The
azure shade of his eyes caressed me to my soul. I swear he looked at me like no
one else ever could. It was like there was nothing else in existence except me.
It was like he wasn’t just looking at me, but in me, and I was the most precious thing he’d ever seen.
I got
caught up in that gaze. I got caught up in him. My chest felt like it caved in,
but not in a disaster sort of way. Like it was sealing in everything he was
saying even though no words ever left his tongue.
“How do
you do it?” I whispered. My tongue felt thick against the roof of my mouth.
“Do
what?” he asked. That look never once left his eyes. If anything, it swept me
in tighter.
“How do
you look at me like… like I’m everything?”
He made
a low sound in the deepest part of his throat. Sort of like a growl, sort of
like an agreement. “Because you are.”
“Romeo.”
I sighed.
“Rimmel,”
he replied. “Don’t forget.”
I
started to pull back from the moment, but his fingers tightened on my hip. I
looked back up.
“Don’t
forget this moment. Don’t forget the absolute truth in the way you feel right
now. I love you and I’m not going to stop.”
Emotion
welled up in my throat and tears rushed to the backs of my eyes. His words were
beautiful, but it was the reason he said them that had me so choked up.
This
wasn’t the end.
Beyond
this moment, this quiet, whole moment with him, were many more. Many more that
weren’t going to be like this one.
We were
going to have to keep fighting to keep what was ours.
“I’m
not going to stop either,” I whispered.
A smile
stretched over his face and lit up his eyes. I leaned closer and sealed my vow
with my lips. The rush of heat I always felt when we kissed tingled my toes and
they curled into the blankets. I opened my mouth so his tongue could venture
inside, and I sighed, so wanting to feel him.
But the
moment was cut short.
The
door opened and a man with graying hair, a white coat, and a file in his hand
stepped in.
“Mr.
Anderson,” he said, looking straight at Romeo. It was like he didn’t even
notice the intimate bubble Romeo and I occupied. “I have your X-ray results.”
The
bubble burst abruptly and reality rushed back in.
Romeo’s
dad came in the room, his face concerned as Valerie hovered just outside the
doorway staring into the room like it was some forbidden fruit.
I
scrambled up to sit on the mattress, ignoring the protests of my sore body.
Romeo did the same, moving a little more gingerly.
In the
space between us on the mattress, our fingers intertwined.
“How
bad is it?” Romeo asked. For once I heard fear in his tone.
I
glanced at him.
He
glanced at me.
Our
moment was over.
The
fight started now.
Cambria Hebert is the author of the young adult paranormal Heven and Hell series, the new adult Death Escorts series, and the new adult Take it Off series. She loves a caramel latte, hates math and is afraid of chickens (yes, chickens). She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and children (both human and furry) where she is plotting her next book. You can find out more about Cambria and her work by visiting http://www.cambriahebert.com.
