Page 144

She turns to me and her eyes search my face. “When, Cullen?”
“The night I was supposed to come over.”
She makes a mental calculation. Her eyes widen. I can tell that she’s about to bombard me with questions and I twist her head around.
“Stare straight ahead so I don’t get conditioner in your eyes.”
“You lied to me. You weren’t in the mountains, were you?”
“How did you break your engagement?”
“Why haven’t you been going to the hospital?” Her voice gets louder and more insistent as if she plans to get her answer first by shouting over me.
I run the comb through her straight hair. “When will you sign the marriage certificate?”
“Do you really have to die?”
I freeze. That almost sounds like a plea for me to live.
Nardi pulls away from me.
We’re both breathing hard.
For a while, neither of us moves.
Then suddenly, she spins, spraying water from her wet hair. Her eyes narrow on me. “I won’t marry you.”
“It’s the best option. Think about Josiah’s future. The longer you delay signing, the more complicated things will be.”
“You’re insane.” She makes a sound of pure frustration. “And now you’re dragging me to the asylum with you.”
“I don’t mean to?—”
“Live if you’re going to live, Cullen. Die if you’re going to die. Screw me if you’re going to screw me. Use me if you’re goingto use me. You’re so damnvague.Pick a side instead of being confusing.”
“Dying is the other side of living, Nardi. They’re the same coin. And you…” I breathe out and gesture for her to rest on the tub so I can wash the conditioner out of her hair. “You’re not just a woman I want to screw before I die.”
“Really? Because you were licking your lips when you saw me in my robe.”
“I said you mean more to me. I didn’t say I didn’t want you. I do. Even now, you’re testing my control.”
Her breath turns shaky.
“I promise you I will take you to bed,” I set the faucet away. “But not while your hand is still injured. I want you to enjoy yourself and I also don’t want to worry about hurting you.”
“I thought you wanted to break me?”
The question makes me smile. “Yes, but not hurt you. I want it to be pleasing for the both of us.”
Her words echo against the bathroom walls. “You’ve never done this before, but I have. How are you so sure you can please me?”
That’s a challenge.
My eyes narrow and I immediately turn the faucet off. Tilting her chin up, I twist her head around so she’s staring at me. “Put your hand on the tub.”
“What?”
“Your hand, Nardi.”