Zach approaches me and I hook my arm through his. His grin as we follow Noel and Lanie down the aisle is as big a mine. It’s funny how our conceptions about a person can be totally off base. Never in a million years did I think a crude proposition from a rock star would lead me to love. He completely, and unexpectedly, stole my heart, and I was powerless to stop it.
I broke the last rule I put into place for our one-night stand, not to fall in love. It completely flew out the window the moment he opened up to me and showed me a side of him I never expected, but that’s okay. Life sometimes works out in ways that’s not expected.
The one thing I really thought I wanted was my job, but when forced to pick between my heart and my career, it was no contest. Nothing matters but being with Zach and I know somehow, some way, things will work out as long as we believe in on another and our love. Zach is my forever.
RIFF
I have to hand it to Noel. This reception by the lake is stunning. The white tent under the stars is perfect for their union. The stiffly dressed wait staff scurries about handing out drinks and appetizers while the live band keeps the party jumping.
I’m not one that gets caught up in wedding sappiness usually, but knowing what Noel and Lanie have been through to make it to this moment gets to me. It reminds me that no real love comes easy and I’m going to have to work at this everyday with Aubrey to make this love last forever.
I spin Kitten in my arms as we press close together during a slow dance. “Having fun?”
She grins up and me and trails her fingers at the nape of my neck. “A great time. I’m glad I’m here with you.”
I squeeze her tighter against my chest. “There’s no one else I’d rather be with.”
She raises her eyebrow. “Not even the two women you were with after me.”
I sigh. It’s time to come clean with that lie. “I was never with anyone else.”
There’s a puzzled look on her face. “You weren’t? So, you lied to me?”
I nod as we continue dancing. “I was trying to get you to see I was no good. I said it to make you angry with me, so you’d move on before I got the chance to hurt you.”
She bites her bottom lip. “I never slept with Isaac, either. I only wanted you to think that because I was hurt.” She pauses for a moment. “I understand where all that angst is coming from. What happened to your family was a terrible tragedy, but you can’t let that rule your life. You deserve to be happy.”
“I’m trying to get there. When I found you, I found my heart, Kitten. You’re the one putting me back together. You make me feel alive. You’re helping me find my soul again, which is something I thought died years ago. It’s because of you I want to be a better man. I want to be there for you. I won’t ever be able to give you a family, because the accident left me sterile, but I’ll be there to love you forever if you let me.”
She strokes my cheek with her fingers. “I want to be with you, Zach. It’s you I love, not what you can or can’t give me. I just want you.”
“I love you,” I tell her before I kiss her lips and we start down the path to our forever. The instant the words leave my mouth something comes over me and I feel a mad rush to not only tell her, but the rest of the world, that I’ll do anything to keep her in my life. I pull away from her and hold up a finger. “Wait right here.”
The small platform the wedding band plays on is a far cry from the stages I’m used to, but I can’t think of a more appropriate place to express to Aubrey what she means to me. I gave Noel so much shit for doing this when Lanie came back to him, but I totally get it now. When you love someone, really love someone, you’ll do anything to show them how much they mean to you. I want Aubrey to know my words aren’t promises that I have no intention on keeping. I want her for the long haul.
I motion the tall, scarecrow looking lead singer with slicked-back black hair to the side of the stage. He bends down to me. “Hey, man. I hate to steal your show, but I need to sing something.”
The man shrugs. “Sure. Do you want us to back you?”
It’s been a long time since I fronted a band. The last time was before Noel joined Trip, Tyke and I. Adding the touch of the band may be perfect to bring the song together versus me alone with a guitar. I take a quick glance at Aubrey waiting on me in the middle of the dance floor under the soft lighting hanging in the tent and a song I secretly have on my iPod playlist that reminds me of how I feel about her pops in my head. “Sure. Do you know I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz?”
He nods. “We do. We play that a lot at weddings. Hop on up.”
Once I’m up on the stage, the front man hands me the mic before turning to fill in the band. I stare out into the crowd and even though there’s a ton of people surrounding me, Aubrey is the only person I see.
I pull the mic up to my lips. “This song goes out to a very special lady who needs to know how I feel about her.” I give the guitarist a quick nod and he plucks out the signature chords to intro the song acoustically.
When it’s time for me to sing, I lock eyes with Aubrey because I want her to know that what I feel for her is real and I don’t care who knows I’m totally whipped. The words are perfect as I tell her in song that I won’t give up no matter what and I finally know what it’s like to be loved and I’m never going to walk away from that.
It’s everything I’ve been missing in my life, and she’s given it back to me.
Aubrey wipes tears from her eyes and I step off the platform—the sea of people part before me, clearing my path to her.
