Page 44 of Honey Undone (The Hornets Nest #5)

JENSEN

“ I thought we were going out for dinner?” Adeline asked me from the passenger seat.

Days like today were my favorite. I had woken up with her face pressed against my chest, we had spent the morning at the gym, the afternoon destroying every surface in her apartment and when we were finished, she always demanded food.

“We are… at my mother's.” I dropped the bomb, we were driving down through Harbor, the storefronts flashing by the car as Adeline’s expression changed from excited to shocked. Which is why I waited until we were driving and she was locked inside to tell her.

“You want me to meet your mom?” Came out of her mouth, softer than I expected and it made my heart flutter in my chest.

“If I had it my way our first date would have been at the house but you had to go pick tattoos and chicken wings.” I teased her but her face was so serious.

“Marked me for life before you even met my mother…” I chuckled but noticed she wasn’t laughing with me so I reached out to squeeze the tattoo on her thigh.

"What?" When I tried to move back to the wheel her other thigh came down over my hand, trapping me against her entirely.

“You really want me to meet her?” She asked again, a little more nervous than the first time.

“It’s just my mom, I mean dad will be there too… but he’s nothing to be scared of,” I said, pulling down the road to our house.

“It’s a big step,” she said finally, as I pulled into the driveway .

“It’s just dinner, no expectations. No strings.” I assured her and she sighed like she wanted to argue but she just looked up at the big house with fear in her eyes.

“What if they don’t like me?” She asked as I killed the engine.

“Impossible,” I said without hesitation.

“Improbable,” she corrected, “there’s a chance they don’t.”

“You’re overthinking it. She invited me tonight, and I told her I was bringing you.

She didn’t make a big deal of it, and neither should you.

” I said, reaching over the console to her and grabbing her chin so she’d look at me.

“If by some insane chance they don’t like you, that’s their problem.

Not ours, because at this point I don’t think I could stop liking you even if I tried. ”

“You mean that?” She asked me, and I nodded, only stopping because she cut me off with a gentle kiss.

“Okay, I can do this, it can’t be scarier than impressing rugby scouts?

” She sounded more unsure then she had the day we got our tattoos.

“The no answer is scarier than you trying to convince me it's not by the way.” She steeled her nerves and grumbled at me as she got out of the car.

I rounded the car to put my hand in hers as I led her up the steps and inside, “shoes,” I said to her quietly. She obliged before following me down the hall to the kitchen.

“Mom?” I called out and no one answered right away but there was muffled grunting coming from the cupboards where she was stretched up on a stool trying to reach the top shelf. “What the hell are you doing?” I dropped Adeline's hand, leaving her standing by the island to help my mom down.

“I know that tray is up there!” She swatted my hand away but got off the stool. “The one with the blue jays that your grandmother gave me.”

“It’s not up there.” I shook my head, sliding the stool back against the counter.

“Why isn’t it up there?” She eyed me.

“Dad broke it last summer while you were in Greece and claimed you’d never find out because you don’t use it.” I shrugged.

“Unfortunately for you and your father, I use it when we have company,” Mom sighed and looked over at Adeline.

“Right…” I grimaced and turned to her. “Mom, this is Adeline,” I said .

“You’re prettier than he gives you credit for,” she winked at Adeline, who laughed and gave me a death glare.

“At least he talked to you about me, I’ve been in the dark…” she said, still staring at me.

“Quit stirring the pot.” I smirked at Mom with a shake of my head.

“Oh I raised you better,” Mom scolded, but there was no malice in her voice. “Keep it up, and you and Dad can get crackers for dinner while Adeline and I enjoy the risotto and lamb.”

“You made the lamb?” I stepped forward, and Mom stared me down.

“Not for rude little men without manners,” she said.

“Who conspire with their fathers over broken plates,” Adeline teased.

“It was a beautiful plate,” Mom sighed.

“Can you two not team up on me? It's been two minutes,” I asked, completely defeated but the color had returned to Adeline’s face.

“You broke my plate,” Mom smiled as her phone rang.

“I’ll find you another one,” I said softer.

“Watch that pot,” she said, pointing behind her. “Excuse me, Adeline.”

“See, not so scary,” I whispered, grabbing the side of her head and pulling her temple to my lips. “Unless you break one of her favorite plates.”

“Right,” Adeline purred. “Is this where you grew up?”

“Kinda,” I said, looking around the kitchen. “We travelled a lot growing up. Once Mom’s business went international, she was needed all over the place to oversee construction and openings.”

“She’s a big deal,” Adeline noted.

“She is, but not in this house. In here she’s just mom.

” I said, it was a rule made a long time ago that when Mom was home, she was Mom.

Nothing else. She had been putting me first my entire life, and it wasn’t until lately that I realized how selfless she was.

She had struggled and crawled her way out of the dirt, having a baby so young should have crippled her but she was smarter and more innovative than anyone gave her credit for.

It’s why I was given every opportunity, why I always said yes. Because I had been raised by someone who never told me or anyone else for that matter, the word no .

“Canada, Greece, Japan, Spain and France,” I listed them off for her and she gently shook her head in disbelief. I followed her as she started to explore the house. The walls were decorated with treasures from our travels and pictures of us against monuments and in museums.

“Were you ever in school?” Adeline asked in amazement.

“I was homeschooled for a while, but Mom wanted me to have some socialization other than rich businessmen and my dad,” I said, pointing to a photo of her opening one of the hotels in France. “We spent the longest time in France. It was her first hotel from the ground up. Two years,” I explained.

