Page 227 of Time Stops With You

Cullen hangs up and my smile slowly fades.

The last of my days.

A crack appears in the perfect façade.

The last of my days.

The crack keeps growing and growing, refusing to be ignored.

No matter how widely I smile, no matter how freely I love, there’s a price attached to every moment I spend with Cullen. And I’ll have to pay it back with twice the tears when he’s gone.

Twenty-Five

CULLEN

I would live my life in exactly the same way, with all the loneliness, all the uncertainty and all the pain just to share these short, sweet days with Nardi. But with every hour that I experience inestimable happiness with her, I feel my body shut down just a little more.

I’m trying to hide it from Nardi, but she’s too brilliant. I doubt I’m doing a good enough job. She’s probably picking up the signs—like my lack of energy, my loss of appetite, and my unusual craving for sleep.

I really like making breakfast for Nardi, but I’ve found myself sleeping in a little later every morning and by the time I get up, she’s already cooked something scrumptious for us both.

This morning, I awaken to the sensation of someone kissing me. I smell Nardi’s signature fragrance before my brain has fully computed that it’s her. Instinctively, my mouth moves with hers and my head spins with the sweet pleasure of her kiss.

It’s in this blissful state that I become conscious of light pouring from beyond my closed eyelids.

“Mm.” Nardi moans against my mouth. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” I say, my voice raspy. Seeking her out, I wrap my arms around her and pull her against my chest to cuddle.

“Cullen.” She laughingly scolds me and pushes my arm away. “Wake up.”

“Five more minutes.”

“We don’t have time to waste.” She tugs me to a sitting position. “Wake up.”

I blink the sleep from my eyes as Nardi comes into view. Her pretty eyes seem darker and her lips are a bright, sexy red. My inspection runs down to her clothes—a red tank top with a fuzzy hem and red and white shorts.

“Change into these.” She points to a stack of clothes at the end of the bed. “And meet me in the living room when you’re done.”

“Why do I?—”

She plants her index finger against my lips to shut me up and my pulse kicks into overdrive.

“Ah-ah,” Nardi says with a smile. “No arguing.”

I peck at her finger with my mouth. “You know…” I widen my legs and situate her to sit between them. “I’m feeling much better lately.Muchbetter.”

A worried frown mars her face. “I don’t know… you’ve been sleeping a lot.”

“Yeah, but when I wake up, I’ve got a lot more…” I swipe my thumb over her bottom lip, “energy.”

Nardi looks down at my pants. She swallows and I see a parade of emotions cross her face, starting with desire, excitement and then that ever present worry. She’s been unable to hide her concern for me lately. It’s hard to watch her in these moments. I can see she’s starting to unravel from the stress, but she’s trying so hard to hide that fear and panic from me.

For a second, she goes somewhere in her mind that I can’t reach her and then she blinks and the moment is gone.

She forces a wide grin and kisses me one more time before she scrambles off the bed. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Hurry and get changed.”

I watch as she sashays around the bed. The little shorts flap, showing off the curve of her bum, begging me to smack it.

---