The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 285: Masculine scent

Looking at Joanna’s flabbergasted reaction, Canillas let out a low chuckle. As if not affected by the bewildered expression that was clearly depicted on Joanna’s face, he calmly placed his cheek on Joanna’s temple, his one hand around her shoulders, embracing her from behind. He then said,

"As much as I know, a husband can only hold his wife’s hand during her period. Am I right?" Joanna was silent at his inquiry, and Canillas knew she was anxious. He continued speaking.

"You advised me not to disturb Fabio’s rest because it is already late, but you are going to disturb an older lady’s rest. Don’t you know that you are being unfair now?"

Joanna blinked several times, momentarily flustered at Canillas’ judgment.

"Bianca is used to doing that," she then reasoned in a low voice.

Canillas did not argue more. He was aware of the characteristics of the nobility, and being served could not be separated from his wife, who was a young lady of an honorable noble family. But this time, he wanted to be the one who served her.

"Let me try to do this. If it doesn’t work, you may disrupt the older lady’s rest. Shall we?" Canillas persuaded, and he smiled when he felt Joanna’s tight grip on his wrist gradually loosen.

As she let go of Canillas’ hand, Joanna felt Canillas’ warm palm touch her stomach. His hand did not stay still as she felt he applied gentle pressure, as if he knew such motions could help ease the pain.

Actually, the area that Canillas massaged was not quite accurate. If his palm moved slightly lower to her lower abdomen, the pain should be more subsided. But she could not tell Canillas about that, as his touch had already sent shivers to her entire body.

Pressure by pressure was perceived by Joanna. Every little movement of Canillas’ hand on her stomach did not escape her senses, not even for once.

It was comfortable, and she would admit this method did work to relieve the uneasiness in her stomach. Yet with time, the uneasiness shifted from her stomach to the other part of her body. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Joanna felt disoriented. Canillas’ touch on her stomach, his solid chest against her back, his arm over her upper chest, his stubble that grazed her facial skin, and his masculine scent that engulfed her body gradually increased the beat of her restless heart.

She brought her hands, which were not far from her stomach, to clasp them before her palpitating chest. Her breath, unbeknownst to her, went quicker.

And unbeknownst to her, the change in her body was noticed by Canillas.

He was a man, a healthy man if he would add the exact detail. The woman that he longed for and loved was in his arms, and she responded to his touch. No healthy man would not react to such a welcoming response. But for one and some reasons, he could not do anything in accordance with their rising desire.

When she talked about giving birth, his desire was only left to pull her in his arms. Not to do what a husband should do to his wife but to do what a man should do to protect the woman that he had imprinted in his every breath.

His first thought was solely to help her ease her abdominal pain. When he saw the warm bottle in her hands, he could describe what that object was for. Warmth and pressure were needed to ease muscle pain. He could afford her that, though the warmth he exuded could not beat the hot water.

Nonetheless, he was a man after all. Canillas sighed inwardly as he deliberately pushed his body backwards, maintaining his distance and lulling his lower abdomen that had awakened from the fragrant temptation that became restless in his arms.

Yet he could not distance himself too far, as she was by his side, nestling in his arms.

He wanted to part his hand away from her stomach, where the single layer of the fabric of her nightgown could not conceal the softness and warmth of her fair, smooth skin. It was a temptation for him—a temptation that tempted his hand to move and trace the memory of the breathtaking beauty that was solely his and thrived well in his mind and heart.

But he could not do that. He could not be away from her only to calm his desire. She was still in pain, and easing her pain was more important than dealing with the growing member of his body that stubbornly became more prominent beneath his pants.

And he did not want to miss every single second with her, as the miracle of her willingness to be with him should be treasured.

"Aren’t you curious about what your brother did there?" Hence, he tried to dim their rising desire with other things that hopefully worked to divert their attention, yet his hoarse voice failed to conceal his inner desire.

"Huh?" At the sudden voice that grazed the deafening silence, Joanna, who was muddled thinking to figure out the peculiar uneasiness that crawled in her body, responded stupefiedly.

"You don’t want to know?"

"I want to know," Joanna, who felt fortunate to capture his previous question despite her muddled mind, hastily muttered while adjusting her composure when Canillas’ breath brushed her earlobe as he spoke.

She was indeed curious about what her brother did at the festival. What mission did he do to make a better world? Not only was she curious about that, but she also wanted to know what Canillas did there that made him able to stick around Phillip.

"Your brother seemed to conduct a study about an illness," Canillas began to narrate. "He gathered and questioned so many people about whether their relatives or they themselves had symptoms that he mentioned. If they had one, your brother would write down the necessary information about them, like their name and where they lived."

With the insight she now obtained about what his brother did in the festival, Joanna asked, "What kind of illness did my brother study?"

"He didn’t mention the name of the illness, and I couldn’t ask," Canillas replied, recalling how busy and exhausted his brother-in-law was at that moment. "But I guess it is some sort of new disease or a disease that hasn’t been studied deeply yet. And your brother is so focused on what he is studying. If you saw him there, you’d know that he has no time to care about other things like being a cheeky person or developing a romantic feeling." Canillas informed Joanna of what surely she wanted to know most.

"So you may rest assured because for your brother, becoming a great doctor seems to be more promising than engaging with women."