Page 79 of Time Stops With You

But a strong, crooked finger braces my chin, tilting my head up. Cullen shifts those moonlight eyes to mine and I flinch. But he won’t allow me to look away.

“If I ever get married in this lifetime,” he says, “it willonlybe to you.”

My heart bucks, rebelling at first at the underlying threat wrapped in the promise. Then there’s a flash of relief followed slowly by a dose of mistrust. I search his eyes for signs of dishonesty. There is none. He’s dead serious.

Click click.

The car I’m pressed against flashes it’s lights.

Oh crap!

Cullen and I scramble away from each other just as a man approaches the vehicle. He looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place him.

“Asad.” Cullen clears his throat.

Asad’s eyes are magnified behind his glasses. The moment he spots us, he spins around as if not wanting to be an accomplice to a crime of public indecency.

“Sorry. Sorry, boss. I didn’t realize you two were… I mean…”Click click.He locks the car again. “I’ll call a cab instead. The car is all yours. Feel free to continue…”

With knees as mushy as the boiled potatoes in my container, I take off as fast as I can.

Nine

CULLEN

Shock and awe glittering in his eyes, Asad approaches me with a stupid grin that’s growing by the minute.

I lift a finger to my mouth in a silent command.

“My lips are sealed.” He mimics zipping up his mouth, but he immediately unzips it, “Just one thing. Are you and Nardi?—”

“No,” I growl.

“Are you sure because…?”

I glare at him, not bothering to answer. Nardi is a loud, brash, obstinate woman who—at the start was just a mere pawn on my chess board—but now, she’s a thorn in my side.

The burning in my blood is from anger. It has nothing to do with the way Nardi’s lips parted when I trapped her against the truck. Or the way her scent wafted to my nose on the shifting breeze. Or the way my hands were three seconds away from clamping the back of her neck as my tongue devoured her.

A very unsanitary thought and yet, I’m not bothered by it. If it’s with Nardi, I’d enjoy getting my hands dirty.

What on earth am I thinking?

Something shines directly in my face and I lift a hand to shield my eyes. The sun is refracting off the rusty tent poles that I yanked away from Nardi’s neighbor. These things look like an accident waiting to happen.

Asad notices the tent poles at the same time and scoops them up before I can. The metal rods make a musical jangle as they clang against one another.

“Did Nardi forget these?” Asad asks.

“I’ll take them.”

Asad holds fast. “Everyone’s waiting for you inside.” He shimmies the poles so they’re more balanced in his grip. “I’ll get them to her.”

“Give it,” I growl.

Asad smirks. “I thought you said there was nothing between you and Nardi?”

“There isn’t.”

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