Page 17 of Honey Undone (The Hornets Nest #5)

SARAH

J ensen wouldn’t let me help pay for the tattoos and sent me up to the lobby while he did. I looked down at my thigh, fingers brushing over the thin covering that wrinkled around my skin and smiled.

It would be awhile before I forgot the hot, overwhelming need that flooded my body when Jensen had been that close. Any hesitation I had been feeling seemed to rush out as the sexual frustration receded and all that was left was the want and need to have more.

His hair was soft and his touches were purposeful, strong and burning my skin with an invisible branding that I could still feel as I busied myself with the art on the walls. I heard Jensen laughing and turned to see him saying goodbye and slipping back into his button down.

“You hungry?” He asked without skipping a beat.

Butterflies erupted across my chest at how natural it felt to be around him like that and I couldn’t even remember why I was so worried this morning about today. It was like Jensen had always been a permanent fixture in my life and I was only noticing him now.

“Starving,” I said, as he whipped the front door open.

He took my hand without asking as his confidence blossomed and I was quietly dying inside at the feeling of his fingers linked into mine. He glanced at me for a second and his smile softened around the edges.

“What?” I asked, looking over myself for anything that might be making him laugh.

“Nothing,” Jensen chuckled and slowed his pace, “you’re just going to have to get used to me staring at you just because I want to. ”

Alright . I could feel the blush crawling up my neck and I narrowed my eyes on him. “Some girls might find that creepy, you know?” I challenged him.

“If it made you uncomfortable, I wouldn’t do it,” he said back, his tone dropping as he wet his bottom lip and stepped in front of me to stop me. Our chests brushed and his eyes flickered to my lips as his smirk grew. “But it doesn’t, you like it. So when you’re done arguing with me…”

“I thought arguing was our thing?” I asked and pressed up on my toes to get eye level with him. “If you’re sick of it already, I’m sure Harry wouldn’t mind picking up the slack,” I said, spinning on my heel to go back to the parlor.

Jensen’s hand tightened around mine and pulled me back, tucking me against his chest and holding me tight with his arm around my lower back. His annoyed huff was hot as it fanned over my cheek and down my neck.

Kiss me.

I begged silently as his eyes looked down at my lips again.

He could just as easily reach out with his own and give us both what we’ve been wanting.

His fingers pressed into the skin of my lower back and I hadn’t even noticed they’d crept beneath the fabric of my shirt until I was fighting for my life trying not to melt into a puddle from the way he was staring at me.

“That’s fine, Adeline. Be a brat all you want but just know I’m keeping tabs and the day will come when you learn exactly how I deal with your attitude,” he practically growled it, his voice darkening as people walked by us on the street.

I held my breath, my thighs clenching together at his threat while my heart raced under my thin shirt.

He loosened his grip and tightened his hand on mine again, “I would like to show you my after tattoo tradition.”

I finally inhaled once he stepped back and started to walk beside me again. I aimed for the car but he gently tugged on my hand to pull me in the other direction. We walked down the street for a while until we came to a restaurant with a busy patio out front and smelled like heaven.

“My second favorite thing in the entire world is chicken wings,” he said to me, letting go of my hand and opening the door for me. “And you will never eat another one as good as these guys make them. ”

“Chicken wings?” I chuckled and walked inside with him at my back.

The restaurant was nice, it wasn’t as busy inside but there were booths set up in rows and a massive marquee bar against the back wall.

The waitress seated us in a quiet back booth and as I slid into it against the burgundy leather it dawned on me, “what’s your favorite thing?

You said, chicken wings were your second favorite thing in the entire world, what’s the first? ”

“Ask me later,” he huffed, his eyes bright and focused. He ordered us a bunch of food and a beer for himself, leaving me to order what I wanted to drink.

“You know chicken wings on a first date is a bold move,” I said to him as the waitress handed me my gin and seven-up.

“I couldn’t take you to some stuffy steak restaurant,” he scoffed, pausing to scowl at me. “It might have been impressive but it didn’t feel like something you’d enjoy.”

