Part 17 (1/2)

CULLEN stood on the step just behind Taige as she unlocked the door. She'd left her hair down, and he wanted to lean forward and bury his face in it, feel the soft, wild curls and just breathe her in.

Instead, he tucked his hands in his pockets, and when she finally opened the door, he held back until she gave him an impatient look and demanded, ”Are you coming inside or what?”

He took the two stairs at once and ended up standing so close, he could hear the soft, shaky sound of her breathing. ”What are the other choices?” he asked before he could stop himself.

”Huh?”

”Coming inside . . . or what? What does the 'or what' entail?”

She dropped her gaze and moved away, shoving the door wide open and stalking inside.

Her booted feet made m.u.f.fled thuds on the wooden floor as she crossed it, not turning back to him until she had put a good five feet in between them. ”Don't go getting cute, Cullen. I said I'd try to find him. Nothing else.”

”With me.”

She gave him a frown.

He clarified and said, ”You're going to try finding him with me. I'm not being left behind on this.”

Taige shook her head and stomped into the living room. Cullen followed and rested a shoulder against the arched doorway, watching her as she sat down and started unlacing her boots. They were black, thick-soled boots like a soldier might wear, and they should have looked ridiculous on her. Instead, they suited her. Or rather, they suited the woman Taige had made herself into. She'd gone from a girl with no particular goal in life beyond getting through each day to a dedicated warrior. The promise of the woman he'd glimpsed in her before either of them had even been old enough to consider themselves adults had come to life, and she was more than he'd ever thought she could be. And he'd always thought she could become a great deal.

The cost had been d.a.m.n high for her, though. She'd risked her life, her sanity, her heart, time and again. Whatever the cost to her, she'd done what she had to do, and she'd done it alone. Not this time. This time, he'd be with her. When it was over, he had every intention of keeping her. If she'd let him.

”Cullen, you have no idea what you're asking. Besides, Jillian needs you.”

”And I told you that Jillian needs to feel safe. She won't be able to do that while he's out there.” He moved over to her, hunkering down in front of her and taking her other foot, loosening the laces and slowly pulling the boot away. Taking both boots, he set them aside and then focused on Taige's face. ”I'm going with you on this.”

She c.o.c.ked a brow. If he didn't know her, he wouldn't have seen through her bravado as she said, ”Exactly how are you supposed to help me? Got any law enforcement experience? Got a permit for a gun? Do you have eyes in the back of your head, or have you suddenly become psychic?”

”I don't need a gun, or law enforcement training to watch your back, Taige.” Unable to resist, he placed his hands on her knees and squeezed gently. ”I saw you that morning after I told you about Jillian. You were all but helpless. You need somebody with you.”

”I'll get somebody from the task force.”

”And if it takes a while?” He c.o.c.ked his head, studying her. ”I'm willing to hire you, pay whatever you want for as long as it takes. You freelance for them, so you can take however much time you need on this. Can anybody else?”

She glared at him. ”And you'll take al that time away from your daughter?”

Cullen shook his head. ”No. I'm not going to disappear from her life until we find him.”

”So you plan on taking breaks from watching my back?” You went and got catty on me, sugar, he thought. But he couldn't really blame her. ”No. I plan on making sure you take breaks and take care of yourself.” Slowly, he slid his hands to the outside of her thighs and watched her pupils flare as he started to rub his hands up and down, edging higher and higher. ”You could come home with me. Spend some time with Jillian. She could use somebody in her life who knows what she is dealing with. Somebody who understands her.”

Her gray eyes narrowed and flashed hot. ”That's low. Using that girl to get to me.”

”No. It's a fact. What would be low would be if I used her to get close to you so I could seduce you back into my bed.” Leaning in, he stopped just a breath away from her mouth before he added, ”I plan on seducing you before the night is up, just so you know.

I'm going to f.u.c.k you blind, until you can't see or hear or feel anything but me. Then I'm going to make love to you, soft and slow. Then I'm going to start al over again. You'll welcome me back into your bed, Taige, and sooner or later, you'll welcome me back into your life.”

