Page 43 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

This time, I sat without comment, letting him push my chair in as I pocketed the cash. He took the seat across from me.

“Do you have any other plans before we need to leave?” Bennett asked.

“Not really. Just working on the latest assignment for the summer class I’m taking.”

“Miranda mentioned that she offered to help you get ready. If you’d like her help, she’s welcome here.”

I opened my mouth, ready to say that Storm would be willing to come over too, but stopped myself in time.

Today, I needed to switch up my game so he wouldn’t avoid me.

At least, not yet. As he’d pointed out this morning, I’d never exposed him to the coaxing side of me.

If I played my hand right now, he’d be more willing to cut the night short later, and I’d be in bed before my feet hurt.

“I can manage putting on a dress and makeup on my own,” I said. “It won’t take me long to get ready. Once I’m done with my assignment, I’ll still have a few hours if you want to do something.”

He paused with his fork partway to his mouth, and when he looked at me, his pupils were spasming like crazy.

“Or not,” I said quickly. “Not a big deal.”

“I want to do something.”

“Okay.” I kept eating my food as if indifferent to the idea while he stared at me.

Several minutes passed before he resumed eating.

I waited until I finished to say, “There’s a movie I’ve been wanting to watch if you’re interested later.” I picked up my plate. “I’ll let you know at lunch how much more time I’ll need.”

He left me alone in my room until noon. I’d drafted, edited, and completed a plagiarism check on my paper before he knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

He opened the door.

I was on my stomach on my bed with the laptop in front of me. Fully clothed. Nothing hanging out. But he was staring at me like I was naked as I idly swung my feet in the air behind me.

You own me, Wrenly.

I decided to lean into that ownership a little.

Although I’d never flirted with a guy, I knew what to do and what not to do…

for the most part. Openly flirting with Bennett was out.

It would tip him off that I was up to something and really wasn’t necessary.

With him, all I needed to do was be non-confrontational and… feminine.

Ridiculous. But easy enough to manage.

Softening my expression with a hint of concern, I sat up.

“You all right? Is lunch done?”

He swallowed hard as I stood and walked toward him. His pupils were blown so wide that I couldn’t see any brown left, and I hadn’t even really done anything yet.

Putting a little pout on, I said, “I hope you made me something good. I’m starving.”

He started to shake. Not just his hands this time but his whole body.

I froze. Sudden movements around stressed-out shifters were a bad idea. Always.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

“Your scent. It’s…” Another round of tremors coursed through him. “There’s no fear.”

“There’s about to be.”

His eyes snapped open. “Come here, Wrenly.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You can try whatever you want. Hold my hand. Hug me. Kiss me.”

“I’m going to take a rain check on all of the above. My self-preservation has kicked in.”

His slow smile made my insides feel like they were doing back flips, and my pulse skyrocketed.

“Do you want to run, Wrenly?”

He shifted his weight, crouching ever so slightly like he was getting ready to spring.

“No. I won’t run. I’ll keep my word. On all of it, Bennett. Do you know what that means? I’ll do exactly what I said I would do. Are you sure you’re ready to be rejected?”

The smile left his expression.

“I thought you wanted to win me over,” I said, pressing my point. “This isn’t winning me over. This makes me want to disappear from your world forever.”

He jerked like I’d hit him, and the tension left his body. Straightening, his gaze swept over me, assessing and carrying a hint of sadness.

“I’ll go for a run. Wait a few minutes; then come down for lunch.”

I nodded and watched him leave. Once he was gone, I let my knees give out and sat on the floor. As I stared at the vacant doorway, I reconsidered my plan.

Perhaps meeting his conditions wasn’t the best option. I wasn’t sure he would be able to let go once I did what he wanted. I didn’t think he was trying to trick me, but rather that he was overestimating his control.

With a shaking hand, I reached for my phone and sent a text to Grandma.

Me: Why am I living alone with Bennett? Is it so he can spend more time with me or because he’s not safe to be around?

Grandma: Mostly to spend time with you. Did something happen?

Me: Depends. Do you think Bennett would ever rape me?

Grandma: Never. He would try to persuade you so you’re willing. He wouldn’t do anything to cause you to reject him. Do you need me to come over?

Me: No. He went for a run. I should be fine.

Grandma: Can I tell him that he scared you enough to ask about this?

