Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4) (36 page)

“Very funny.”  She’d
known all along she wasn’t going to enjoy this afternoon.  A trip to a sex
store wasn’t excitedly her idea of fun.  Now, with the added threat of her
rapist still being local and knowing he could be watching her even now, she
felt an icy finger of dread run down her spine.  “M-maybe I could ask Diego to
drive us up there?  Do you think I could do it without telling him why we’re going?”

“You could, but you
don’t need to. I’ll call Wrath and get a couple of his boys to tail you up
there.  Even if they know what the store is, they won’t know if the trip was
for you or Maggie.  They’ll just figure y’all are gettin’ supplies for a hen party
or something.”

“Wrath?  You hate
Wrath,” Honor replied astonished.  It was true, too.  Well, kinda.  Zeke might
not hate Wrath in the truest sense of the word, but there wasn’t any love lost
there either.  The president of the local chapter of the Hounds of Hell had
always been sweet to her, though.  His members, too.  They might seem like a
rough and tumble lot, but Honor could tell they were all mostly good men –
especially since she was raped eight years ago.  When Wrath had learned that
one of his prospects had been involved in her assault, he’d been livid.  She’d
never asked, but she’d always suspected that he’d had a hand in that animal’s
death.  Since then, however, Wrath and his Club had gone out of their way to be
of any help to her and her sisters that they could.  Honor had considered their
debt to her paid on the day that Wrath had told her that prospect would never
cross her path again, but neither he nor his brothers felt the same way.  If
you asked Wrath, he’d say that he and every member of his club would go to the
grave owing Honor a marker they’d never be able to clear.

“Wrath and I came to
an understanding about you a long time ago, Kitten.  Where you’re concerned, we
put our differences aside when it comes to your security,” Zeke informed her
quietly.

“Why don’t you like
him, Zeke?  I know he might sometimes wander a little outside the law, but…”

“A
little
?”
Zeke laughed.  “None of those men ever met a law they wouldn’t break for either
the right price or right incentive, Honor.  But, they’ve got a code, I’ll give
‘em that.  But for the record, I don’t like Wrath for one very good reason.”

“Well?” Honor
prompted impatiently.

Zeke offered Honor a
long look before answering.  “Because if it wasn’t me for you, it’d be him.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I did, but that
doesn’t mean I understood a blame word.”

“Wrath wants you,
Honor.  If I ever fucked up and gave him the chance, he’d do all he could to be
sitting right here where I am.”

“Oh, bullfoot!” Honor
snorted.  “Wrath doesn’t see me as anything other than a woman that was wronged
years ago by one of his so-called brothers or prospects, or whatever you call
it.  He’s ashamed that anyone is his club could have done something so awful to
a girl.  That’s all.”

“All that’s probably
true, but what I said holds as well.  Wrath wants you, Kitten, but he’ll
respect my claim on you because at the end of the day, he’s a decent man that
observes the rules of fair play where it comes to you, but don’t mistake his
interest in you, darlin’.  If it wasn’t me, he’d do his best to make sure it
was him.”

Honor slowly scanned
Zeke’s serious face before rolling her yes.  “You’re all insane.  You know
that, right?  There are hundreds of women in Paradise that would give their
back teeth to have either of you in their beds.   And yet, two of the hottest
heroes Paradise have to offer waste their time wanting the one woman that can’t
give them what they want.”

“Well, I’m damn happy
Wrath won’t ever be getting anything from you, but as far as I go, you give me
what I want every day, Honor.  I have you, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Honor pressed her
lips together and fought off tears as his beautiful words began to sink into
her.  She might have him, but he had her, too, whether he knew it or not.  Each
day in every way, she fell a little deeper in love with Ezekiel Monroe.  And in
that moment, she
knew
she wanted to be healthy enough to embark on a
relationship with him.  And to do that, she needed to do her damned homework. 
“Call in your favor from Wrath and his club then, Zeke.  I’ve got some homework
to do tonight.”

Two Hours Later

On a Road Leading
to Hell (Or Gatlinburg, Tn. )

1:00 pm

Honor

Clinging to the
seatbelt crisscrossing her chest with one white-knuckled hand as the driver
navigated the vehicle around another hairpin curve on two wheels, Honor tried
to remind herself why she’d thought Maggie would be such a good choice to
accompany her on her field trip to Gatlinburg this afternoon.

