A Man of Honor (A Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (The Honor Trilogy) (10 page)

The tears that fill her violet eyes make my whole body hurt – and not because I’m an empath, which I am no longer. I hurt because I am so deeply in love with this girl that I can’t stand to see her hurting.

She just looks at me and starts sobbing.

“C’mere, princess,” I say so softly that I barely open my mouth. Pulling her into my arms, I try with all my might to take away her pain the only way I now know how – by loving her. And showing her through my hug.

Without breaking our embrace, I walk forward through the doorway and shut the door. Her sobs slow down to a hiccup-cry combination.
Leaving one arm wrapped around her back, I move the other beneath her knees and carry her to the sofa – where I sit and keep her on my lap. My intuition tells me she doesn’t want to hear any words of wisdom, so I lean against the couch and bring her head to my chest. The silent tears she cries hurt me just as much as her hysterical sobs…more so, if that’s possible.

As I let her cry against me, I close my eyes, kiss her head, and leave my lips there. Right now I wish I had my empathic abilities, because it’
s killing me to see her so sad. After some time, I’m not sure how much time has actually passed, her breathing returns to normal.

“Can I get you anything,
princess?” I ask, breaking the sad silence.

Her head moves back and forth against my chest, and I cup my hand over her damp cheek.

When she looks up at me, she attempts to smile. “I had to do it. It wasn’t fair to Ethan.”

I nod. Because really, what
was I going to say? I know how she feels about me, but I also know how much she loves Ethan. This can’t be easy for her.

“Why’d you come back?” she asks, suddenly realizing my presence wasn’t expected.

What was I gonna say?

The truth.

I had promised her I wouldn’t keep her in the dark about this elixir nonsense. So I won’t. “Well, I had a visitor today.”

She looks at me wide-eyed and
hops off my lap. Sitting down on the coffee table, she now faces me. “Was it the same man? The one who gave me the letter?”

I nod.

She leans in forward, very interested. “Did you give him the elixir? Is it over now?” Her smile is hesitant. My thoughts are seeping into my emotions and she’s reading them. It doesn’t take her long to frown. I don’t even have to say a word.

“It’s not over, is it?” She sits back and drops her shoulders. “What did he say?”

“Well, that’s why I’m here, princess.” I take a deep breath. “We can’t leave you alone. I tried to call Ethan to tell him not to leave your side, but when I didn’t get an answer, I swung over here to tell him in person. It hadn’t sunk in that his car wasn’t parked in your driveway, so I texted him to not leave you alone.” I paused. She was just looking at me with sad eyes. I give her credit though, she didn’t shed any more tears yet. “That’s when he texted me that you broke up with him.” This time I just stop talking. Maybe she had questions.

She didn’t.

“I didn’t know if your parents were home from work yet, so that’s when I rang your doorbell.”

She shakes her head. “What does that tell me, Storm? Nothing.” Honor is a bit agitated.

“You can’t be left alone.”

“Yeah, you told me that. Why?”

“Because he’s going to test the elixir. If it’s not the original…he’s coming straight for you.”

Now her eyes fill up and her head drops. When she slides her hands down her lap, she crosses them – almost in prayer position.

“Honor.” I lean forward so my knees touch hers, and I lift her chin with my fingers. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

“You can’t promise something like that. You don’t know. He knows where I live. He’ll just come here and get me.” Her breathing is beyond control, she’s nearly gasping for air.

My hands are now on her thighs. “Baby. I’m not leaving your side. At all. Until this whole thing is over, I’ll be right next to you.”

She pulls away from me and stands up. “What are
ya gonna do? Move in? What are my parents gonna say? I have one boy move out and another one moves in?” She shakes her head and paces the room. Knowing she needs to think this through, I sit back into the couch. Waiting for her to come to a decision about what she wants to do about this.

A car pulls into the driveway. When Honor looks out the front window, she cries. “Oh my god, it’s my mother.” She looks at me. “Do we have to tell her?”

I nod. “Yes. Even if I take you away from here, your parents will still be in danger. I’m sure of it.”

