Page 60 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

“Are you going to give me any hints about where we’re going?” I asked to distract myself as much as to distract him.

“It’s something you’ve always wanted to do.”

I frowned, thinking. How would Bennett know what I wanted to do? We weren’t that close.

He knows you want to try new things. He knows you love running and hate skirts.

He knows you want a friend and lets you leave work with Miranda whenever you want.

He knows you have bad dreams and sleeps with you to stop them.

He knows you felt unloved at school and is doing everything in his power to show you how loved you are now.

That last thought was an epiphany that crushed me.

Why did he have to show me now when I was done? When I was determined to be free?

“Your scent is all over the place. What’s wrong? Do you want to go home?”

“No. I’m fine. Just thinking.”

He didn’t pry as he continued driving.

When he turned into a gas station, I was insanely curious. I’d never been to one. At least, not for as long as I could remember. He didn’t pull up next to a gas pump, though. He parked in a spot in front of it.

I turned to him to ask what we were doing and found him holding out his credit card.

“You can go in to buy study snacks by yourself, or I can go with you and act as your arms. Up to you.”

I looked from him to the card to the gas station, a smile growing on my face.

“I need you to be my arms.”

His gaze swept over my face, and he darted in to brush my lips with his. He was out of the car, and his card was in my hand before I registered what he’d done. I was still trying to process how I felt about the stolen kiss when he opened the door for me and offered me a hand out.

Dazed, I slipped my hand into his without considering the consequences. His fingers gripped mine, and he pulled me so close my nose almost brushed his chest. Why did I want to lean into him and brush my cheek against his shirt?

The door closed behind me, and he released me.

I realized he’d only pulled me close to shut the door and flushed. His fingers caught my chin and tipped my head back to meet his gaze. He didn’t say anything, just studied my face.

“I’m crazy for you…with you…without you. I never stood any chance. Anything you want, anything you need, it’s yours. You only need to tell me. Do you understand?”

Catching the edge of my lip between my teeth, I debated whether I was just as insane because I wanted to ask him for a hug.

Me.

With Bennett.

Willingly.

His thumb brushed over my bottom lip, freeing it from the light hold of my teeth.

His pupils were going wild again.

“Can I ask you something without you shifting in public?”

He nodded.

“Can I just…” Rather than finishing the question, I shuffled a step forward and lifted my arms to wrap them around his waist. Then I rested my head against his chest like I’d wanted to do. It felt so good. Comforting.

He made a pained sound a second before his arms closed around me. Cocooned in his embrace, I let myself just exist in the moment. His shaking gave away his struggle after a minute, though.

I eased out of his hold and looked up at him.

“Thank you.”

He swallowed hard and fisted his hands at his sides.

“Go inside and look around. I’ll join you in a bit.”

I nodded and turned toward the door. He stepped around me and opened it. Even though he was shaking and struggling for control, he stood there and held the door for me until I was inside.

When I glanced back, he was already pacing next to the car.

“You guys fighting?” the woman at the register asked, watching him with me.

“Actually, we’re getting along for a change, and I think it’s breaking him.”

He paused, glancing at me, proving he could hear.

“I’d pay to have a man broken for me like that,” the woman said. “And my husband would pay to have a new truck. Different priorities, I guess.”

“You’re right. Maybe you should prioritize yourself over your husband, just as he’s prioritizing himself over you. It might open his eyes.”

“Or he might divorce me.”

“He might. But do you want to stay where you aren’t valued and appreciated for your worth?”

The woman’s expression closed down. Understanding that my opinion was no longer welcome, I went to browse the snacks.

Bennett joined me a few minutes later, and I had fun pointing to all the snacks I wanted to try. There were so many that Bennett had to make several trips to the counter with them. When the woman checked us out, she kept glancing at Bennett. Not in a flirty way, but an evaluating one.

It made me question the way Bennett treated me, too.

Yes, he’d made mistakes that had irrevocably hurt me. But his regret for what he’d done in ignorance was real. He was making every effort to make up for it, including finally listening to me.

I bit my lip again as he paid.

He turned suddenly, grabbed the back of my head, and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth. My stomach dipped, and my breath caught. Then his mouth was gone, and he had an arm wrapped around my shoulders as he accepted the card back from the woman.

Her gaze met mine.

“I wish I were as smart as you are when I was your age.”

“It’s never too late,” I said. “We get one life, right?”

“We humans do.” She handed the bags to Bennett, who had to release me to accept them. “I’d give anything to be a phoenix shifter and get a do-over.”

