Page 37 of Plus-Size Mate

Had she come to talk to him about the ceremony? Was she as nervous as he was? Had she actually found a way of getting them out of this thing?

He bit the inside of his lip. Maybe he didn't want a way out of this thing. He hadn't exactly been dedicated to it when he had been helping her search through all of her mother's books. In fact, he had spent most of that time watching her, admiring her, wondering what it might be like to actually be mated to her.

Would this damn ritual even work if they weren't truly mates?

Fuck…he thought, rolling from his bed. With only his shorts on, he grabbed his T-shirt from where he had left it hanging over the back of his armchair before he headed for the door.

When the knock came again, his heart sank. He was almost certain he recognized that knock. And if he did, the person on the other side of the door most definitely wasn't Winter.

Clenching his jaw, Eddie gripped the door handle and considered ignoring it.

He really didn't want to do this. Not right now.

“Eddie, I know you're in there.”

“Fuck,” Eddie cursed under his breath, and finally dared to open up the door.

Standing on the other side, leaning against the door frame, was Carly. She looked all too comfortable standing there in one of her usual skimpy sundresses, her breasts practically pushed up to her chin by her bra.

“What do you want, Carly?”

His tone was harsh. His chest tightened. Whatever she wanted, he was sure he didn't really want to know.

“I came to see how you're doing,” Carly said, shrugging her slender shoulders. She inched a little closer and lifted her hand, running her fingers over his chest. “I thought you might be nervous about tomorrow, so I came to offer you some company.”

Eddie growled low in his throat. He knew all too well what kind ofcompanyshe was offering.

There was a time when he would have taken the offer willingly. But this was not one of those times.

Grabbing hold of her wrist, Eddie jerked her hand away from him and threw it back down to her side.

“Leave me be, Carly.”

“Oh, come on, don't be like that.”

Carly sidled up to him, fluttering her lashes as she always did when she was after something.

“We've had some good times, haven't we? What's one more between friends?”

Eddie's jaw clenched so hard he thought his teeth might break. His wolf reared to the surface, growling angrily. Even his beast wanted nothing more to do with her.

“I'm not in the mood for this shit, Carly.”

Standing his ground, knowing if he even budged an inch she would find a way to slip into his room, he crossed his arms over his chest and barred her way.

“What's the matter? Don't you want a little stress relief before the big day?”

Eddie glowered down at her, saying nothing. Her question wasn't even worth the breath it would take to respond.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Carly asked. Tiptoeing, she looked over his shoulder as if she half-expected there to be somebody else in the room. Dropping back down onto her soles, she added, “I thought maybe you had your little witch in there already.”

For a second, Eddie wished she was right. Maybe he should have given in to his desires in the storeroom that night. Maybe then he wouldn't be so damn nervous about tomorrow.

“She's classier than that,” Eddie snapped, his arms tightening across his chest until he felt his shoulders bulging.

He watched the way Carly bit her lip at the sight. There was a time when her admiring his muscles would have encouraged him closer, tempted him to tease her and take her to bed. But he was well and truly over that now. It seemed that Winter had been right. Getting over her had been as easy as setting his sights on someone else.

“A witch? Classy?” Carly scoffed, shaking her head. “Don't make me laugh.”

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