Chapter 26
twenty-six
. . .
HONOR
Blake got to his feet, holding out a hand to me, his face filled with the same happiness that was now ricocheting in my chest.
I accepted the help he offered, getting to my feet and brushing the sand from my dress.
Blake stared down at me with a kind of reverence that made my heart skip a beat. Taking my face in his hands, he pressed a kiss to my head.
“We have a lot to celebrate.”
His smile was infectious as he took my hand and led me up the beach and back towards the marquee.
Nerves filled me the closer we got. How were his family going to react to the news that we were really together?
I hadn’t spoken to Blake's parents yet tonight. They had been too wrapped up in greeting friends and family at their son's wedding to bother with the woman who had lied to their faces for the past two weeks.
Would they talk to me now? Would his parents turn their noses up at me for my charade? Or there was the almost worse possibility that this kind, welcoming family would now treat me with a kind of forced civility.
I’d watched Blake’s mom interact with Reyna and that's exactly what it was—forced civility. The last thing I wanted was his sweet, loving mother, who had comforted me about my own parents, to approach me with the same level of caution she did with Blake's cheating ex.
Liars and cheaters were cut from the same cloth.
And I lied for a living.
“You okay?” Blake asked, stopping outside the marquee, his face pinched with concern.
I nodded, swallowing hard and mentally preparing myself for what could be an awkward confrontation.
“Your parents, are they…” I sighed. “Are they mad about what we did? What am I walking into here?”
A slow, amused smile spread across Blake's handsome face.
“It's sweet that you care about what my parents think of you.”
“Of course I care. They were so good to me. Your dad asked me about my marketing job, and I lied to his face like an asshole.”
Blake chuckled, and I swatted at his arm.
“My dad doesn't think you're an asshole. Besides, isn't telling a few white lies kind of necessary with your job?”
I opened my mouth to respond and stopped.
Fabricating a story with a client was absolutely part of the job. But I hadn't done it in a long time because I hadn't been out on a job in a long time.
Now didn’t feel like the right moment to share that with him. We’d only just reconciled; I decided I should wait to reveal the truth that I'd also kinda lied to him about owning the company he'd contacted to find himself a date.
“Yes, it is. But it doesn't mean I enjoy lying to people. Especially welcoming, caring people like your parents.” I shifted on my feet, trying to shake out my growing discomfort. “And I've never had to deal with a situation where I’ve been outed in the lie before either.”
Remorse colored his expression.
“That's my fault, and I'm so sorry for it.” He took both my hands in his. “My parents loved you as my fake girlfriend, and they're going to love you just as much as my real one.”
I nodded, trying to exhibit a confidence I didn't feel.
Blake took my hand and towed me into the reception. The music was pumping, most of the guests celebrating on the dance floor.
Hudson and Kelly were standing by a table talking to Blake's parents who were seated.
Hudson spotted us first, his face splitting in a grin. “Well, thank fuck for that!” he called out.
“Hudson!” his mom admonished as she followed his gaze. Her expression softened, and I instantly relaxed at the sight of it.
She didn't hate me. She wasn't judging me for the choices we'd made.
Both Blake's parents got to their feet.
“Honor, we're so glad you stayed for the wedding and could stand up there with Hudson and Kelly at short notice,” Charles said, holding me gently by the shoulders. He motioned to Blake with a nod. “Even with this one doing his level best to run you off with his ridiculous behavior.”
I forced away the tears pricking the backs of my eyes at being so lovingly accepted. Blake's parents were nothing like my own, and I hoped he appreciated what a gift they were.
“Thank you, Charles.” I swallowed. “And I'm sorry for everything.”
He waved away my apology, pulling me into a one-armed hug at his side. “Oh please, we all have to make a living.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh. Was it really that easy? They accepted that dating people for money was my job and moved on? No lecture on how I should stop wasting my time with scandalous business practices and find a respectable career? My father had really done a number on me that I found this gracious acceptance of who I was and what I did so hard to take.
Blake gave me a wink from where he was talking to Hudson and Kelly, his mother approaching me.
She pulled me into an instant hug.
“Honor, honey, I'm so glad you found it in you to forgive Blake’s arrogance and stupidity.”
I let out a sound of quiet disbelief and she pulled back to look at me, holding me gently by the shoulders the same way her husband had.
“Blake had no right to betray your trust or your secret like that, and I told him as much that night. I'm so glad you stayed, and I'm so happy you got to be a part of our family event.”
There was no way I could hold back the tears now. They slid down my cheeks at his mom's comforting, supportive words.
“I'm not worthy of your kindness, Helen. I lied to you.”
She waved a hand between us.
“You were doing your job. Blake lied to us too, and we're still talking to him.”
I let out a soft laugh.
“Now, let's get you a drink and have some fun, shall we?”
I smiled back at her and nodded.
We spent another two hours dancing and drinking with his family, celebrating Kelly and Hudson’s new life together.
I was slightly buzzed, slightly sweaty, and blissed out, when Blake appeared behind me. He slipped his arms around my waist, and I leaned back against him as he swayed us to the music.
His mouth dropped to my ear, and he murmured against my skin. “What are you thinking?”
I smiled to myself, watching Spencer and April dance like fools together.
“I'm wondering if it’s possible to die of happiness,” I replied, the alcohol loosening my tongue. I should have been horrified by my own honesty; but after the way Blake had bared his soul on the beach, I knew I didn’t need to hold back. Blake was in this with me. We didn’t need to hide ourselves from each other anymore.
“You think this is as happy as you can get?” he asked, leaning down further to fold his body around mine, until I was completely consumed by him.
“Pretty damn close. I don’t see how this night could get any better.”
He smirked against my cheek. “What about with an orgasm or seven?”