Taige's breath hitched, and her eyes widened. He felt the reaction in her body, even though he never once looked away from her face. Her body temperature seemed to spike, and the heat coming off of her set his already hot blood to boiling. The scent of her seemed to grow stronger, and blood tinted her cheeks a dusky pink.

”You sound awful d.a.m.n sure of yourself,” she said. Her voice was husky and rough, unsteady. The sound of it reminded him of the way she moaned when he was inside her, soft, broken little moans that spurred him on.

He dipped his head and licked her lower lip. Then he nuzzled her neck and murmured, ”Any reason I shouldn't be sure of myself? You going to kick me out?” He leaned back and studied her face. ”Might serve me right, and if you tell me to go now, I will. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up.”

Taige looked away, her hair fal ing to s.h.i.+eld her face from him. ”I'm not going to be your plaything again. If you need somebody to warm your bed, look elsewhere.”

Cullen laughed and reached up, fisting a hand in the soft, s.e.xy curls framing her face.

Gently, he tugged her head around to face him. ”You were never a plaything, Taige. And if al I wanted was a willing woman in my bed, I could find one. But I don't want any woman, Taige. I want you. I always have.”

Slowly, he lowered his head and covered her lips with his. He licked the seam of her lips and coaxed her to open them for him. She did, slowly, almost reluctantly, and Cullen groaned as the taste of her hit his system. He hadn't ever had a woman who tasted as sweet as Taige. Never needed another woman like he needed her. She was like a drug: hot, potent, and devastating.

When she kissed him back, he felt it in every pore of his body. His skin felt too tight, too hot, too small, and he burned for more. He skimmed his other hand up her body and rested it just under the curve of her jaw. She felt so hot under his hand, so silken soft. It didn't seem possible that she was truly as soft as she had seemed in memories, in dreams, but she was.

He needed more.

Slowly, he straightened up and waited until her eyes met his before he ran his hand down the placket of b.u.t.tons on her s.h.i.+rt. It was simple white cotton, veeing down in the front where six plain b.u.t.tons held it closed. It ended right where the waistband of her jeans began. The s.h.i.+rt had driven him nuts over the past few hours, because every time she moved, he caught glimpses of smooth golden flesh. It was demure enough, not dipping low enough at the neckline to give him even a glimpse of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but the body underneath it was curved, sleekly strong, and he remembered all too well the way she had fit against him.

He freed the first b.u.t.ton, holding her gaze all the while. He'd stop, for now, if she told him to. It might take a two-hour swim in the Gulf before the fire inside him cooled, but he'd stop. Yet as he moved on to the second, then third b.u.t.ton, Taige sat in front of him, frozen. Her hands were on the couch beside her, arms locked as though she had to brace her weight to keep from sinking backward. The s.h.i.+rt parted as he freed the last of the b.u.t.tons, and he lifted his hands to smooth it down her shoulders.

As the s.h.i.+rt fell away, he stared at her nearly bare torso. Her bra was simple and white, no lace, no frills, nothing but a soft sheen that glowed against her skin and cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s lovingly. She reached behind her back, but he caught her wrists in his hands, bringing them back around, and eased them to her sides. Then, still staring into her eyes, he reached around and freed the clasp of her bra.

She s.h.i.+vered as he stripped the bra away and tossed it over the back of the couch. He cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands, ran his thumbs over the already stiff peaks, and watched as her head tipped back. One of those soft, s.e.xy little moans escaped her throat, and he gritted his teeth and tried to rein his hunger in. Dipping his head, he skimmed his lips over her throat, down the delicate line of her collarbone. He pressed his lips to the plump upper curve of her breast, savoring the warm, sweet taste of her. She tasted of soap, the ocean, and Taige. Her nipples were stiff, swollen, a warm, rosy brown, shades darker than the smooth slope of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Taking one in his mouth, he bit down gently.

