Ace of Spades (18 page)

But I
threw it all away

And I
want to make it right

I’m down
here on my knees

Begging,
‘please come back to me’

I was
selfish, I was blind

But I
swear I’ve changed my ways

And your
love’s the only drug I’ll ever need…

         
His eyes never left hers as he crooned his heartfelt apology, pleading for her
forgiveness, begging her to love him and accept him with all his faults. Melody
hated that she had to share such an intimate moment with the thousands of fans
in the crowd. Yet she felt special, knowing how much Jackson hated making
himself vulnerable to the rest of the world. Yet he’d opened up and shared
himself with them, just to get through to her.

         
The final chords of his ballad died out and Jackson gave Melody a soft smile,
filled with hope and love. He shrugged out of his guitar strap and set the
instrument on the stage beside him. His electric blue eyes held her captive as
he held out his hand to her.

         
Melody studied his outstretched hand, uncertain if she should take it. He was a
wildfire -- brilliant, hot, and dangerous -- yet also warm, luminous, and breathtakingly
beautiful. And all she wanted was to be closer to him, to dance in his light
and warmth. But she’d been burned by him before.
        Could she trust him again? Did she
want
to? After the destruction he’d left in his wake the last time, she’d finally
made her way back to numb and comfortable. Did she really want to dive back
into the storm of emotions Jackson incited?

         
With a deep breath, she
slid
her hand into his,
accepting his apology without words.
Accepting him.
She didn’t just want to live. She wanted to feel alive again.
With him.

         
Jackson grasped her arm to pull her up as Lenny stepped behind her to lift her
by the waist. Jackson drew her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her
as though he’d never let her go. He laid his cheek against the top of her head.

         
“I missed you,
Melly
-Belly,” he whispered against her
hair.

         
Melody tipped her head back to look into his eyes. “I missed you more.”

         
Jackson cradled her cheek in his hand and covered her lips with his own. The
crowd roared with approval, but Melody could care less. All she knew was
Jackson – the feel of his soft lips against hers and his rough, callused
fingers cradling her face with reverent tenderness. And she knew she’d made the
right choice.

         
Jackson deepened the kiss, his mouth moving hungrily against hers as she opened
to him. The feel of his tongue against hers, combined with his hands on her
body, ignited the fire low within her belly. She molded herself against him,
aching to be closer.

         
Jackson broke the kiss and chuckled.
“Alright, Mel.
We’ve
given them enough of a show. There’s a tour bus out back with my name on it. If
I’m going to make love to my girl, it sure as hell isn’t going to be in front
of all these people.”

         
 “Jackson, I am
not
your girl,” Melody protested softly.

         
Jackson grinned down at her. “No, but you will be.”

         
Melody returned his smile. “Yes, yes, I will.

Epilogue

All
in

   
Jackson
stepped into their daughter’s bedroom, smiling at the little lump huddled
beneath the pink comforter on the bed.
Silly, little girl.
She had no reason to hide. Striding over to the bed, he sank into the mattress
beside her.

         
“Daddy, please don’t be mad,” a tiny voice pleaded from beneath the safety of
her blankets.

         
He couldn’t suppress the smile in his words. “Oh, baby. I could never be mad at
you.”

         
The blanket slowly lowered, revealing wide-blue eyes in the cutest little
freckled face he’d ever seen. Harmony eyed him warily, clutching the covers at
chin level “Promise?”

         
Jackson smiled.
“Promise.”

         
Harmony bit her lower lip and watched him with wide-eyed worry as she dropped
the covers to reveal the rest of her body. Black Sharpie doodles covered every
inch of her scrawny little arms. Flowers, hearts, stars… his daughter had
turned her skin into a four-year-
old’s
masterpiece.

         
“Mommy’s mad,” Harmony said, her heartbroken little voice making it sound like
the worst fate in the world.

         
Jackson bit back a smile. “Well, Mommy would’ve been less upset if you’d used
your own markers. At least they would’ve washed off. Why did you do that, baby?”

         
Harmony held her marked-up arm next to Jackson’s tattooed one. “I wanted to be
pretty like you.”