My eyebrows shot up. “That would probably do it.”
“Then let’s go, Honor. Because I’m about ready to dis honor you until the sun rises.”
I huffed a laugh at his attempt at a dirty joke.
His arms slid from my waist, his fingers twinning in mine as he towed me towards his family to say our goodbyes.
When we got back to his suite, the same I’d spent two weeks in, nerves twisted in my stomach.
“I’m going to call guest services and get your things brought over from your other room,” Blake said, tossing the key on the table in the entryway and strolling over to the phone.
I nodded wordlessly, discarding my clutch on the table and slipping out of the heels that had been pinching my feet for hours. I walked aimlessly around the room, lost in my own head.
While I was beyond happy to be back with Blake… now that we were here, in this room, I was shy and unsure. Yes, we’d already slept together. So many times. But this somehow felt different. There was something monumental in what was about to happen, like we were sealing our fate.
“You okay?” Blake asked, coming up behind me, his lips gently caressing the sensitive spot behind my ear.
My eyes fluttered closed, and I murmured my agreement. His tongue brushing over my skin made me tremble, and when his hands landed on my waist, turning me to face him, I obeyed in an instant.
Blake kissed his way up my throat and along my jaw, his lips finally landing on my mouth. I opened for him willingly, his tongue sliding over mine in a soft, sweet kiss that made my knees weak.
“I’ve missed you so much, Honor. You’re all I could think about, every minute that you were gone.”
I smiled, pressing my lips to his, desperate to taste him again. To be connected to him in any way that I could.
“As weird as it sounds, given it was only a couple of days, I missed you too.”
Blake’s hands smoothed over my shoulders and down my arms. He took my hands in his, walking backwards to the bedroom.
“Shower with me?”
I tipped my head back and groaned. “God, I’d love a shower right now.” I brought my head back up to look at him. “And showering with you is one of my favorite activities.”
His smile was more playful than I’d ever seen him as he unbuttoned his shirt.
Holy hell, he was so freaking hot. I was sweating just thinking about the things he was going to do to me.
“Are you going to take that dress off or am I going to have to do it for you?”
I tapped a finger to my lips as though I had to think about it.
“I think you might need to do it for me.”
Before the words were even out of my mouth, he moved against me, sliding one strap of the dress down my shoulder, then the other. The slip of a dress dropped to the floor, pooling at my feet.
Stick- on cups covered my breasts and a skimpy white lace thong covered my bottom half. Sliding the cups free, I tossed them on the bench seat outside the bathroom door.
“Jesus fucking Christ, are you trying to kill me?” Blake said, taking in my near-naked body.
I shook my head. “Not at all.” Then I strode past him into the bathroom, turning on the shower. Water cascaded from the enormous showerhead, the room fogging in an instant.
I leaned in to feel the temperature, and Blake’s naked body met my back, making me squeal with delight. His arms wrapped around me as he moved us both into the stream.
“You’re soaking my favorite underwear,” I protested.
I could hear the smirk in Blake’s tone. “Baby, don’t act like they weren’t soaking already at the thought of what I was going to do to you in here.”
He had me there. The second he’d started unbuttoning his shirt, heat had flooded between my legs.
“You’re cute when you’re agreeable.” Blake’s tongue darted out to lick the water sliding down my throat. “Maybe I’ll have to render you speechless more often.”
I turned in his arms, pressing my naked chest to his, and his hands instantly fell to my ass. He groaned at the feel of my body against his.
“Maybe you shouldn’t get so cocky when I have you groaning just by pressing myself against you.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in the hottest smirk I’d ever seen, and I kissed the spot, unable to hold back. Blake claimed my mouth like a man starved, moving us into the shower until my back hit the wall. His hands roamed my body, the water falling over us. When his fingers drifted down to slip inside my panties and then slip inside of me, I gasped.
“These are getting in my way,” Blake said, gripping the lace in his fist and tugging.
The panties tore away from my body with a resounding rip. They landed on the floor of the shower with a wet squelch and my mouth popped open.
“I don’t know whether to be outraged at you ruining my favorite pair or ridiculously turned on by that move.”
Blake licked at the water dripping down my chest. “The latter. We both know it.”
His mouth moved to my breasts, lips suctioning over my nipple and my head fell back against the shower wall. “You’re right,” I said, suddenly breathless at the feel of his masterful tongue swirling over the sensitive bud. “Definitely the latter.”
He moved to the other side, humming a sound of agreement as his tongue circled my nipple, before nipping it between his teeth. I squirmed at the sensation, and Blake pinned my hips with the base of his hand against my pubic bone, his fingers gliding over my clit.
“Oh my fucking god.”
Pleasure flowed through me, building inside me under his masterful strokes until I was panting his name, desperate for release.
“You going to come all over my fingers, baby?”
I swallowed hard, nodding, my mind solely focused on his fingers between my legs and his mouth on my nipple.
He upped the pace, and my orgasm exploded, my body writhing against the shower wall. Blake didn’t let up, stroking me until my legs gave out and he pressed his body to mine, pinning me to the wall so I didn’t fall.
“Fucking hell, that was incredible,” I said with a lazy, satisfied smile. My body was still trembling from the release. “I’ve never come so hard in my entire life.”
Blake took my hand, kissing the inside of my wrist. “Making you come so hard you can’t stand is my job now. And I take the position very seriously.”
I grinned back at him, slipping a hand between us to stroke the hard length of him.
“There was something wrong with the last time we did this,” I murmured against his throat, moving up to nip his earlobe between my teeth.
A sense of satisfaction spread through me when he shuddered.
“Oh yeah? What was it?”
I pulled back, still stroking him with my hand.
He stared down at the movement, like he’d never seen anything so enthralling as his cock in my hand.
“You haven’t come in my mouth.”