Page 7 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

Bennett was still where I’d left him. He glanced at his watch before he spotted me, and I made a face at him. Was he seriously timing me?

“Did I miss anything interesting?” I asked.

“No.” He reclaimed my hand and wrapped it around his arm.

I moved to stand beside him, but he suddenly captured my chin with his free hand and leaned in, bringing his face close to mine.

My eyes went wide, and I tried to push him away.

“What are you doing?” I whispered harshly, which only called more attention to us.

“What did you drink?” he demanded.

My face started to heat, and the urge to kick him warred with the need to run and hide from the embarrassment of the moment.

“Wine, remember?”

His gaze narrowed. “Wrenly.”

The warning in his tone spoke volumes. I was poking his wolf. Why then weren’t his pupils going crazy? I had no idea. Nothing about Bennett ever made much sense to me.

“Let go of my face while I’m asking nicely,” I said.

His gaze dipped to my mouth.

If he leaned in and sniffed, I would not be responsible for my actions.

He leaned in…

…and brushed his mouth against mine.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I jerked myself out of his hold so hard that I stumbled into someone else. A few giggles rang out around us. I barely noticed as I spun around and pushed my way through people toward the exit.

Mom caught me before I reached it.

“Come with me.” She steered me toward the sectioned-off area of the museum.

A guard nodded and unclasped the rope for us to pass. She kept leading me along a hall until we’d turned several corners and entered an office with a sofa.

“I’m sorry,” I said as soon as the door shut. “I didn’t mean to make a scene. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

She hugged me hard. “It’s okay, Wrenly. I brought you here so you could calm down, not to scold you. What happened?”

She didn’t know? She didn’t see?

My face heated further at the thought of her having witnessed my supposed brother kissing me.

“I snuck a second glass of wine, and Bennett embarrassed me because of it.” One hundred percent true. “Do I have to keep working for him?”

Mom smiled and walked me over to the couch.

“He’s a bit difficult, isn't he?”

“Very.”

She nodded and patted my hand. “I heard today went well, though. No one cried, and nothing was thrown.”

“Does he seriously throw things?”

“Sometimes,” she said.

“He’s completely ridiculous. But I get why he’s prickly.

If I had that many women trying to climb me like a tree, I’d have mood swings too.

” I sighed and leaned back into the couch in a very unladylike way that had Mom smiling.

“Their attention never seemed to bother Aiden or Karter, though. Speaking of…why aren’t they here? ”

“They’re meeting and mingling with other packs.”

I studied her face. Mingling? Hadn’t Karter said they were being groomed for management?

“They’re looking for mates, aren't they?” I asked.

She just smiled.

“Why doesn’t Bennett go do that then? Won’t he be a lot calmer once he finds his mate?”

Mom chuckled and smoothed back some of my hair.

“Our males typically don’t ‘calm down’ until the first child is born.”

“Lovely. I pity the girl who ends up with Bennett.”

“I don’t,” she said. “He’s more patient than most. He’ll give her the time she needs, even if it drives him crazy.”

“Well, that sounds awful for everyone around him since he’s already crazy. Wait…he’s already found her and is purposely waiting, isn’t he?”

She smiled. “If you’re curious, ask Bennett.”

“That feels like a setup. No thanks.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Nope. I want to leave.”

“If you ask Bennett, I’m sure he’ll take you home.”

“Bennett is the last person I want to ask anything. He’s the reason I want to leave.”

She chuckled and tugged me to my feet.

“Then he owes you.”

When she opened the door and walked out, I saw the person in question waiting for us.

“I’ll leave you two to make peace,” Mom said with a glance at me before leaving.

Bennett stayed where he was in the hallway, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall. His calm in the face of my lingering discomfort annoyed me.

“Why, Bennett? I was nice to you today. After the shopping incident, I did everything you asked, without question or complaint, no matter how mind-numbing it was. Even keeping the women away, like you wanted. Why did you embarrass me like that?”

“Embarrass you?”

He pushed away from the wall and stalked closer, stopping inches from me. His jaw ticced, and his pupils were reacting now…as if I were the problem.

I stomped on his foot as hard as I could with my heel.

Surprise flashed across his face.

I retreated a step and managed to look contrite as I said, “I acted rashly and hurt you, Bennett. I’m sorry.” Contrite left my demeanor as I poked him in the chest. “Do you see how that's done? It’s called an apology.”

He had me pinned against a wall with my hands over my head a second later.

