Page 42 of His White Moonlight
I looked at the narrow door opening.It was enough to slip through, but did I want to?Knowing I couldn’t put it off forever, I climbed over the shelf and peeked out the gap.The section of the hallway I could see was empty.
Anyone unfamiliar with this family would think they’d gotten a lucky break.I knew better.Bennett was out there.Waiting.Probably listening.
“I don’t like feeling trapped,” I said.“It’s a thing for me.Like claustrophobia.”
“Since when?”Bennett asked, sounding calm.
“For a while now.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to anyone?”
“Do you announce your weaknesses to the world?”
I heard him exhale heavily.
“I’m sorry I hit you, Bennett.Again.Is there any chance you can help me with this bookshelf?I’m not sure how I managed to knock it over.It’s heavy.”
“Sit on your bed.”
I scrambled away from the door and watched the bookshelf slide across the floor with a wood-on-wood groan until Bennett had enough room to wedge himself through the door.
He righted the bookshelf then turned to look at me.His hair wasn’t neatly styled anymore.The chaotic disarray didn’t make him look disheveled but dangerously appealing, which was not how I should be viewing any man, especially Bennett.
I glanced away.
Keep your head straight, Wren, or they’ll never let you go.
“You startle easily, and you don’t like feeling trapped,” he said.“What else should I know?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Shifting nervously on the bed,I debated how to respond to Bennett’s question.Did he honestly think I was going to open the darkest corners of my soul to him just because he asked?By the serious look in his eyes, he did, and I knew I needed to tread carefully.
“Are you going to tell Mom and Dad what happened?”I asked.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On your answer and your level of cooperation,” he said smoothly.
Something about the way he watched me cautioned me against avoiding the question again.So I gave him what he’d probably already guessed.
“I hate dressing up.It feels fake, and I don’t like myself when I feel fake.”
“Okay.Anything else?”
“I don’t like blue cheese?”
My attempt to defuse the tension of the moment didn’t go over well.Bennett crossed my room and crowded into my space, forcing me to recline until my back hit the mattress.His dark gaze held mine as he leaned over me, caging me in with his arms.
I watched him inhale and tried not to feel anything, but it was impossible not to feel something.
He was too close.Too intense.Too unpredictable.
“You’re starting to panic.Do you feel trapped?”he asked.
“No.”
