The caller hadn’t rung her again.
So far.
She refused to think about who’d been on the other end of the call. Not on a day as beautiful as today.
Turning her head toward him when Wrath dropped to sit on the blanket she spread out for them on the ground and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, Honor smiled. “You know, don’t think I didn’t notice you avoiding my question earlier,” she remarked, picking up the discussion they’d been having before he’d been called away to talk to one of his longtime customers at the garage. “I’m not going to forget I asked the question, Wrath,” she chided.
“I never promised to answer that question, Honor,” Wrath countered, grinning at her.
“You said you were an open book… ask you anything, I believe you said,” she parroted, deepening her voice to try and replicate his.
“I never said I’d answer, though,” he replied with a chuckle.
“Is it bad?” Honor questioned, curling her nose. “Something like Angus or Buford?”
Wrath made a gagging noise and shook his head. “Nothing quite so hideous,” he denied with a wide grin. “But I’m enjoying your guesses.”
“Carl. Dunston. Edgar. Frederick,” she continued to guess.
Wrath laughed out loud. “Very nice. Try Gideon, Little Girl,” Wrath shared.
Honor’s eyes lit up. “Gideon McKay,” she breathed. “That’s a great name!”
“Thanks, but I prefer Wrath,” he returned, lifting a hand to wave at his cheering son as Rev missed the pass and the football went sailing past him.
“Because it strikes fear in the hearts of your enemies?” Honor teased bright eyes.
“Something like that, sweetheart,” Wrath agreed, squeezing her shoulders gently as someone cleared their throat loudly behind them. “Now, it’s my turn for a question. How long you gonna keep our dutiful Sheriff hanging by the skin of his teeth while you make up your mind about bein’ with him, Dollface? I’m happy to take you out any time you like, but I get the distinct feeling that it’ll never be anything more than it is right now. Two friends hangin’ out together. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy the hell out of watching Zeke dangle out there all exposed and vulnerable before the town populace while he waits for you to decide if you want him, but even I’m beginning to feel sorry for the guy.”
Honor coughed to hide her laugh. “That’s not very nice,” she chastened her date in a hushed voice.
“Babe, I’m not a real nice guy, and you are avoiding the question on the table,” Wrath pointed out bluntly.
“Up until recently, I wasn’t sure that I could be with any man, Wrath,” Honor informed him quietly. “I was scared and confused. And then, I wasn’t. Mostly because Zeke has the patience of a saint and waited for me to be ready. Then, my therapist didn’t want me making any quick decisions and insisted I go on these stupid dates…”
“And now?” Wrath asked nosily.
“And now I know.”
“Know what?”
“For Faith, it was Cain. For Harmony, Jake. Everyone always knew that Abel was for Patience. And now, I know that, for me, it is and always will be Zeke.”
Wrath’s face split into a wide grin. “’Bout damn time, girl. ‘Bout time!” he exclaimed, hugging her to his side as the sound of a man clearing his throat loudly stilled them.
“McKay, you’ve got about three seconds to either remove your arm from my woman or lose it entirely!”
~~***~~
2:00 pm – Paradise Town Park
Zeke
As soon as Ezekiel Monroe spotted Honor and Wrath in the crowded park, his jaw clenched and his spine straightened. There, no more than twenty paces away, sat his woman in the curve of another guy’s arm. “Son of a bitch,” he bit out under his breath. Late by a half hour, he’d been waylaid by at least eighteen people since climbing out of his SUV and setting off on his mission to find Honor in the busy picnic area beside the man-made duck pond.
He was hot.
He was sweaty.
And, finally, he was well beyond being irritable.
Now, walking up on this fucked up bullshit? That was his breaking point. The final fucking fragile-assed straw. No way was he keeping his cool this time. He didn’t care how pissed Honor got when he called Wrath out for this crap, he thought indignantly as he watched Honor bury her red, laughing face in Wrath’s side as he said something in her ear to make her laugh.
Stomping toward the pair, his gaze narrowed to the hand Wrath had cupped around Honor’s delicate rounded bare shoulder. Barely controlling the urge to rip that hand from the other man’s body, his voice was rough as he commanded, “McKay, you’ve got about three seconds to get your fuckin’ meat hooks off my woman or lose it entirely! It’s your choice.”
