I could feel how badly he wanted me as his h*ps pushed against mine, only a few layers of thin fabric keeping us from finally being together. He groaned as I pushed my h*ps against him, and his teeth bit lightly into my bottom lip as he tugged at it gently. I used my other hand to push down the other side of his boxers as his hand slid over my bottom, shoving my panties down farther.

He left fire in the wake of his touch and it was driving me insane. I rolled my tongue over his upper lip as our breathing accelerated and our bodies became hungrier for each other.

“Say it again,” he half moaned as he tugged at the thin fabric of my panties and it bit into my skin.

“I love you,” I panted, and I heard the material rip, and now only one article of clothing stood between us. His hand slid up over my ribs and he cupped my breast, sliding his thumb over my nipple and causing it to peak under his touch.

“I love you so much,” he growled as his mouth continued to move against mine and his h*ps pushed against me again. I moved against him, desperate for the release that was building inside me.

My hand pushed against his boxers but could not reach low enough to remove them. My nails dug into his h*ps and he laughed as he reached down and shoved the boxers lower, then kicked them off. His warm, hard body was back against mine in an instant. I struggled to control my breathing as he pressed against my entrance. I wrapped my legs around his waist as my arms looped around his neck to hold his body against mine.

He rocked gently against me and he was much larger than I expected, but my body was more than ready for him. He took his time as he slowly entered me, his eyes looking into mine until he had filled me completely. His h*ps stilled as he allowed my body to adjust to him as his forehead rested against mine and our breaths mingled.

I slowly rolled my h*ps and he began to move against me. I had never before felt like this in my life. I had no idea that being with someone could ever feel this way. Soon our bodies were covered in a thin layer of sweat as our skin slid against each other in perfect rhythm as if we were made for each other.

E’s free hand was tangled in my hair and he was careful not to rest all his weight on me. I had done the act so many times before, but this was something new, something I didn’t even know was possible, and I felt as if I were finally feeling for the first time in my life. I loved him with every fiber of my being. My body and my heart had known it all along.

His h*ps began to move more urgently and I rolled mine against his, eliciting a delicious groan from the back of his throat that rumbled from his chest.

The tightening in my belly slowly rolled lower, and I could feel it all the way to my toes as I fell over the edge of pleasure. E kept perfect rhythm with me until my body relaxed beneath him and he let go himself, his muscles tightening and relaxing under my hands until he moaned against my lips and his full weight pressed against me.

He kissed me softly on the lips, his fingers tightening in my hair before he rolled over beside me and pulled me into his arms.

“I don’t ever want to let you go.” He pressed his lips against my hair.

I closed my eyes, exhausted and satisfied. “I won’t let you,” I whispered as I closed my eyes and let exhaustion take over.

I loved sleeping with his arms around me, and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I didn’t have a nightmare about my childhood. E slept soundly, too, and by the time morning came, I wanted to force myself to sleep longer.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he pressed a kiss to my temple from behind me.

“Happy.” I stretched, arching my back, and he groaned as I pushed against him.

“I am, too, and you are making me even happier as you do that.” He laughed, his chest vibrating against my back as his arms held me tighter.

I was terrified all of this new happiness would be ripped away. “What now?”

“Now?” He pushed up on his elbow. “We take it one day at a time.”

I slid onto my back so I could look up at him, and he leaned over me, pressing his lips against mine.

“Are you really going to get apartment here?” I slid my fingers through his messy hair.

“Unless you would rather keep meeting in a seedy hotel?” He cocked his eyebrow.

“It is kind of romantic in a just-killed-someone-and-hid-their-body-in-the-closet kind of way,” I joked.

“I promise to tell you about each skeleton in my closet if you tell me yours.”

“Deal.” I pressed my lips against his and his hand slid over my stomach and it growled. We both laughed as he rolled onto his back beside me.

“I guess we could start the day with some food.” He glanced over at me and I nodded reluctantly. I was more than happy to spend the day in bed with him, but Jenny needed her car and we needed to find a better place for E to stay. And we had from now until forever to make love to each other.

Epilogue

ERIC

IT HAD BEEN three months since I’d showed up on Sarah’s doorstep. We knew that if we ever wanted to have a fighting chance, we would need to take things slowly, even though it felt as if I had waited my entire life for her.

I got an apartment a few blocks away from her, and we hung out as much as possible. We saw every movie that came out in theaters and wrote music together. We finally finished our song and had moved on to writing an entire album of our own because our story was far from over.

She continued to go to therapy twice a week and I began to go as well. I didn’t want to be the reason that we didn’t make it. As much as I hated reliving my past, I loved Sarah more.

I completed my community service while Sarah spent time with her family. I even called my mother about once a week just to let her know how my life was going. I hoped one day we would be able to be close the way Sarah had become with her family, but it would take some time.

The new Damaged tour began and we were on the road again, but this time I had Sarah at my side. It was great to see her and Cass together again.