I thought about it for a second before replying that she could, grateful that she’d asked permission before just doing it.

Feeling reassured and steadier, I went downstairs. The sandwich he’d made for me was waiting on a plate across the table from his. Staring at it and thinking about how he’d reacted to me, I continued to debate the wisdom of attempting to meet his criteria.

My time at school had taught me a lot about when to hold my ground, when to advance, and when to retreat. Even though I knew the more often a person retreated, the more they tended to lose, I hesitated to advance.

With Bennett, the rules didn’t seem to be the same.

Sometimes the more I retreated, the more I got.

But retreating now wouldn’t prove that I was able to take care of myself…

that I didn’t need him. And I definitely needed to prove I was self-sufficient, stable, and able to survive on my own.

After all my panic attacks and meltdowns, he was already questioning my sanity.

Maybe that was the key. I needed to push Bennett until he questioned his own sanity. Could I walk the line and survive? There was only one way to find out.

Be a menace, Wrenly. Keep them guessing, I silently told myself as I picked up his sandwich.

I licked the top of it, turned it over, and licked the bottom. Licking bread was a textural horror, but I endured. Lifting the bread, I licked the sliced chicken for good measure. Then, I put his sandwich back on his plate and took mine to my room.

While eating and proofreading my paper with my door open, I listened for his return. It didn’t take long. Fifteen minutes later, I heard a thump downstairs. I closed my laptop and sat up to watch the door.

He appeared a few seconds later, looking just as wild as when he’d left.

“Thank you for the sandwich,” I said.

His gaze searched mine as he inhaled deeply.

“Do you feel better?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did I taste you on my sandwich?”

“Because you’re too unstable to try to kiss directly.”

His hands gripped the doorframe, and I heard the wood crackle under the pressure.

“It was a kiss? You weren’t angry?”

I neither confirmed nor denied it, but I watched him weigh the possibility of both. I could almost hear his mind working.

Was the lick revenge for how he’d pressed me? I had threatened to spit in his lunch, after all.

I saw the moment he decided it wasn’t me being petty.

A second later, I was on my back on the bed with Bennett on top of me. His hands threaded through mine over my head as he nuzzled my neck, nipping and licking.

I’d been prepared for this kind of reaction from him, but not my response to it.

He was short-circuiting rational thought with just his mouth.

Danger signals fired as fast as the pleasure ones, and in the storm, I could only feel it all.

Each swipe of his tongue. Each brush of his lips. Each groan and growl.

I knew I was in trouble. I needed to stop him. But his grip had no give. Or maybe I had no strength. Why did his mouth on my skin feel so good?

“Bennett…”

He groaned and lightly bit the side of my neck. A sound escaped me. He growled and lifted his head to meet my gaze.

His tremors shook the whole bed as he inhaled deeply.

“Finally.”

His gaze dipped to my mouth, and he started closing the distance. How much I craved to feel his lips against me worried me enough to think rationally. If I didn’t control the situation, I would never be able to leave.

Swallowing hard, I said, “Start the timer, Bennett.”

He jerked back, and I watched the blind lust dissipate from his gaze.

“What?”

“I’m holding your hands without fear, and we’re about to kiss. Set a timer. We should probably talk about what defines a hug, too. I feel like this should count since our bodies are?—”

He got off of me like I was a hot coal and ran his hand through his hair in agitation.

“Do you know how frustrating you are?”

I sat up. “Yeah. It’s a skill I’ve worked hard to hone.”

He turned his head to glare at me, and I shrugged.

“Keep in mind who started this and who set the rules. I’m just going with the flow. Now, do you still want to watch a movie, or should we forget it?”

He held out a hand with a surly expression, but showed no aggression.

Smiling, I took it and stood, believing I’d won the round.

That was a mistake.

He pulled me into his arms and hugged me close, dipping his head to the same side of my neck that he’d been kissing. A zing of…something snapped through me, putting me right back into the same place as where he’d left me.

Pulse racing, barely able to breathe, I gripped his forearms for support as his hands caged my sides, keeping me upright.

He growled and licked my skin like I’d licked his sandwich.

I shivered.

“Why are you fighting this? Me?”

Sanity returned.

“I can smell how much you?—”

“Is the timer running? Does this count as a hug?”

He growled in frustration and pulled back to glare at me.

“I’m not the problem, Bennett. You are. You’re not following the rules you set for the deal we made.”