Turning to look over his shoulder, Wrath shot the sheriff a lazy grin. “Maybe she likes having my hands on her, Zeke. Ever think of that?”
Bolting to her feet before blood could be shed, Honor whirled to face a fuming Ezekiel. “Ignore him, Zeke,” she ordered tersely, offering Wrath a look that clearly said she was wondering if he’d lost his mind.
“Well, Kitten, that’s gonna be hard for me to do since I want to rip his face off for touching you. And in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not too thrilled that you were allowing his hands anywhere near you.”
“We’re just friends, Zeke,” Honor replied truthfully, taking a half step closer to him.
His bad temper was rapidly approaching the boiling point, and Zeke’s eyes narrowed on her. “That so?” he snapped.
“Yes. That’s so,” she returned, lowering her voice as she closed the distance between them.
“You were letting him hold you,” Zeke retorted, unwilling to let go of his anger despite the fact that she slipped her small hand into his.
“No, I was leaning against him,” Honor disputed him, keeping her voice level and calm.
“The asshat had his arm around you,” Zeke further maintained, pulling his eyes from a bored looking Wrath to Honor’s earnest face. Damn it, he wasn’t accustomed to these feelings of jealousy. Sure, he’d been possessive of Honor for years, considering her his before she ever technically was. But damn it, before the last three days, she’d never given him a fuckin’ reason to feel jealous of her attentions. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if he’d ever felt the brutalizing sense of resentment he currently had battering at his emotional defenses right now. He supposed not since there wasn’t a woman alive – aside from Honor – that made him feel purely homicidal with rage when he saw another man touching her. He couldn’t lie to himself; this freaking sucked.
“Friends sometimes do that, Ezekiel,” Honor contended mildly. “Doesn’t mean anything.”
“Means a lot when I do it,” Zeke challenged. “Doesn’t it?”
“Of course it does. Wrath isn’t you, Zeke,” Honor noted in a hushed voice meant for Zeke’s ears only. “He’ll never be you.”
Something in the way she made that statement made Zeke still and turn his head to catch her eyes. Seeing the quiet dignity in her gaze, he swallowed and reached for her hand. “We’re going,” he bit out as he laced his fingers with hers and pulled her into his side.
Unfurling his body, Wrath came to his feet. “Don’t I get to kiss my date goodbye?” he asked sulkily, feigning disappointment.
“That depends. Do you have a good dentist on retainer to repair the damage I do when I knock your teeth down your throat if you get anywhere near her mouth?”
“Zeke!” Honor chided, tugging at his hand. “Stop that!”
“So, that’s how it is,” Wrath drawled, his grin nearly blinding.
“Told you. She’s MINE.”
“I am not an object, Ezekiel,” Honor began to bluster.
His eyes blazed as they met hers. “You can shut it. Wrath knows exactly what I mean. Now, date’s over, and you and I have plans. I’ve got a surprise for you back at the house.”
“You do? What?” Honor asked, her eyes dil
ating with excitement.
“Wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you,” he replied, nodding quickly to Wrath as he began to lead Honor away.
“Just a second!” she huffed, quickly pulling her hand from his and running back to Wrath to press a hasty kiss to his whiskered cheek. “Thank you for a lovely afternoon, Gideon,” Zeke heard her murmur. “I had a good time, but it’s time for me to go home.”
“Home’s a good place to go when the right person is waiting there, darlin’. Be happy,” Wrath returned sincerely as he met Zeke’s wary gaze.
“Kitten,” Zeke called as his patience ran completely out. “We’re going,” he announced more for Wrath’s benefit than Honor’s. “Honor?” he called, holding out his hand and finally relaxing slightly when she flew toward him, her pale green dress flapping around her shapely legs.
“Let’s go home, Zeke,” she beamed, her face glowing with excitement. “Together.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
3:30 pm on July 4, 2016 – The McKinnon Homeplace
Honor
“Climb up, Kitten.”
