Chapter 105 BONUS CHAP. 15-LOVE-HATE
\-CLEO'S POV
Daddy?
That happened way too fast. How did he get Zoe to accept him? I might have underestimated this brutish Gamma. My face tightened with anger. My fist clenched at my sides as I fought the urge to strangle him. At least, not in front of my daughter.
"Eh-heh-heh," he grinned nervously. To seek cover from my cat-o'- nine-tailed tongue, he suggested. "Shall we eat?"
He sauntered over to the chic marble-clad kitchen and stepped behind the white island with seating of gray woven counter stools at a white and gray marble waterfall countertop lit by faceted glass lights suspended above a sink with a polished brass gooseneck faucet.
I acquiesced.
"Our mate is a good guy," my wolf voiced victoriously. To her, he was a prize. Contrarily, he was a charlatan to me.
"Our mate is conniving and insufferable," I lashed at her.
"We should be with him. You're too damn stubborn, Cleo. Don't forget that I have a say too." She vocalized whines and lay with her head and ears flopped down between her front legs.
Blayne opens the pot and sniffs deeply to enjoy the delicious aroma of Cajun-stuffed chicken. With twinkling eyes of satisfaction, he turned to open the black cupboard to get dishes and started to share the garlic alfredo pasta.
To surprise Zoe, I went to the refrigerator and took out a small chocolate fudge cake that I placed in the center of the dining table. This morning when Blayne stated that the kitchen was stacked with food, I didn't expect to find a variety of groceries that could feed a family of ten for a whole month in the pantry.
Her huge eyes took a saucer-like shape. "Mommy, is this cake for us?" She clapped in delight and jumped from the couch, waddling to the table. Cakes were a luxury that she had mainly for birthdays.
"Yes, sweetie." I set the table.
She gasped, and formed her mouth into an 'O,' then she took a seat to my left with the biggest smile. "I can have cake even though it's not my birthday?"
"Yes, but have your dinner first and then we can have dessert," I told her and perched my butt on a chair.
She ran into me, throwing her small arms around my waist. "Thank you." I pat her head and she returned to her seat.
Blayne's face showed a discernible expression as he observed the scene in front of him, indicating that he had a greater understanding of how difficult it was for us to live without many comforts. We learned to get by.
He came over and sat in between Zoe and me. Annoyed, I shook my head and repressed my complaint.
During dinner, I observed how comfortable Zoe had become with Blayne. She rambled on about everything, innocently spilling her life's story and a few details about me. He smiled and nodded, agreeing to everything that she spewed. One would think that he was enjoying the interaction.
"Baby, are you okay?" He checked up on me occasionally, and then Zoe would steal his attention again.
"Yes." I deadpanned and sipped my fruit punch. In the presence of my daughter, I manage my anger.
"Daddy," Zoe squeaked. She was enjoying having a father in her life. To her, it was always just me and her. It took now for me to realize that she yearned for a complete family.
"Yes, Angel." His response was similarly cheerful.
For a long searching moment, my eyes adhered to his body language and posture around the table. With regard to her, he depicted sincerity. An incredible warmth seeps into my soul at the display. An overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around him and never let him go swam into me.
"Do other children live here?" Zoe inquired, the tip of her tongue showing through the gaps of her top teeth.
"No. Why do you ask?" He leaned on the table, pushing his plate
away.
"I wanted someone to play with." Then her head jerked in my direction. "Maybe you and Mommy could give me a sister to have fun
with?"
Expression-stricken, I swallowed hard. My wolf chortles with limitless love for Zoe. Before I could form words, his voice chipped in.
"That's an excellent idea." Blayne whipped his head to look at me with the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Eat up Zoe. You need your bath. There's homework to do and then it's bedtime for you." I placed the empty glass on the table to disrupt them. How long will I have to stay with him?
Zoe giggled and leaned her head closer to Blayne with her palm at the left side of her mouth to hide her whisper, "You'll have to convince her later." Zoe's bright amber eyes mischievously switched on me, then back to Blayne. "I know how babies are made."
He cracked up with laughter and drew near to emulate her action, knowing full well that I was hearing. "I'll work very hard at it." He nodded and reached out gently to place his hand on top of her head. After he shifted to sit properly in his chair, he gave me a crooked
smile.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that we hadn't discussed the sleeping arrangements. There were only two rooms here. Humph. That would be another battle for the evening. I rub my temples, feeling
exhausted.
Zoe ate quickly in order to get to the cake. Blayne did the honors by cutting slices for us.
My daughter was sold. He had won her over. She's never been happier than at this moment. It was not her fault. He had a certain
charm and appeal that would make any girl swoon. I felt like a third wheel as they carried on. From the details that came out of their conversation, I gathered that he was getting to know her likes and dislikes in a clever way.
