Page 64 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

“Because then it would have smelled like him.”

“Ah,” I said, understanding that he would not have been okay if I or my bed had smelled like Konni. “Are you going to be okay in the office today without Miranda?”

“Yeah.” He started brushing again. “Will you stay with me tomorrow?”

“Sure. I don’t think I’ll be able to do much, though. I tried using my hand to dry off, and that’s why I needed an ice pack.”

“You should have called for me.”

“And have you dry me off? I’m not stupid, Bennett. You couldn’t handle it when I asked for a kiss rain check, in case it turned into something more. What do you think would happen if you saw me naked?”

He gathered my hair to one side and kissed my exposed neck.

“I already saw you naked,” he said close to my skin. “And I didn’t lose control then.”

I frowned, remembering the towel incident. “Why didn’t you lose control then? What was different?”

“You. You still didn’t see me as a potential mate. Knowing you were thinking of accepting me was what?—“

A tremble ran through him, and he kissed my neck again.

I wasn’t as unaffected as I would have liked. The feel of his lips against my skin sent a shock of…something through me. It made me feel hot and made my stomach flip.

His hold on my hair tightened, guiding my head more to the side so he had better access.

Closing my eyes, I let myself feel what he could do to me and started to wonder what it would feel like to just let go.

My eyes snapped open.

“Stop.”

He jerked back, breathing heavily. His pupils had completely devoured his irises.

“Five more minutes and I’ll tell you anything you want about Konni’s molting,” he said, his voice edged with a pre-shift growl.

“No. You’d shift in less than three.”

His hold on my hair hadn’t eased, and I watched in the mirror as his gaze dipped to the red mark he’d left on my skin.

“Two minutes.”

“No.”

He growled. The sound was filled with frustration and annoyance.

“Let go of my hair.”

He did. Then he smoothed his fingers through it and rubbed the back of my neck. His attention shifted between my eyes and the small mark he’d left on my skin. If I didn’t distract him, I knew he’d find a way to kiss me again, and I wasn’t sure I’d have the sense to stop it.

“I’m hungry.”

I watched him inhale and melt a little. His need to give me what I needed trumped his need to touch me more. Or, it mostly trumped it, since he held my hand all the way down the stairs.

Sandy exited the kitchen a few seconds after Bennett pulled out my chair for me in the dining room.

I sat in anticipation of what she’d made, but Bennett stole my plate before I could grab it.

He quickly and efficiently cut through the powdered triangles, turning them into manageable bite-sized pieces.

“Thank you,” I said as he set it in front of me and handed over my fork.

“You’re welcome.”

Breakfast took a few minutes longer than it should have, using my non-dominant hand, but I didn’t quit. Miranda would understand.

Despite the delay, however, we still reached the office on time. Miranda was by our desk, decked out in yesterday’s purchases. When she saw me, she grinned and did a twirl.

“Take in this look, my little ah-pWren-tice. This is what we’re shopping for today, but for you. Purse. Earrings. And whatever high-end clothes you can tolerate. Now get that pretty black rectangle from your wallet-with-legs so we can get out of here.”

I laughed at her and turned to Bennett with my hand out.

His gaze dipped to my smiling mouth, and I was against the office wall before I could think “wolf in heat.” The hand of my hurt arm was gently pinned to the side while my other one had freedom to tangle itself in his hair.

Then his mouth was on mine, kissing the daylights out of me. He turned my thoughts to mush in seconds. I forgot where we were and who was watching until Miranda said, “She won’t be happy once you’re no longer kissing her.”

Bennett turned his head to snarl at her. His hand that had been teasing its way up my stomach was still resting against my skin.

The break gave me clarity, and I grabbed a handful of hair, not pulling, but with enough tension to cut off his warning and draw his attention back to me.

“No growling at Miranda when she’s giving you good advice,” I said. “Now, please let go before I react negatively.”

His frustration was plain as he removed his hand from my shirt.

“Thank you. May I have your card, or should I ask Mom for hers?”

He handed over his card, gave Miranda a terse, “Protect her with your life,” then closed himself in his office a little forcefully. The blinds closed a second later.

“I bet he’s touching himself.”

I gave Miranda a “what’s wrong with you” look and straightened my shirt.

“Since you were timely with your interruption, I won’t deduct an hour of shopping time for that crass comment.”

She grinned at me. “So that’s how we’re playing today? All right. Give cutting our shopping time your best shot. Remember, I’m stronger than you.”

“Good thing because you might need to carry me by the end of today.”

“This is silk. I’m not carrying you.”

We walked out of the office, good-naturedly bickering, and returned eight hours later with zero bickering and a lot of whining. Only, this time, it was Miranda.

“Are we even friends anymore? How could you walk away from those heels? They were perfect. They lifted your already firm ass and put it on display in that skirt you were wearing.”

