Honey, Honey by Rebel Carter
Chapter Nine
LAW
“What the fuck are you doing?” The question was to no one in particular, seeing as my ass was alone and standing in a hallway outside of a women’s bathroom. I glanced towards the shut door and repeated the question. “What the fuck am I doing?” There, that was right, the clarification of that question made all the difference in the world.
What was I doing? I glared at my phone and shoved it back in my pocket. I’d texted Taylor letting him know I was going to need him to bring the car around and that we’d be making a detour before home. There was no if's and’s or but’s, I was going to be taking Honey home the second she got out of the damn bathroom. I leaned back against the wall and looked at the door. The door to the bathroom Honey was currently in. How had this happened? One minute I’d been eating dinner and responding to emails in a private room. The server had been a little intrusive, but she was easily brushed off. I wasn’t interested and hadn’t given her an in, so when the door had slid open I’d thought it was her checking on me again and interrupting the peace I was enjoying. I hadn’t looked up from my email, choosing to focus on work. I’d let the silence speak for itself when she tried to strike up a conversation with me for what felt like the hundredth fucking time that night.
I’d already made a mental note to let the owner know on my way out that when I said private, I meant private. She knew me from the days when I’d been a familiar face on the streets of New York. She’d make sure I had my quiet while I dined.
But then I’d heard that first breathy ‘sorry,’ and I’d known exactly who it was. It wasn’t my nosey server, it was Honey. Just like that, it was like a switch being flipped in my brain—I’d just known it was her. Something in me had changed the day I’d met her, the second I’d laid eyes on her, heard her voice, had her smile at me. Something in me had shifted, the compass of me reoriented to zero in on Honey. I’d recognize her in a crowd, pick her low and sweet voice out no problem even in a crowded room.
Sonofabitch. How had that happened?
And then I’d been crossing the room and putting my hands on her before I could stop myself. She was drunk, which I hated. Having a good time was fine by me, but pushing boundaries until the lines of safety and recklessness were blurred and twisted together was beyond what I tolerated. I did not allow for my subs to get out of control, to abuse themselves like that, and I’d threatened to spank the shit out of her if I had the chance. Which brought up a whole different issue altogether.
Honey was not my submissive. She was not my little girl, not even if I used the title once I had my hands on her. I’d lost my head the second I had her hand in mine, because I’d found out I was right. She was soft as silk beneath me, her skin warm and smooth under my hands, and her body had been perfect against mine. She fit in all the ways that mattered, soft and pliant to the planes of my body. I could have done exactly what I threatened if that damn server hadn’t barged in and tried to piss all over what I had going with Honey.
The moment had been ruined, but that was fine. I wouldn’t have taken it any farther anyways, not with her looking up at me with drink-hazed eyes. She liked what she was hearing, but a sub made bold by alcohol was not what I wanted. I rubbed a hand over my eyes and sighed. Was she even a sub? I didn’t know, we hadn’t talked about it. Honey made me want to lose control, to let the Dom out to play. All the dark in me felt like she’d stirred it right up and begged for me to pour it out into her waiting hands. But did the woman know what she was waking up in me? Or was she simply drunk and letting her mouth get ahead of her. I turned when the door handle began to jiggle and watched as she exited the bathroom with a slightly chagrined look on her face.
“Hey, sorry. I mean, thanks for waiting,” she said, pointing a finger at the door. “I should go, my friend that I came with is probably worried about me.”
I felt my hackles go up at the mention of the friend. “You never answered my question.”
“What question?”
“Is it a friend or is this date?” I didn’t know why the fuck it mattered to me when I didn’t know this woman, but it did. It mattered because I wanted her for myself and it mattered because now I knew what her tits felt like pushed up against me.
“Friend,” she said with a quick shake of her head, and then she looked past me, down the hallway, towards the back dining area. “Her name is Tiffany. We work together. I really like her and want her to be my friend, but she’s going to be so annoyed at me for being gone so long. I have to go back now. Do you know how hard it is to make friends when you’re an adult? I hope she isn’t mad at me.” She pushed past me unsteadily and I stopped her by hooking an arm around her waist and drawing her back into my side.
“Come on, we’ll go find your friend.” I put her arm around my waist, pinning her wrist to my side while I continued to practically hold her up with my other arm. How had I ended up babysitting her, wanting to do the damn thing and feeling an uncomfortable pull in my chest when she leaned her head against my shoulder and smiled up at me? It was a drunk smile, but it was a smile all the same.
“She’s back here. I see her!” Honey exclaimed, raising an arm over her head and waving wildly at a woman sitting at a table. It was the redhead from the coffee shop and she was waving back just as excitedly.
