Chapter Thirty-Three

Zach

I push the kickstand out and lean my bike against it. As I get off, I look at my beautiful date sitting behind me. "I still can't believe you wore that on the back of my bike." With her legs spread open, the slit in her form-fitting black dress is all the more apparent, and the slightest hint of her little black thong is on show. I adjust my pants, hiding my excitement.

It doesn't go unnoticed by Honey, who gives me a hungry look while she fixes her helmet hair. Taking my hand, she bounces off the bike, and thankfully, my leather jacket covers the sweetheart neckline of her dress; otherwise, I might have a hard-on the size of the Statue of Liberty before getting into the hall.

She flicks my jacket to the sides and starts to adjust her boobs. "I swear you'll make me come in my pants if you keep doing that," I whisper in her ear before putting our helmets in the top box.

Her eyes drop to my pants, and she offers me a flirty smile. "We're already late. We need to show our faces inside first so you can win your money." She pecks my cheek as a promise for what's to come later and then wipes away the stain of lipstick left behind.

"You mean our money."

She shrugs. "You can fight me on it all you want, but I'm donating my share to Ella. It's what she deserves." My chest constricts in unexpected happiness because things are going my way for once. I am not only taking the girl of my dreams to prom, but I'm getting paid to do it.

"She loves you, you know?"

Honey's face softens as a small speckle of vulnerability shines through. "Does she?" I never thought Honey Sanderson would meet my family, but after she came for dinner last night, I couldn't imagine her anywhere else. She just fits.

I nod. "She thought you were a real-life princess. Not to mention my family threatened to disown me if I did anything to hurt you."

She slaps me in the chest, looking away bashfully. "No, they didn't."

I grab her hand and pull her to the front of my body. When we're nose to nose, I kiss her with enough force for her to know they weren't joking.

I will never tire of kissing her silky lips or feeling her soft body relax against mine.

"Come on. We're going to be late." She scoops her hand through my arm, letting me lead her to the impressive entryway of the hotel.

"Do you still think we're doing the right thing by not confronting Jamie?" It's surprisingly quiet at the front reception, but that's probably because we're nearly two hours late, following the signs to the hall.

A large set of doors separate us from the rest of our class, and just as I grasp the handle, she stops me. "I think the most important thing is getting that money. Once you've got that, you can speak to your lawyer and figure out the right move." It sounds so sensible and rehearsed when she says it, but that's not surprising since I've asked her at least a hundred times this last week.

Something about this decision is eating me up. I may not like the guy, but I'd want to know if I was in the same position as him. Honey scrapes her red nail under my chin, forcing me to look at her. "The Nickses only look after themselves, remember? Jamie's dad will be all over you when they learn about Ella. You need to be prepared."

Right. Right.

Honey's right. Their families own the most notorious law firm in the country. If we have any chance of protecting Ella from them, this is it.

With one final kiss, she says, "Come on. I think they're announcing the Prom King and Queen."

"Sorry to ruin your night, Honeycomb, but there's no chance we've won." She throws her head back on a cackle.

"Is that what you think I care about? My main motivation is that we need to get to Jamie before he's too shitfaced to remember that we were there."

"Sure. Sure."

Pushing open the door, the expanse of the room is the first thing I take in. With a gold curved ceiling and bright-white walls, this hall has the acoustics of a church.

Olivia and Mike are by our side almost instantly. "Guys! You look so cute together," Olivia coos, bringing Honey in for a hug.

Mike stands next to me and nudges my side. "So, you and Honey." His voice is thick with implication because he knows it's different now and that he was right, but at least he's not bragging about it.

"Yup. Me and Honey."

He slaps me on the shoulder, watching as our girlfriends walk to the dance floor hand in hand.

"Who won Prom King and Queen?"

"Do you care?" I give him a shrug, intrigued more than anything. "McKenna and Jamie. I guess the universe is trying to tell them something."

"What? That cheaters should stick together?"

Mike shakes his head, stifling a laugh. "Whatever, man. Just go and get your money." He tilts his head toward the punch bowl where Jamie is standing with that stupid crown on his head. You'd think that a school that charges such extortionate fees would at least be able to afford a decent crown. The one on Jamie's head looks like a Party City knock-off.

Leaving Honey and Olivia in the middle of the dance floor, I stride over to Jamie.

"Hey, it's Scholarship Kid," Jamie says happily with a hiccup at the end. The guy is already drunk as a skunk, and it's only ten. It's no surprise. He let Honey go and treated Tiff like a piece of shit, so he must know he's an idiot by now. "What are you doing here?"

The crown dangles precariously on his head as he wobbles my way.

"Collecting my debt."

Squinting, he dramatically looks to either side of me, frowns, and then blows out an arrogant breath. "You need Honey for that."