I take her hand in mine and tears stream down her face. I fight back the emotion I feel building up inside me, so I can finish the song. The words that I’m still looking up and we have a lot to learn fit us perfectly, but I know together we can get through anything. With her by my side, I’m a better man.
“I’m giving you all my love,” I sing and I intertwine our fingers. “I’m still looking up.”
The crowd around us erupts in applause and I hear Trips loud ass hooting in the background. I wrap my arms around the one woman who has changed my life forever and I stare into her big, green eyes before I say, “All of it—my love is yours.”
She grabs my face and crushes her lips to mine, and I finally allow myself to feel worthy love.
Scene from Kelli Maine's No Take Backs
Rachael meets MJ
Rachael slid into the back of the S.U.V. and stared at MJ. He saw the recognition hit her eyes the moment she realized who he was. She covered her mouth and whispered, “Oh my God.”
Yeah, oh my God. That was the least she should be thinking. Climbing into the backseat next to your boyfriend’s son you didn’t know existed qualifies for more of a holy shit, or Jesus Christ, response.
Even after asking his grandfather, MJ still didn’t understand why the Old Man chose to reveal his existence to his dad, Merrick, through Rachael. Why wouldn’t his grandfather just call Merrick and tell him, hey, remember that time you screwed your babysitter? Well, I’ve been hiding your twenty-year-old kid from you all this time. Surprise!
What did the Old Man want with Rachael? She must be a player in some game he had planned. If there was one thing MJ had grown to learn from his summers spent at his grandfather’s estate, it was to always question the motives of Enzo Rocha. The man might be his grandfather, but he was a Rocha, and Rocha men were always thinking of ways to gain more. That’s what his grandfather had tried to drill into his head for as long as he could remember.
Gain more what? He’d asked the summer before his freshman year in high school. Just more, Enzo had said. There’s always more.
Enzo reached back and patted Rachael’s shoulder. “Now you see what I mean by protecting my family’s interests. MJ won’t be left with nothing. It’s his inheritance.”
“But, Merrick doesn’t know. He would ̶ ”
Enzo shook his head. “You don’t know what he would do, Rachael. The man you know and the man I know are different beings. Yours would em
brace this young man beside you, but mine would not.”
MJ squeezed his hands together into one big fist. They couldn’t both be right about Merrick, so what kind of man was he? The selfish bastard MJ had always been told was his father, or this great guy Rachael was in love with? Who the hell knew?
They were pulling out of the airport, and MJ felt Rachael’s eyes boring into the side of his head. He turned and held out a hand to shake hers. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
He’d never experienced anything more awkward in his life.
“We’ll have a late dinner and get to know each other,” the Old Man said. “I don’t have anything else to tell you, Rachael. I only wanted you to see him for yourself. It’s time Merrick knows. I hope you can help break the news.”
MJ’s unease grew from not being able to put his finger on what was going down inside the Old Man’s head.
“He’ll take it better coming from you,” Enzo told Rachael. She didn’t look convinced.
“I’m sure he’ll be very happy regardless,” she said, smiling at M.J. “He should’ve known all along.”
“It wasn’t possible,” Enzo said. “I couldn’t breathe a word until he was eighteen. By then Merrick and I had fallen so far apart there wasn’t a way to tell him.”
“Heidi knows,” Rachael said, and MJ watched her eyebrow twitch.
“Yeah, my aunt knows,” M.J. said, his voice steady despite the battering nerves threatening to pitch his stomach out through his throat. “So does Roger, but not Holly or Sam. I’ve only seen pictures of them.”
“You can meet them!” She reached out and touched his knee. “Come back with me. They’re at the hotel. They’re staying for a week.”
It was all too much. First Rachael, and then his…Merrick would be told he had a son. Could he face meeting his little cousins too? He took a shaky breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. “Maybe.”
MJ kept his eyes turned out the window the rest of the ride back to the Rocha Estate. After they’d pulled into the circular driveway and the driver parked in front of the massive, brick Tudor, he hopped out as fast as he could.
On their way up the sidewalk to the door, Rachael’s phone chimed. “Excuse me,” she said, and stepped to the side, into the yard.
The driver carried her bag inside, followed by Enzo. As MJ was about to step over the threshold, he caught the look of despair and flash of anger on Rachael’s face. He had a feeling she was texting with Merrick and it wasn’t going well.
Confirming his suspicions, she sat on the stoop and lowered her head into her hands. A curtain of brown hair hid her face.
MJ wanted nothing more than to turn around, walk inside and close the door. He’d been thrown to the wolves by his grandfather, and now he was faced with an upset female he barely knew.
