The Missing

if she stared at him for too long, Taige might start thinking about what she was planning to do once he joined her on the beach blanket. They’d been seeing each other for nearly three years now. Only during the summers, and neither of them talked about how serious they were. Taige wasn’t really even sure if they were serious. Sometimes, especially after he left to go back home, she had to wonder how serious they could be. They were able to spend eight weeks together during the summer. A few days over Christmas break, and this past spring, Cullen had come down on his own.

    She’d almost done this then. But then Taige had a bad one. Real bad. They had been lying on the couch in his parents’ condo, and it had come on her like a heart attack, a girl’s screams ringing in her ears. She had shoved Cullen away and rolled to the floor, crouching there like some wild animal. She could hear the girl’s screaming, and she could feel the girl’s terror, and when Cullen touched her, it had terrified her.

    He had jerked her close against him and shook her gently, murmuring her name over and over until she finally saw him and not the men crowding around the girl. They hadn’t had any time. It was happening then, and they rushed out of the condo so fast that neither of them even bothered putting their shoes on. They were halfway to the car when Taige realized her shirt was hanging open, but her hands shook too badly to button it. Cullen had done it.

    He had stopped, turned around, and buttoned enough of the buttons to keep her shirt closed and then he had kissed her, soft and gentle. “Calm down. It will be okay.”

    Taige knew then. Not right that second, but later on. She knew he was it for her. Nineteen years old, and she had found the man she wanted for the rest of her life. He knew about the weird dreams, knew about how she saw things that normal people didn’t see—things that people probably weren’t supposed to see—but it didn’t freak him out.

    How that was possible, she didn’t know. The only thing that made sense was that he was the one. The one meant for her, just like she was meant for him. That was why he didn’t freak out when these things hit her, and that was why she could touch him without picking up on all those weird blips and images that happened when she usually touched people.

    That time, the attack of fear had been brought on by a couple of college boys intent on getting a piece of ass. One of them had brought a girl with him, a girl who had thought she was going to a party; she didn’t realize she was the party. The beach house had been back off the road.

    Neither Cullen nor Taige had seen the house, or the drive that was a little overgrown, but they hadn’t needed to see it. Taige had known where it was, and when she pointed to the roadside, Cullen slowed down without her having to say anything. They’d pulled up in front of the house, and they had both heard the screams. Cullen used his cell phone to call the police, and he had wasted five seconds trying to convince Taige to stay in the car.

    When he figured out she wasn’t listening, he had opened the trunk and grabbed two clubs from the golf bag. It was the first and only time Taige had ever held a golf club, and she was damn thankful she hadn’t had to use it.

    “Hey.”

    Jerked back to the present, Taige rolled her head toward him and smiled.

    “You were out in orbit again,” he teased as he stretched his body out beside her on the blanket. He dipped his head low and skimmed his lips along her shoulder.

    Taige rolled toward him and smiled. “Daydreaming.”

    He grinned. “Really? About what?”

    She covered his grinning mouth with her own and murmured, “You.”

    He rolled onto his back and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her with him so that she ended up on top of him. She shifted, planting a knee on either side of his hips and bracing her elbows on his chest so that she could grin down at him. His brilliant turquoise eyes glinted up at her. “So what am I doing in these daydreams?”

    Now or never . . .

    Taige pushed up. As she straightened up over him, she felt him between her legs. She’d touched him before, knew that his skin was strangely smooth, like silk, and under the silk, he felt hard. Right now, he was damn hard, and Taige shivered a little. It had nothing to do with the cool breeze blowing off the Gulf and everything to do with the look in his eyes as she reached behind her neck and