“I told you this car
would
fly
, didn’t I, Maggie,” Honor heard her elderly aunt cackle from
her position in the passenger’s side of the front seat.  Looking from one woman
to the other, Honor swallowed hard, forcing the rising bile in her throat back
down as she felt the car accelerate up another mountain.  “M-maybe I should
drive,” she suggested faintly from the backseat.

Glancing up in the
rearview mirror to meet Honor’s unamused eyes where she sat in the middle of
the backseat, Maggie winked.  “Just hold tight back there, Lollipop!  I’m gonna
have you there in a hop, skip and a jump.  Just you wait and see.  Now, tell
me, what are we going after in Gatlinburg that we couldn’t grab somewhere
closer?  C’mon.  You promised you’d tell me when we got on the road.”

Closing her eyes as
she fought another wave of motion sickness, Honor pressed her lips together. 
“That was before you let Aunt Orla talk you into letting her come with us,” she
returned without opening her eyes.  Aunt Orla was a handful of trouble on the
best of days, and her presence this afternoon could very well send Honor
sailing over the edge of sanity if she wasn’t careful.

“Hey!  Old people
like road trips, too, little missy,” Aunt Orla admonished huffily from the
front seat.  “Besides, I already know where we’re going.”

Cracking one eyelid,
Honor frowned.  “Where?”

“Little business by
the name of Cupid’s Arrow, I do believe.  I looked ‘em up online, Maggie,” Orla
informed the other woman, lightly smacking the back of her hand against the
red-haired woman’s silk blouse.  “Ask me what they sell.  Go on, ask me,” she
chortled with a wide grin.

Looking over her
shoulder at Honor, Maggie arched an eyebrow.  “Do I wanna know?”

“Sex toys!” Orla
blurted, laughing like a hyena.  “We’re takin my baby to buy her very first
vibrator!  Why, I oughta get your baby book down, Honor, so I can set down the
date for this, child!”

Honor’s face turned a
bright shade of red.  “Aunt Orla!  You were eavesdroppin’ again, weren’t you?”

“It’s not
eavesdroppin’ if you’re talkin’ right outside an open window, Honor Grace. 
It’s just called listening.”

“I knew I should have
gotten directions from Dr. Daniels before I left her office?  Why didn’t I just
ask her then?” Honor groaned, burying her hot face in her hands.

“Oh, c’mon, Hon. 
There’s no shame in it,” Maggie tried to comfort the self-conscious woman. 
“Everybody does it.”

“Not me,” Orla
announced, looking out the window.  “Jethro likes to do it for me,” she
continued proudly.  “Besides, we never had contraptions to do the job for us
when I was your gals’ age.  We had our fingers or we got us a
man
.”

“Oh, sweet Jesus. 
I’m gonna open the door and dive headfirst out of this car if you don’t quit
talkin’, Auntie!” Honor vowed, eyeing the car door with longing.  At the
moment, a roll down the mountainside sounded a whole lot less painful to her
than continuing this car ride.  Because there were just some things she did NOT
want to know about her kinfolk.

“Oh, cool your jets
back there, Honor.  Sex is a beautiful thing when it’s with the right person
and Jethro’s been the right person for me for around fifty-five years.  Heck,
he better be the right one.  He’s sure been the only one,” Orla shared as she
rolled her window down to let in some fresh mountain air.  “You should just let
Zeke….”

“Either you stop
right there or I jump,” Honor threatened desperately.

“All I’m sayin’ is a
man can do a whole lot of talented things with his tongue and fingers,” Orla
proclaimed knowingly, tapping her fingers against the door in time with some
country song on the radio.  “Tongues are right slick and agile, they are. 
Bendy in ways metal just ain’t!”

Maggie choked on her
laughter as Honor’s jaw went slack and fell. 

“Well, at least now
you know that there are other options available to you, Honor,” Maggie drawled
as they reached the city limits of Gatlinburg.

