The Missing

undid the tie to her bikini.

    His eyes slowly drifted down. She felt the blush creeping up her cheeks, but she didn’t stop. She reached behind her for the tie at her back, and the swimsuit top fell off, landing on his belly. His belly was left bare by the faded Hawaiian-print shirt. Taige pushed the bikini top off and leaned forward. “It was something like this,” she murmured, and then she kissed him.

    Taige loved kissing Cullen. Flat-out loved it. She’d gone more than half of her life avoiding the touch of most people, so it was bizarre that she now craved it. But not just from anybody. She wanted Cullen’s hands on her, loved the way he touched her, so gentle and slow, loved the way he made her feel so cherished.

    His hands tightened on her waist, and he arched under her. For one hot, brief minute, he was pressed against her, hard and close, and Taige whimpered as a slow, hollow ache spread low through her belly. But then he shifted, bringing his knees up and slowly edging her forward so that she wasn’t pressed right against him. Taige pushed back as far as the tight grip of his hands would allow.

    She lifted her head up and licked his lower lip. Taige wanted to say something to him. She wanted to tell him that she was ready, but the words seemed to knot inside her throat, and she knew if she tried to say anything, all she’d manage was a squeak. That wasn’t the image she was going for. Taige would have liked to manage something sexy and mature.

    Wanna do it? wasn’t quite what she was going for.

    She figured she could manage that, or maybe just some terrified, incoherent babbling, but she didn’t want to do either of those. So instead, she pushed to her feet and shifted so that she was standing at his side instead of over him. Taige waited until he looked up at her, and then she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her shorts and pushed them down, taking the bottom half of her swimsuit with it.

    When she straightened up, she was naked. Naked and terrified; her heart felt like it was banging away inside her throat instead of her chest, and she was clenching her fists so tight, her nails bit into the flesh of her palms.

    “Taige . . .” His voice sounded tight and choked. He also seemed to have trouble lifting his gaze any higher than her boobs. Slowly, she sank down beside him, throwing one leg over his hips, once more straddling him. She still couldn’t talk, and just then, Cullen was still staring at her and looking a little dazed. She reached for her discarded shorts and reached into the pocket.

    His eyes met hers as she held up the foil-wrapped condom.

    “Taige . . .”

    She forced herself to smile. Her voice shook a little, and she said, “You said that already.”

    He reached up and took the condom from her, closing his fingers around it. “You sure?” he asked hoarsely.

    Her lips curved up in a slow smile. That smile alone would have been enough to fuel every hot, desperate dream Cullen had for the next month. Of course, there was the very hot, very real dream of Taige sitting buck naked on top of him. He had fantasized about this so many times. But the reality of it . . . whoa.

    Her breasts, full and round, were a soft, pale creamy brown, topped with nipples that made him think of chocolate. In the flickering light from the fire, he could see the tight, dark curls between her thighs, and Cullen was pretty sure he could feel the heat of her burning him through his shorts.

    She bent low and pressed her lips to his, her breasts flattening against his chest. His breath hitched a little as she slid her tongue into his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her. Then he slid his hands down her sides, cupped her butt, and pulled her close. She felt so good. Cullen rocked against her, rubbing against the hot, wet vee of her thighs. He was going to come in his shorts if he didn’t slow down, though.

    That wasn’t how he wanted her first time. He definitely wanted her first time to be better than his had been, some hot and sweaty fumble in the backseat of a car with a girl he barely knew. Taige was rocking against him, wiggling and moaning deep in her throat. If she kept moving like that, it was going to be over before he even managed to get his zipper undone.

    Cullen tightened his arms around her waist and rolled until she was pinned beneath him. It wasn’t much better; now he was pressed against her heat, and he couldn’t stop the involuntary rhythm of his hips. He stiffened