“Take me out. Right now,” she says
nervously, grabbing her purse off the front table.

“What?”

“I can’t face her right now. She’ll know something’s the matter. Just take me out…to the diner or something. Just let’s go now,” she says in one breath, simultaneously opening the front door just as her mom walks in.

“Hi, Mom,” Honor chirps. “Storm’s taking me to get a bite. We’ll be back soon.”

“Oh. Okay. Sure. You need money, sweetheart?” Mrs. S. asks.

“No, ma’am, I got it,” I say, trying hard to paste a smile on my face when I talk to her.

“Okay. Have fun. Not too late, Honor. You have school in the morning.”

“I know, Mom. Be home soon. Love you.”

When her mother closes the door, Honor sighs and the mood she was in previously returns. Silently, we walk to my car and I open her door for her. Honor’s gaze is out the passenger window, so I don’t try to come up with something to say. Instead I just drive. But I don’t take her to the diner. That’ll be way too crowded, and something tells me Honor is not all that hungry anyway. But maybe she can go for a hot drink. I know I can go for a cup of coffee at the moment.

When I pull into a small coffee shop parking lot up a few miles from Jefferson, she finally turns toward me. “This isn’t the diner.”

“No. Was your heart really set on the diner?”

“No,” she says quietly.

“C’mon, I’ll buy you a drink.”

I open her door and take her hand, feeling way too guilty that I’m happy her hand is free for the taking now.
When I get to the counter, Honor whispers that she wants a vanilla chai tea. After we get our drinks, I lead her to a secluded corner in the old shop.

“In the mood to talk?” I ask.

She only shrugs.

“Mind if I do the talking then?”

She shakes her head.

“Let’s forget
about Gaffer for a minute. I wanna talk about you and Ethan.”

She lets out a cynical laugh. “I almost forgot about that.” Then she puts her head in her hands.

I continue talking to the top of her head. “I hope he wasn’t mad at you because I was hugging you before. I hope it wasn’t a fight that led to your decision to break up with him. Because…because that would just be wrong.”

“Uh…”

Holding up my hand, I stop her from talking just yet. “I know we have feelings for each other…but what you have with Ethan…well, that’s a relationship…and sometimes they need a little work…instead of just walking away.” That was so hard for me to say, but I needed to say it. If she was going to be available for me, I’d want her to be truly available. Having her by default would be so unsatisfying.

“We did have a fight about it, but…that’s not really why I broke up with him.”

My heartbeat quickens and I try to steady my breathing.

“I do like you, Storm…a lot.” She takes a couple sips of her tea before she continues. “But I like him too. Until recently…I thought I loved him…But…then there was you.”

Another sip of tea takes precedent to finishing her sentence and I feel like I’m going to scream. I want to tell her I’m so in love with her, but that would be unfair. She needs to decide her feelings without bias.

“I’m just so confused. Ethan is such a nice guy. He is only ever wonderful to me. He really is. But…when he kisses me…it’s nothing like what I feel,” her face turns the prettiest shade of pink, “when you kiss me.” She nips at her bottom lip and looks down at the table.

I’m at a loss for words. All I really want to do is take that lip and bite it myself. My smile has a sigh along with it. I rest my chin on my hands. “My whole world shatters when I kiss you,” I whisper.

Her sigh is guttural. “That doesn’t make this easier.”

“What, darlin’? It doesn’t make what easier?”

“I was afraid that when you heard that Ethan and I broke up, you’d think I’d…you know…want to go out with you…but…I do. But…I don’t either,” she says, and I hear the regret in her voice.

“Princess, it’s fine. I wasn’t expecting anything,” I lie. “Really, I’m just concerned that you may have broken up with him for…the wrong reasons. That’s all.”

Her pretty violet eyes narrow. “You don’t even like Ethan. Why are you so concerned about that?”

“I like
you
. I worry about
you.
That’s all.”

The way her mouth is moving back and forth, I can tell she’s mulling it over.