“Explains why you can speak it,” Adeline grinned ear to ear as she took it all in. We stopped at a door on the end of the hallway with a do not enter sign on the first of it. Without a second thought, Adeline popped the doorknob.

“Wow, yeah just ignore the sign.” I gasped as she wandered into my room.

“Holy crap,” she said, ignoring my jab as she took in the shelves of trophies. “It’s like a shrine in here, did you win all of these?” She stepped forward and pulled down one of the ones I got in sixth grade. “Dance?”

“I like to do stuff,” I said like that was a reasonable explanation for the excess of hardware hanging from my walls and shelves.

“Jensen this is more than just liking to do stuff, this is competing and winning?” She laughed, admiring my childhood bedroom, “but you didn’t stick with anything?”

“Until Harbor,” I said, “I found a place there and suddenly I didn’t want to keep trying other things. Baseball was enough for me.”

“That’s so sweet.” She looked over at me as she set one of the trophies back.

Her eyes scanned over more, the gymnastics, the water polo, the hockey…

everything was there and nothing I had said was a lie.

It had taken me a while to find myself in a sport, I like them all well enough but nothing ever felt like it needed me back.

Until I started playing with the Hornets.

Getting to play on the field with them every night was a dream, it was why I was taking burner classes just to hang onto that freedom for one more year before moving on to the next chapter.

I knew eventually I would join Mom with the hotels, I was more than qualified to do it and it had always been the plan but the second I told her I needed more time she put a smile on her face and responded with ‘take your time Malachi.’

So I did, and luckily my turtle approach to life brought me Adeline.

Never part of the original design but with every passing day it was getting harder to see a future without my girl.

“It’s annoying that all these trophies say M. Jensen,” she grumbled.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” I said, knowing full well it was a matter of time before Mom pulled out my full name.

Adeline turned, “You know it’s kind of cute that she has all of this still in your room. Look at your baby face!”

“I told you I was in the play senior year,” I took the picture from her and smiled at it. “Do you think we would have dated in high school?”

“Absolutely not,” she scoffed with a wicked smile.

“Ouch,” I said, leaning over her to place the photo back on the shelf.

“Don’t worry, I would have taken pity on you,” she hummed, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Oh yeah?” I returned the touch, tugging her closer by her waist and digging my fingers into her hips. “The popular girl and the homeschooled dork?”

“Even the homeschool dork deserves to get kissed under the bleachers,” she teased, her fingers pushing into my hair with a smile on her face.

“Would the popular girl settle for a high school make out in his shrine of trophies?” I asked her, enjoying the lightness of the conversation.

“On his Power Rangers comforter,” Adeline giggled, “so hot.”

“Are you making fun of that relic?” I asked her and she raised an eyebrow.

“Absolutely I am,” she said, looking over my shoulder at my bed again. “Do you even fit in that thing?”

Without warning, I scooped her up, tossing her to the mattress with a soft thud that made her bounce. I crawled over her as she sank into the pillow with a sweet smile across her face.

“You’re right,” I sighed. “I would have never survived having a girl this hot in my bed in high school.” I kissed her jaw as it vibrated with amusement.

“I could have called you cum shorts,” Adeline giggled .

“It was one time,” I growled, hurrying my face into the crook of her neck while my fingers found the hem of her shirt.

“Would have been a regular occurrence. I can't imagine your willpower has come that far if you’re still a five minute man,” she teased.

“I’d threaten you, but it would just turn you on,” I scoffed, tickling her harder and making her hips rise to meet mine.

“Awe you’re learning.” Adeline wriggled beneath me.

I nearly lost control when her lips connected with mine and her tongue slipped into my mouth dragging me down on top of her completely.

It was easy to lose my focus when she was around, like the rest of the world didn’t exist and for a second it didn’t have a reason to.

It was just me and her. Her hands in my hair, mine on her skin, our bodies pressed so tightly together there was no beginning or end.

“Malachi!”

My mother's voice echoed through the house.

“Malachi…” The triumph in her voice was vicious as Adeline pulled back from me. “Malachi Jensen!”

“Yeah yeah, shh now,” I kissed her again to keep her quiet.

“Malachi means angel doesn’t it,” she pulled away a second time, leaving me to chase her lips.

“Yeah,” I confirmed with a barrage of kisses around her face. “Do you want to keep asking questions or—”

My door flying open had me in the upright position in a second flat, Mom stood with her hand on her hip acting like I was sixteen again and got caught with a girl in my room. Which, to her credit, had happened because despite Adeline’s assumption, I was never a dork.

“You were supposed to be watching dinner,” she scolded, pointing at me, “He keeps the baby pictures in his bottom drawer,” she said to Adeline before bringing the phone back to her ear and disappearing down the hallway. “Move it, Kai!” she called once more.

“How is it possible that she’s still a cockblock when I’m an adult?” I rested my head against Adeline’s and huffed gently. “Don’t answer that,” I cut her off when she opened her mouth to argue .

“She calls you Kai for short!” Adeline rolled from bed as I stood up just to smooth out my hair from her fingers.

“Yeah, since I was a kid,” I said, still frazzled from the interruptions. “No one outside this house knows my name, Adeline.”

“Why? Are you spies?” She giggled.

“No it’s just—I go by Jensen outside these walls. Always have, Malachi is for my mom.”

“That’s so sweet,” her bottom lip jutted out. “You’re her angel.”

“Are you done?” I smiled at her and her weird love of random facts, such as knowing the meaning behind names.

“For now,” she cooed, hooking her finger into the collar of my shirt.