Page 65 of His Arranged Plus-Size Mate

I felt my heart flutter. I hadn’t expected him to still stand by me, even after I tried to run for it.

“Don’t you want to yell at me at all?” I whispered. “Not even a little?”

He shook his head. “Not for running. A little for not wanting to talk to me about what you were feeling. I get you wanted to protect us.” He took a sip of his drink. “I understand wanting to leave. Feeling that you’ve always been fighting andthat will never change.” He set his drink down and took another bite of his burger. “But just now, I’m not that easy to run away from. I’ve got years of experience tracking people down. I’ll find you.”

I knew he was teasing me, but it made my heart skip a beat. And as I stared at him, I realized just how much I cared. That this wasn’t just flirting and us sleeping together every once in a while. I’d grown attached and even fallen in love.

I thought leaving was going to save them, but I’d been wrong. I didn’t want to leave anymore. I wanted to stay and set down roots. And if he was willing to fight this hard for me, maybe I could fight for him.

“I want that too.” A part of me wanted to belong, and I believed him when he said he was going to fight.

I hunkered down for days, flipping through pages and pages of books. I’d written out so many notes and worked late into the night. I called Chelsey, and we discussed different parts of the books I’d read. She’d explained it might have been more than just a spell, but a curse.

“Sometimes people place curses on objects.”

I adjusted the phone against my ear, a book propped up against my knee. Why hadn’t I thought about that?

“We are dealing with dark witches, so they likely did things for reasons we can’t understand. A curse would make a lot of sense.”

I chewed on my licorice as I groaned. “God, I’ve been reading for hours, and I hadn’t even thought about it that way.”

“That’s because you’re good, Hazel. You have to think like a dark person, think like someone hurting, someone who wants revenge.”

I ended the call and started to read through the books as she’d said. The more I thought, the more it made sense. They were using this gem, but why was the gem cursed in the first place? What started it all? If I could answer that, maybe I would find the answer to everything else.

“Hazel?”

I jumped, not even hearing Asher come into the house. He frowned as he stared at me. “When was the last time you went to bed?”

I blinked for a moment and glanced down at the time. I hadn’t even realized how early it was in the morning. I’d been searching so much that I forgot to check the time.

“I uhhmmm…”

“Did you even go to sleep?” he asked as he walked into the living room. “And who were you on the phone with? Who else is up at six in the morning?”

“Chelsey…I should really call her back and apologize for calling her so early.”

He shook his head. “No, you need to go to bed.”

I nodded, moving off the ground and curling onto the bed. He frowned. “In bed, Hazel.”

I shook my head, too tired to sleep in bed. “No, I’m fine here.” I pulled one of the pillows under my head and snuggled under the blanket. I could hear him sigh, and then the pillow was gone. He lifted my head and sat down, resting my head on his lap. “Fine, but only because I’m too tired to move you myself.”

I smiled, closing my eyes. “Where are you up so early?”

“I worked the night shift. I told you before I left.”

I might not have heard him. I felt his fingers curled around my hair, his hand patting my head softly. I rotated and looked up at him. He looked down at me. His eyes looked at me with love, and I felt that pull deep in my chest.

I felt the words bubbling to the surface, but I didn’t say them. I didn’t want to confess anything when there was so much on the line.

I reached up, funning my finger along his lips. “You really do care about me, don’t you?”

He smirked. “Is it that obvious?”

I laughed as his head bent down. His nose brushed against mine. “I care a lot about you.”

His lips pressed against mine, and I sank into them. His lips pressed harder, and his tongue slid over mine. The kiss deepened, and I moaned at the amount of urgency there was underneath it.