“You’re crazy, Zeke! Do you know how long it’s been since anybody’s been up there? It’s gonna be filthy and hot, and we’ll more than likely fall plumb through the floor!” Honor refused as she tilted her head back and eyed the rickety wooden ladder attached to the side of the McKinnon family’s ancient dark wooden barn with a mixture of trepidation and disgust. Looking over her shoulder at the man in question, Honor shook her head. Dang it! He had that determined look in his eyes. She knew it all too well. It was the look that said he’d stand behind her and take root if he needed to in order to bend her to his way of thinking. “You want me to fall to my untimely death when you’ve worked so hard to keep me safe?”
Zeke snorted. “Would I ever knowingly place you in danger? I’ve already checked up there, darlin’. The floor is solid. Now, put that dainty foot on the ladder and step on it,” he urged, slipping his hand underneath the silky material of her sundress and stroking the skin at the back of her thigh. “C’mon, baby, I’ll give you a boost and be right behind you. You know I’d never let you fall, and I’ve made sure it’s safe. We’re good.”
“What about the creepy crawlies? Did you make sure you asked them to depart the premises,” she mumbled as she put her hands on the ladder and hauled herself up the first rung.
“I swear, the only thing crawling all over you when we get up there will be me… and that’s only if you give me permission,” Zeke returned with a grin.
Bending her head to look down at him below her, she found his hungry gray eyes glued to her swaying backside. “Ezekiel Kinkaid Monroe, put your eyeballs back in your head and quit starin’ at my behind,” she giggled as she climbed up another rung.
“Can’t help it. You put that pert little bottom in my face, and a man would have to be dead not to notice,” he muttered, licking his lips as he watched her butt bounce up another step.
Honor was laughing when she finally reached the loft’s platform. Blowing a few tendrils of hair that had escaped her bun out of her face, her eyes widened when she finally focused on what was in front of her. “Oh, my heavens,” she breathed, her expressive blue eyes widening in delight when she found that her barn’s loft had been transformed into a romantic outdoor hideaway complete with candles and outdoor day bed. Large freestanding fans blew, keeping the interior of the barn cool and breezy despite the muggy heat outside. “Zeke,” she babbled in stunned wonder as her eyes looked around at the idyllic atmosphere he’d created for her. “This is gorgeous. So, gorgeous. How did you do all this without me knowing?”
“First of all,” Zeke returned, climbing into the loft behind her and coming to stand at her side, “This all might be nice, but you’re the only gorgeous thing up here.”
Blushing, Honor smiled at the man responsible for her amazing surprise. “I think you’re wrong, but thank you.”
“Haven’t you learned yet that I’m rarely wrong and never wrong at all about how beautiful you are? But to answer your question, I did all this the last few nights after you fell asleep. Ice helped me lift the outdoor furniture out here, but I set it up. No one but you has seen the finished product. I wanted to give you the perfect spot to watch the fireworks tonight,” he explained, pointing into the distance where the fireworks would explode later that evening. “We’ll be able to see everything perfectly and still have our privacy. I’ll be honest; I didn’t want any nasty crowds horning in on my time with you tonight. So, part of this was for purely selfish reasons,” he said, gesturing around the loft.
“And what about the other part?” Honor asked with a soft look at his face.
“Oh, the other part was so I could see you smile, babe. I love that smile,” he murmured, lifting his hand to trace his fingers against her upturned lips.
Gently biting the tip of his index fingers, Honor’s eyes twinkled. “Well this surprise deserves a reward,” she noted softly, sidling closer as she slid her hands over the defined muscles of his chest, silently cursing the thin white tee shirt covering his abs. She could feel every well-defined ridge of his eight pack and every single touch to his hard body made her lady bits tingle.
“Oh, yeah?” Zeke grunted, lowering his head until his lips just barely grazed hers.
“Yes,” Honor declared with a wispy puff of air a second before her lips met his. Having Zeke’s mouth on hers was like receiving an electrical jolt of unadulterated pleasure, and Honor knew that no matter how long or how hard she looked, she would never find a joy as pure as this. Lifting her hands to grip his strong shoulders, she pressed her body closer to his, loving the way his muscles jumped at the contact. Moaning into his mouth as his arms locked around her waist, she met his tongue eagerly, enjoying his low groan of need as she suckled gently.