All the air vanished from my lungs as I stared up at him.

“Am I acting rashly, Wrenly?” His eyes searched mine.

I struggled to make sense of what was happening. Bennett had me pinned against the wall, and he was looking at me like he…

Nope.

No.

Not today, man-devil.

I took a slow, deep breath.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but you have two seconds before I scream for Mom and embarrass the whole family.”

He didn’t react like I thought he would. No anger flashed in his eyes. He simply let me go.

“Maybe you’ll be interested in playing later,” he said.

He was a psycho. That was the only explanation.

“Take me home, Bennett.”

* * *

The confusion and tension from the evening followed me in my dreams until an unfamiliar-sounding alarm woke me.

It’s not mine.

My eyes flew open, and I bolted upright, ready to deflect and throw a punch.

Bennett’s stoic expression cracked as he took in my balled fist and raised arm. I saw worry and immediately pointed to the door to prevent him from asking any questions.

“Out.”

He didn’t move. Instead, his gaze searched mine.

“What did you think was happening, Wrenly?”

“Someone with bad intentions was waking me up. And, look, I was right. I’m not going to work today.”

“Grandma is downstairs. She wants to talk to you.”

He left the room without saying anything else, and I flopped back onto the bed for a minute so my pulse could return to normal.

Those days of waking up in fight or flight are over, Wrenly, I told myself. Let it go, or they will never let you go.

My thoughts went back to what Bennett had done the night before. After some rest, I could see it differently.

He didn’t kiss you, Wrenly. He was just being an ass and trying to figure out what you drank. It’s not a big deal. None of this is a big deal. Stay focused. Nothing else matters but convincing them you’re independent and can manage your own life.

I got out of bed, quickly showered, and dressed.

Grandma and Bennett were sitting at the table. Both had already finished eating as I sat and accepted a plate from Sandy.

“I heard you get to work with Bennett,” Grandma said. “If he gives you trouble, let me know, and I’ll break his legs for you.”

I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth, unsure if she was serious or not. Shifters healed remarkably quickly after all.

“A clean break or something that’s going to need pins?” I asked.

She laughed so hard she cried.

“And that’s why you’ll always be my favorite, Wrenly. Don’t you ever change.”

I still wasn’t sure if she’d been serious, so I just smiled and listened to her scold Bennett while I ate.

“If you drive Wrenly away, you’ll have more than me to worry about, Bennett. Six in three months is going too far.”

“It wasn’t six in three months, Grandma,” he said calmly. “And no one complained.”

She snorted. “Only because some of them were female and desperate. Heard you tried to throw one out a window.”

I looked at Bennett in shock, waiting for his denial. He didn’t say anything .

“Instead of getting him a different assistant, you should have gotten him therapy,” I said to Grandma.

She grinned at me. “Doubt that would have helped.”

“So are you just here for a morning lung workout? Not that I mind hearing you lay into Bennett,” I added quickly.

“No. I’m going to work with you two. It’s been a while since I visited the office, and I thought we could chat on the way.”

Skillfully managed yet again, I found myself in the backseat with Grandma, going to work like I didn’t want to, while Grandma told me about her neighbor’s vacation mishap that had landed her in the hospital.

Honestly, I loved Grandma. She treated me like I was her favorite person.

Whenever I’d gotten into trouble with Aiden or Karter in my youth, she’d always sided with me.

Not that Mom and Dad hadn’t, they’d just tried to be a tiny bit more impartial.

Grandma was blatant in her favoritism. And it never bothered anyone in the family, even though I occasionally felt guilty about it.

When we arrived at the office, she rode the elevators with us to the administrative floor, but as soon as she saw me to my desk, she excused herself to visit Mom, saying she’d return later.

I shook my head and sat down, knowing full well she wouldn’t be back. Her only purpose today had been to ensure I went to work. She’d been like that when I’d gone to boarding school, too. I hadn’t wanted to go, but Grandma had shown up that morning, and I’d found myself on a plane anyway.

Mom was a master manager of people and situations, and she’d learned it all from Grandma.

Sighing, I opened my laptop and got to work. Movement in the glass drew my attention. I looked up at Bennett’s office and saw him standing behind the glass, the shade wide open. He crooked a finger to beckon me.

“What do you want?”

He shook his head and tapped his ear.

As if I believed for even a second that he couldn’t hear me. With a sigh, I stood and poked my head into his office.

“What do you want?”