“I shoulda jumped
outta the car when I had the chance,” Honor mumbled, as she lifted her eyes to
stare at the roof of the car.  “That would have at least been a quick death.”

~***~

Pulling into the
parking lot of Cupid’s arrow twenty minutes later, Honor reached for her door
hand.  “Y’all can just wait in the car,” she offered hopefully.  “The lady
should already have my order bagged, tagged and ready to go.  All I have to do
is pay for it.”

Of course, her breath
was wasted since Orla already had her door open and was standing beside the car
before Honor finished speaking.

“Nothin’ doin’,
Sunshine.  I ain’t never gotten to explore one of these here establishments,
and I plan on takin my time.  You never know what kind of goody I might find
for your uncle in here.”

Exchanging a
horrified look with Maggie, Honor swallowed hard.  Her aunt…turned loose in a
sex store… yeah, this trip had just devolved into a scene from one of her worst
nightmares.  It even had a name.  Aunt Orla Does Gatlinburg.  Hopelessly
shaking her head at Maggie as she climbed out of the car, both women collected
their purses from the car as Aunt Orla headed for the boutique’s door.  Pausing
as she heard the sound of a motorcycle’s pipes pulling in to the lot, Honor watched
as a bike parked in the space behind their car.  Lifting a hand to
halfheartedly wave at the Hounds of Hell MC member they called Giggles. 
Giggles was a huge, granite faced biker with long curly black hair he kept
pulled back in a low ponytail.  The man looked half-rabid on his nicest of
days.  Wrath McKay had assigned him to follow and guard her this afternoon, and
Honor  couldn’t help but think a person would have to be nuts to mess with a
guy that looked like Giggles.  Nodding at him one last time, she watched him
lift his lips in a barely perceptible smile and slide his sunglasses off his
face, tucking them into his saddlebag.  Hurrying after her aunt with Maggie at
her side, Honor prayed this didn’t end in disaster and devastation for all
parties involved.

The bell above the
door tinkled as Honor stepped inside the store, the tantalizing scent of
lavender and vanilla lingering faintly in the air.  Looking around cautiously,
Honor was relieved to find the front room of the store tastefully decorated
with nary a dildo or vibrator in sight.  Instead, she found mannequins wearing
all manner of lingerie.  Some outfits were silky and sweet like the short baby
doll nightgown with the frilly, flouncy hem that one of the mannequins wore. 
Other figures wore sets that were a bit lacier and more risqué like the one
wearing the red lace bustier and boy shorts set.  To Honor’s relief
all
the
garments were classy and elegant. 

“Hello, can I help
you find anything?” a pleasant voice questioned from the front of the store. 

Turning startled eyes
from a dummy wearing what looked like a leather teddy to the pretty woman
standing behind the register, Honor smiled stiffly as she nodded.  “Yes, I
think so.  Are you Shay?” she inquired as she moved through the center aisle of
the store with Maggie on her heels.

“I am,” the slender
brunette answered.  “You must be Honor McKinnon.”

“I am,” Honor
replied, relieved that she wouldn’t have to explain why she was here to the
other woman.  Vaguely aware of Maggie drifting off to look at another rack of
clothing, Honor moved to the counter.  “I think you have a few items for me. 
Dr. Daniels called ahead, I think.”

“Bree sure did,” Shay
grinned, reaching underneath the counter and pulling out a brown bag with
handles.  “I had everything she asked for, but why don’t you take a look around
and see if there’s anything else you might enjoy.  Was the older lady that came
in just before you in your group?”

Sighing, Honor
nodded.  “Yes, that’s my aunt.  She got a little excited over today’s trip,”
Honor shared in a whisper.

“That would explain
it?  As soon as she hit the door, she was asking where the fake wee wees were,”
Shay informed her with a laugh.  “I hope she’s not diabetic.  I offered her one
of the penis suckers on her way back to the toy room,” the woman said, holding
up the pale pink candy penis.

“N-no, that’s fine,”
Honor replied, her eyes widening on the candy in the other woman’s hand.  “Where
exactly is the…”

“Toy room?” Shay
supplied helpfully.  Turning, she pointed to an open doorway just past a
display of see-through underwear.  “It’s just there, hon.  Go have a look and
I’ll ring you up when you’ve finished.”

