Prologue
Fuck Forever and Fuck Happily Ever Afters
I’ve loved Marlee May Parker since I was six years old. She was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen, and she wouldn’t pay me a lick of attention. So, I pulled her pigtails. The moment I locked my gray eyes with her baby blues as she drove her tiny little fist directly into my nose, she owned me.
Hook.
Line.
Sinker.
When blood was spouting down my chubby cheeks as she whined and cradled her hand, I was smiling. Smiling because I knew, even back then, that I’d found her.
My true love.
The one who completed me just like my mama completed my dad. Just like Grammy did Grandad, and so on. Gravity wavered. I felt my feet shift from under me. My world rocked—literally.
And then, I fainted.
Turns out I don’t do well with blood.
But I do a hell of a lot better than Marlee does. She screamed at the top of her lungs for the police, claiming there’d been an attack, and astupid boywas dying. We were both put in a time out.
Marlee cried big, giant crocodile tears. All I wanted was to hug her. To wipe them away. To make her smile. So, from my spot in time out next to her, I tugged her into my arms, vowing to make it all better.
She kneed me in the nuts.
I told her I loved her.
She told me tofudge off.
Not much has changed in the last seventeen years, and yeteverythinghas changed. And it’s about to change again—for the better.
So much better.
I grin to myself as my thumb runs over the edge of the dainty gold band nestled around my neck along with my dog tags. Six more months. That’s all I need before my life,our life, can finally begin.
“Seriously, man?” Griffin barks, shoving the back of my head roughly. I bat his hand away with a smirk. “If you’re hellbent on spending your time with your head up your ass, might as well daydream about pussy instead of wedding bells.”
My eyes narrow on the big bastard. “Don’t talk about her—”
“Pussy?” He smirks, crossing his thick arms over his equally thick chest. His army green pulls taut, and it only serves to further piss me off. “I bet pretty little Marlee May has a pretty tight p—”
And those are the only words he gets out before I’m on him.
Our limbs are a blur as we grapple for dominance. My fist collides with his sharp jaw, and pain immediately lances up my arm, but I don’t stop. No one talks about Marlee like that. No one.
He chuckles deeply, his chest rattling beneath me as I finally get him on his back. Sterling grins up at me as my arm arcs, ready to make his dumbass bleed.
“There he is,” he rumbles, Tennessee accent thick. My brows furrow, my breaths coming in heaving pants as I freeze. “Glad to see you haven’t lost your balls completely. You’re gonna need ’em.”
I exhale roughly, my hand dropping to my side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You got fat.” He grunts as he heaves upward, tossing me to the side.
I jump to my feet and roll my eyes as I offer him my hand to help him get up. He reaches to accept, but at the last second, I yank my hand away, leaving him to collide heavily with the floor.
“Sorry.” I shrug, dropping back down onto my bunk with a chuckle. “Must be toofatto help your big ass up.”
