Forced To Love You

Reasonable

For not being in season, the strawberries that were sent with breakfast were really good. After my shower, I took a few minutes to cool down outside on the balcony. It was still cold outside but at least most of the snow had melted.

Thankfully, Christian was wearing a shirt when he walked out of the bedroom. But fuck... he smelled so good.

This was going to be so much harder than it needed to be.

"I talked to Zeke about going to North Carolina. He's going to stay here and cover things for me while we're gone."

"You're not... missing anything important, are you?"

He approached the coffee table and filled up a mug with hot coffee. "Nothing that Zeke can't handle."

I sighed. "If it's a big deal, we don't have to-"

"Blair, you said you wanted to go so we're going. I'm not changing our plans now."

I looked up at him with raised eyebrows. Normally, he would be the one telling me no. I wasn't used to the change when he felt so strongly about me not going. But maybe because it was just a temporary visit, he was willing to fulfill my request.

He sat down in the chair beside the couch. "I'm not as awful as you think I am."

I took a bite of my strawberry and tried my hardest not to make a face at how tart it was. "I don't think you're awful."

He met my gaze and held it, seeing if I would crack. If he was so worried about my opinion of him, he shouldn't have injured and kidnapped me. That definitely wasn't the way to anyone's heart.

"So, when are we leaving?" I asked in an attempt to get him to lower his gaze. I had absolutely no reason to be nervous but his gaze was so... poignant.

"We're leaving tomorrow. We should get there a little after lunch."

I nodded. As excited as I was to get back home, I knew it was going to be a hard visit for me. The last time I was home, my aunt was still alive.

"Thank you for letting me go."

He finished off his coffee and got to his feet. "You don't have to thank me."

"Yeah, but... you could've said no."

"I'm trying to be more reasonable. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't listen to you and your needs?" He walked off toward the bedroom, leaving me feeling flushed and confused.

- - -

I was excited to finally get back to North Carolina. It had been too long since I had last been and I really needed to get some things from Ren's.

Part of me didn't want to take anything and just wait until we got there to grab stuff. I knew I wanted to take most of my things with me. I had some textbooks I wanted to take along with random knick-knacks I had inherited since my parents' passing.

Christian didn't mention if we were staying overnight or not. I was assuming we weren't since Everett was still out there and I was still a target.

I knew going at all was a hard thing for Christian to agree on. He knew my thoughts on going back home and my desire to go and never come back. I'd changed my mind since meeting him but it didn't mean the thought wasn't there still. North Carolina was home. It was where I grew up, where my parents died and were buried, and where I made all my memories, both good and bad. It was a hard place to leave behind.

I was anxious about returning now that my aunt was gone. It was going to be weird going to her home and her not being there. Most weeknights she beat me home and had dinner either done or almost done. She was always excited to see me. Now, the house was empty and just a shell of what it once was.

I decided to not pack or take anything. There was no use getting hopeful for something overnight if that wasn't on Christian's mind. I wasn't up for being disappointed.

I couldn't sleep that night. My thoughts raced and made my stomach uneasy. What was going to happen when we got to North Carolina? What if loiters or vandals destroyed the house? What if it burnt down or got demolished? I wasn't sure I would be able to handle that if it were true.

The hours were passing slowly. I just needed it to be morning so I could get on the plane and get things moving. The wait was killing me.

I rolled onto my left side and looked at Christian. Going to North Carolina didn't seem to affect him like it did me. He was sleeping soundly as if he didn't have a care in the world. Maybe being an Alpha wasn't as taxing as he made it out to be.

Christian hardly had any wrinkles. His hair was swooped over his forehead as he slept. It appeared like it was too long and he needed to cut it but I liked it longer. It gave him a... boyish quality unlike the rest of his features. He always had some amount of stubble that wasn't quite a beard but was more then a five-o'clock shadow. He was so attractive it was no wonder I wanted to kiss him all the time.

I rolled back onto my other side and tried forcing myself to go to sleep and stop thinking.