“They don’t get do-overs,” Bennett said. “Their pasts are always with them.”

He nodded and, with one arm loaded with bags, led me out of the store. I waited until we were outside.

“Do you really know a phoenix?”

“I do.”

“Is it true that there aren’t many of them?”

“It is. They were hunted to the brink of extinction by people who believed they could steal their ability to be reborn.”

He opened the door for me and then shut it, leaving me inside while he put the snacks in the trunk. When he got in, he inhaled deeply.

“Why are you sad?” he asked.

“I was just thinking of what you said—being hunted because you can live again. I don’t think I’d want to live again. It would take the magic out of living the life I’m living now.”

Bennett nodded. “The one I know feels the same way. He said that each life gets lonelier than the last because he’s watched too many people he’d cared about die.”

“That just makes me more sad for them. Your friend doesn’t have a phoenix mate? Wife? Whatever?”

“No.”

Bennett started the car and didn’t say anything else until we were back home and at the table.

“Which snack would you like me to open first?” he asked.

I pointed. He obliged and then opened my laptop.

Inarguably, he was a better assistant than I was. He did everything I said without question. He got me something to drink before I realized I was thirsty and suggested a walk after the hour I spent reading the assignment.

We strolled in the backyard, talking about the class and the text. Bennett was smart and insightful. He helped me understand what I’d read and how it applied to more than the context in which it’d been given.

When we returned to the dining room, he opened a new snack for me since I didn’t want to finish the previous one. At some point while I read, he disappeared to fix lunch. Nachos. Another first. It was as messy and as delicious as breakfast. I was getting better at eating with my left hand.

We took another walk after lunch, still around the back yard because I was very aware of how many pack members did not like me now.

Mom, Dad, and Grandma showed up around dinnertime.

“There’s my girl,” Grandma said, holding out her arms for a hug, which I quickly stood to give.

It felt good, but so different from the one I’d gotten from Bennett in the parking lot.

She pulled back, her gaze briefly flicking to Bennett, the table, then settling on me again.

“Everything seems okay now?” She said it like a question, and I knew she was referring to my panicked, middle-of-the-night call to her.

“It is. Sorry for waking you up.”

She waved away my apology as Mom asked, “Did something happen?”

“I lost control,” Bennett said.

Mom’s stare hardened. “What do you mean, you ‘lost control’?” The growl behind the words grew as her irises expanded.

Remembering the handprint on his face, the last time she’d gotten mad at him, I quickly side-stepped so I stood between her and him.

“It’s not what you think, Mom. He suddenly shifted, scaring me. I’m fine. I promise.”

She pulled her angry gaze from him to look down at me. I saw her surprise and joy.

“Are you defending Bennett?”

“He’s more needy when you slap him. I’m just making my life easier.”

Dad cleared his throat, and I knew he was trying not to laugh as Mom snorted.

“You’re too good for him,” she said.

“Mom, I’m your son,” Bennett said, only sounding a little offended.

“I know. Where did I go wrong to raise such a thickheaded man?”

Although she said it with playful affection, I felt a stirring of bittersweet regret. I’d spent so many years thinking they didn’t love me. The hurt and terror had blinded me to the truth. Every person in the room would give their lives for me.

“I love you, Mom.”

She looked surprised for a second before she hugged me.

“I love you, too, Sweetheart. You can call me in the middle of the night too.”

“I know. But Grandma was closer.”

She jerked a little and withdrew to glare at Bennett.

“We’ll change that today.”

I both sighed and laughed at the growl in her voice.

“Mom, it’s actually kind of nice only having to deal with Bennett’s overprotectiveness. I think all of you at once would be a bit much for me. And I know that’s what would happen. My track record for safety hasn’t been the best.” I held up my stitched arm.

She opened her mouth.

“Before you say anything, I know you only left because Bennett wanted it. I know you love me and want to be here. And I promise I won’t step outside this door without an escort capable of keeping me safe.”

She sighed and gave me another quick hug.

“I hate that you know me better than I know you.”

“That’s an easy fix. Typing will be impossible for me for a while, which means I can’t go to work. How do you feel about a Mom and Wrenly day tomorrow?” I glanced at Grandma. “You’re welcome too, of course.”

“What about me?” Dad asked.

“Someone needs to run the company and stop Bennett from throwing things when Wrenly’s not there,” Mom said.

Bennett snorted, and I grinned with Grandma.