Blair struggled in Wesley's arms, trying to wrench free of his embrace, but to no avail. Desperate, she bit him on the arm.
He grunted in pain. "What the hell? You keep biting and pinching me. The marks haven't gone from the last time you did it. But whatever makes you happy, I guess."
Blair knew what he was talking about. She wouldn't let him get his way, so she let go of his arm. Once she did, he buried her face in his chest.
"Blair," he muttered.
"Wesley, I can't. I made a mistake falling in love with you. I'm over you now. I won't bother you anymore. Just let me go and stay out of my life," she said flatly.
His lips hardened into a line. He held her tighter. "Remember when you proposed to me? Saying no is the biggest mistake I ever made. I won't let you go again. Ever."
Blair's heart fluttered. She gave him up. It took everything she had to do it. Why was he saying this now? "Too little too late. I'm over you," she declared.
"You can't be. I'm so in love with you it hurts. You're my woman and no one can take you away!" He had made his decision. He wanted to be with her and would never let her go.
Yet things had changed. In the past, Blair would have practically fainted from happiness to hear those words out of his mouth. But now, they were just words. "It's not up to you. Get out of my way," she announced.
Wesley didn't listen. He picked her up, carried her to his car, put her in the back seat, and got on top of her. "Here, a hotel room, home, your dorm, or in the field, pick one," he said.
Blair shuddered. "No, I won't." She didn't want to ask for a leave again tomorrow.
"So we'll do it here." Wesley made the decision for her.
His hands fumbled with her clothes.
Scared, Blair grabbed his hands and yelled, "Have you lost your goddamn mind? It's not like it's private here!" Several people had already seen him carry her into the car.
Wesley caressed her cheek and assured her, "Don't worry. There's a parking lot just ahead. I'll park the car. It'll take only a minute."
'Does he think I'm in a hurry or something? I'm not the horny one here!' she thought, rolling her eyes. "So, a parking lot? What's up with that?"
"I checked out this place before I came here." He came for only one reason—to sleep with her.
Blair felt like cursing. Then she remembered her vow.
She promised herself she would forget Wesley; that they'd be strangers. Why was she in his car with him on top of her? "Let me go, or I'll call the police and tell them you tried to **** me!"
"Okay."
Wesley got off her. Blair thought she spooked him. She felt relieved. However, he closed the car door, hopped in the driver's seat and started the car again.
"Think I was bluffing?"
"No."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"No." He turned the steering wheel to the right and backed up a little. The car was parked in a corner.
Without even leaving the car, he climbed over the seats to get to her.
Blair was scared, feeling like a helpless lamb watching the predator approach. And Wesley showed no mercy.
Ever since their first time, he acted like an insatiable beast, torturing her whenever he could.
When they were done, he offered to take her to the Eastern Coastal Apartments, but Blair said no.
So Wesley gathered her in his arms and carried her back to her dorm.
On the fifth floor
Wesley rang the doorbell and a woman opened the door for them. Wesley, with Blair in his arms, just stood there. Embarrassed, Blair pretended to be asleep, leaving him to deal with it.
Seeing the confusion on the woman's face, he said, "Hi, I'm Blair's husband. I'm just dropping her off."
Blair was lost. 'Husband? We just bumped uglies a couple times. Now he's saying he's my husband?'
"Oh, come in, please," the woman said.
Blair thought he would leave once he tucked her in, but he didn't.
While Wesley stood next to her bed, she lifted her sore leg and gave him a kick. "Hey, you! Husband? What were you thinking? Um...why are you taking your clothes off? I think you should go home, get some rest."
She was so feeble her kick was more like a caress. Wesley looked at her and responded, "I'm not going to sleep."
Blair was perplexed. "What?"
"You're about to find out."
Wesley preferred to demonstrate.
It was a sleepless night for both of them.
Afraid that her colleague in the next room would hear their moans, Blair was consumed with anxiety. If her roommate heard them, it would be too embarrassing.
Blair pleaded with Wesley in tears, yet her crying only turned him on even more.
Recently, Blair had been asking for time off so often her full attendance bonus was gone.
Out of anger, her supervisor even deducted her three days' pay from her salary as punishment.
Blair felt helpless. There was nothing she could do about it.
Before Wesley left on deployment, he got a call from his grandfather. "Hi Wesley. Have I caught you at a bad time?"
"No, what's up, Grandpa?"
"I can't stop you from leaving, but you have to get married before the end of the year. You don't need to have a wedding ceremony, but I want you to get your marriage certificate." Wesley knew very well who Keith wanted him to marry.
Keith and Cecelia both wanted him to wed Blair. However, when Cecelia flew into Y City to find Blair, she'd already moved out of Wesley's apartment.
Wesley's mom and grandfather were both disappointed.
"Grandpa, wait a minute," Wesley said.
Then he hung up. Keith was confused. Then his phone rang. It was a video chat request from Wesley.
Keith went ahead and accepted it. Wesley's face wasn't on-screen. It was a red certificate, instead.
Keith's brows were raised in confusion.
Wesley opened the certificate for him and displayed it. When he saw the names on it, Keith grinned, his eyes narrowed into thin lines. "Nice!" His older grandson had never let him down.
When Wesley thought his grandfather was done, he was wrong. Keith had one more demand.
"A great-grandson. I want a great-grandson."
And Wesley wanted that too.
After all, he liked nothing more than sleeping with his wife. The only problem was he was too busy.
In a coffee house downtown
By the time Orion arrived, Wesley was already seated, staring out the window, deep in thought.
"Colonel Li, why did you ask me here?" Even though they were love rivals, Orion was cordial. They'd come to blows, true, but thanks to Wesley's status, Orion couldn't get back at him, so he had to let it go.
Wesley turned around and watched Orion sit down opposite him.