I point behind me to the dance floor, but when I look over my shoulder, I realize she's not there. "Sorry, Bro. No Honey, no money. Hey, that rhymes." He laughs to himself, and when his eyes widen, I see how large his pupils are. He's on something more than alcohol.

"She's here. Trust me on this one, bro ." Jamie's so far gone that he doesn't hear the sarcastic ebb in my voice. "Cough up the money. I've already extended this stupid bet long enough." I hold my hand out to emphasize my point.

He looks down at my hand, and his eyes drag to mine with a little smile. "I think you'll find it's you that owes me ten thousand dollars. Since you didn't pony up the cash the first time."

"What's going on here?" Honey's hand snakes across my shoulder before she kisses me on the cheek.

"Nothing, babe. Just collecting a debt from your ex."

"Well, don't take too long. I've got the hotel key." It's all she has to say, and as she starts to walk away, her fingers stroke down my jacket seductively. I swear Honey will turn me into a diabetic with how sugary sweet she's being.

I watch the sway of her ass before turning back to Jamie, giving him a confident, raised brow. If that wasn't enough evidence, then I'm guessing he was never planning on giving me the money.

Jamie rolls his eyes and huffs out an annoyed breath before indicating for Brett and Kyle to come over.

"Hey, Scholarship," Brett greets me with a head nod while Kyle carries a black briefcase.

"Guessing this is yours?" Kyle asks, holding the briefcase up, looking between Jamie and me. Jamie doesn't speak; he just nods and turns away.

Kyle places the briefcase on the drinks table, opening it just enough so I can see the cash inside. He shuts it just as quickly and hands it over to me. "Brett and I counted three times. That should be it in there." Jamie makes some pained groaning noise as I take the briefcase. "Ignore him," he says, referring to Jamie. "He was just hoping to make a comeback with Honey at the debutante ball. Guess the quarterback always wins."

"Can't hold down a winner," I say simply. "Pleasure doing business with you." I turn on my heel, catching Honey's eyes as walk in her direction. Then I stop and look over my shoulder at Jamie.

"I suppose I should thank you." That gets Jamie's attention. "Your mistakes led to two of the best things in my life."

"Two?" I'm surprised he caught that, considering how high he is.

"Yeah, two."

I don't bother answering his questioning brow. I just turn back and keep walking toward my future. The destiny I didn't know was mine until right now.

"You got it?" Honey looks down at the case and then at me.

"Yup." I slink my arm around her hips and kiss her deeply. "You ready to go upstairs?"

She smiles and nods. "Let's go."

I slam Honey against the hotel door, kissing her with enough force I can actually feel her red lipstick smearing across my face. She's leaving her mark on me in more ways than one.

"Zach," she says my name with this sexy little mewl that turns me on. Her hand has been holding onto the handle for too long, so I smother it with mine. Too impatient for her to make the first move, I push her hand down and hear the click of the door opening.

Cold air wooshes past us, and I catch her before she falls. Tripping on her heels, I blindly lead her backward into the room, not once removing my lips from hers.

When the door shuts, I push her against the nearest wall and feel the soft skin exposed from the slit in her dress. Her skin pebbles at my touch, and when she gasps into my kiss, I snake my fingers under the fabric, pushing it up, so they rest at the edge of her ass. My favorite place to be.

"Oh god," she cries, her body moving of its own volition. I lift my hand until I get to the back of her knee and bring it to rest against my hip. With our centers connected, I grind myself against her, letting her know just how much I want her.

"You're everything, Honeycomb," I slur out, too drunk on Honey to be embarrassed.

Honey grabs the collar of my shirt, pushing me back until I open my eyes and look at her. Lipstick is smeared all over her face, but she's still beautiful. She darts her eyes to the briefcase I dropped when we came in. "We should probably check what's in there before we do any celebrating."

"Money before sex? I thought better of you, Honeycomb?" I say with a mischievous smile. She rolls her eyes, pushing me off her completely, and grabs the briefcase. She walks over to the bed, and all I do is watch her perfect ass. She's literally mine now, and I still don't know how I made that happen.

Once she's placed the briefcase on the bed, I stride up behind her, rubbing her shoulders, watching her open it.

The briefcase pops open in one swift button press, and the smell of freshly printed money invades my senses. "Geez, should I be surprised that he actually honored the bet?"

She shrugs, laying her head against my shoulder. "He might be an asshole, but his father always taught him to honor his debts."

I stay quiet because I hope to hell she's not referring to any illegitimate children he has yet to find out about. She bends forward and takes a stack of the cash, running it through her hands. "Mm-hm, I don't think you've ever looked sexier." I kiss her shoulder, running my hands up and down her arms.