The tour kicked off with a concert in Arizona. Sarah was a nervous wreck. She was the opening act for us this time around and it would be only her onstage. We went over every lyric of the songs we had written until she finally started to relax.

I wouldn’t have pushed her to perform, but I knew that she needed to get back onstage. It would help her move forward and it was what she was born to do.

The crowd was huge and our new manager, Dave, was barking orders at us as he paced the floor backstage.

“You need to calm the hell down.” Chris threw his guitar pick at Dave and he ducked as we all laughed.

“At least we don’t have to worry about E sleeping with him.” Tucker’s eyes met mine with a smirk.

“Fuck you.” I shook my head, thankful Cass and Sarah were off getting ready for the night.

SARAH

LESS IS MORE,” Cass said as she took my eyeliner from my hand.

“I’m not ready to do this.” I chewed on my lip as I inspected my face in the mirror.

“You were born ready. E will be right with you the whole time.”

I smoothed my hands down over my gray dress, which stopped midthigh. I watched her eyes dance over the bandage on my arm.

“I guess I need to take this off, huh?” I asked, and she nodded. I slowly pulled back the medical tape from the bandage that covered my forearm.

“That looks amazing,” Cass said, looking over the sparrows that now covered my ROCK TATTOO.

“Thank you.” I rubbed my fingers over the raised lines from the fresh ink. One bird for E and one for me. It was us finally breaking free from the cages of our pasts. I smiled as I thought about how far we had come in the last few months.

I didn’t know where we would be tomorrow, but we just focused on the here and now, and slowly we grew stronger.

“You ready?” Cass asked as she cocked her head to the side as her hand absentmindedly rubbed over her growing belly.

I placed my hand over her stomach and smiled at her proudly. “Aunt Sarah is going to make you proud, little rock star.”

She smiled back at me, her face glowing. I walked down the hall toward E and the guys, and Cass followed me. As we walked into the room, I felt that I was home.

I knew I would always have my mother and sister, but my family had grown; it just took me a while to realize it.

“Don’t even say it, Tucker.” Cass waved her hand as she walked over to him and sat on his lap. He grunted as if she weighed a ton and she smacked him playfully on the chest. “I’m going out there to see your first concert of the tour. Sarah needs me.”

His hand covered her belly as he gave her a kiss on the nose. “It’s too loud.”

She rolled her eyes as I walked over to E and slid against his side, his arms wrapping around me as he laughed at Tucker.

“This is the end of rock and roll,” Terry grumbled as he shook his head. “Next he will have us playing lullabies.”

“You won’t be playing at all if I find out you are still texting my little sister.” I narrowed my eyes at Terry and he barked out a laugh.

“Showtime, guys. Let’s make history,” Dave, the new manager, called over the laughter as he pulled open the door to the room. We all stood and filed out of the cramped space toward the stage.

The excitement was palpable, and as scary as it was, we couldn’t wait to see what the future held for all of us.

The twins, Tucker, and Cass all lined up beside the stage, hidden behind the curtain as E and I made our way out in front of the crowd. I looked over at him, butterflies taking flight in my belly as my fingers wrapped around the microphone. He winked and mouthed, I love you, as he began to strum his guitar. The opening notes to the first song we had written together filled the arena.

As soon as I began to sing, the fear left me and all I could feel was the love of the man who sat to my left. Each song blended into the next until it was over, and the crowd cheered for us as E pulled me against his chest and kissed me proudly. I had tears in my eyes as I took the guitar from him and left the stage.

Damaged took the stage as E made himself at home behind his drums. Cass and I watched proudly as they played to cheers and screams from all of their devoted fans. We had been through a lot as a group, and this moment made it all worth it. The struggle and the fighting to overcome our demons all washed away as the world accepted us for who we were.

As the band played their final song, Cass began to cry as the crowd sang along to the words she had written. I looped my arm over her shoulders and we gently swayed along as Tucker sang, a proud smile on his face as he looked over at his pregnant wife.

“Thank you all so much for coming out and supporting us. It has been a long road to get here, but we are excited to continue down it and see where it leads.” The room went wild with support, and Tucker waited for the noise to die down before he continued. “If you don’t mind, we’d like to play one more song for you.”

The twins began to play, and now it was my turn to cry as “Free Bird” filled the air. Tucker smiled as he motioned with his hand for us to join him onstage. I gripped Cass’s hand in mine tightly as we walked onstage. Tucker took a step back from the mic as he wrapped his arm around his wife and pressed a kiss to her temple. I stared out at the sea of people, all supportive and cheering me on as I started to sing with tears streaming down my face.

Everyone sang along with me—the crowd, the band. My voice grew from shaky to confident as I gave everything I had to give to them. I glanced over my shoulder at E, who smiled as he sang along, knowing what the song meant to me. I fell impossibly deeper in love with him in that moment.

I poured my soul into every word as I let that part of my life go, accepting the unknown and ready to take on whatever life held for me with E by my side. I was finally free as a bird.