Page 68 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

He frowned then slowly retreated to his desk. Once he was seated, I approached with a teasing smile on my lips. His pupils devoured his irises before I even set my hands on his shoulders. When I straddled his lap, he started shaking.

“The less you take, the more I’m willing to give,” I said, brushing my lips against his. “The more restrained you are, the more I want to provoke you.”

I kissed his bottom lip then his chin, nudging it so he tilted his head back. When I had access to his throat, I did the same thing he’d done to me the night before. His breathing turned ragged, and the chair creaked ominously.

“Should I stop?” I asked against his skin.

“No.”

The snarled word made me smile and bite his throat gently.

“Will you be okay while I’m at lunch with Mom?”

“No.”

I bit him again, and he groaned.

“Mark me, Wrenly,” he said harshly.

I sucked on his neck, and when I was finished leaving a small purple mark, I kissed his Adam’s apple. A second later, I was on my back on the desk with Bennett looming over me. His eyes were wild as they searched mine.

Warning bells went off in my head.

“Can we stop, please? If someone comes in…”

His mask slipped into place as he plucked me off the desk and turned me toward the bathroom.

“Go change. The bag is inside.”

I nodded and fled.

After splashing water on my face one-handed, I opened the bag I’d brought from home.

A note lay on top of the underwear I’d packed.

There will be a repeat of last night if you keep forgetting these.

My face flamed hot again as I quickly stripped and put on the new clothes. The tie at the back of my neck wasn’t happening on my own, but I knew better than to leave the bathroom without Mom present. So I waited. And waited.

Noon came and went.

“Are you hiding, Wrenly?”

“If I were, I’d pick a better place than your bathroom.”

“You’re supposed to meet Mom by the elevator.”

I made a face in the mirror then opened the door.

“Can you please tie my shirt without making me smell like we were just making out?”

“But we were just making out.”

“You’re making me regret your reward.” My gaze flicked to the faded to yellow mark prominently displayed above his starched collar.

He scowled and motioned for me to turn around. Grumpy, he kept his fingers from wandering too far from the tie.

“There. Now, do I get a kiss goodbye?”

I faced him and shook my head.

“You already had one.”

“Another wouldn’t hurt.”

I started to cross my arms, but he stopped me, kissing the back of my hand and rubbing the spot with his thumb.

“Stitches,” he said. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Ask yourself why I was crossing my arms.”

He sighed and kissed my brow.

“Fine. Go. I’ll see you after lunch.”

I smiled as he released me. “Do you want me to bring something back for you?”

“I doubt you’ll let me eat what I’m hungry for.”

I blinked at him, the meaning of his words lost on me until he started to smile slowly.

“You’re getting another shaken bento box.”

He hurried around me to open the door so I could continue my outraged march out of his office.

Miranda looked up from her work.

“That looked pretty hot,” she commented.

I glanced back and saw the blinds had been opened.

“Nope. Not going to think about that. And there won’t be a next time.”

She was grinning as I walked away.

Mom was waiting by the elevator, her eyes filled with worry as I approached.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She waited until we were on the elevator alone to answer.

“Was he calm when you got back?”

“Mostly. He needs to stop taking his frustrations out on doors, though.”

“Better doors than you.”

“Me? What do you mean? I thought you said he would never hurt me.”

She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and set her cheek on the top of my head.

“He wouldn’t. I just meant in other ways you might not be open to yet.” I heard her sniff. “Or maybe you are?”

“Mom…” I wormed my way out of her hold. “Can you please pretend you can’t smell what you’re smelling?”

She grinned at me.

“I don’t know why everyone thinks work romance is okay,” I grumbled.

She sighed and hugged me again. “Sending you away was a mistake on so many levels. If you’d stayed with us, you wouldn’t even think twice about office sex with your mate.”

The elevator doors opened on my tortured moan.

Walt stood there. Of course he did.

“Hey, Wrenly. Everything okay?”

“No. I’m going to need therapy. Mom, this is Walt, a sublet employee. Walt, this is my mom, Christine Wulf.”

His brows shot up briefly before he composed himself.

“A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wulf,” he said.

She shook hands with him, her smile polite.

“How do you two know each other?” she asked.

“My first day here, we bumped into each other at the sandwich shop down the way. He recommended the park to me.”

The elevators opened to the main floor.

“Have a good lunch, Walt,” I said as Mom and I headed for the garage elevator.

“So you met him on your first day?” she asked.

