The Missing

But she’d been alone, and pregnant, because he was a selfish bastard.

    It had been his words that pushed her into the career she chose. He didn’t give a damn what she said to the contrary, and he knew she had saved lives, done a lot of good for others. Because of what he’d said and done, because of how he’d acted, Taige had gone into a career that broke her heart regularly, that was dangerous, and that had taken away her chance at having a child.

    He thought of Jillian, how she regularly broke his heart and how she regularly made him so damn proud, how he loved her so much it felt like his heart would explode from it. Then he thought of Taige, how protective she was, how fierce and how she loved with everything she had inside her. She would have been the kind of mother every child should have, and that had been stolen from her.

    The sand muffled her footsteps, and Cullen didn’t realize she was standing behind him until she said, “Are you going to sit out here all afternoon and all night?”

    Slanting a look at her over his shoulder, he shrugged. “Occurred to me.”

    “Going to be hard to help me if you plan on spending the time counting the waves.”

    “I’m sorry, Taige.”

    Her eyes met his for a split second, and then she looked away. “For what? Counting waves?”

    “You know what.”

    Blowing out a ragged breath, Taige moved closer and sank gracefully to the ground. She kept a good two feet between them. “Don’t, Cullen. Okay? Just don’t. All of it is over and done with, and for the most part, I’m okay with it. I’ve got a lot of bad shit inside of me, and maybe this is God’s way of making sure I don’t pass it on.”

    “That’s a load of crap,” Cullen said in a flat voice. “You don’t have a damn thing bad inside of you.”

    “We’ll just have to disagree on that one.” She shrugged. “It’s something I’ve mostly dealt with, so just let it go.”

    He could tell by the way she held herself that she wanted some distance, might have even needed it. But he needed to touch her. Rolling to his knees, Cullen crawled across the sand until he could kneel in front of her. Her hands felt cold under his. “I don’t know that I can let this go, Taige.” Cullen still couldn’t believe she’d been pregnant and that now she’d never be able to conceive a baby again. It just didn’t seem fair.

    “Try,” she said grimly. Her eyes were stark and cool, the dull, leaden gray of a winter sky. Everything about her had gone cold and distant.

    Apprehension gnawed at him, but then she twined her fingers with his. “Things are moving a little too fast for me right now, Cullen,” she murmured. Her gaze lowered, and her lashes shielded her eyes from him. “I know I threw a lot at you, but none of it is easy for me to talk about. I just can’t do it right now. I don’t even know which way is up. I need some time to level out.”

    A sigh escaped him. Reaching up, he cupped her chin and lifted it so he could see her eyes. “This isn’t done, Taige.” Cullen stroked her lower lip with his thumb. He bent his head and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “We got enough going on right now, that’s for certain. But this isn’t done. And while you’re leveling out, there’s something you need to keep in mind. I meant every word I said before, when I told you that I still love you and that I want you back in my life.”

    Cullen slanted his mouth over hers, cupping his hand over the back of her skull and holding her still. Under his mouth, she was soft and sweet. She sighed into his mouth, and when he slid a hand up her side and cupped her breast, she arched into him with a moan.

    Urging her backward, he covered her body with his. Her hands slid under his shirt, her fingers cool and agile, stroking over the sensitive skin of his lower back and then dipping under the waistband of his jeans. “You certain you want to do this out here?” she murmured against his lips. “We’re going to get sand everywhere.”

    “Is that your subtle way of telling me no?” Unconcerned about her answer, or the sand, he kissed his way down her throat, pausing at her pulse and licking the soft, satiny skin.

    She laughed. It was a low, husky sound, and it warmed him inside. “If I was going to tell you no, I wouldn’t mess with being subtle.”

    “So is that a yes?”

    With gentle but insistent hands, she pushed against his shoulders. Reluctant, he pushed up onto his hands