It vibrated through me like a flash of lightning that he had so easily read me like that.

I couldn’t remember the last time I sat in a fancy restaurant and enjoyed it.

Environments like this, close quarters, loud laughing, stiff drinks…

my head was spinning with the amount of care he had taken with me even in the midst of my spontaneity.

“Is this like a mukbang fetish I wasn’t aware of?” I mocked him, brushing off the rush of intense feelings I had gotten just then.

“Oh now, Adeline I know you aren’t afraid to get a little messy,” Jensen said, pressing the bottle to his lips as they curled into a devilish smirk. “Or did I make the wrong call?”

“Out of the two of us, I can confidently say that I get dirtier than you on a regular basis,” I argued, “have you ever had to get grass stains out of your underwear?” I laughed gently and he joined in with a surrendering nod.

I watched him interact with the waitress as she returned and despite her actively trying to flirt with him, his focus wasn’t on her even for a second.

It was strange to be in a public setting with him in such a way, everyone knew his name or his face.

With most of the towns around Harbor being so small, every male sport team was treated like they were famous.

But the majority of our interactions had been private, give or take a few.

Most of our conversations took place over the phone and I had almost expected him to be a much bigger flirt with other women than he was turning out to be.

He excused himself from the table to use the bathroom and I pulled my phone out of my pocket to text Kaia.

I don’t think he’s fling material

KAIA: Is it going bad?

Do you need us to come get you?

I can tell Rhea to get the bat!

No

It was actually comical how fast she answered and even more how quickly she had decided that violence was the first and best option.

Then what?

He’s just… really nice and I don’t know.

I might actually like him?

The dots appeared and disappeared more than once and I was starting to sweat that he’d return before Kaia gave me advice on how to proceed.

There is not a world that exists where you don’t fuck that man.

Kaia. That’s not helpful.

Just try not thinking so hard about it. Are you having fun?

Yeah

Then have fun and put your phone away, that’s so rude on a date.

I scoffed and tucked it away as Jensen came around the corner, “calling for an emergency evacuation already?” He asked, his eyes drifting down to my lap as he slid into the booth across from me.

“No,” I said, “she was just checking to make sure you didn’t murder me.”

“If I was going to murder you I wouldn’t have taken you to get identifying markers on your skin.” Jensen's voice was low, his intelligence almost frightening.

“That’s terrifying,” I said with a laugh. “Is that why you got all those tattoos so no one can murder you?”

“No I got them because they make me look cool,” he mused as the waitress set two massive trays of wings between us. “Can we get some more drinks?” He asked her quickly before she wandered away.

“This is a lot of food,” I said, looking over all the different types of wings he ordered. There had to be at least twelve sets of eight wings each.

“Trust me once you start, it won’t be enough and you have to try a little of everything or this date would be a bust,” Jensen promised, grabbing his first wing.

I looked at the table and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt before I started from the other end of the flight.

The wing I chose was sweet, garlicky and it melted over my tongue.

“Holy shit,” I mumbled with my mouth still a little full and a bright smile spread across his face.

“Told you,” he beamed, clearly very proud of himself. “Try that one,” he said, as I cleaned the chicken wing and set the bones into the discard bowl she had left for us.

“Do you guys have a code?” He asked after a few minutes of us eating in silence. He wasn’t wrong, these were the best wings I’d ever eaten, and I definitely hadn’t realized just how hungry I was until I had that first bite .

“A code?” I asked, taking a different flavor. He lifted his bottle with two of his only clean fingers and took a sip.

“You know,” he paused, setting the bottle down, “like if you don’t like a guy, or if you’re in trouble?” He asked. “Cael had a sentence, it was something we knew he’d never say…”

“What was it?” I laughed.

“I love my dad,” Jensen chuckled and even though I didn’t fully understand it was kinda ridiculous.

“Okay, what’s your sentence then? If this date goes badly—”

“Do you think it’s going badly?” He cut me off and I shook my head.

“But if it did, what’s your out?” I asked him. He took another drink and thought about it for a moment.