Nodding, Honor turned
to wave at Maggie and point at the door, letting her red-haired friend know
where she’d be.  Now, if she could just collect her aunt and herd her toward
the door, they all just might be able to leave with a modicum of their dignity.

She should have known
that was a pipe dream – especially since her aunt was along for the ride.

Honor walked into the
room to find her aunt sprawled in some kind of black latex swing, happily
sucking on her candy as she stared at what appeared to be an entire wall of wee
wees.  “Holy heck…” Honor gasped, her eyes wide as they took in penises of
every shape, color and texture, all hanging innocently from metal pegs on the
wall.

Looking over her
shoulder as her foot nudged the floor, setting the latex swing into motion,
Aunt Orla nodded understandingly, her loose iron gray bun bouncing when she
moved.  “I know!  It’s shockin’, ain’t it?  It’s like regular Dick-topia in
here,” Orla proclaimed before putting the pink candy penis between her lips
again.

“Oh, my, my,
my
!”
Maggie drawled as she walked into the wide room behind Honor.  “You’re right
about that, Miss Orla.  Although, I’d say it’s more of a cornucopia of cocks.”

“Cock-a-palooza!”
Orla exclaimed, yanking her penis from her mouth and pointing it at Maggie.

“Will you two just
shush!” Honor hissed, looking fretfully over her shoulder to make sure her
crazy kinfolk hadn’t been overheard before turning back to focus on her ancient
aunt and frowning.  “Aunt Orla, WHAT is that contraption you’re sitting in?”

“I dunno, but it’s
comfy,” Orla replied, as she rocked again.  “Jethro and I have been lookin’ for
a chair that doesn’t take up much space in our bedroom.  This’un is right nice,
don’t you think?”

“It’s a sex swing,
Miss Orla,” Maggie said, walking closer to the black swing.  See, you put your
legs through those two holes and it spreads you out just so….”

“Maggie, shut up,”
Honor hissed as her Aunt bent her head to peer at the two loops Maggie had
pointed out.  “Aunt Orla, don’t even think about it,” she ordered when it
became clear that the old lady was going to try and slide one leg through the
hole.

“What do you think
the upkeep on a place like this is?” Maggie queried thoughtfully, looking
around the room.  “Paradise doesn’t have
anything
like this.”

Grabbing her aunt’s
arm as the infuriating old bat wobbled precariously on one leg, Honor shot a
glare at Maggie.  “Oh, yes, that’s
exactly
what we need in town.  A sex
store will go ever so nicely between Hooks and Books and the pet store!  We’ll
just call you the Porn Princess of Paradise County!”

Pursing her lips as
she met Honor’s glare with an unconcerned shrug, Maggie propped her hands on
her hips.  “You know, sarcasm isn’t a good look for you, darlin’.  Besides, I
need a hobby, and a sex store might be a fun investment.”

“Everybody okay in
here?” Shay’s friendly voice called from the doorway. 

“Oh, we’re just
fine,” Honor called back quickly before turning to nail her aunt with a
quelling glare.  “Get up,” she hissed.

“I’m going.  I’m
going,” Orla grumbled as she began to stand, teetering precariously when her
legs began to get tangled in the swing.  “Oh, hellfire and horseshhhhhiiittt!”
the elderly woman shrieked as her hands went out trying to find purchase
against the wall, but only finding fake penises as her feet went completely out
from under her.

“Auntie!” Honor cried
out, her hand going to her parted lips as she helplessly watched her aunt
topple.

“Oh, Bert and Ernie’s
wrinkly balls sac! That hurt worse than the time Jethro bounced me off the
bed,” a muffled voice complained from beneath the rubble of the broken sex
swing and boxes of vibrating phalluses.

“Auntie?”

“Ask that nice young
lady for another penis pop for me, Honor Grace.  I bit my dick plumb in half
while I was goin’ down.”

Sighing as she heard
Shay and Maggie chuckle, Honor pinched her lips together and swallowed a curse
before reaching down to help her relative off the floor.  “I swear, Aunt Orla,
we can’t take you
anywhere,
” she grumbled as she helped the senior
citizen back to her feet.