Page 189 of His White Moonlight
“See you at the run, charity bitch.”
Some of the other women laughed.
How did they know I’d be there?
Rounding the corner to enter the office suite, I saw Bennett on the phone through the blinds.He waved for me to enter, so I quietly let myself in.
“She just walked in.Yes.I’ll tell her.”
He hung up the phone and inhaled deeply.
“You’re annoyed.Wasn’t it a good run?”
“It was.How does Olivia know I’m going to the pack run?”
“I told Mom.Olivia overheard.”
“Who was on the phone just now?”
“Karter.He wants to know how long the silent treatment is going to last.”
I shrugged and started for the bathroom.“If they really wanted to talk to me, they’d come home.”
Bennett’s arms wrapped around me from behind, hugging me to his chest as he kissed the top of my head, then breathed in my scent.
“Sending them away hurt you.I’m sorry I did that.”
“They could have said no and stayed.”
He turned me to face him.“No, they couldn’t have.I was—Istillam jealous of the way you can laugh and be happy with them, but not me.They’re my brothers.I love them.But I would have put them through a wall if you’d hugged them like I want you to hug me.”
“That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem.”
He huffed out an impatient breath.“I don’t want you to hate them for something I made them do.”
“I don’t hate them.However, that doesn’t mean I'm ready to forgive them for abandoning me when I needed my brothers.But I get it.I don’t really have any brothers.They were just loaned out to me.”
Bennett’s grip on my arms twitched.
“You are exceptionally good at provoking me.”
“And you’re getting better at not reacting to it.”
“Is there a reason you need to provoke me?”
“Yeah, to remind you why I don’t like you.”
“I’ve smelled your desire and know that’s a lie.”
“Desire is attraction; it’s not affection.”
His jaw clenched, and I patted his chest before extracting myself from his hold.
“I'd better shower and get to work.”
Closing myself in his bathroom, I studied myself in the mirror.My light brown hair was damp around my temples.My face was flushed from the run, making my grey eyes more vibrant.It didn’t mask the hint of sadness in them or the determination.
Playing dirty wasn’t nice, but it was necessary.An angry Bennett today would provoke Olivia to try harder to come after me tomorrow at the pack run.Did I want to be hurt?Hell no.Pain sucked.But a little pain now was more likely to ensure minimal pain in the future.And that was all I wanted.