Arching up against him, she cupped a hand around his nape, holding him close. d.a.m.n, her taste. She was hot and sweet under his mouth but it wasn't enough. Cullen was dying on the inside and had been for years. This was the most alive he had felt since he'd chased her away from him, but stil , he needed more. d.a.m.n it, he had to have more. He slid his hands down her sides, his fingers digging into the curve of her hips. Slowly, he tugged her forward as he trailed a line of kisses down her belly. Soft skin and muscle rippled under his touch, and when he slid his fingers inside her waistband, she jerked.

He straightened up and met her gaze. Their eyes were level, him kneeling in front of her while she sat on the edge of the couch. Her pale gray eyes darkened like thunderheads over the ocean as he cupped his hand between her thighs. ”I need you naked, Taige. Right now.” He leaned forward and kissed her through her jeans. ”If you're going to pull back, now is a good time.”

He braced himself for just that. But instead, she lifted shaky hands and freed the b.u.t.ton on her jeans. ”You know I've never been able to resist you,” she said in a husky voice. Her lids drooped low over her eyes as she hooked her hands in her jeans, but before she could push them down, he covered her hands with his, easing her jeans down himself.

She was stil wearing her underwear, and he cupped her b.u.t.t in his hands. Under his palms, her skin was warm-and bare. Cullen swore hotly as he traced the line of the thong that she wore. The soft black cotton clung to her hips, rode between the cheeks of her a.s.s. Lowering his mouth, he kissed her through the cotton and hissed as he found the material already wet.

Sliding a look up at her, he said in a voice gone rough with need, ”Lie down.” Taige did, but she was too far away. Grasping her a.s.s, he pulled her hips to the edge of the couch, guiding her knees over his shoulders. Cullen tugged the thong aside as he blew a soft puff of air against her. Tight black curls s.h.i.+elded her s.e.x from him. Already starved for her, he pressed his lips against her and used his tongue to open her folds. Slick, hot, and wet, and as he used his mouth on her, she got hotter and wetter, so hot she seemed to singe him and as wet as a spring storm.

Circling the entrance to her body, he held her steady as he pushed his tongue inside her.

Taige screamed and bucked, her hands clutching his head and holding him tight against her. She rocked upward as he shafted her with tongue and fingers, as he suckled on her c.l.i.t, as he pushed her closer and closer. He felt the warning spasm of her body, felt the powerful climax coming on her even before it hit her, and as it broke over her, he continued to lick and kiss.

His hair tumbled into his eyes as he levered his body up over hers. Lifting her lids, Taige stared at him, her body stil shuddering from o.r.g.a.s.m. He s.h.i.+fted her body around so that she lay full-length on the couch and then, before she had even caught her breath, he knelt between her thighs, covered her body with his, and pressed his c.o.c.k against her.

”Look at me,” he demanded. Through her lashes, she did, staring at him, hardly able to believe this was happening.

It wasn't a dream, wasn't a memory. It was real; he was real, his body hot and heavy, one big hand wrapped around the base of his c.o.c.k as he pressed close, and then their gazes locked, and he pushed inside. Taige screamed. He was thick, so hard it seemed to bruise her, and he was relentless, forging deeper and deeper until he was sheathed inside her to the hilt.

She groaned and thrashed under him, working to accommodate him. Twelve years was a d.a.m.n long time, and she felt as though everything in the world had ceased to exist, everything but the couch they lay on, the man above her, and the thick length of his c.o.c.k throbbing inside her. Unable to breathe, she worked her hands between them and shoved against his shoulders. Her hips wriggled and Cullen swore heatedly. ”d.a.m.n it, be still.”

Looping his arms under her shoulders, he caught her head between his hands, holding her still as he kissed her. With his hips, he pressed down to still her frantic movements.

Taige whimpered and pressed backward into the couch as much as she could.

”You're tight,” he muttered against her mouth. He didn't try to kiss her, just rubbed his lips back and forth over hers, roaming upward to kiss away the salty tears streaming from her eyes. So tight, she wrapped around him in a snug, silky embrace, wet, soft, and the most sinfully sweet pleasure he'd had-since the last time he'd had her.