“Yep. And Bennett found me sitting next to him at the park. Like an uninformed idiot, I traded a week of lunches in Bennett’s office in exchange for him not telling you and Dad.”

She caught my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

“He didn’t do anything inappropriate, did he?”

“Walt? Heck no. He’s nice.”

“I meant Bennett when he found you.”

“No. Actually…” I thought about what I knew now and how he’d reacted then. “He was pretty restrained. He didn’t approach but waited until I saw him.”

She smiled and opened my door for me and even buckled me in like Bennett did.

“I can use my other hand, you know.”

“You could, but then we’d both miss this chance to baby you like I should have been doing all these years.”

“Are you going to cut up my lunch for me too?” I asked, amused and not minding her attention.

She laughed as she closed the door.

“So where are we going?” I asked when she got in behind the wheel.

“Clay and Leaf. It’s a tea room where people go to be seen, which is why I’m taking you there.”

She caught the face I made.

“We don’t have to go, but I heard that Mrs. Shane will be there today, and I want to see how she acts when we get there.”

“Well, now you’re talking. Did Bennett tell you I overheard a call from Lindi today?”

“No.”

I explained what I heard.

“Mr. Shane reached out to Aaron on Saturday before the run, thinking he could circumvent the conditions Bennett set.” She patted my hand. “Dad quickly corrected that notion and the one that their horrible offspring’s crimes don’t fit the punishment.”

Her words had a bit of a growl at the end.

“So we’re going to the Clay and Leaf to do what?”

“I want Mrs. Shane to see how much we value you so they know you’re off limits. But this isn’t about just her. I want the pack to know your place in this family, too. Just because you choose not to wear expensive clothes or flaunt your wealth doesn’t mean you’re not part of this family.”

“Technically, I have no wealth to flaunt. I still don’t have my bank account.”

“That will be fixed as soon as my eldest cub removes his head from his ass.”

I choked on my laugh, and she grinned at me.

“I love that boy, but he’s a typical male still trying to control things.”

“He’s getting better every day, though,” I said, thinking about how he hadn’t tried manipulating the situation before we’d left. Well, at least not too hard.

It took about twenty minutes to reach the tea room. As the valet drove away with Mom’s car, Mom tucked my arm around hers.

“Let’s remind them all that you’re a Wulf.”

The hint of growl in her voice didn’t bode well for anyone who might mention the Wulf family taking in a poor orphan all those years ago.

I patted her arm and hugged it a little. She smiled and took a calming breath before we moved toward the attendant, who opened the door at our approach.

We walked into the quaintest entry I’d ever seen. It reminded me so much of something I might see in a Hallmark Channel movie.

“Do you have a reservation?” The woman at the antique desk asked.

“Yes. Wulf for two.”

The woman glanced down at her tablet then at the woman standing next to her.

“Table Twenty-Three.”

The second woman nodded and smiled at us. “Please follow me.”

I noted that all the staff wore the same medium grey vest, a light grey button-up shirt with pinstripes, and a darker grey tie, paired with black slacks.

The uniforms looked trendy and old-fashioned at the same time, which helped blend the vintage decor with the modern clothes of the customers we passed.

A woman wearing a hat with a plume nodded at Mom and glanced at me. I smiled.

“Nice hat.”

She smiled back.

Under my breath, I said, “Shakespeare probably wants his pen back.”

Mom coughed suddenly, and I patted her arm soothingly, faking concern when I knew she was trying her best to swallow her laughter.

Our attendant stopped at a table and held out a chair for me. A man quickly approached to do the same for Mom. While she ordered for us, I glanced around the room for Mrs. Shane.

“I think we’re early,” Mom said after the man walked away.

The words had barely left her mouth when I spotted Mrs. Shane at the door. I waited until her gaze met mine, then looked away indifferently.

“She’s here,” I said to Mom.

Mom smiled and watched our server approach with our tea.

A warning, “Shh. I know,” from the table next to ours caught my attention, but I didn’t turn to look at who was talking. With a relaxed smile of thanks, I accepted my tea and listened.

“Hurry up and finish so we can leave,” a woman said.

“Why? I want to see what happens,” another said.

“And I don’t want to be caught up in their grudge against each other,” the first one said. “I heard it’s because of her.”

I could feel the weight of their gazes as I took my first sip.

“This is nice,” I said to Mom. “Sweet but not overly so.”

She nodded and hid her smile with her cup.

“I heard the same,” the other woman continued.

One of them groaned. “Too late. Here she comes. Keep your head down, and maybe we’ll make it out of here without offending people we can’t afford to offend.”