He leaned on his elbows toward me across the table, “I don’t have one, I never have.”

“Wow, cocky ,” I smirked, finishing my drink.

“Optimistic,” Jensen corrected. I giggled and Jensen raised his eyebrow at me, “what?”

“Optimistic, makes you sound like a man whore,” I teased him.

“Man whore is harsh, I like to think of it as I’m not a quitter.” He called the waitress over for another beer and ordered me another drink.

I pressed another wing between my teeth and smiled at him. I wanted to see how far I could push him, “so what if I told you that I don’t wear deodorant?” I asked.

“I like the way your sweat smells,” he whispered without a lick of hesitation.

“And if I told you I snore in my sleep?” I asked.

“I go to bed every night with a little white noise,” he countered. I waited as the waitress cleared our empties before starting up again.

“Okay,” I said, thinking on the next question a little harder, “if you come over for a booty call and when you get there I make you watch all ten Fast and Furious movies instead…”

“Are you a popcorn girl or nachos?” Jensen said without skipping a beat and my heart stuttered a little at his response. "Nevermind, I'd bring both. "

“You’d do all of that to get some ass?” I asked him, nervously chewing on another wing.

“What about any of the things I’ve done or said over the last weeks gave you the idea that I’m only in this for sex?” He asked me and I almost choked on my wing from his response.

Shit. I hadn’t prepared for him to be so quick and responsive with his answers, hell I wasn’t even ready for this date to go as well as it had. The Jensen leading up to it had been smooth, and charming.

“The texts, pushing for a date, the flirting,” I listed all of his efforts.

He huffed, setting down his beer and sliding out from the booth.

“I thought you weren’t a quitter?” I looked up at him and he scoffed.

“Enough,” his tone was low, demanding and silenced whatever argument that was about to leave my mouth next.

“Move over,” he said, sliding into the same side as me.

He leaned over the back with his arm and braced on the table, effectively trapping me in with his body.

“I know this is hard to believe but there can be duality to a man, Adeline. I can take you on dates, treat you right, feed you, make you laugh… keep you happy,” his voice changed again as he leaned in closer.

“I like doing all those things…” He breathed out and I could feel it across my throat and chest as his fingers curled into the cushioned booth behind my head.

I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks again, a ferocious mixture of gin and Jensen’s cologne flooded my senses and made it hard to think about anything other than kissing him.

“But that’s just one side of me,” Jensen said, his hand coming up and pressing against my cheek, his fingers long enough to curl against the back of my jaw and pull me closer to his lips. “I want to be the one that fucks every bratty thought from your head until I’m the only thing on your mind.”

I swallowed, pressing my hand flat to the table close to his while his gaze stayed intently connected to mine.

“Do you understand now?” He asked me as we shared a single breath. “Answer me, Adeline,” he whispered with a smirk. I was going to die in the booth of a chicken wing bar in the arms of a fuckboy baseball player and I’d never been more ready for my last moments .

“I understand,” I finally forced off my lips.

“Good,” he said, turning back in the booth like he hadn’t just completely violated every resolve I had left about fucking him.

We continued to eat and drink, the conversation lulling into something softer and more connected than it had been before.

I was starting to understand what he meant when he said he could be both.

Sweet and attentive when he wanted to be but in those quick moments he was a completely different animal.

“You’re going to protest and before you say no, I have a plan,” Jensen said, finishing another beer. “I’m not driving back to Harbor, and neither are you,” he laughed, leaning closer and pointing to the four empty gin glasses.

“You want to stay here? In town?” I said, my voice clearly a little nervous.

“Hey, just to sleep it off. I’ll even get us two beds,” he said, “scout's honor,” he said tapping his chest again.

"That's suspicious," I scowled.

“If I’m going to be inside you, I’m going to remember every goddamn second of it,” he added without flinching and hailed down the waitress for the bill.

“Let me,” I asked, reaching for it.

“Pretty sure, feed you , was on that list,” he said, plucking the bill away before I could take it.