasn’t above borrowed clothes, but I did find it odd that Miranda would be willing to lend something to me, especially jean shorts. Those didn’t seem to be her style.

Confused, I looked up at her.

“Don’t worry, it’s all clean. I dropped it at an express wash after buying it.”

“Ah. Got it. Thanks.”

“I’m getting paid to shop. It’s not a hardship.” She passed Bennett’s card to him without a hint of flirting, nodded to me, and walked away.

I glanced at Bennett and found him watching me. The look in his eyes wasn’t frustrated or desperate. It looked almost tender. My stomach did a weird dip that made my heart skip a beat. It felt like panic…but not.

He inhaled slowly, and that odd feeling grew.

“I’ll hurry,” I said, darting past him.

I locked the bathroom door and breathed a little easier as I turned to the glass-paneled shower. The first time I’d noted it, while searching for cleaning supplies, I’d rolled my eyes. Now, I appreciated being able to wash away the smell of my lunch run and change into something soft and clean.

Tying up my hair, I took a quick shower then changed into the new clothes. The waterlogged bandages on my hands were falling off by the time I finished. I removed them and frowned at the scrapes, knowing I couldn’t leave them uncovered.

A quick search through the cabinets for replacement bandages yielded nothing.

Bennett knocked on the door.

“I have the first aid kit out here.”

Making a face, I debated what to do. I did not want Bennett playing doctor again. That was too much touching.

“I was looking for a tampon.”

“You don’t have your period.”

“It’s for you.”

Something thumped against the door.

“Eventually, counting to ten is going to stop working,” he said. “Then what are you going to do?”

“Run faster? Buy a taser?”

“Open the door, Wrenly.”

“Open the door, Wrenly. Come here, Wrenly. Sit down and shut up, Wrenly.”

“I never said that.”

“But each time you order me around, that’s what I hear!”

“Will you please open the door? Please?”

I knew I couldn’t stay in the bathroom forever. I just hated that he was waiting on the other side. Then I realized he’d given me the golden ticket.

“What’ll you give me?”

“What do you want?”

“Nope, that’s not how it’s going to work this time. You need to offer something up. Be creative.”

I heard another thump on the other side of the door and grinned.

“I’ll make you breakfast tomorrow,” he said. “Anything you want.”

“No, thanks.”

“We can go for another run at lunch tomorrow.”

“I don’t need permission, remember?”

Another thump.

“What do you want?”

“I want you to understand that there’s nothing you can give me that I want.”

In the silence that followed, I heard my heart beating in my ears.

Was I playing with fire? Yep. But I’d lived in survival mode for too long not to recognize the trap the Wulf family had quietly set for me, and I needed Bennett to know I wasn’t going to cooperate.

The sooner he realized that, the faster he could let go.

“I’ll be waiting for you by the elevators.”

I gave it five minutes before I opened the door and walked out.

He had me against the wall and my hands pinned over my head the second I cleared the door. The look in his fully dilated eyes was a little unhinged as he stared at me.

“How were you not in constant trouble at school?” he said.

“Who said I wasn’t? You already know the teachers and cameras were wrong.”

“Are you purposely provoking me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

His gaze dipped to my mouth, and all my bravado vanished under a waterfall of fear.

He inhaled and immediately released me.

“Will you please sit on the couch and let me look at your scrapes?”

“Asking it as a question instead of stating what you want doesn't actually mean I have a choice, does it?” I said, marching to the couch and sitting down.

He followed, knelt in front of me, and took my hands. The only thing that stopped me from going on the offensive was his brief touches. He only did what was necessary to apply more ointment and new adhesive bandages.

Once he was done, he turned his back on me and started putting everything away. I slipped out of the office, shut down my laptop, and waited by the elevators.

He drove me to Rexbies in silence and pulled over at the curb to drop me off, which still involved him getting out to open the door for me. Grandma was waiting for me by the entrance.

“That felt like I was back in grade school being dropped off,” I said to her.

She chuckled and patted my hand.

“A good man worries about you. A bad one doesn’t even think about what happens once you’re off on your own.”

She led me into the pub, which was an eclectic mash-up of bar, diner, and lounge that played music at a reasonable volume for conversation and smelled like deep-fried nirvana.

“I got us a private room in back,” Grandma said, tugging me along.

The private room was about the size of my closet, which was decent, and had a table big enough for six but set for two.

As soon as she shut the door behind us, all the sound disappeared.

“There, now we can talk without anyone hearing.” She motioned for me to sit. “Heard you were late because you were giving Bennett a tough time.”

“Just enough for him not to call the cops, but apparently enough to tattle to you.”

She laughed. “We both know I’m not the enforcer in the family.”

“Pfft. That’s like saying Mom’s not the life manager.”

Grandma smirked at me but didn’t comment on that. Instead, she said, “So tell me why we’re really having dinner together.”

“Because you’re the only one I trust to answer me honestly. I hope you don’t break that trust today.”

She got really serious. “Never. Speak your mind, and ask your questions.”

“Am I Bennett’s mate?”

“Yes.”

My heart tripped over itself, and my chest grew painfully tight with the panic I refused to give in to.

“What does that mean? For him, not for me. Aren’t there any other options?”