Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4) (46 page)

Lifting his head,
Zeke’s eyes focused on her flushed face.  “Babe, have you enjoyed the last two
dates?  Truthfully?’

“I…neither of those
dates really went off without a hitch, Zeke, and you know that.”

“Yes, but you were
with both RJ and Hunter long enough to know if you’d wanna spend any more time
with them.  So, did you?” he asked, settling his weight against her as his
fingers stroked the curve of her bottom. 

“No.  Not really,”
she acknowledged faintly.  “They’re both truly nice men, but I didn’t…there
wasn’t…I mean, it didn’t…”  Honor finally trailed of, unable to complete her
thought as one of Zeke’s hands distracted her by sliding up her waist to cup a
full breast through her dress, his thumb circling her nipple, causing it to
stiffen.  Even through two layers of clothes, he had the ability to make her
body sing. 

“You didn’t feel any
spark, did you?  Not like you feel when I touch you,” Zeke rumbled.  “Or when I
kiss you,” he continued, dropping his head to seize her lips for a quick, but
intense kiss.  “That said, why the hell do you want to waste your time with
Wrath today, baby?  You think he can make your body burn like I can?”

Honor’s jaw dropped. 
“I don’t intend to offer to let him try,” she retorted.

“Good thing.  Getting
rid of his body after I kill him would be a pain in the ass,” Zeke growled,
stealing another kiss and growling low in his throat as the doorbell chimed
from the front of the house.

“He’s here,” Honor
whispered.

Frowning, Zeke
sighed.  “Yeah,” he confirmed.  “You go do this, Honor.  Go entertain the biker
boy if you must, but do it knowing that tonight when it’s just you and me
again, we’re gonna have a long, serious conversation about our relationship.  I
think it’s time we laid out some rules between us because I can tell you right
now that watching you go out… whether it’s on three dates or three
thousand
dates
is one date too fuckin’ many for me to remain sane!”

Listening to the
desperation coloring his avowal, Honor nodded wordlessly, unable to say
anything as the doorbell chimed again.  Looking toward her bedroom door, she
bit her lower lip.  “Zeke, you have to let me go now,” she whispered, squirming
against his body and pulling a groan from his mouth when she rubbed against the
swollen bulge in his jeans.  “It’s rude to leave Wrath waiting out there in the
heat.  I need to go let him inside.”

Gently placing her
back on her own two feet, Zeke lifted a hand to run his thumb along lips that
were now swollen from his kisses.  “No.  I’ll go let the douche in the house. 
You go rinse your face with cold water.  He doesn’t get to see this from you,”
he grumbled.

“What?” Honor asked,
cocking her head.

“That dreamy just
fucked glow in your eyes.  That gorgeous look is all mine, Honor.  Always only
ever mine, baby.”

“I haven’t been just
fu-…boinked,” she said, quickly amending his statement to one she could say
aloud.

“Yeah, but that dewy
look on your face says that you were definitely on your way to it.  And I mean
what I say… this beautiful side of you belongs to me.  Say it, Honor,” he
growled.

“Zeke!” Honor
protested, blushing.

“You wanna leave this
house with another man, you’ll tell me here and now that while you might be
riding around with
him
, your heart’s still here with me.”

“Fine.  You’re
right,” she hissed.  “My heart
is
going to stay here with you, but my
body needs to go fulfill my prior obligation.  Preferably before word somehow
gets to Bree in London that I’ve stood up my last date.”

Zeke grinned and took
a step back.  “Then I’ll go answer the door.”

Huffing out a breath,
Honor pursed her lips.  “I’m not sure I like bossy, domineering men telling me
what to do.”

“Good news then,
darlin.  You don’t have any bossy, domineering
men
to worry about in
your life.  You’ve just got me.  And now, I know for sure… I’ve got you, too.”

Honor barely resisted
the urge to stomp her foot as the doorbell rang for a third time, this time
accompanied by several loud knocks against the door.  Pointing an imperious
finger toward the living room, Honor glared.  “Go!”

And as Zeke turned to
stomp his way toward the front door, Honor couldn’t help touching her tingling
lips lightly with her own fingers and smiling.

