Page 226 of Time Stops With You

“You look hot.” He sets his coffee cup on the counter and beckons me forward. As I step closer, he throws an arm around my back and pulls me against him.

Pressing a kiss to my forehead, he looks down at me with a smile. “I’m a little disappointed. I was hoping we could watch a movie after my meeting with the lawyers.”

“It’s only lunch. We can watch the movie when I get back?” I kiss his cheek, then his mouth, brushing my hand down his chest in a not-so-subtle caress. “But fair warning, if you start fooling around under the blanket like you did last time, I’m going to think ‘watch a movie’ is code for something else.”

He blushes slightly but points out, “I’m not the one who started it last time.”

My gaze darts away and I clear my throat. “Nope. Definitely wasn’t me. Your meds must be messing with your memory again.”

He laughs and then rumbles in my ear, “I asked the doctor to adjust my medication.”

My eyes flutter to his.

Cullen stares down at me with a dark, intense look. “When I’m good enough to do something other than a movie, I’ll tell you. I won’t use codes.”

My face instantly fills with heat. Some of the things Cullen says makes my heart burst into flames. How is this man so effortlessly sexy?

My admiration must be showing on my face because he kisses me so hard that my knees buckle.

I give back as good as I get, devouring his bottom lip first and then pressing my fingers against the back of his neck as I open up for him. We kiss and caress until I hear his breath thicken, which is usually a sign that he can’t breathe.

Reluctantly, we pull away from each other and Cullen takes a few deep breaths. As usual, I wait until the pained look on his face subsides, careful not to touch him until then.

At last, he gives me a tiny, sheepish smile and hugs me to him again.

“I’m not rushing you,” I whisper, my forehead against his. “And I hate seeing you in pain too. This,” I gesture between our wound-up bodies, “is enough for me.”

He frames my face, which feels like an open flame on a state-of-the-art stove, and says, “You better leave before I change my mind about letting you go.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” I tease.

He growls.

I step back with a soft laugh. “I’ll be back soon. Call me if you need me.”

Cullen nods, but we both know that he won’t call me even if he’s collapsed and gasping for breath on the floor. It makes me so uneasy that I’ve considered putting up spy cameras in the house just in case. He has tons of robots and drones lying around. I could totally get away with it. However, I always talk myself out of such drastic measures.

In my fairy tale world, Cullen will be fine long after the ‘x’ I marked on the calendar. And we’re far away from that date right now.

As long as I keep pretending nothing will go wrong, maybe that might become my reality.

Roger drives me to the café, but he stops me before I can leave the car.

“Ma’am, just a moment.” He smiles and hands me his cell phone.

Stunned, I take the phone from him and nearly gasp when I hear Cullen’s quiet, masculine voice in my ear. “I called Sara andhad her set up a luxury spa experience for you and Sunny. I’ll have your favorite food delivered to the spa as well.”

“Cullen.” Disbelief makes my voice hoarse. “You didn’t have to.”

“I want to,” he says.

“You’re spoiling me.” I cover my face, trying hard not to giggle. “Why are you being like this?”

“Are you smiling?” he asks.

I grin down at the floor and nod. “Yes, I am.”

“That’s all I need. I’m going to dedicate the last days of my life to making you smile, Nardi.”

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