“I don’t like heels. I don’t need my ass displayed. And I only wear skirts for weddings and funerals. Are you planning on dying soon?”

One of the office girls laughed but quickly smothered it.

Miranda growled a low warning at the group then smiled at me.

“Unless it’s Bennett or your parents, I doubt anyone has what it takes to bring me down.”

“Pfft. I should be on that danger list, too. One distracting Zellon’s necklace and you wouldn’t even know what hit you.”

She laughed all the way to the office suite where Bennett’s door was open. As soon as he saw us, he came out.

“That wasn’t there when we left,” Miranda said, pointing to a slash in the wall.

“Looks like an embedded folder mark,” I said. “Who was it?”

“I’m only going to give you the name if you’re going to do something about it.”

“Like what? The only one who would stand still long enough for me to attempt a maiming is Miranda.”

“And you don’t have the necklace for it,” she said, setting half the bags she carried down on the desk.

He opened his arms. “If I tell you, you have to comfort me.”

I was betrayed by my shopping partner and pushed into his open arms. He caught me tight and hugged me close as he whispered every woman’s name in the office except for Mom.

“And how many of them left crying?”

“Only the ‘sensitive ones’ would be my bet,” Miranda said. “And he knows who they are and goes a little easier on them, so they don’t deserve your pity.”

He nuzzled my neck where he’d left the mark this morning, and I pushed at his chest even as my knees went weak.

“I’ll see you two tomorrow. Push her too far, Bennett, and she’ll start ignoring you again.”

Bennett made a frustrated sound a second before he backed off.

He threaded his fingers through mine and picked up all the bags Miranda had left behind on the desk.

“Let’s go home.”

He used every excuse possible to touch me more than handholding all the way to the car, and I knew I’d be in trouble once we got home if I didn’t put him in his place.

But how? Avoiding him would frustrate him.

Yelling at him would frustrate him. Pleading with him might work. Guilting him would definitely work.

Maybe I’d get something delicious for dinner out of it, too.

I waited until after he buckled me in and was walking around the car to unbuckle myself.

“Oops,” I said, letting the seatbelt go when he got in. It snapped home with a light thud.

He glanced from it to me, suspicion in his gaze. I amped up my innocence with a few blinks. He leaned in, reaching across me. I caught the back of his head and pulled him close enough that I could brush my lips against his ear.

Locked in place, he shook, mini tremors that rocked through his entire body.

“This is why you need to stop. I’m human and break, Bennett. I don’t want to end up like my closet door.” I knew damn well that each word delivered softly in his ear was adding to his torture.

But this was Bennett. He seemed to like being tortured by me. Why else would he send me away instead of keeping me close?

“Wrenly…”

My name was both a whispered prayer and a curse.

I played with the hair at the back of his head.

“If I kiss your ear again, will you wolf out? Should we test it?”

He jerked away from me, and I was left sitting alone in the car with the driver’s side door open. When I twisted around to look for him, I saw him pacing behind the car like a caged animal, watching me.

My heart gave a heavy beat and felt like it was turning over in my chest. Why did I like seeing him barely in control? What was wrong with me? Did I have a death wish?

Was I…

Was I turned on by this?

My heart gave another heavy beat as I quickly faced forward.

Calm down, Wrenly. If he gets back in this car and he smells your hormones screaming “Yes,” you’re never going to get home.

“Pizza. Burgers. Tacos. Macaroni and cheese. Hot dogs. Chicken nuggets and fries. Potato salad. Fried Chicken. Corn bread. Chicken fried steak. BBQ. The messy kind that drips out of the bun.”

“What are you doing?” Bennett asked, bending down to look at me, but not getting in.

“It’s my freedom food list. Things I wanted to eat once I was out of prison.”

His mask slipped into place, and he got in.

“Would you like to stop for chicken nuggets and fries on the way home, or should we find somewhere with BBQ?”

“Nuggets, please.”

He started the car and drove to the closest drive-thru to home.

“Can we talk about before?” he asked after I was holding our takeout order.

“Sure.”

“Were you teasing me?”

“That’s a complex question,” I said.

“Why?”

“Technically, I was teasing you, but not to get your hopes up.”

“Why then?”

“So you’d stop kissing me.”

“I feel like I’m a toddler for repeating this, but…why?”

“Because there’s no point. You were getting yourself all worked up for what? The result would be the same. Regardless of my role in the kiss, eventually you’d shift, and I’d potentially be hurt.

“I didn’t think reminding you of what happened to the closet after a hint of acceptance would be effective, so I demonstrated.”

He pulled into the garage and turned off the car. We sat in silence for a few minutes as he digested what I’d said.

“Is there any hope for us, Wrenly?”