Page 70 of The Two Last Moments

Right here.

He lowers himself to the mattress beside me. We’re both catching our breaths. “God, that was perfect,” he says. “Perfect.”

Time stretches as we gaze at one another.

He spends a few minutes smoothing my hair back and running his fingertips over my arms. I’m still coming down from the high of being with him. It doesn’t matter that I’ve lost my memories. I can say with certainty that no sex I’ve ever had could compare to what we just did.

“Are you happy?” he asks.

I wiggle against him, erasing every millimeter of space between us, and rest my head on his chest. “Very happy. Will you stay with me?”

“Planning on it. I need to check on Nina and Starla. Her shift will be over soon. Then I can bring you some dinner, and we can get cozy. I have a lot of snuggling on the agenda.”

“I figured you’d be a snuggler.”

“Even if I wasn’t, I’d be a snuggler for you.” He kisses my temple, which makes me fall that much more. I’m fallinghard. Danny makes me feel calm and steady, like I can face anything if I’m with him.

But when he tugs on his clothes and leaves the room, I can’t stop myself from running through the worst possibilities. What might happen if we find out more about my past, and I’m not as good as Danny believes I am. It’ll tear out my heart if I let him down.

If I lose him now, that could be the thing that finally breaks me.

25

The next morning, we wake together slowly, all kisses and smiles. I don’t want to go. But I have to, at least for a little while.

I run my hand along Lark’s stomach. “I need to make coffee and see Nina. Stay in bed longer if you want.”

“No, I’ll come. I just need to shower first.” A crease appears between her eyebrows. I don’t like that. I want to smooth it away. I wish I could take away every single thing that might distress her. “You’ll wait to tell Nina about Cam until I’m there?” she asks.

“That’s your story to tell. Not mine.”

It takes every ounce of willpower to get myself out of Lark’s bed. We spent a lot of the night talking, and there was definitely cuddling. There were no more orgasms though. I was insistent on that, and Lark didn’t push it.

I still don’t know if going to bed with her was the right thing to do. Maybe a better guy would have been able to resist. I hadn’t intended to let things go so far so fast, but Lark has a way of getting exactly what she wants with me. Who am I to deny her?

I’ve never seen her so beautiful, sofree, as when she was in my arms last night. As if she’d let go of the usual things weighing her down. I didn’t see a single sign that she wasn’t all-in with everything we did.

Being inside of her… Hearing her cry out in ecstasy because of the way I’d made her feel? That’s going to get addictive.

And if I don’t stop thinking about it, I’m going to get hard again.

Before I can slip back under those covers, even if it’s just for one more kiss, I force myself to throw my clothes on and head to my own bedroom. After cleaning up, I pad down the hallway and pass Ryan, who’s just emerged from Nina’s room.

“Hey,” I say. “Didn’t expect you to be in this early.”

“New schedule. I worked it out with Nina. She thought you could use more help.”

“Ah.” I stick my hands in my pockets and nod. “You must have the security codes, then?”

Last night, I checked on Nina regularly, as I always do, even when her nurses are around. She was sleeping easily. I never know what the nights will bring, but Nina’s was uneventful. I was careful to reset our security system after Jess left, too. The nurses have the codes, but I’m planning to be extra diligent after yesterday’s scare at the beach.

Ryan nods. “I do. I’m all set. Is Lark around this morning?”

The muscle in my jaw ticks with annoyance. “In bed. I assume. Why do you ask?”What’s your business with my girl?

“Just wondering how much coffee to make.” He smiles. “I was heading to the kitchen.”

Easy, tiger, I tell myself. “Oh, sure. We could all use some. Thanks.”

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