Honey didn’t charge across the room like I expected her to, instead she looked at me. “You don’t think-” she began but I stopped her, knowing exactly what she was anxious about.
“I don’t think she’s mad at you,” I told Honey. She was worried about what her friend thought, which was understandable, but the way she had looked to me for reassurance... Her quick, breathy little “Do you think-?” was still ringing in my ears with all the reverberation of a gunshot at point blank range. She had my head fucking spinning, my ears ringing with the sound of that half asked question. She’d wanted me to set it right, and I had without even thinking about it. Because it’s what I needed to do for this woman.
“Really?” She asked, a tentative smile forming on her lips.
“Yes, she’s practically falling out of her chair waving at you. Come on, let’s get you over there and get the bill settled. I have to get you home.”
“But I’m in charge of getting Tiffany home,” she informed me with a shake of her head, digging her heels in when I started towards the table.
“You were,” I told her with a shake of my head. “Now I’m getting you both home.”
“But why?”
Because that’s what you did when you couldn’t shake a woman from your brain after a solid week. Because that’s what you did when you threatened to spank her. Because that’s what you did when you wanted to bend her over and fuck her into next week.
I cleared my throat and shrugged. “Seems like you need a little help right now.”
She bit her lip and looked away. “I got a little carried away. Sorry,” she whispered, barely audible over the din of the restaurant. If I hadn’t been this close, or this fucking attuned to Honey, I would have missed it. “I didn’t mean to.”
I dropped the hand that I’d been holding to my side and reached out, tipping her head back with a finger, so that her eyes were back on my face and not on the floor. “It happens,” I told her in a reassuring tone meant to soothe. That didn’t mean I was fine with her drinking choices tonight, “you need to be careful in the future, Honey. I won’t always be the man you run into when you’re drunk.”
“I’m safe with you,” she said, giving me a lopsided smile. “I can tell.”
“You’re not,” I told her. Her eyes widened slightly, pretty mouth opening with a barely audible ‘Oh,’ and I nodded at her, leading her in the direction of her friend. ‘Oh’ was right, but I wasn’t going to get into it with her, not in this damn restaurant when I still had to get her and her friend home. Not when I had to get her inside of her house while keeping her safe. Not when the biggest risk to keeping her safe was keeping her fucking away from me.
“Hey! I was worried about where you disappeared off to, but now that I see you with Mister Perfect, I get it.” The redhead shot us a finger gun and a wink. “I’m Tiffany by the way and I’m fast becoming your lady love’s best friend,” she told me, extending a hand when we were beside the table.
“Lady love?” I asked, looking at Honey who was shaking her head at Tiffany and giving me a look that could only be described as panic. Someone had been telling lies.
“When did you get here?” Tiffany asked, when I shook her hand. “Honey didn’t say you’d be joining us.”
I pulled out a chair and nudged Honey into it, before I took the one beside her and sat. “Honey gave me a ring. Told me you might need a little help getting home.”
Tiffany clasped her hands in front of her and smiled wide at me. “You’re amazing for rescuing us. A real gentleman!”
I waved off her thanks. “It was no trouble. I was having dinner nearby.”
“Oh, so you’ve eaten. That’s great news! Then you can have a drink with us before we go, because we finally got those beers. Even if our server has been totally giving you the stink eye since you two showed up.” Tiffany leaned over the table and stage whispered to us. “What do you think her deal is?”
Honey giggled and I turned my head, unable to hide the smile on my face at the sound. It was light and carefree. Sweet like her namesake, sweet like I knew her mouth would be when I kissed it. I frowned, the smile vanishing from my face at the thought. I should not be wondering if I would kiss her or not. I should not be going there. Not tonight.
“Let’s have that drink,” I said, reaching out and snagging the bottle of beer from the table. I poured us all a round and followed it with a soju chaser for each of us. Taylor would be coming any minute to get us—all three of us, with Tiffany’s addition.
“Cheers!” Tiffany exclaimed, lifting her glass in the air.
“Cheers,” Honey and I said joining her, but I noticed Honey’s cheers were softer now. She was watching me with a worried look on her face. She knew her little lie about our relationship was out in the open now and she was trying to gauge my reaction. Her big brown eyes were trained on my face, even as she spoke to Tiffany, her fingers twisting in the sweater she wore. I reached out, sliding an arm behind her chair and carried on the conversation with Tiffany. She was a nice woman, open and caring, and I could see I was right. Honey had nothing to worry about in terms of making a new friend.
My phone buzzed and I reached for it knowing it was Taylor. “Ladies, I need a minute.” I stood and nodded at them as I pulled the phone from my pocket. Taylor was out front. It was time to close out the bills and get Tiffany and Honey out of here. I passed the server from before on my way to the front, and I didn't miss the rigid look to her when our eyes met.
