Page 25 of Honey Undone (The Hornets Nest #5)

SARAH

A ll of my suspicions were correct. I hated parties.

Even with Jensen close the noise levels were insane and every drunk person that bumped into me activated my fight response. Every time I whirled on someone, Jensen laughed and straightened me out.

Jensen was determined to get me dancing and it wasn’t so bad.

I liked the way his body felt against mine and everyone was so busy with themselves that no one noticed the loverboy glances he threw my way.

The music was still too loud and the people too drunk but it was easier to distract myself with Jensen’s hands engulfing me possessively.

Eventually Todd turned up, pissed off and looking for a drink but Jensen just laughed at him when he tried to start shit.

We celebrated wins at the Hollow. Free drinks, live music, and crowd control crowds. Frat parties were like that, but one hundred percent worse.

“I’m thirsty,” I said to him after a while and he nodded, turning me around in his arms and pointing me toward the kitchen.

Once we got there, it wasn’t so horrible.

There weren't as many bodies, and I knew most of the players hanging around and a few of them introduced me to their partners. I was talking to Dean Tucker when Jensen’s hands started to roam again.

I gripped his fingers in mine as they spread out over my stomach, stopping him before he made the fabric of my shirt ride up too much.

“We’ve had a few pre-season games but our season opener is next week,” I said to Dean when he asked me if we were playing.

“Stop it,” I whispered to Jensen who feigned innocence with his lips on my shoulder.

“No,” he responded quickly and continued his assault on my already warm skin .

“Lucky us,” Cael Cody smiled from his perch on the counter.

“I can get you tickets, I’ll send them…” my sentence turned into a yelp as Jensen’s fingers found my hip again. “I’ll send them over to Dansby House.”

Dean laughed, clearly very accustomed to dealing with Jensen’s antics and went back to talking to the people around him. I turned my head and my nose brushed against Jensen who was resting on my shoulder watching his friends pour shots.

“You’re a nuisance, I’m trying to get to know your friends,” I said to him and his eyes flickered to meet mine. “What’s gotten into you?” I asked him.

“Just happy,” he said, surging forward to steal a kiss. “I need to run up to grab something from the Nest, come with me?” He asked, and how could I say no to that face.

It took us forever to get out of the house, every person that saw him stopped us to congratulate him on the game and with each conversation I could see his patience wearing thin.

The next guy that approached him got a scowl and a quick “yup” before I was gently tugged out the front door into the fresh air.

“I didn’t think it was possible to get that many people in a house?” I laughed as we started across the grass to a path.

“That’s not even a big party,” Jensen said, relaxing a bit the further we got from the noise.

“How far is Dansby House from here?” I asked him, looking at the path. It was dark and I wasn’t exactly a fan of it.

“Ten minutes tops,” he said.

“Let’s make it five,” I challenged, stepping back from him. “And it goes all the way up to the house?”

His lips curled into a smile, nodding slowly as his hungry eyes raked over my body.

“I’ll race you,” I said. “If you beat me up the hill you can have the jersey back.”

“Oh, I’m going to have that jersey by the end of the night regardless of a silly bet from a beautiful girl.” Jensen stepped forward and I stepped back away from his grasp.

“It’s okay to be scared to lose to a girl,” I said, teasing him a little as I stretched out my calves, “fragile male egos. ”

Jensen scoffed, “you aren’t going to insult me into racing you up the hill in the dark.”

“Just say you’re a coward then,” I said, pushing him a little further and I could see him cracking.

“I’m not a coward, and I can beat you in a foot race but it’s pitch black outside and I don’t want you getting hurt,” he argued gently but I wasn’t having it.

“Says the baseball player to the rugby player,” I laughed, “if anyone is made of glass here, it’s you, baby.”

“Don’t,” he swallowed tightly. His entire body pulled under the moonlight, his muscles hardened beneath the thin fabric of his t-shirt.

“Don’t what?” I giggled realizing what it was that got him all tense, “call you baby ?”

“That’s—” he stepped forward again, his neck red. It was clear to see that it was affecting him. I loved the shade of pink his cheeks turned being called it and I started backward. “Adeline.” His voice was low and warning.

