Chapter 71 PRETENSION
WILLA’S POV
It was so terrifyingly easy to be lulled into a sense of comfort and warmth around Gallahan. My defenses just seemed to turn to putty with just one smile, one playful remark, one damning touch.
It hadn’t even been long since we agreed to start over again, and yet I was already on my way towards the forbidden and dangerous territory where a slippery slope called ‘FALLING IN LOVE’ awaited me.
Heck, even the throbbing deep wound from the humiliating rejection of my blowjob seemed to cease existing whenever he so much as glanced at me.
I was fucking pathetic. Was being so weak and pathetic come in a package in being bonded to one’s fated mate? Ugh!
The culprit of my crisis casually sauntered out of my en suite bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. A smaller one hung around his neck, which he had obviously used to dry his hair.
“God, I still feel like I’m about to burst from our dinner.”
He patted his abdomen as if to prove his point, but it was all moot when I could still see the lines of his defined muscles.
“Food in Wolverham is a delight,” I replied, hoping my voice didn’t come out tight or strained.
“It is. Perhaps you should introduce me to more of them after the twins recover. I should try the barbecue skewer you say Calisto and Gillian are so addicted to. Their love for meat definitely came from me.”
“Perhaps,” I said softly, prying my gaze away from the sinful body he was parading half-naked in my room.
Because goodness fucking hell… I also loved meat. And there was a forbidden one walking and breathing right in front of me.
Swatting away such thoughts, I pulled Calisto and Gillian closer to my sides, as if that would help me not lose my shit over their father.
But even as I tried so hard to focus at the view outside the window like it was the most interesting and scenic sight ever, I still remained hyper-aware of Gallahan’s movements, which I could detect through my periphery.
He perched his duffel bag on top of the dresser near the fucking window I was looking at, and began to rummage for a change of clothes.
But then he halted.
And because fate loved to spit on my face just so it could show me what I had given up and lost six years ago, I had to hear Gallahan softly murmur to himself, “Oh, Zee.”
The tenderness and affection was a dagger directly driven deep into my heart.
But I shouldn’t feel like this. I couldn’t feel like this. I didn’t have the right to feel like this.
Still, it stung like hell.
Because really… Fated mates were great. It was a precious gift to have someone written in the stars for me. To have a perfect partner designed and chosen for me by the moon goddess herself.
But as I matured through the years, I had come to see that it was even greater to be loved and chosen each and every day despite the odds. Or in some cases, to be worth defying fate for.
“Willa, look,” Gallahan said excitedly, pulling out a pair of wolf plushies, and one of them looked eerily like Gallahan’s wolf.
He marched over to the bed and sat at the edge just so he could show me the toys. His excitement was unfairly endearing, but I couldn’t quite manage to match it.
I couldn’t even be fully distracted by the fact that the tempting half-naked sight of him was just within my arm’s reach.
“This is Zuleika’s gift to me a long time ago,” he shared, fondness evident in the way his eyes gleamed and in the way his voice held a mellow and nearly nostalgic cadence.
I looked at the particular wolf he was referring to. It had a thick silvery pelt and sharp eyes that shone a yellowish green tint.
“I see,” I said lamely, because what else was I supposed to say?
“Cute, isn’t it?”
“It is,” I agreed, feigning a smile for his sake. “It looks new, though?”
I hated being such a downer when someone was clearly trying to share something they were excited about.
He shrugged. “Likely magicked to look brand new again.”
“And the other wolf?” I asked, nodding at the dark-furred wolf with vivid golden eyes.
“It’s new. Zee must’ve made another one, knowing I have twins.”
My smile turned genuine, and the irrational bitterness poisoning my mind and heart withdrew and fizzled out.
Maybe it was because of the mother in me who always melted over any form of kindness shown and given to my children. Or perhaps it was also because I was a woman who couldn’t truly be bitter towards another woman who was clearly beautiful inside and out.
“That’s sweet of her,” I complimented, hoping my sincerity shone through in my tone.
“She is indeed sweet,” Gallahan agreed as he tucked the plush toys underneath the twins’ arms.
“Done now?” I said with a raised brow.
Gallahan hummed absentmindedly, his eyes drawn towards the twins and his hand caressing Gillian’s cheek.
“If you are, please get changed already. I would appreciate it if I could have my turn to shower.”
Gallahan blinked as if he had been jolted so suddenly out of his thoughts. His ears reddened, and he seemed unable to meet my eyes.
“Right. Right. Sorry. Did I take too long in the bathroom?”
He got up from the bed, his hands tightly gripping at the towel by his waistline.
“It’s fine,” I waved off. “Just get dressed, so you could replace me here.”
“Of course. Just give me a minute.”
He hurriedly went behind the wooden dressing partition I had in my room and began to get dressed. And it only took a minute or two before he reemerged all decently clothed in loose black cotton pants and a tight-fitting midnight blue singlet.
“Here… Careful,” I said as I moved the twins in Gallahan’s arms after he had laid himself down on the bed.
“Okay. I’ve got it, Willa.”
“Wait, let me just make sure they’re all nice and cosy.”
I gingerly hoisted Gillian up until her head was comfortably resting on the left side of Gallahan’s chest. I did the same to Calisto, who laid on Gallahan’s other side and was using Gallahan’s glorious biceps as a pillow.
“Are you comfortable?” I asked, my eyes meeting Gallahan’s gaze.
“Yeah. Don’t worry about me.”
“Alright. If you’re sure.”
I got out of our comfortable nest and headed straight to the bathroom.
But when I entered, my nose was assaulted by a strong mingling scent of orange blossom, jasmine and patchouli. It was as if Gallahan had used my entire bottle of shower gel.
Just what the hell did he do in my bathroom? I looked around, catching sight of my nearly empty shower gel. Experimentally, I took a deep and long whiff, putting my wolf senses to use.
That was then it hit me. There was a subtle scent that was distinctly Gallahan and sex.
The wanker wanked himself in my bathroom, and I didn’t quite know what to do with the information.