It will be hard to break them apart. I let out a long breath of air, pinching the bridge of my nose as I rested my head in my hands.
As soon as we finished our dessert, Blayne got the soiled dishes and cleaned up. I guided Zoe to the bathroom and helped her shower. "Mommy, I like Blayne." She chirped. The smile that she came home with did not wither for the entire evening.
"I realized." I lathered the bath scrub, wishing that she was not fond
of him.
"Can we live here?" Zoe questioningly looked at me while I scrubbed her down. She was incandescently cheerful.
"This apartment is not what I had in mind. Wouldn't you prefer a house with a backyard?" I had to deter whatever nonsense he had placed in her head. "It would be you, me and grandpa Eldon."
"And Blayne," She added him to the batch, nodding her head for me to admit it. "And a pool?"
"Why would you want a pool?" I asked curiously. Where were these ideas coming from?
A house like that would cost too much. We were not rich and had sufficed with the minimum most of the time. It would take a long term to save up enough money to buy or build a whole house. My people would need jobs first and a stable income. I was feeling utterly stressed by the multitude of goals on the agenda. My people were doing well until Hank and his fucking bandits destroyed us.
"Some of the kids at school have a pool at their house." She went under the rainy water and rinsed the lather from her body. I guided her so that she did not get her hair wet.
Zoe was accustomed to the rivers and waterfalls. Perhaps that was the rationale behind her request.
"I might not be able to afford a house like that." I always tried to be honest with her. Plus, I did not want to get her hopes up.
"But Blayne could buy a house for us." She remarked with the utmost
confidence, getting excited. "He promised that I could ask him for anything."
"Don't you do that!" I reprimanded and scratched my eyebrow with wet fingers. "We are guests here." Did Blayne discuss his future intentions with my child? He's so devious and guileful. "No, mommy. He's my new Daddy." She stepped out onto the bath mat and I dried her with the towel. "We are a family. You'll see." In the mountains, our young ones were used to washing in the river or in private baths that we had set up. Therefore, showers were new to her. Though the bathtub was there, I had a feeling that she'd want to linger in the warm water and I preferred to get her to bed early.
Because we stemmed from prior packs and would have been familiar with a modern lifestyle, my people were not inherently primitive. However, we lacked electricity, the internet and a proper water system, hence our children, who were born in the highlands, had few experiences. Although it might be daunting to some, we enjoyed freedom, serenity, and harmony above all else.
After Blayne left me this morning, I toured the prestigious apartment. The living, dining and kitchen were open concept. It lacked color since everything was black and white with stainless steel
appliances.
The guest bedroom was set up with a wonderful mixture of soft and
bold pink, yellow and green colors for Zoe. In the closet were three large suitcases of clothes, shoes, hair supplies and other necessities. Seriously, he initially prepared the place for us to be comfortable for a while.
Zoe was happy. Like a neon sign, her endearing laughter brought liveliness and light to the apartment. This provided some relief to know that she was managing the changes well. I tucked her in bed and told her a fabricated story until she fell asleep after she shared
the events of her day. Turning off the night light, I closed her room door and went to the master suite.
Entering the room, Blayne had just finished his shower and came out with specks of water droplets dribbling from his washed brown hair that curtained over his eyes, to his broad shoulder blades and trickling down his muscular chest, then to the white towel around his waist that barely covered his sexy V-lines.
A burning began to spread through my body as my chest constricted.
The familiar toasty desire slathered my loins with a need to get closer to him to put out the building fire that sparked in my veins.
The plan to keep him at arms-length went missing. He looked so
damn delicious.
The white towel around his waist tented. My core tightened. "Why stare when you can have it?" He flashes his spectacular pearly
white teeth at me, unrolling his magnificence.
Before I could blink, he was in front of me skimming my cheekbone
with his fingertips. My bottom lip went under my teeth as I bit them softly with eyes wandering over his sculpted jaw and nose, his penetrating brown eyes that went ten shades darker and his goddess- blessed lips. He was perfect.
Grabbing my hand and looking down at me with his insanely beautiful brown eyes that portrayed lust. The warmth inside my gut became fluttering butterflies. Both our breath was labored as his head drew closer to mine. We slowly lose our sense of reality to the
fermenting tingles and sparks. His soft lips moved in synchronization with sounds but I could not hear a single word he
said.
Lust was dominant and my hands found his chiseled chest and defined limbs, doing an exploration on their own accord. My arousal
became evidently thick. Then he smirked, knowingly.
Snapping out of the reverie, I sidestepped him. "I'm going to take a shower." A part of me wanted to yell at him for manipulating Zoe. Taking a few steps, I paused and spun around to probe, "What did you tell Zoe to make her think that you're her new father? How could you do that without my permission?"