Page 247 of His White Moonlight
“One…two…three…” I looked up at him.“How do I have over nine million dollars in my bank account, Bennett?I just started working a few weeks ago.Please tell me that’s not what this is all from.”
His gaze searched my upturned face before he caught the back of my head with a hand and bent down, setting his forehead against mine.
“Will you still watch a movie with me even if you don’t like the answer?”
“Now, I have to know.Spill it, Bennett.”
“Promise first.”
I pulled back enough to meet his gaze.He let me see his concern and his need.
“I can do better than just a promise to watch a movie.Let me finish eating, then we’ll go to that couch, and while I’m sitting on your lap, you can tell me about the money.And after, we’ll watch a movie together.”
Fine tremors started to race through his arms.I felt it in his fingers at the back of my head.
“With you still sitting on my lap?”
“That depends.Are you going to sit down and finish eating?”
He slowly straightened away from me and, after a measured look, returned to his chair, which he had to pick up.Not trusting his patience, I ate quickly.He stopped eating when I did, and we took everything to the kitchen together.
“I’ll clean up later,” he said, picking me up when I would have started rinsing the plates.
He carried me to the couch and sat with me in his lap.Why did sitting like this feel like I was home more than actually being home?Exhaling contentedly, I snuggled in a little more and looked up at him expectantly.
Instead of giving me an explanation, he kissed me.The brief brush of his lips was there and gone before I would have liked.The precedent of previous kisses had obviously left me expecting more, which was the only reason I could come up with for my immediate scowl.
He slowly smiled in response.
“I opened the account for you once I turned eighteen.I was still at school and doing everything I could to distract myself from being without you.”
“Like helping your brother from another mother with his sheds?”
He made a pained face.“You’re mean when you don’t get what you want.”
I shrugged.“What were you doing to distract yourself?”
“Challenges.From anyone dumb enough to issue one.Konni would encourage our classmates to bet.I made some money that I needed to hide or I’d have to explain to Mom and Dad what I was doing.”A smile ghosted his lips.“Putting it in your account was a way to get away with it if I ever got caught.Then, when I started to see the amount grow, the reason for adding to it changed.
“Everything I have is yours.No questions.No arguments.But I wanted you to have something that was just yours, too.”
I looked down at the number again, touched by what he’d done, but also worried.
“It’s not all from fighting, is it?”
“No.I’ve made money on investments too.”
He dipped his head and brushed his lips against mine again.“I can smell your relief.”
“Yeah, well, I was starting to worry my potential mate was an idiot who likes fighting.First school.Then bullying people in the office, including women and his brothers.Add to that mess the fact that he’s his best friend's primary contact for shedding season, and it’s not looking good for you.”
“You won’t ever let me forget that, will you?”
I grinned at him.“No.Not any time soon.So when it comes to his bits, do you assist with that too?”
His hand covered my mouth, and he looked me in the eyes, his gaze pleading with me.
“I’ll double the amount in that account by the end of the year if you don’t talk about Konni’s shedding until then.”