“Sweet Christ, you taste good,” Zeke rasped as he finally drew his lips from hers to pepper kisses down her jaw to the hollow behind her ear, slowly backing her up until the back of her legs touched the outdoor bed he’d placed in the center of the loft. “Let me take this off?” he requested against her ear as his finger hooked underneath the thin strip of material holding up her pretty sundress.
Eager, but nervous, Honor licked her dry lips and nodded mutedly, gasping a little as Zeke’s teeth nibbled her collar bone while he pulled her dress’s strap over her shoulders. Shivering as the silky fabric pooled at her feet, Honor stood naked except for her high heeled sandals, white satin panties and strapless bra. Gripping Zeke’s hips in order to resist the urge to cover her nude body, Honor forced her gaze to meet his and the intense need she saw burning in his eyes robbed her of breath. “Zeke?” she whispered shakily, biting her lip as his eyes roamed up and down her body, scalding her with his gaze.
Running the back of his hand down one of her arms, Zeke paused for a moment to stare at her. “Not gonna lie to you, Honor. I want to make love to you more than I want my next breath, but the next move is entirely up to you. I won’t pressure you, but I can’t deny how much I want to make you mine.”
Terrified, Honor knew it was time to bare her soul to this man. He’d waited long enough for her to overcome her fears and doubts. She just prayed she didn’t make a complete fool of herself. “I’m already yours, Zeke. I realized it today when I was surrounded by a whole club of handsome, friendly bikers trying to get my attention.” Smiling when she heard the low growl coming from Zeke’s throat, she patted his solid chest soothingly and felt the pounding of his heart. “Calm down, Ezekiel, before you have a heart attack. What I finally recognized this afternoon is that the only man I’m interested in spending all my time with is the one here with me now. It’s you, Zeke. It took me a long time to believe it and even longer to be able to say it, but I know in both my heart and my head that it’s you I want. And the truth is, it was only ever going to be you.”
“Kitten…” Zeke breathed heavily, cupping her cheek as she met his eyes.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I can see now that it
was always you meant for me; I just refused to see it for so long. I put on my blinders because I wasn’t sure I could give you everything a good man like you deserves. But, now… I know it’ll take work, and I’ll inevitably make some missteps, but I need to try to have this with you.” Lifting a hand to grip the wrist of the hand he held to her face, she continued, “You waited for me to find my strength, Zeke. I don’t want to make you wait any more.”
“God,” Zeke said as he smiled down at her. “I’d wait forever if that’s what it took to have you. If you need more time before we get more physical with each other…”
Honor giggled as her face lit up. “Zeke, if the town’s calculations are correct, you – a man that I’ll note is in his prime – has abstained from sex for six years. Honey, I don’t want to say something coarse in this tender moment between us, but your balls must be bluer than a berry by now.”
Zeke snorted. “Let’s just say that I passed indigo a few months back and we’re rapidly approaching a shade of cobalt that’s a mite alarming. “
“Sounds serious,” Honor drawled. “I certainly don’t think we should wait any longer to handle that particular problem.”
“You sure, baby?” Zeke questioned seriously, sliding his hands from her arms to curl around her hips. “This is a decision that you only get to make once.”
“I’m sure,” she said quietly. “Just be what you always are with me. Patient and gentle. Okay? I know you’ve been with other women that were more adventurous. I want to be enough for you, but…”
“Honor, when I look at you, I can’t remember any other women from my past. It makes me sound like an asshole, but I didn’t care about them. Not the way I should have if I was sharing their bodies with them. I certainly never loved any of them. What you and I have… it’s nothing like the relationships I had in my younger years. Those women are a part of my history - one I’m not particularly proud of having. But you are the owner of all my tomorrows and the keeper of my future. Every time I stare in your eyes, I see all my hopes and dreams coming true. So, yes, I know – without any doubt- you are nothing like the women I was with before and I thank God every night for it. I love you, Honor, and whether we make love now or not, you will always be enough for me. I don’t care whether I show that to you with my body or not today… it won’t change the fact that I get up tomorrow morning and feel this same exact same way. You’re not just enough. You’re everything to me.”
Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4) Page 41