Zeke

11:15 am

Despite the pleasure
he’d found with Honor in his arms for the last several minutes, Zeke felt his
anger build with every step he took toward the living room and hearing Wrath’s
fist pounding impatiently against the storm door did nothing to improve his
sour disposition.  “Enough,” he roared, jerking the door open with a savage
yank.  Zeke’s eyes gleamed dangerously as he shoved open the storm door and
planted a hand in Wrath’s chest, shoving him back a step.  “We get it,
asshole.  You’ve fuckin’ arrived.”

Wrath flashed the
sheriff a cocky grin as he raised an eyebrow.  “Well, hello there, Sheriff. 
Fancy seeing you here.  I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’ve come to call on
Honor.”

“Oh, I know what
you’ve come to try and do, McKay,” Zeke returned, lowering his voice in case
Honor appeared more quickly than he expected.  “And I’m warning you, you can
nix whatever fuckin’ plans you’ve got in the bud.  You get two hours with her;
then, I’m coming.  And not a single fuckin’ hair on her head better be out of
place.”

“I think that’s up to
the lovely lady, Sheriff.  I’d never want to cut her fun short and if she’s
enjoying herself…”

“She won’t be.  She
doesn’t even want to go, asshat.  This is all her stupid therapist’s idea.”

Wrath’s eyebrows rose
as his amber eyes twinkled.  “Interesting.  Well, your loss is my gain.”

“I didn’t lose shit,
McKay.  And I won’t.  Make no mistake here.  Honor is mine.  And I’m gonna be
takin’ her back in two hours, tops.”

Leaning toward Zeke,
Wrath mock whispered, “Has anybody told Honor that?  Being as she’s makin’
dates all over town with other guys, she might have missed an important memo,”
he continued to taunt.   “And I doubt she’d appreciate you trying to enforce a
curfew on her since…well, you know…she’s a fully grown woman with a competent
mind and all.  I know it’s been a while since you were on the market, but you
should know that women get a bit touchy when you treat ‘em like they can’t
think for themselves.”

“Are you actually
standing there trying to offer ME advice about my own woman?” Zeke seethed.

“Man, if she was
your
woman, she wouldn’t be coming out with me this afternoon,” Wrath chuckled.

“It’s complicated,”
Zeke spat, his hands fisting at his sides.

“I’ll bet,” Wrath
drawled, his handsome face amused.  “As much fun as this is, I’d really like to
get moving.  Some of the guys are waiting for me and my truck back at the
Clubhouse.  I’m supposed to swing by and pick up a grill for us to use at the
park.  Evidently all the charcoal pits have been claimed.”

Zeke’s face
hardened.  “Are you insane?  I better have misunderstood you just now because
it sounded like you said that you intend to take Honor to your fuckin’ den of
sin you and your boys call a Clubhouse!”

“Look, Zeke, it’s not
as bad as it sounds.  Most of the guys are already at the picnic. We’re only
gonna be there long enough to load the gas grill in the bed of the truck,”
Wrath reasoned, holding up a calming hand.

“Like fucking hell,
Wrath!” Zeke exploded.  “Those whores you assholes always have hanging off your
dicks will be there, and you can’t tell me that at least one of your so-called
brothers won’t have his cock stuffed down one of their throats.”

“I already called the
boys and warned them to zip their dicks up, man.  You think I’d deliberately
march that sweet lady into the lion’s den?” Wrath questioned roughly, propping
his hands on lean denim covered hips.  “You’ve got my word that she won’t see
anything more offensive than an open beer bottle.”

“Yeah?  What about
what she hears?  Can you make sure all those
brothers
keep civil tongues
in their head?”

“You ever heard one
of my boys say anything out of line to her before, Zeke?” Wrath barked, taking
a step forward and coming nose to nose with the sheriff. 

“You mean other than
the one fucker that hurt her eight years ago?” Zeke bit out.

Wrath flinched. 
“Fuck, Zeke.  That’s really fuckin’ low.  You better believe that if you and I
were
anywhere
else, we’d be settling this shit with our fists right
now.  Bein’ as there’s a pretty lady inside the house that’s seen enough
violence in her life, I’m gonna try to curb my impulses.” he hissed as every
muscle in his body seemed to tense.

