Songbird by Maya Banks

remembered the first time she’d ever met the Donovan brothers. All the times Sean had picked her up when she fell, tended her scrapes, rebraided her hair so her father wouldn’t scold her. The times he took her swimming. The night he came for her and took her away from her father. The night they got married, just two scared kids determined to forge their own path in life.
    She felt a warm touch on her cheek, but when she opened her eyes, all she could see were the sun’s rays as they shone through the branches of the oak tree.
    And then a great weight lifted. She felt freer than she’d felt in so long. The sun’s rays warmed her but hope burned hotter. Sean would always be a part of her life. A treasured memory. She’d love him always. But now she had something else to live for. Herself. Taggert and Greer. Her future.
    It was always there, Emmy. You just had to reach out and take it.
    Sean’s chiding voice made her smile. Oh yes, it was just like him to scold her.
    She ran down the hill toward the ranch, her hair flying in the breeze. She laughed and God, it felt so good to be happy again.
    Greer met her at the back gate, a scowl on his face as he waited.
    “Where the hell have you been, Emmy? No one saw you leave. You could say something, damn it.”
    She launched herself at him, laughing like an idiot. He was forced to catch her, and she wrapped herself around him, peppering his face with kisses.
    He staggered back under the impact, but caught himself and stood steady.
    “What the hell’s got into you?”
    She grinned and kissed him again. “Take me to bed. I’ll show you precisely what’s got into me.”
    His grip tightened on her ass, and she felt the current race through his body.
    “Hell, Emmy, sun’s up. Work to be done. Buck has breakfast on the table.”
    “You could play hooky,” she said innocently. “I’d make it worth your while. Or you could just take me behind the barn. Or better yet in the barn. I always wanted to make out in the hayloft.”
    “The hell I will,” he muttered.
    He swung around, arms tight around her and strode back toward the house. The hands hadn’t made their appearance yet, and he simply strode past Taggert, bypassed the kitchen and headed up the stairs.
    She almost giggled but thought better of goading him.
    He shoved his bedroom door open, walked forward and dumped her on the bed then returned to kick the door shut. He took his hat off, then reached for the buttons on his shirt. She watched in fascination as he methodically removed every stitch of his clothing.
    When he was naked, he advanced on the bed, his cock jutting upward, stiff and painfully erect. She licked her lips, and he stopped with an inarticulate groan.
    “Goddamn, Emmy,” he muttered. “You’re killing me, you know that?”
    She gave him an innocent look and then crawled forward to meet him as he got to the edge. She cupped his balls, fondling and rolling the supple flesh in her palm. Then she guided him to her mouth, sucking him inward.
    His hands tangled in her hair, and his breath escaped in a hiss.
    “Jesus that feels good.”
    She smiled and took him deeper, enjoying his taste and the sensation of so much hardness on her tongue. Steel encased in softness. The contrast fascinated her.
    She grasped the base of his penis and rolled the foreskin up and down in unison with the movements of her mouth. His fingers dug into her scalp and then gentled, and he stroked through her hair, murmuring his love and approval as she coaxed him close to release.
    One drop slipped onto her tongue, and she increased her pace, but he cupped her chin and eased away. She looked up to see the strain on his face. He was so close. Why had he pulled away?
    “Strip,” he gritted out.
    Her eyes widened at the guttural command but she hastily complied, pulling at her clothes and shimmying out of her pants. In seconds she was naked.
    He grasped her shoulders and fell forward, pushing her to the bed as his weight pressed