Shit.
He sat down beside her and stretched out his legs. “This can’t be easy for you. I asked my grandfather to let me handle this, but he insisted he knows best.”
And you don’t argue with Enzo Rocha. There’s no point.
MJ picked up a pebble from the sidewalk and threw it into the driveway.
Rachael lifted her head. “I’m okay. Just…sorting everything out.” She sighed, then nudged his knee with hers. “M.J., huh? The “J” stands for junior?”
A wave of anxiety made MJ grit his teeth. He’d always been a junior with a missing senior. But no longer.
He rubbed his knuckles over his lips. “Yeah. Guess so.”
Rachael’s phone chimed again, making her jump. MJ watched her eyes scan her phone’s screen. She worried the peeling skin on her bottom lip with her teeth as her thumbs tapped letters texting back.
When she was finished, she sat the phone on her lap. Her knees trembled. She stared at her phone like she was expecting a reply, but the more time that passed with the phone remaining silent, the more she fidgeted.
When she finally threw the phone back in her bag and pounded her fist on her leg, MJ knew he had to say or do something. He couldn’t take the silence for one more second. “Was that him?” He nodded to the bag where her phone was stashed. “Merrick?”
She shoved her hair back off her face with both hands, then gathered it at the nape of her neck. “Yes.”
“You told him about me?” MJ’s heart stuttered like he was having a heart attack.
“Yes.”
He couldn’t take a deep breath. “What did he say?”
Rachael tilted her head and gazed at him with wide, pitying eyes. Slowly, she shook her head. “Nothing. He’s gone.”
The Give and Take series by Kelli Maine
Taken (Give and Take, #1)
No Take Backs (Give and Take, novella)
Taken By Storm releases May 7th, 2013
Acknowledgements
I want to thank you, my dear reader, for giving this book a chance. I hope I bring a little joy to you with my stories and I want you to know that I would never do this writing thing without the support of amazing people like you. THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart.
Emily Snow and Kelli Maine your friendship is priceless. I’m thankful that through thick and thin we’re there for one another to see each other through this crazy life we’ve chosen. Thank you for sharing all your ups and downs with me, and always being in my corner. I love you two to teeny, tiny bits!
Kristen Proby you crack me up, girl! Never lose that crazy sense of humor! It’s solid gold!
Jennifer Woods and Laura Sample-McMeeking I can’t tell you two how much I appreciate you taking the time to line edit this novel. You two ALWAYS have the best edits and thoughts on plot tweakage! I owe you two big time and it’s time both of you get back into writing!
Holly Malgieri you are my biggest cheerleader. I can never thank you enough for all that you do for me. There are some days I know I wouldn’t make it through this writing thing without you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I am stoked I can call you a friend. Big Hugs! Xoxox
Jennifer Wolfel thank you all the insight you gave on this book and reading a million different versions of it! Thank you for sticking with me! HUGS!!
Christine Bezdenejnih Estevez you rock my socks, girlie! Thank you for standing by me and my books! I don’t think I can ever truly repay you for all that you do. It means the world to me.
Tanya Keetch, a.k.a The Word Maid, thank you for the awesome line edits and finding all those funky words I like to misuse. You helped me clean this thing up.
My beautiful ladies in the Rock the Heart Discussion Group, you all rock so much it isn’t even funny. Thank you for the laughs.
To romance blogging community. Thank you for always supporting me and my books. I can’t tell you how much every share, tweet, post and comment means to me. I read them all and every time I feel giddy. Almost to the point where I’m ready to breakout that old Sally Field speech, “You like me. You really like me,” because it amazes me every time the amount of love I feel from you guys. THANK YOU for everything you do. Blogging is not an easy job and I can tell you how much I appreciate what you do for indie authors like me. You totally make our world go round.
Last, but never least the two men in my life, my husband and son. Thank you for putting up with me. I love you both more than words can express.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today Best Selling author Michelle A. Valentine is a Central Ohio nurse turned author of erotic and New Adult romance of novels. Her love of hard-rock music, tattoos and sexy musicians inspires her sexy novels.
Find her:
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-A-Valentine/477823962249268?ref=hl
Twitter
@M_A_Valentine
Blog:
http://michelleavalentine.blogspot.com/
Table of Contents
Copywrite
Rock My Bed
Dedications
Black Falcon Series Reading Order
Chapter 1
/>
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Scene from Kelli Maine's No Take Backs
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Table of Contents
Copywrite
Rock My Bed
Dedications
Black Falcon Series Reading Order
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Scene from Kelli Maine's No Take Backs
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Michelle A. Valentine, Rock My Bed
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