Songbird(25)

With a sigh of pleasure, she arched into him, bumping into the head of his cock. He stiffened and then thrust forward, easing into her wetness.

Inch by inch he sank deeper until his body met hers. She cradled him, holding him as tightly as he held her. There was such a sense of rightness, of homecoming. It was impossible for her to tell him just how much she’d missed him, how she’d dreamed of a moment just like this. But she could show him. She could love him back with every part of her self.

She kissed his jaw and then his neck. She tasted him, running her tongue from the curve of his shoulder up to the spot right behind his ear. He shuddered against her and moaned, but he moved closer, seeking more of her mouth.

The muscles in his back rippled and bulged under her fingers, and she lovingly traced the lines, enjoying his strength. Hers. He was hers in a way she’d never dreamed of him being.

Back and forth, his body rose and fell, and she held him to her by wrapping her legs around his hips. In this moment there was no pain, no sorrow. She was free from the relentless ache of the past year.

Hope. She had a future. Here in Taggert’s arms. He and Greer would protect her and love her. She’d give them her love, children. They’d be a family just as she’d always wanted.

Oh Sean.

Sweet, sweet Emmy.

She could hear his voice as if he whispered directly in her ear. She could see him smiling tenderly down at her.

Be happy, my love. Be happy.

Tears leaked from her eyes, and she buried her face in Taggert’s neck even as she shook with the sweetest of orgasms. It was mind-blowing, an explosion to rival a volcano. It was heartrendingly beautiful. It was what she needed.

They love you too. Just as I do.

“I know,” she whispered.

“What do you know?” Taggert asked as he kissed away the tears.

“That you love me.”

“Do you really?”

She smiled and reached up to stroke his face. “Yeah. I do.”

He kissed her fingers and rubbed his face back into her palm.

“This time it’s forever, Songbird. We won’t let you go again.”

She swallowed and sucked in a deep breath. It was hard to breathe when her chest was about to cave in.

“No, you won’t let me go,” she said with conviction.

She could see the resolve in his eyes, and in this moment she believed with all her heart that he meant every word of his declaration.

***

In the early hours of the morning, Emily stepped out the back door and wrapped the light shawl around her shoulders. She’d left Taggert sleeping, and she hadn’t seen Greer on her way down. Buck was due in the kitchen any moment, and she didn’t want to get stuck for breakfast.

There was something she needed to do.

With every step closer she got to the small graveyard, her heart grew a little heavier. The eastern sky had lightened just enough that pale lavender coated the headstones and outlined the large oak tree. The branches hovered protectively over generations past and those whose present had ended all too soon.

She stared at Sean’s grave and then slowly knelt on the cold ground in front of the granite stone that marked his birth and death.

With trembling fingers she traced his name.

“I’m home, you know,” she said conversationally.

It sounded quite absurd, but it felt good to talk to Sean again, and she knew he could hear her. Knew he was with her. She could feel the warmth of his arms around her.

“Taggert and Greer came for me, but then you probably knew they’d eventually drag me back to the MPR. You’d approve, no doubt. They share your stubbornness, or maybe you share theirs.”

She stared at the stone and paused, content to listen to the early morning sounds of the world around her awakening. She could almost hear the gentle strains of his guitar as the strings came alive at his fingertips.

“They say they love me,” she said softly. “Only you’d know how much that means to me and how it scares me to death. You know how much I love them. Like I loved you. I always hated you knowing it because I felt like it wasn’t fair. But you always understood. God, I loved you for that. Never with anyone else was I able to completely be myself. You loved and accepted me. Every part, good and bad. I’ll never have another friend or lover like you, Sean. I hope you know that. I’ll never forget you, and I’ll never stop loving you. But I want you to know that I’m going to start living again. I want the babies that you and I planned. I want a family and I want to be home again. I’m just so sorry I kept you from your home and family for so long.”

She leaned forward and kissed the cool marble and closed her eyes. It all felt so final, and she knew for the first time, she was letting go. Acknowledging that Sean was gone. It hurt. God, it hurt. He was gone and she’d never see him again. How was she ever supposed to get over that kind of pain?

Again she felt his gentle warmth surround her. Love, so much love, and she smiled through her tears.

“Still kicking my ass, huh.”

Sing for me, Emmy. One more time. Just for me.

She felt the whisper in her mind, and for the first time didn’t feel the paralyzing fear that accompanied the thought of singing.

The lyrics to Montana Memories danced on her tongue, and her throat quivered in anticipation.

And then she opened her mouth and the melody spilled out into the early morning air. Pure and beautiful. Haunting. It carried on the breeze and straight to heaven.