Strike a Chord

by Salsbury, JB

  “Yes.”

  His eyes widen. “Yes? As in yes you’ll move in with me?”

  I cup his cheeks and kiss his soft lips. “Yes, I will move in with you.”

  He pushes me back to the couch and crawls between my legs, kissing me until I’m breathless and light-headed. “I’m going to make you so happy, you’ll never want to leave.”

  “You already have.”

  Epilogue

  Five Months Later

  Ethan

  “And then it hit me, like… fuck, this girl is so rad. I just want to do fun shit with her for the rest of my life. I realized, wait, that sounds like marriage.” I stare up at the giant man as he scowls at me.

  We’re standing on my front patio, and yet Elijah Marsten has the upper hand. We may as well be on his turf.

  “You seriously asking for permission to marry my daughter by telling me she’s rad?” His thick brows rise over his dark sunglasses.

  I shift on my feet, cursing Ben for talking me into this shit. “Yes, sir. She is rad.” I look back at the house, hoping my girl doesn’t walk out to see me fucking this up. “I want her forever, to have and hold, sickness and health and all that shit.”

  He rubs the back of his neck, shakes his head, then busts up laughing.

  I recoil. “You’re laughing?”

  He claps me on the shoulder. “You’re horrible at this.”

  “My palms are sweating, I haven’t been able to eat, and look!” I hold out my hand. “I’m fucking shaking.”

  He lifts a brow, clearly unimpressed.

  I drop my head back on a groan. “Listen, Elijah, I’m trying to do the right thing here. But here’s the facts.” I meet his eyes. “Give me your blessing or don’t, I’m going to marry your daughter either way because I can’t imagine living a second of my life without her. I’d move heaven and earth to make her smile. And you know what I’d do to anyone who attempted to hurt her. I know I don’t deserve her. I’m confronted with that reality every single morning when I wake up next to her. But I will not give up trying to become the man she deserves.”

  He tilts his head. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

  I frown. “No, actually.”

  He wraps his big-ass hand around the back of my neck and squeezes. “You got my blessing.” He drops his hand and peers down at me over his sunglasses. “You hurt her, I’ll kill you and dump your body where no one will find it.”

  “I’ll bring you the knife and the shovel.”

  The sound of the back door sliding open has us both turning toward it. Taylor, looking hot as sin, comes out wearing one of my white shirts like a dress with a belt around the middle, making it shorter and showcasing her sexy legs. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She’s been growing it out, but hates it in her face. She could shave her head for all I care—the woman is a knockout either way.

  She looks between Elijah and me while wiping her hands on a towel. “Why do you both look like you did when we watched that Nicholas Sparks movie?”

  We clear our throats and school our expressions.

  “First of all,” I say, “they died in each other’s arms at the end. Only a heartless psycho wouldn’t cry watching that.”

  She shrugs. “I didn’t cry.”

  Elijah nods. “After everything they’d been through with her not remembering and him telling her their story…” He thumps a fist over his heart. “Felt that shit.”

  “Yep.” I shake my head. “One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.”

  “You need some help with that garbage disposal?” Elijah says, clearly changing the subject of our mutual emotional response to The Notebook, and crosses the patio toward his daughter.

  I follow behind him. “I’ll call a plumber.”

  “No need. It was the flywheel.” She shrugs. “I already fixed it.”

  Elijah chuckles. “Man of the house.” He kisses his daughter’s temple as he passes her.

  She beams at him.

  “Just because I can’t fix shit doesn’t mean I’m not a man.” I pull my gorgeous girlfriend to my chest and kiss her until she’s breathless.

  She sways in my arms, her eyes glazed at they look at me. “I’ll be the man of the house if you promise to keep kissing me like that.”

  “I’ll keep kissing you like that whether you fix shit or not.”

  She straightens up out of my arms. “What were you two talking about out here?”

  I kiss her forehead. “You.”

  “What about me—”

  The doorbell rings.

  I grab Taylor’s hand. “She’s here.”

