The Missing

milking him dry. It was as though she was pulling fire from inside his body, a pleasure that was damn near painful in its intensity.

    When it ended, he collapsed against her, burying his face between her breasts and sucking in badly needed air.

    He couldn’t think, could hardly focus on anything but the little aftershocks rolling through his system. The one coherent thought he was aware of: I’m never letting you go now, Taige.

    MINUTES passed—or maybe hours, and Taige continued to lie on her back, staring at the ceiling. She’d gone from self-disgust to acceptance to anger and all the way back again. Right now, she was right smack in the middle of acceptance. Eventually, she’d be pissed off again. At him. At herself. At everything. But right now, she was content to stroke a hand up and down Cullen’s back and listen to him breathe.

    Her thighs ached, and deep inside, she felt raw and a little sore. Twelve years was a damn long time, she mused again. And Cullen hadn’t been gentle with her. She hadn’t wanted him to be. That greedy desperation eased the ache in her heart, even though it left her body stiff.

    I’m never letting you go now, Taige. Catching complete thoughts like that outside of a direct connection wasn’t normal for her. It was probably just the physical contact, the very close physical contact that had let her subconscious establish a strong enough connection for her to pick up on that one, clear thought. Just the one, nothing before and nothing since. She was aware of his fatigue, and she’d felt a distant echo from him as they made love. Sex, Taige. Just sex, she corrected herself. She’d felt the echo of his pleasure and the burn of need, but she wasn’t convinced of anything other than that he wanted her.

    A lot.

    At least that was what she tried to tell herself. But those few words, I’m never letting you go now, Taige, had managed to undermine all the instincts that demanded she protect herself. Inside, she was in turmoil, practically at war with herself. Half of her demanded that she stop being so damn cynical and just see what happened with Cullen. The other half came back with, Tried that route before, and he dumped me on my sorry ass and stomped all over my heart, and that part wasn’t at all interested in turning said broken, trampled heart back over to him.

    His breathing changed. It brushed over her flesh and made her shiver. Stirring, he lifted his head and stared at her out of bleary eyes. “Crushing you,” he muttered, his voice thick.

    Taige smiled and slid her fingers through his tousled hair. “I’m fine.”

    “Hmmmm.” Lowering his face, he trailed his tongue over her belly in an absent, erotic little pattern. “You’re not fine. You’re perfect. Delicious.” Pushing up on his elbow, he rolled his weight to the side, pressing up against the back of the couch. “You’re wet with me. I didn’t use a rubber.” His lashes drooped over his eyes, and he said, “Seems to be a bad habit with us.”

    Taige shrugged and tried to dismiss what was clamoring for attention in her heart. Wouldn’t matter even if she did acknowledge it. Dreaming and yearning to have a baby of her own, somebody to love and cuddle and protect, was pointless, because it wasn’t going to happen.

    “You’re too quiet,” Cullen said. His voice didn’t really change, but she heard something there nonetheless.

    Looking up, she met his eyes. He watched her with a soft, loving gaze that made her want to scream. Stiffening, she tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. “Don’t worry about it,” she said brusquely.

    Heat shimmered through her, and she hissed when he pushed his finger inside her, stroking in and out of her pussy. “I’m not really worried,” he whispered, dipping his head to flick his tongue against her clit. “No matter what happened, I wouldn’t be worried.”

    Squeezing her thighs together, she tried to pull back from his caressing hand. “Nothing will happen.” Her throat was closing up on her; she could feel it. Eyes blurry with tears, she reached down and grabbed his wrist, trying to pull him away. “Let me go.”

    “Don’t look so scared, Taige.” He nuzzled her belly and spoke in a soft, cajoling voice. “You still love me. I still love you. If something happens, we’ll deal with it. God knows, I’d love to see you pregnant with my baby.”

    Her laugh was bitter, so harsh it hurt her ears just to hear it. “It won’t ever