“Listen, let’s drop it for now. Can we talk about the other matter we need to discuss? Or is that off limits still?”

Immediately I regret asking her. Fear cloaks her pretty face like a black cloud covers the sun.
It’s so damn hard to see her afraid. She’s normally so strong.

My heart breaks for her.

My heart breaks for me.

I wish I could just offer myself as a sacrifice to this man, but he won’t have it. I’m of no use to him. It’s Honor he wants. And I damn
well better find a way of keeping her from him.

I damn
well better come up with a plan.

“Do you need to take me away, Storm?” Her voice quavers, but she’s trying to hide it.

“I should. But I am afraid for your parents. You know we have to tell them,” I state firmly. I want her to make no mistake that they need to be on guard as well.

“Tell me what we have to do. I don’t even know where to begin.”

I take her hands in mine and I caress her long fingers. “We begin by telling your parents tonight. We’ll stop by my place to get a few things before we go to your house. I
have
to stay with you, Honor. We have no choice, really. I hope your parents are okay with it.”

She nods. “Well, they were okay with Ethan staying, so I’m sure…”

“I can’t stay in the guest room, Honor. I need to stay in your room.”

“What? Why?” She nibbles her lip a moment. “I don’t think they’ll allow that,” she says quietly.

“Honor, this man, he’ll stop at nothing. I wouldn’t put it past him to enter through your bedroom window in the middle of the night.”

Honor closes her pale eyelids.
“Oh my god,” she whispers under her breath and covers her face with her hands again.

“Sweetheart,” I say, pulling her wrists from her face. “I am not going to let anything happen to you. That’s why I’m staying in your room…And I have a gun,” I offer as an afterthought.

Honor gasps. “How’d you get one?”

“I stole it,” I say as a matter of fact. “Back when I was roaming the country on my own. No biggie.” Honor’s eyes are wide in surprise. “Just don’t tell anyone,
princess…especially your parents.”

“Why hadn’t you used it when we were in the woods with those guys?”

“I didn’t have it on me.”

“Why not?”

“Boy you have a lot of questions. I don’t know. I don’t think I really thought I’d need it then. I’m not sure. I…I don’t have an answer for that. But I do know this…I’m not putting you in a vulnerable position this time. I’m ready this time.”

She smiles.

“What’s the smile for?” My heart always skips a beat when she smiles at me.

This time her eyes smile along with her mouth. “There are just…so many…things about you.” She blushes.

“Things?” I have no idea where she’s going with this.

“Like…layers. Like when I first met you. I was almost scared of yo
u…I don’t know…I remember thinking you were like evil…but...” She turns red again. “That was probably Ethan’s feelings I was feeling. And then…you had this soft side. And then you have a tough side.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Isn’t that the same as being evil?” I joke.

She curls her lips into her mouth then smiles. “Not at all. Your tough side is your protective side. You’re loyal too. And even though I know you can’t stand Ethan…I know you love him. You’re sweet, Storm Sutherland…even though you hate for people to know that.
I
know it.” She bites the corner of her mouth and casts her eyes down in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

All I can do is stare at her. As much as I do hate for
anyone
to know I’m soft, something about Honor thinking I’m sweet makes me feel special – like someone is actually taking the time to see through my tough-guy façade.

“Cat got you by the tongue?”
she quips.

“No cat,” I say, looking Honor straight in the eyes.
She’s
got me…by the heart.

My thoughts must not be too private, because Honor is turning pink again. When she blushes, my chest feels warm. It’s hard to hide what I’m feeling with her. She may as well be a mind reader. I chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” she asks, still pink. Still smiling. Still stopping my heart.

“Nothing.” I smile back at her then take the last sip of my coffee. “You
wanna get going?”

Honor’s smile fades. “Yeah,” she says with a soft groan.

“It’ll be okay, babe. I’ll help you tell your parents. If you want, you can just stand there while I do the talking.”

She nods then takes the hand I’m holding out for her. With our hands clasp
ed together, we walk to the car. Ready to face the music.