The Missing

fast.

    There were no gentle kisses, no lingering touches, just his barely reined-in fury and the desperation that bled over into her as well. He held himself back until she came, and when Taige started to scream with it, he dropped even the pretense of control, battering her with bruising force, his fingers digging into her hips. The sound of his ragged breathing, her strangled moans, and the slap of flesh on flesh were the only noises, and then he came, his cock jerking viciously inside her snug heat.

    And just like that, it was over. He stepped away. Taige rolled her head on the back of the couch, staring at him through her lashes as he readjusted his pants. Slowly, she straightened. Her muscles felt like wax, and her legs wobbled under her as she pulled her panties and jeans back up. Between her thighs, she ached, and she could feel his semen on her.

    “Did I hurt you?” he asked hoarsely. He was standing by the window, staring outside.

    Taige shook her head. She was a little uncomfortable, and she’d probably be sore later, but she wasn’t hurt. “No.”

    He nodded. But still, he wouldn’t look at her.

    She wanted him to. She almost said it out loud, Look at me, Cullen. But she didn’t.

    “You need to leave, Taige.”

    His flat, unemotional words did a lot more damage than the roughness of the past few minutes, but she tried to understand. He hadn’t been expecting her, probably had a house full of family, and other than his dad, none of them knew her. She wanted to be there, though. Wanted to be there for him, and it hurt that he didn’t want that from her. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said softly.

    Finally, he looked at her. He turned his head and met her eyes and said, “Please don’t. I don’t want to talk to you, Taige. I don’t want to see you again. Ever.”

    FROM the window, he could see her, striding out to the Jeep parked at the far end of the drive, her head low, her arms wrapped around her middle. It was chilly out. She hadn’t been wearing a jacket when she came in. Did she have one in the car? he wondered.

    “Fuck her like that, kick her out of your house, and now you worry she might get cold,” he muttered. “Dumb ass.” He kept watching her, hoping she’d look back at him just one more time.

    But she never did. She climbed into the Jeep and didn’t even get the door all the way closed before she threw it into reverse. He heard the faint squeal of the tires even from here. He kept watching, even after she disappeared around the bend in the road, and for a long time after. He had no idea how much time had passed when his father knocked on the door. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours.

    Probably somewhere in between, because most of the cars in the drive were gone, and night had completely settled.

    “Did I see Taige?” Robert asked softly.

    Cullen nodded.

    “She didn’t stay long.” Robert didn’t ask any questions, and Cullen was glad of that.

    How could he answer, anyway? Mom’s dead, and Taige should have been able to stop it. No, that wasn’t going to work. He hadn’t told either of his parents about the weird things that Taige had been able to do, hadn’t ever figured out how to explain it.

    When Cullen stayed quiet, Robert said, “Pretty long drive for her to make just to come by and say hi.”

    “Leave it alone, Dad.”

    Robert opened his mouth to speak, but then, as though he’d thought better of it, he closed it and sighed. “Taige lost both her parents young, didn’t she? I bet she knows all about hurting and grief. Knows how it can make you do or say things that you don’t really mean.”

    “What about things you do mean?” Cullen blurted out. He turned away from his dad and rubbed his hands over his face, wished he hadn’t said anything. “Can it make you say things that you do mean, even if you shouldn’t?”

    “Go after her, Cullen. You’ve lost enough right now. You don’t need to lose her, too,” Robert said gently.

    But Cullen couldn’t do it. Or rather, he wouldn’t. He’d seen the hurt in her eyes. Yes, he blamed her, she knew it, and he hated himself for it, but there it was. He couldn’t change how he felt. He imagined Taige would even put up with it. Put up with him and deal with the guilt he made her feel and the pain he could cause her.

    But, even though he was irrationally furious with her, he wasn’t going to do that.

    She didn’t deserve his misplaced anger, and he loved