She stopped in front of me and asked, “You want your bill then?”
“That’d be great.”
“Follow me.” She took off at a fast clip, but I didn’t speed up to catch her. I knew where the front desk was, and it wasn’t like she would be able to settle my bill without me. There was no need to rush just because she was pissed about going home alone. When I arrived at the register the server was glaring at me but said nothing as she put my bill in front of me. “I’ll take the one with the redhead in the other room too.”
“I guess that’s the least you can do since you’re taking her friend home,” she said, slapping down another tab in front of me.
I stilled, the pen in my hand poised over the receipt paper. “She’s my fiancée,” I said. The lie came easy. I heard the sharp intake of her breath, but I didn’t bother to look up at her as I went back to signing the bills. Bills that I still fucking tipped on.
“I told you he was paying the bill!” Tiffany shouted from behind me. I turned, seeing Tiffany and Honey making their way towards me, arms around each other’s waists. Tiffany was grinning, Honey was looking anxious. I shot an easy smile her way and put the pen down with a snap.
“Come on, ladies. Night’s over.”
Tiffany pouted but came along, dragging Honey behind her who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. When she was close enough to me, I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into my arms. “You good?” I asked her.
She gave a quick nod of her head. “Yes, but Lawson, you don’t have to take me home. I can get there on my own. I’m just a few blocks away and I’ll be fine getting home, really.” She gestured towards the door with an umbrella and I almost groaned when I saw the flash of pink pastel. Of course she had a big bubblegum pink umbrella. I forced my brain to focus on the words she was saying and led them both to the door.
A few blocks? That fixed the logistics of everything. I’d send Tiffany on with Taylor and take Honey home myself, he could swing by for me after he had dropped Honey’s friend off. I snagged the umbrella from her and unfurled it the second we hit the sidewalk. I still had my arm around Honey keeping her close to me while Tiffany skipped behind us.
“You’re both so cute. I hate it,” she told us.
“Thanks. I get it,” I told her honestly, because I did. I really did. I was right in the middle of it and I hated it too. Taylor exited the car and jogged over to us with an umbrella of his own. He held it over Tiffany’s head as soon as he was close enough and looked my way, waiting for instructions.
“Taylor, I’m going to have you take Tiffany home. I’ll be taking Honey home on foot. I’ll text you the coordinates as soon as we arrive. I’ll wait there for you.”
He nodded at me. “Understood. I’ll make good time. Nobody’s out in this storm.”
“Wait, am I getting a private driver?” Tiffany squealed.
“Looks that way,” I told her and a second later the woman was launching herself into my arms with an excited laugh.
“This is awesome! Thank you so much!” She looked at Honey and winked. “Your man is amazing, Honey. Don't ever let him go.”
Honey gave a weak laugh and a non-committal mumble that sounded something like, ‘sure thing,’ but I couldn’t be sure since she was turned away from me, hiding her face in her sweater. She gave Tiffany a quick hug and they promised to text when the other was home before Taylor hustled Tiffany into the car, and we were alone on the sidewalk.
“You really don’t have to take me home,” she said, daring to look my way.
“I do,” I said. “You’re not safe with me, but you are safer from everyone else if you’re with me,” I told her.
“I think that’s...good, right?” she asked, biting her bottom lip. The site of her teeth digging into the plump flesh made me want to be the one biting her lip. I turned away from her and gestured with the umbrella, that goddamn umbrella that I could see was covered in fat pink bows now that it was open. What was a woman doing with an umbrella like this? It looked fit for a little girl, which just...I imagined her walking in the rain with it, the fabric of it bouncing along through the gray of the city streets, Honey holding it tightly in her hands looking like a sweet treat.
A sweet treat that I wanted to sink my teeth into.
“It is,” I said and then jerked my chin down the street. “Which way?”
“That way. It’s just a little bit of a walk,” she said, extending her arm to point down the street. “Not long at all.”
“Then let’s get a move on. Want to get you out of the rain.”
She bobbed her head and stepped forward, but it only took a few steps before she was stumbling slightly. I sighed, watching her struggle. How much had she had to drink before she’d walked into my private room? I should not have poured her that damn last drink. This was my fault.
“Stop,” I told her, my voice sounding strained to my ears. I fucking hated that I had had a hand in what I was seeing.
“What is it?” she asked, turning to look at where I was standing and shook her head. “Oh no, you’re getting wet!” She tried to pull me in closer to her but were already standing toe-to-toe, pressed together under the umbrella. Not that it phased me. I’d had a lot worse in my life than getting rained on while having a beautiful woman pressed up to my side.
A lot fucking worse.