"What? Holding cash? If I knew that turned you on, I would have pawned another one of my purses and made underwear out of it."

I turn, take the cash, and throw it over her shoulder so it spreads across the bed behind her. She giggles, watching the green paper fall to the sheets. "No. Not just any money. My money." I push her down onto the bed so she's surrounded by the cash in that extremely hot dress.

Putting her hands behind her, she leans back on the bed with her legs spread and the slit of her black dress riding higher. She looks at me with hooded, wanton eyes and says, "Is this what you wanted to see?"

"Almost," I say, dropping to my knees in front of her and pushing her legs open wider. She doesn't squeal anymore when I push my face against her panties. Probably because I spend so much time between her legs these days.

I kiss the already soaked fabric of her black thong and flick my tongue out, grazing it across her clit. "Oh, yes." Honey throws her head back, and I immediately pull away. Licking my lips, I wait for her to look back at me.

When she finally does, I'm met with her furrowed brows. "If you want me to eat your pussy, you're going to have to keep your eyes on me." It's a calm statement, but she gets it. She bites her lip, her eyes focused on me. When I know she won't look away, I lean forward, kissing her thighs, next to the fabric of her panties. Then I let my tongue snake underneath, tasting her for the first time tonight.

Her scent drives me wild, and when I've pushed enough of the fabric away to reveal her center, I lap at the folds around her clit, never touching her in the place she wants. When I look up, she's still watching me closely, but now, she's biting her lip, probably holding back a curse word because I won't relieve her.

Bringing my hand up, I use one of my fingers to toy with her folds until I sink a finger inside her. She gasps at the unexpected intrusion since I usually only play with her like this after I've made her come with my tongue.

Moving back, I watch my finger move in and out. "Do you hear that? You're already so wet for me, and I've barely touched you." Her pelvis moves against my palm, and I add another finger to my torture. She's clenching around me, so I pull my fingers out and use the wetness to play with her clit by rolling it around my finger.

She's panting now, doing everything she can to keep her eyes open and watch me when I know all she wants to do is get lost in the feeling. Her body throbs underneath my hand, and as I push my fingers back inside her, I finally bring my mouth down to her and use my tongue to gently lap at her skin.

"Zach, I'm… I'm." I know what that strained voice means, and usually, I'd stop and torture her a little longer before letting her come, but tonight, I'm greedy. I pump my fingers into her faster and tickle my tongue across her skin until her body tenses. She screams out while she comes, and I stay down there, kissing her sensitive skin before standing up and unbuckling my belt.

I lie on top of her when my pants fall enough to release my cock. "Clothes on?" she asks with a curious brow.

"I could tear the dress off you, but that would be a little awkward when we walk out of here tomorrow, don't you think?"

Without another word, I push myself inside her. She grabs at my shoulder and pushes my jacket off. Then I drop down and kiss her, shoving my tongue in her mouth so she can taste herself on me. Her hands wrap around my ass, pushing me closer. I take the hint, pumping into her faster and harder than before.

I pull myself up, leaning all my weight on one hand while I push down the strap of her dress to reveal one of her breasts. "I love these," I say through pumps and drop down to suck one of her nipples into my mouth. It pebbles under my touch, and she arches her back into me when I bite down on it. "I will never get tired of this."

"Zach, please." She's close again, and I am too, knowing this won't be the last time she comes tonight.

I kiss my way up her neck, then one last time on the lips before dragging my face to her ear. "I love you, Honeycomb," I say, and that's when she clenches around me, forcing my own orgasm.

I pump slowly and steadily while she comes down from her high.

She scratches my back, and we're silent in our crumpled clothes. Did I tell her I loved her just before coming? God, how much of a sap have I become for this girl? "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that right before blowing my load in you."

"I love you too." I look at her, surprised, but she's unfazed. "Zach, the first time you kissed me, I felt something I've never felt before. I didn't know what it was to begin with, but I realized way before the first orgasm that I was falling in love with you. Even if I didn't want to admit it at the time, I was happy with whatever you'd give me because all I wanted was you."

I laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. "I can't say I was smart enough to realize I was in love with you from the start, but the minute I saw my necklace around your neck, I knew you were mine."

She looks at me with a small, bemused smile. "So, you've got your money, and we just finished prom with a bang. Does that mean we're finished?"

She tries to hold back her laughter, so I drop down and nibble at the soft spot on her neck that makes her giggle.

"Zach, stop," she whines out, which only makes me lap at the skin there harder.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Honeycomb." Dragging my hand to the side of her dress, I paw at the zipper, pulling it down until I can drag the dress off her. "But let me remind you why you don't want me gone."

With that, I spend the rest of the night showing her exactly what she means to me, knowing I'll never let her go.