         
Jackson’s chest tightened. “Oh, baby, you don’t need anything to make you
beautiful. You are perfect just as you are.” He lifted her onto his lap, loving
the way she immediately snuggled into his chest. “You don’t need pictures like
mine. In fact, some of them I should’ve thought a little harder about before I
put them there.”

         
Her little auburn brows knitted together in confusion. “Why?”

         
“Because
they’re there forever,” he chuckled ruefully, tucking a stray strand of hair
behind her ear. “But that’s okay, they tell my story.”

         
Bubbling with excitement, she turned in his arms, looking up at him with bright
eyes.
“Really, Daddy?”

         
“
Mmhmm
.”

         
“I like stories. What do they say?” Harmony studied one of his arms, trying to
decipher the ‘story’ hidden there. “Will you tell it to me?”

         
“Of course I will,” Jackson agreed. “Once upon a time there was a beautiful
princess…”

         
“Oh! That’s Mommy, isn’t it?” Harmony interrupted in a loud whisper.

         
Smiling, Jackson nodded. “And a handsome prince…”

         
“And that’s you!” Harmony declared proudly.

         
Jackson chuckled and nodded. “Well, the prince and princess were best friends,
but the prince was secretly madly in love with the princess…”

A

         
Melody leaned on the door frame, watching Jackson and Harmony together. It made
her heart melt. She’d never imagined she could love him more than she did the
day she married him, but every time she watched him with their daughter, he
proved her wrong.

         
He was an amazing husband, but an even better father -- patient, loving, and
attentive.

         
Melody listened to him retell their story to Harmony like a fairytale from one
of her storybooks. There were no drugs in the four-year-old version of this
story, but Melody knew the fearsome dragon for what it was.

         
And it was far more daunting, more challenging than any oversized,
fire-breathing reptile ever could be. But he’d
slayed
his dragon… for her.

         
True to his word, Jackson had been clean and sober for six years now.

         
It had been the biggest gamble of her life, trusting him again. But Melody was
glad she’d had the courage to ‘go all in.’

         
They’d both won big in the only game that really mattered.
Love.

Acknowledgments

I’m starting to feel like a
broken record in my acknowledgements, but I would be remiss if I didn’t thank
my husband for all his patience and support. My books would never happen
without a lot of sacrifice on his part. Thanks for your love, support, and the
occasional inspiration. ;) Love
ya
, babe.

I don’t know where I would be
without my readers. Thank you all for supporting and encouraging me. You make
the hard parts of publishing worthwhile. Special thanks go out to the members
of my street team who were some of my first readers and are most ardent
supporters. I love you all.

Not enough thanks can be said to
my friend and fellow author, Emma Shade. Thank you for being my brainstorming
buddy, my sounding board, and my critique partner. I’d be lost without you.

A shout
out to my girls in the Author Support 101 group on Facebook.
You ladies
rock my socks! Thanks for all the advice, support, and laughter.

A huge
thank you to the bloggers who have agreed to help promote my work.
I am
forever in your debt for all your help. Blogging can be a thankless job, but
you make our little author worlds go round.

Thanks must also be given to the
random stoners on the online discussion boards for inadvertently answering my
questions about drug abuse. Thank you for making my research a whole lot easier
(and a bit safer.)

And of course, thank you to my
wonderful mother for your ongoing support. You are my cheerleader, my friend
and my biggest fan. Thank you for believing in me and loving my books, even
when I leave you with a cliffhanger. Someday I will earn your forgiveness for
that. ;)

About
the Author

Elle
Bright,
is the author of the
Amazon bestseller,
Fall of Darkness,
as well as
Dark Redemption
and
Come Back to Me
. As a practicing Registered Nurse, Elle specializes in
Pediatrics, Neonatal Intensive Care, and Emergency Nursing. Elle received her
Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University.

Elle is a proud member of the Romance Writers of America --
including the Utah and San Diego chapters. She lives in San Diego, California,
with her husband, three children, and their four-legged baby.

She would love to interact with her readers via

Facebook or email:

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elle-Bright-Author/399211590194895

[email protected]