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Eden stepped back and tugged her hand out of his grip. “I’ve got plenty of them jangling around. I’m not marriage material.”

“We don’t marry. We match. And you are. So long as you’re not some secret spy, hunting Apexian royal families, we can deal with it.”

Eden shook her head. “Your parents are safe from me.” She lifted one shoulder. “But you know enough about my mom to guess that things weren’t rosy when I was growing up.”

Blaze’s heart urged him on. “Eden, I don’t care about your past or where you’re from. It’s not important to me.”

“It shouldn’t be. It doesn’t affect how we work together.”

“I want to do more than work with you. I want to...” He had to stop talking. Cross this line, and things would never be the same between him and Eden again.

“You want to what?” she asked.

He longed to tell her everything, but the panic creeping across her face suggested she needed an out. “I want to make everyone happy.”

“Yourself included?”

“That would be great, but it’s not happening. What’s that Earth saying I’ve heard? You can please some people all the time, but...”

“You can’t please all the people all the time. It’s true.” Eden ran her fingers lightly through his hair. “But enough nonsense talk about matches and marriage and me being a royal spy. You have to rest. The medics will look after you.”

“I need to talk to you. I—”

Eden leaned forward and pressed a sweet, soft kiss to his cheek. “No more talking. Not until your brain is operating on all cylinders.”

He reached up to touch her face and hold her in place but made the mistake of using the arm the doggo was embedded in.

“Mother loving little monster!” Blaze hissed out a breath.

“Let me see if I can help with that furry little problem.” Eden looked over at one of the medics. “Any chance you can sedate this little guy now? I can take him with me and see why he went into attack mode on Blaze.”

“Sure thing. It’s all ready.” The medic darted over and jabbed a small needle into the back of the doggo’s neck.

The doggo growled and wriggled for a few seconds before going limp.

Blaze clenched his teeth as Eden eased the beast’s teeth from his arm. He flexed his fingers a few times. “Thanks. That already feels better.”

“It’s weird how he reacted to you so violently.” She cradled the doggo in her arms like a new-born baby. “He could be sick. I’ll get him checked over to make sure nothing’s wrong.”

“So long as I don’t have to see him ever again, I don’t mind what you do,” Blaze said.

The medic got to work on treating his bitten arm.

“I should get out of here.” Eden headed to the door.

“Can’t you stay longer?” Blaze didn’t want to let her out of his sight.

“You’re a big, strong Apexian warrior. You can manage on your own. Don’t worry. I’m not going far.” She winked at him.

“Wait! I need to tell you something.”

Eden slowed. She turned and walked back to the bed. “What is it?”

Whatever the medic had given him was finally taking effect. Blaze’s eyes were so heavy he couldn’t keep them open.

He sucked in a breath. This was too important. He had to do it. “I love you.” He let his eyes fall closed, and an image of Eden swept into his thoughts. She was his match. She was all he wanted. Eden was all he cared about. But he couldn’t have that.

There had to be a workaround, a way to get her to accept him and for his parents not to be devastated that he’d turned his back on his duties.

As the medication dragged him down into sleep, he was all out of ideas as to how to make that miracle happen.