Forced To Love You

Body Count

Being able to explore the town with someone who was familiar with it was a lot more helpful than I was expecting.

I still wasn't sure of my role as Luna within the pack but I knew I wanted to do something helpful. I decided to make myself the point of contact with the pack members. I wanted to check on people when they were sick or see how they were doing and if they needed anything. It didn't seem like Christian did that often and I got the hint that he wasn't comfortable with it, either. So if I could help him out somehow, I would try to make it happen.

We made our way to a small restaurant in the middle of town. It wasn't anything fancy from the looks of it. The walls were covered in floral wallpaper with framed photos of different people. I assumed it was a family restaurant that was passed down through generations.

I was envious that a family was able to do that. All I got was my aunt's house and I couldn't even live in it.

Christian walked toward a booth in the back and stopped beside it. "Go ahead."

Raising an eyebrow, I silently got into the booth. Once I was settled, he got in beside me.

"Well, what do you think? Can you see yourself living here now?" He asked me.

I glanced around us at the restaurant we were in. Various people were eating but it was mostly empty. I was assuming people were busy at work but I wasn't sure. A waitress in a peach-colored shirt and khaki skirt walked between tables. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail. "It's not so bad. It's definitely different than what I'm used to."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought I came from a small town but this... Twisp is even smaller. I guess things are just more spaced out back home." As I noticed what I was saying, I felt guilt wash over me. I lowered my eyes to my placemat.

"Hi, my name is Julie. I'll be your waitress today. What can I get you started to drink?" The waitress, Julie, walked up to the table while scribbling something in her book. When she approached the table and looked up to see us, her eyes widened and she paused. "Oh, hi, Christian."

"Hey, Julie."

"What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have a sweet tea. What about you?" He turned to me.

"Water, please."

"I'll be right back with your drinks." She walked away quickly and I rolled my eyes.

Christian slid his hand under mine and laced his fingers with mine. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

I scrunched my eyebrows together as I looked over at him. "What? No, I'm not jealous."

He laughed. "I can tell from the way you were looking at her."

"Well, did you notice that she barely even talked to me? It was like I wasn't even here."

He opened his mouth to say something but Julie walked back over to us with our drinks. She set them down before grabbing a notepad to take our orders.

"What can I get you to eat?"

Christian nodded for me to go first.

"I, um, I'll take the lemon chicken caesar salad." I wasn't sure why I felt so hesitant to order something else. Maybe I didn't want Julie to judge me for what I ate. I shouldn't have even cared.

"And for you, Christian?"

"Double cheeseburger. Extra fries."

She scribbled our order down on her notepad then nodded her head. "Alright. I'll be back with that shortly." She gave Christian a smile before she walked off toward the counter.

"See what I mean?" I whispered.

He shook his head. "Don't let it get to you, Blair. I can promise you there's nothing there."

"Was there ever something?" I hated to even ask the question but it was out before I could stop it.

"Blair-"

"Christian." I held his gaze, practically forcing him to tell me.

He sighed. "A couple of months ago we tried to make a relationship work."

"And?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Do I really have to tell you that it ended?"

"How did it end?"

"I guess mutually. We both knew that we weren't each others' mates. We thought we could make it work but it was clear that we wanted different things. Different people."

"But she still has a thing for you." I glanced in her direction. She was waiting on another customer from behind the counter.

"I'm the Alpha. I bet there are dozens of girls around here who are interested in me."

"What's your body count then? If you say there are dozens of girls who want you, how many have there actually been?"

"Seriously?"

"You know my count. Zero." I made a zero with my hand.

He sighed. "There have been... a couple. There were a few that never lasted more than a night."

Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry anymore.

Christian let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Blair, you're the only girl I'm thinking about right now. I promise you there's no one else that could even compare to you."

I bit my lip. That pit in my stomach was still there. I couldn't shake it. Was it the mate bond doing that to me or was it my insecurity?

Christian's voice was soft when he spoke. "Hey," He turned my head toward him and he placed his lips against mine. I wasn't expecting the kiss, especially not out in public. Christian didn't seem like the type to indulge in PDA.

He held me close for several seconds before his lips released mine. I took a deep breath before I let my eyes open and I leaned back against the booth behind me.

To my left, Julie stood with our food on a tray looking very uncomfortable.

I bit my lip to hide the smile on my face as she set our food down. She asked if we needed anything else before she quickly retreated to another table.

Beside me, Christian laughed to himself. He bit into a fry before he slid his plate closer to mine. "Here, I got the extra fries for you. I figured you'd be hungry."

We hadn't even been together that long and he already knew me well.

Damn.