Page 72 of His White Moonlight
Giving up, I left my bedroom with my hair down and partially wet.
Bennett was waiting for me in the hallway.He wore his usual suit and tie for the office, but he looked a little less uptight this time.I looked at his hair and checked his tie, but both looked as precise as they always did.
While I was studying him, trying to find the difference, he took in my wet, mostly uncombed hair and the extra bandage on the underside of my forearm.
“What kind of deal would we need to make for you to come to me when you have a problem?From the minor stuff like you have a hangnail to the major stuff like someone hurting you?”
“I wouldn’t need a deal for that.I’d need to trust you.”
He nodded, grabbed the tips of my fingers, and led me back into my bathroom.
I didn’t protest when he picked up the hairdryer.It felt really nice to have someone run their fingers through my hair without trying to pull it from the roots.I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the moment.
The hairdryer shut off, and he ran the brush through the strands, carefully gathering it all back to tie at the base of my skull.
I opened my eyes and caught him staring at my neck.
“Is it another bruise, or did I miss some dirt?”I asked as I started to reach back and wipe the spot.
He caught my hand.“No.You just…” He leaned in as he breathed deeply.
Did he smell Storm?She hadn’t touched me other than to trip me.
His nose brushed my skin, and a jolt of awareness struck straight through me, sending me into a confused panic.
I whirled away from him, but I didn’t get far.He caught me around my waist and had my ass on the counter before I registered he’d touched me.
With his hands gripping the counter on each side of me, caging me in, he crowded close.
“I thought we agreed, no running.Why did you panic?Do you think I’m going to hurt you, Wrenly?”
My heart was beating fast in my chest as I stared at him with wide eyes.
“Breathe, Wrenly.You’re not in any danger.You’re safe.”
Safety was a relative term in this situation.
“You’re too close,” I managed to say.
“You said you didn’t like it when you can’t move your arms, and when something was too close to your face.I wasn’t holding you at all.”
I glanced away as my mind raced for a truthful reason for my panic that wasn’t the truth: I’d felt something when I’d thought Bennett would kiss me again.No, not again.He hadn’t kissed me ever.That time at the museum, he’d just checked what I’d been drinking.And what he’d done in his bedroom had been revenge.Maybe a test.I still wasn’t sure.
“Don’t you believe in personal space?”I asked.
“Not really.”
“I’ll be sure to tell the girls in the office that.”
He made an annoyed sound and plucked me off the counter.
“Is your hair all right?”he asked.
I nodded and let him lead me out of the bathroom.
When we reached the entry, he had my runners waiting.He helped me into them and tied them for me.
“You didn’t eat much for breakfast,” he commented as we walked through the kitchen.“Do you want to stop for something along the way?”
