Chapter Five

Zach

Resting my back against the recliner, my eyes are glued to the iPad screen, watching plays that I should have prioritized yesterday.

Squinting, I glare at the screen because the table lamp next to me is too dim, but I'm too tired to get up and turn the light on.

As I watch our rivals messily execute their plays, I'm distracted by the constant notifications popping up at the top of my screen. It's two a.m. Do these people ever sleep?

It seemingly doesn't matter what time I'm up, there's always someone who wants to message me about signing a ball, a play I didn't execute quite right or to tell me how bad I am at football.

I've had enough.

Not only are these messages ruining my concentration, they're driving a wedge between me and Honey.

I pull down the bar on the screen, changing the settings so that the notifications stop, but freeze when I see a message from my mom.

My heart thuds, and my stomach drops because as if I didn't have enough to worry about, the things back home were only just getting started.

And those things were Tiff.

She was supposed to be here already, but now it just feels like that was an idealistic pipedream.

My parents are worried about Tiff. I am too, because even though I got a pretty hefty sponsorship deal, I don't have the funds to take on a multi-million-dollar law firm that has its own agenda. They want to destroy my cousin and Tiff has been through enough these past few years.

What if they win this?

What if they get Ella?

What if everything we built comes crashing down?

All things I'm sure Tiff or my mom can get out of their minds either, but thinking negatively isn't going to help.

They can't get Ella. It's impossible unless they buy the judge, which is something I wouldn't put past the Nicks. They're ruthless and ready to wage war over a child that I doubt Jamie even cares about.

My knuckles grip at the iPad so tightly, I feel my knuckles going white. Ella can't go with them. She's not theirs. She's ours.

I click open the document my mother forwarded, and gnaw at my bottom lip as I read through the notes. So much for watching those plays and getting an hours' sleep before Honey wakes up. Now I'm going to spend the time I have scouring through these papers, looking for a loophole.

There just has to be a way to get Tiff out of Connecticut and here with us in Indiana. She can't be stuck at my parent's house because some asshole's parents want to punish her for his mistakes.

But then my stomach drops because Ella isn't a mistake.

She's the best goddamn thing that happened to my family.

Ugh. My brain is fried and the more I try to think of a solution, the worse my headache gets. Maybe I just need some more coffee.

"Zach?" Her low, sleepy tone always calms me, and can make anything better. Honey, just like her name, is an elixir, soothing my soul with her mere presence.

Her soft feet pad down the stairs, and when I glance over, I can feel my dick twitching a little. My South Point Prep shirt looks so big on her that I'm starting to wonder if I could fit inside it with her.

Although, let's be real, I'd rather just rip it off her and languish her in love and attention.

"Marry Me," I wisp out, placing my iPad on the coffee table as I watch her toned legs make her way towards me.

She rolls her eyes before falling into my lap and curling up against me like a Cold kitten. Gripping her hips, I adjust her a little so her ass isn't directly on my cock because I have no doubts she'll chastise me for getting a hard on at the mere sight of her.

"What time is it?" she asks, rubbing her head against my chest. I immediately start to stroke her hair, waiting for that pleasant smile she always throws my way when I do it.

"It's two am."

"Then why are you up?" Honey's movements slow and she drags out the question long enough that I can tell she's ready to go back to bed. I drop my other hand to her thigh, rubbing the silky soft skin there.

"Couldn't sleep."

With her eyes closed, she shuffles in my lap and I wonder if she knows just how hard I am, because She's doing an awfully good job at getting me hornier. "Does that happen often?"

"Not really," I lie, kissing her on the top of her head. What's the point in telling her everything that's bothering me?

She knows almost all of it, and if I tell her the main reason I can't sleep, she'll brush me off.

It's her. I'm worried about her. About us. Where her head is at because sometimes she feels like a vault. Like she doesn't want to tell me things because she'll think it will disappoint me. She might be in my lap, lifting her thigh to push my hand closer to her center, but is she really here with me?

I ask her to marry me all the time because I don't want to lose her, but there's a deep seated insecurity in me that's worried she might already be lost.

"Are you sure?" Her hands on top of mine now, directing it up her thigh and under her shirt.

It's funny. I knew she wasn't wearing panties, but feeling her like this, knowing she's already ready for another round is something else.

"We had sex at least six times last night, and usually you're out like a light after a session like that. "

She takes in a sharp breath as my finger grazes across her clit. "Zach," She breathes out my name with a sigh, chasing my touch and I don't deny her. I never will.

I push two fingers inside her, gently rocking my hand into her while my thumb caresses her clit.

He chest rises and her lips part, but her eyes remained closed. I love watching her like this. Knowing that I'm the one that is in control of her pleasure.

"I want you," She breaths out just as one of her hands clutches my shirt. I work her harder and faster, knowing that it won't take long. Honey was already horny before I touched her. I know because the only time she wakes up in the middle of the night is to seek me out for another round. Something that I'm always more than willing to help with.

I kiss the temple on her forehead, moving my hand quicker as she chases her pleasure. Feeling her clench around me and call out my name is the only time I know for sure she's mine. Nothing will change that I know her body better than my own at this point.

I change tactics with my thumb, flicking her clit just as her hips raise. She clenches around my fingers, and I know she's close so I whisper in her ear, "Are you going to be a good girl and come all over my fingers so I can have my morning taste?"

She presses her teeth into her bottom lip and chases my touch. When there's a crinkle in her brow, I know I've got her.

Honey cries out loudly, falling to pieces in my hands, and I watch, doing my best to commit this entire thing to memory.

The way her eyes crinkle. The way she stops breathing. The way she falls back like a ragdoll when she's spent and then curls into my chest, still craving my touch.

Fucking perfect.

There's no sight in the world better than that.

"Well good morning to you too, " She drawls out. Even though She's exhausted, her hand reaches for me and she grabs my shaft through my boxers.

I slip one of my hands under her thighs and place the other on her back before moving off the recliner. If Honey's surprised by the move, she doesn't show it.

"You know I can't waste any opportunity with you, especially since I know you won't be by my side tomorrow."

With every step I take back to our bedroom (because it's our bedroom, she just hasn't figured it out yet) , I start to feel a little more bold with my confession. Not that she doesn't know all of this already.

"Coming here has made me realize how much I like having you by my side. When you're not around, I feel lost and I don't know what to do with myself. "

Another few steps.

"I don't want to live without your clothes in my closet. Your scrunchies in my bathroom. Your panties on my floor."

Another few steps up the stairs now.

"You see me for who I am and you make me want to be better."

When I get to the top of the stairs, I stop and say, "I love you, Hunniford Sanderson, and there's no one else in this world that I want to call my wife than you. Move in with me. Please."

I lick my lips, smiling because, yes, I've asked her to move in with me and marry me before, but this was the first time I was so serious. It was real and I hope she sees that.

When I'm met with silence, I look down at her little body and laugh, wondering how much of my little speech she heard before she fell asleep.

As per usual my words are wasted. At least my love for her isn't.