Page 41 of Forced Plus-Size Mate

After coming down the mountain, we stop briefly in the parking lot to unload our gear and wait for the kids to get picked up. As the last one leaves, Body turns to me and smiles, though I can’t quite smile back.

He looks puzzled but doesn’t say anything. When we get into the truck, he clears his throat awkwardly, and I almost flinch away from him.

“Is there anything you need, or should we just head home?” he asks.

“Home is fine,” I say tersely.

Is it even my home? I don’t feel like I have one. I never did, except for my little cottage in the canyon.

For a moment, I’m enveloped in the memory of my cozy little house, making bread with Nell and settling by the fire at night to work on our spells. It was so quiet and peaceful out there that my mind would clear completely, and I felt connected to the web of life in a way I never had before.

Except for those nights my body ached and burned. When I felt the pull of life within me, and all I wanted was to give myself to Body again, no matter what it cost my heart.

“Amanda?” Body says softly. “We’re here.”

“Oh,” I mutter, slowly coming out of my daze and getting out of the truck.

Body turns to me and holds out his hand. I shuffle back a few steps.

He frowns. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” I answer, shaking my head. “I just need a little space.”

“No worries,” he says, but I can hear the strain in his voice.

I’ve barely gotten my stuff inside when a car honks in the driveway. I hurry out to see Gina, Lena, Leslie, and Fiona packed into the tiny sedan.

“Hey, you!” Gina calls to me, laughing. “Come out with us and get some donuts. Lucy’s waiting in town.”

“I don’t know…” I say.

“Yeah, you do!” Leslie giggles. “Get in the car.”

I hear Body come up behind me, and suddenly anything is better than being stuck in the house with him, alone and trapped in awkward silence.

Bullshit. You’re just afraid to jump into his pants.

Before that thought can fully take root, I hurry over to the car and squeeze into the backseat, making Leslie slide over into the middle. I wave briefly to Body out the window.

“Bye, Body!” Lena calls. “We’ll take care of her. Are you coming to the party at Shelley’s later?”

“Should be,” he answers. “Bye, Amanda. Have fun.”

I just nod, watching him as we reverse down the driveway and turn onto the street.

I’m such a goddamn mess. I can’t wait to get away from him, but I look at him for as long as I possibly can on the way out.

“So, how’s everything?” Lena asks, turning around from the passenger seat. “Wedded bliss or what?”

“Or what,” I grumble.

“That’s perfectly normal,” Fiona says. “But rocky starts tend to work out extremely well around here. Don’t make me tell you about my wedding night.”

“For fuck’s sake, Fiona,” Gina groans. “How many times do you have to tell the story? It’s not kidnapping if you choose to stay.”

“And apparently, you kind of liked the chains,” Leslie puts in.

“Kidnapping?” I cry in alarm. “Chains?”

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