It wasn’t going to stop me though, I took off running before he could stop me. Sprinting . I knew I had a decent head start when it took another two minutes before I heard his footsteps pushing up through the path behind me. Twigs snapped behind me and it only fueled the urge to move faster.

Sure baseball players were fast, but I had spent my entire career running to avoid getting caught by someone bigger than me, stronger than me. I sprinted over a hundred yards every single practice, this hill… in the dark was child's play.

I controlled my breathing and it wasn’t until I popped out the other side of the path into the backyard that he caught me. His arms wrapped around my middle and hauled me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.

“I win,” I giggled when his hand flexed tightly around my thigh. “You should do more cardio,” I teased, giving up fighting against his restraints and letting him carry me up the back steps into the house.

“I’m about to,” he grumbled, kicking the door closed.

“It’s pretty in here,” I noted, pushing up to look around at the kitchen as he stomped through it and down the hallway.

Everything was dark but it was obvious that the house was gorgeous and old.

I was completely unbothered by the fact that Jensen was clearly on a mission as he took the stairs.

“Where are we going?” I asked after a moment.

He wandered into a dark room, closing the door behind him and locking it.

“You have a roommate? That’s so cute,” I laughed as he set me down in the center of the room. Jensen grumbled something and kicked off his shoes. “Are you going to talk to me or just stalk me like an animal?” I asked him.

“Take off the jersey, Adeline.”

“Oh we’re doing that? Now?” I smiled at him, heat building in my chest as I retreated out of his reach toward his bed. He had warned me that he was going to get it back one way or another and now that he had come to collect on that threat, I was giddy about it.

“Do you know how many texts and calls I’ve gotten?

” He said, his eyes dark. “All because you refuse to take it off?” He was complaining but from all I’d learned about Jensen he was the type of guy who fucking loved the public display.

The fact that I had been parading around wearing his number in more ways than one, riled him up.

“But I love this jersey,” I purred and Jensen’s jaw ticked.

“I’m not asking, I want it off,” he took a step closer, his eyes never leaving mine. The tension in the room was palpable, the temperature rising. “Last chance to remove it willingly,” his voice dropped lower.

“Come get it then,” I whispered, raking my eyes over his impressive form. Fuck , I had waited too long for this and I could feel the sexual frustration vibrating through my muscles like an electrical charge. “Aren’t you supposed to be competitive or something? Make your move.” I challenged him.

Jensen smirked, unbuckling his belt slowly.

“Damn it, Adeline,” he groaned. Without it the pants hung low around his hips giving me a clear view of the hardened lines of muscles leading down beneath.

He took a step closer, his voice low and dangerous as he dropped it to the floor with a soft thud.

His eyes never leaving mine, he surged forward closing the distance between us.

He wrapped his strong arms around me, lifting me off the ground and tossed me back to the bed.

“You asked for it,” he said, the sound more of a groan from deep in his throat as he climbed over me and gripped the hem of the jersey .

“I’ve been waiting for it,” I whispered.

Jensen’s pupils dilated, his breath hitching slightly at the admission. His fingers flexed against the jersey, slowly inching it up my stomach. “For me to take back what's mine?”

“The jersey. Among other things…” I groaned, my hips pressing into the bed as his knuckles brushed against my stomach.

His eyes snapped back to mine, filling with lustful intensity. “Other things?” Jensen repeated, his voice barely audible. His hands stilled in their exploration, the jersey pulled up to my ribcage. “Like what Belle?” He demanded, his face inches from me. “What else is mine to take?”

Belle ame. The name tingled at my fingertips when he said it like that.

“You said I was your girl,” I said, “prove it.” The demand was simple and it caused his body to lower against mine.

“Adeline, you’ve belonged to me since the day I met you,” he said with conviction.

And it should have scared me. The idea that he was claiming stake was far beyond a simple fling but… it left me breathless and without words to combat the intense feelings that stirred up deep inside my chest.

“But if it's proof you want,” his face hovered over mine as he pulled the jersey up further, his voice rough with desire and possessiveness.

I nodded gently, words escaping my thoughts and being replaced by incoherent fantasies of what he might do if I just pushed a little further. “Show me,” I demand, curling my leg around him to bring him closer.