  Taylor

  As Ethan opens the door, I stand nervously at his side, so grateful for the support of my dad’s presence at my back. The door swings open to reveal a pretty woman who doesn’t look a day over fifty. Rodger’s at her side with her bags.

  She squeals and embraces her son in the doorway. “My boy.” Her eyes close and I feel already connected to her because of our mutual love for the same man. When her eyes open, they land on me and her face lights up. “You must be Taylor.”

  “It’s nice to meet—omph!” She wraps me in a hug.

  Ethan’s eyes are warm on us for a few seconds before he reaches for his mom. “You’re going to crush her, Ma.”

  She pulls back, smiling. “I am so happy to finally meet you.”

  “You too.” I lick my lips nervously and turn to my dad. “This is my dad, Elijah.”

  Prophet’s eyes look as if they’re about to fall out of his skull. “Hi, I’m Elijah, oh…” He laughs awkwardly and holds out a hand. “You already know that.”

  She shakes his hand and looks a little entranced as she stares at him. “Vivian.”

  They stand there for a few silent seconds, hand in hand. I turn to Ethan as his peaceful grin turns to horror. He catches my eyes and mouths, “What the fuck?”

  Rodger clears his throat—or was that laughter?

  “Right,” I say. “Vivian, why don’t you come on in and let’s get you settled?”

  My voice breaks the trance between the two, and Vivian’s cheeks flush as she drops my dad’s hand. I’d bet money that under all my dad’s facial hair, he’s blushing as well.

  “Why don’t you guys take Vivian’s bags to her room while I take her to the kitchen for a drink?” My dad offers his arm.

  She takes it with a smile as Ethan watches with his mouth hanging open. As soon as they’re out of the room, we turn toward each other, me laughing, him scowling, and Rodger trying hard to cover his grin.

  “Your dad is totally macking on my mom,” he whisper-hisses.

  “I think your mom likes my dad.”

  He recoils. “They can’t do that. Can they?”

  “Of course they can,” Rodger says as he follows us to the guest bedroom with Vivian’s bags.

  “They’re just flirting. Don’t get weird.” I rub Ethan’s arm and feel him relax minutely. “Let’s just enjoy the night.”

  His eyes spark as if I’ve given him the reminder he needed before kissing me softly. “Something tells me tonight will be a night we’ll never forget.”

  Ethan

  We ate dinner on the patio, but I hardly had an appetite.

  Between my nerves and watching Elijah and my mom flirt, I couldn’t wait to speed through the evening and get Taylor alone in our bedroom.

  Two steps into the bedroom doorway and my mouth is on hers.

  “We can’t have sex with our parents on the property,” she whispers as I focus on getting her out of her clothes.

  “We’ll be really quiet.” I strip her out of her borrowed shirt and go to work unhooking her bra.

  “The bed is too loud.” Even as she protests, she finishes unbuttoning my shirt and pushes it off my shoulders.

  I toss her bra to the floor. “We’ll do it in the bathroom.”

  I kiss her again with a firm grip on her hips as I walk her backward and through the doorway. Once inside the bathroom, I
kick the door closed and set her ass on the counter.

  “Wait,” I breathe against her lips. My pulse races in my ears as I steady my voice. “There’s one thing I need to do first.”

  She releases me, and when I step back, I’m knocked senseless by the vision before me. Taylor’s wearing nothing but white silk panties, her legs open, chest heaving beneath perky breasts, her neck and cheeks stained the prettiest pink as I rake my gaze over her.

  “I’m the luckiest son of a bitch alive.” I slide my eyes from her lips to her eyes. “I look at you and I can’t believe you’re mine.”

  She props her palms behind her and flashes the sexiest grin. “Believe it, because I’m not going anywhere.”

  Her words act like a pin to the balloon that’s been swelling in my chest all day. I discreetly fish the diamond ring from my pocket. “I hope you mean that.”

