Chapter 96 PRIORITIES
GALLAHAN’S POV
The tension left me as soon as Willa’s words registered and sank in my mind, and I nearly slumped like a ragdoll on my chair from the sheer relief they brought.
A light feeling I could only call joy swarmed my core and enveloped my chest tightly.
It felt great.
And honestly? I haven’t had a taste of such pure and adulterated happiness since Gillian first called me Daddy.
So, as I moved based on nothing but my emotions like I usually did, I drew Willa into a kiss with a hand holding her jaw. But I couldn’t contain the smile that stretched on my lips, which only grew bigger when Calisto loudly cheered.
“Yay! Yay!”
I broke the kiss, affectionately bumping my nose against Willa’s before completely pulling away.
A hint of uncertainty laid beneath the apparent fond softness that lined Willa’s face. It was like a quiet plea, asking me to prove to her that her decision was right, to never make her regret it.
She didn’t have to ask for it, though.
There wasn’t a chance I would allow myself to mess this all up. At least, not intentionally.
The breakfast that then followed after our talk was a sweet affair, although Gillian still seemed to be on the fence about me, which was something I couldn’t fault her for at all.
“Gillian was a little withdrawn. Did you notice?” I asked as casually as I could as I rinsed the suds from the plate.
I kept my voice a little quiet, just in case the twins decided to wander back into the kitchen instead of staying in the living room to play as we told them to.
Next to me, Willa was wiping the washed dishes dry and putting them back on the glass-covered dish rack. “I did. Maybe she just needs more time to take it all in and adjust. She heard things first from William, after all. His bias must’ve bled through when he answered her questions.”
I scoffed snidely, shutting off the faucet a little too harshly and handing Willa the last plate. “Oh, I bet my limb that he did.”
She shot me a short but mildly exasperated look. “And you didn’t do yourself any favor by getting into a fight with him while Gillian was around. Which was totally not right and should never happen again.”
I turned to face her after I discarded the annoyingly small dishwashing gloves. Then, I said, “The look of fear on Gillian’s face hurt me enough that I already learned my lesson. So you don’t have to worry. I’ll behave from now on.”
Willa didn’t answer immediately. She set the last plate on the dish rack before facing me with her arms crossed. “Good. Because if it happens again and you traumatize Gil and Cal with such a bloody and grotesque sight, I would personally claw your face to the point of being irredeemable. Not even Miss Banfey’s magic and perfectly made healing salves could help you.”
“Wow,” I drawled, letting a bit of dry sarcasm slip into my tone. “And I thought violence is bad.”
“It is,” she easily agreed with a nod. “But if I use it for the sake of our children, then it isn’t. I’m serious, Han. I am giving this thing between us a chance, but Gillian and Calisto will always be on the top of my list. Do you get what I’m saying?”
“Hm.” I jokingly pretended to think for a moment, even tapping a finger against my chin for effect. Then after a heartbeat or two, I wrapped my arms around Willa, yanking her close to me. “You’re saying you’ll drop me like a hot potato the moment I make a mistake?”
“No,” she denied with a roll of her eyes. She then loosely hung her arms around my neck and gave me a swift and barely there peck on the lips. “Things are not as simple as dropping you like a hot potato. The kids love you already, and we’re bonded and mated.”
“So,” I whispered while my eyes were locked on her lips. “What are you getting at then?”
And because my control was shamefully deplorable, I gave in to the desire to kiss her.
Our lips moved slowly and languidly in a kind of dance that was getting more and more familiar. Yet, I was beyond sure that I wouldn’t ever get tired of it.
Not when the feel of her mouth was addicting.
Not when the warmth of her breath could light me up in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain.
Not when the taste of her tongue was one that always left me craving for more.
Not when the way she carded her fingers through my hair soothed and burned me at the same time.
Her kisses were right. Perfect even. Like she was meant for me to taste and devour.
“We were having an important conversation,” Willa reminded breathlessly when she freed her lips from my greedy ones. But she remained clinging to me; her forehead pressed against mine.
“Right,” I replied, sounding almost as winded as she was. “You were saying?”
But there was only silence for a few seconds as she tried to retrieve the line of thoughts she had before we got lost on each other’s lips.
Eventually, she sighed and pulled away. But not by much. Just enough so we could properly maintain eye contact with each other as she said, “What I was trying to get at is that Cal and Gil are my priority always in all ways, and I will always stand by their welfare and happiness first. Not yours. Not mine either.”
I nodded, taking a second to mull over it. “So you’re saying that if you have to decide between drinking wolfsbane poison to save me or putting a silver stake through your heart to save them, you’ll choose the silver stake without a heartbeat of hesitation, leaving me to fend for myself. Or worse, die with the sight of you impaled and dead as my last memory.”
Willa laughed, throwing her head back slightly.
And fucking hell did it make my heart skip a fucking beat.
“You’re quite dramatic, aren’t you?’
I shrugged. “It’s a hyperbolic metaphor.”
“Basically dramatic,” she shot back playfully. “But yes. That's what I’m trying to say here.”
“Well,” I said slowly before I planted a peck on her nose. “Fortunately for you, the three of you stand on equal grounds to me. So if our position was reversed, I would defy the rules. I’ll drink the poison then stab the silver stake through my heart.”
“Again, very dramatic.”
“Again, it's a hyperbolic metaphor.”
“Hm.” She feigned a pensive expression, looking away as if lost in thought. And when she brought her gaze back to me again, she said, “I would drink the poison for you too, but I just don’t think I love you yet.”
“Oh, you don’t?”
She shook her head with a teasing light in her breathtakingly green eyes. “You haven’t even succeeded in winning over my own brand of affection, remember?”
“Ah… That challenge. How could I ever forget? Do you want me to try to win it over now?”
She squinted her eyes at me in equal suspicion and curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean,” I said as I ran my hands up and down her waist. Then I shot a glance at the general direction of the living room, then said with a sly smirk at Willa, “So when’s their nap time again?”