Zeke knew the other
man was fighting the urge to take a swing.  And truthfully, after that remark,
he probably had it coming.  Especially since he knew Wrath would do anything to
change the fact that one of the men he trusted inside his club had done that
kind of sick shit to a woman he cared about.  “Shit,” Zeke quietly snarled,
running a hand down his face before turning his head to stare sightlessly over
the tree line bordering Honor’s property.  “I’m sorry, okay?  It’s just…
letting her go with you today goes against every instinct I’ve got.  No excuse,
I know, but there it is anyway.”

Wrath’s eyes shined
as his lips twitched.  Cupping a hand over his ear, he leaned toward the
lawman.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t think I heard that shit right.  Did the great
Sheriff Ezekiel Monroe just deign to apologize to somebody as common as a dirty
old biker?”

“Don’t push your
luck, McKay,” Zeke mumbled, shooting the other man a quelling look as he wrapped
a hand around the back of his neck and leaned against one of the white pillars
on Honor’s wraparound porch.  “Wait until you find your One, man.  Then you’ll
get it.”

“I already had my
shot with “The One”, and the whole town had a front row seat to watching how
that fiasco played out,” Wrath snorted, shaking his head.  “All that bitch
managed to give me was my baby boy, Storm, and a whole lot of racked up debt
before she took off to find a sugar daddy that would keep her in the lifestyle
that she thought she deserved.”

“Yeah,” Zeke
snorted.  “Our very own Mayor Tilden.  I still can’t believe that fucker got
reelected after that whole shit show.”

“I won’t complain. 
Storm’s the best thing that ever happened to me, but sharing him with that cunt
that he has to call his mother and her new fucktard of a husband … yeah, let’s
just say that finding the ONE isn’t on my list of priorities.  Not unless you
can guarantee me a sweet little thing like Honor.”

“Honor’s mine, Wrath,
and last I checked, all the sisters were taken,” Zeke returned, turning his
head to offer the man a long look.

“Yeah,” Wrath
chuckled as he mirrored Zeke’s stance leaning against another thick pillar on
the porch.  “Got that message, Zeke.”

“At least Darla
stayed local.  You get to see your boy whenever you want, don’t you?”

“For the most part I
do.  That fuckin’ bitch couldn’t care less about our boy unless, like today,
she and the dickhead can use Storm as a photo op prop.  That’s why I don’t have
my kid for the fireworks tonight.  They need him so they can present the image
of the perfect little family in the town square.  Fucktards,” Wrath sneered.

“Sorry, man,” Zeke
apologized, genuinely sorry for the other man.  “That sucks.”

 Wrath shrugged. 
“Not much I can do besides have the fucker offed and somehow, I get the feeling
that you’d frown on that.  Well, unless he did something so bad that not even
you’d get in my way, and pray to God that never happens,” he muttered.

“It won’t be long
before Storm’s old enough to tell the courts where he wants to be full-time,
Wrath,” Zeke advised quietly.  “Just hold tight on your plans for mass mayhem. 
Sooner or later, the mayor is bound to do something he can’t cover up and then
you’ll have the ammo you need to take on your ex-wife in court.”

“You’re a fine,
upstanding leader in the community, Zeke.  Why don’t you give that asshole a
run for his money?”

Zeke shook his head. 
“I like my job.  Plus, Honor hates people watching her.  Can you imagine what
it would be like to be the mayor’s wife?”

Wrath nodded as he
offered the sheriff a considering look.  “So,” he said, dropping his voice so
as not to be overheard.  “You’re gonna put a ring on her finger and seal this
deal up soon?  Fuck, Zeke, you already share a roof.  When can the town expect
y’all to get on with things?” he teased.

Zeke shrugged. 
“Fuck, I don’t know.  These idiot assignments her therapist keeps handing her
make it pretty damn hard for me to lock things down, wouldn’t you say?”

Wrath laughed
outright then.  “Man, it’s not like these dates have actually really taken
place so far.  You had RJ Reardon running all over Paradise to get his gym up
to code on his and you threw Hunter Quaid in the clink when he took her out. 
What the fuck you got planned for me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.