  “Of course I mean it—oh my God.” She gasps as I drop to one knee near her dangling feet. “Ethan…”

  “I’m probably going to fuck this up, but…” I take her left hand and slide the ring on her shaking finger. “I knew the night of our first date when you threw a wiener at my face that I wanted to spend the rest of my life loving you. Wear my ring, baby. Give me the chance to be yours for the rest of our lives. Tell me you’ll marry me.”

  Her eyes shine with unshed tears, and she nods while she slips from the counter and into my arms. I fall back on my ass and she comes with me, her legs straddling my hips as her mouth comes down on mine.

  “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”

  I push my hands into her hair, grip the silky strands, and lick into her mouth.

  She rolls her hips against me, her bare breasts warm against my chest, and her arms wrapped around me so tightly, I struggle to take a full breath.

  As gently as I can, I turn us and lay her down.

  She hisses into my mouth. “Cold.”

  I brace my weight on my forearms and laughter bubbles up from my chest.

  “What’s so funny?” She squirms beneath me, causing a delicious friction between us.

  “I proposed to you in a bathroom.” I run my thumbs along her cheeks.

  Her lids are heavy with desire and her lips tilt up in a sexy smile. “Was that not the plan?”

  “The plan was to wait until it felt right. I hoped at dinner, but…” I shake my head at the memory of our parents leaning into each other while they talked. “Then I thought it would be better when we’re in bed, after making love.”

  She cups my cheek. “A proposal in the bathroom is perfect. I couldn’t have asked for better.”

  I brush my lips against hers, “You deserve so much better—candlelight, symphonies, exotic locations.”

  She holds up her hand to study the ring. A solitary two-carat, square-cut diamond set low on a platinum band. If it were up to me, I’d put the biggest rock I could find on her finger, but I knew she’d hate anything too flashy.

  “It’s perfect.” She hooks me around the neck and lifts her head to press her lips to mine. “You. This ring. The bathroom. Everything we do is perfect to me because it’s us. Italian villa or cardboard box makes no difference as long as we’re together.”

  I kiss her deeply, my emotions surging as I’m reminded once again what a lucky bastard I am to have this incredible woman fall in love with me.

  “And,” she says against my lips, “this will be a fun story to tell our kids someday.”

  I smirk at her. “I’ve heard getting pregnant isn’t as easy as they make it sound.”

  “Guess we should start practicing now then.”

  I roll my hips, making her gasp. “You should know, I’m a perfectionist. I’ll insist on becoming an expert at this baby-making stuff.”

  “I’m counting on it.” She pushes me back and I allow her to roll me over.

  I hiss when my back hits the marble floor. “Fuck, that’s cold.”

  She laughs into our kiss and we drown in the love we have for each other.

  Not a perfect love, what we have is messy and riddled with obstacles, but our perfect love.

  Acknowledgments

  I humbly thank you, dear reader, for picking up this book and giving my story your time and attention. I would not be able to do what I love if not for you.

  Thank you to my friend Piper Reagan for reading everything I write when it is in it’s rawest form and helping me to mold it into a story. For your honesty, nitpicks, and elephant memory, I am forever grateful and in your debt.

  A huge thank you to my dear friend Amanda and her eagle eyes that give all my books a final polishing read. Seriously, is there anything you can’t do?

  Cassie and Devon at Joy Editing, thank you for all the hard work you’ve invested in this series.

  Gigantic thank you to Rose at Reads by Rose for her extra polishing proofreads.

  Thank you to my sweet family for your everlasting support. I love you.

  Also by JB Salsbury

  The Fighting Series

  Fighting for Flight

  Fighting to Forgive

  Fighting to Forget

  Fighting the Fall

  A Father’s Fight

  Fighting for Forever

  Fighting Fate

  Fighting for Honor

  The Final Fight

  Fighting Series Spin-offs

  Jack & Sadie

  Breaking Defenses

  Stand Alone Novels

  Split

  Wrecked

  The Mercy Series

  Ghostgirl

  Saint

  Love, Hate, Rock-n-Roll Series

  Playing by Heart

  Skipped a Beat

  Face the Music