Page 26 of Kiss Me Honey Hone

Aaron lowered the glass, chest heaving. His gaze found Kenny’s in the dim light and he drank in his tousled hair, his face drawn with exhaustion, and those dark eyes, soft, yet searching, concern etching every line of his expression. Aaron swallowed hard, trying to decipher it. Was it genuine care for him? Or just Kenny being Kenny. The ever-responsible, ever-protective man who couldn’t stand the thought of anyone messing up his perfectly curated life, even if that meant stopping Aaron from drinking vital fluids as he might ruin his ultra soft, ultra comfy, ultra luxurious king sized bed wrapped in soft cotton sheets?

“I’m not gonna chuck up on your bed. Don’t panic.” Though his voice was hoarse, and his hands trembled, Aaron set the glass back on the table, trying to mask how not okay he was about all this.

Kenny grabbed his chin, pulling his face back to him. “I’m not concerned about the fucking bed.”

Aaron swallowed. “I’m okay.”

“You’re not.” Kenny brushed his knuckles along Aaron’scheek, his touch lingering, too soft, too fleeting. “I don’t expect you to be.”

Aaron’s heart clenched. Hehatedthis. Hated how much he wanted to lean into that touch, to feel more of Kenny’s warmth, his quiet strength. Hated how much he wanted to believe that, for just a moment, this wasn’t about duty or responsibility, but abouthim.

“I’ll be fine.” Aaron couldn’t meet Kenny’s eyes any longer. Couldn’t let him know how fucking scared he was. Of what had happened. Whatcouldhave happened. But, mostly, of Kenny himself. How he felt about him. And how those feelings were making him believe things that weren’t there.

As if Kenny was looking at him the same way.

Kenny rested against the headboard, hand falling away, breaths laboured as if he was steadying a rampant pulse. “You scared the hell out of me.”

The words hit harder than they should have, and Aaron glanced at him, surprised by the rawness in his tone. “Sorry.” He wrung his hands together to stave off the shakes. “Didn’t mean to.”

Kenny shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. “You never do.”

The air between them stifled. Aaron wanted to say something, to break the tension, but the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him. Instead, he sank back into the pillows, turning on his side towards him. Still fully clothed, shirt and jeans, Kenny couldn’t have been comfortable sleeping in all that, yet he’d ensured Aaron was. So Aaron reached for him, gliding his hand up Kenny’s chest, grabbing his shirt in a balled fist, and dragged him to him. There was no reluctance, and Kenny slithered down on his side facing him, Aaron tracing the lines on Kenny’s face through the hazy light.

“These your clothes?” Aaron asked, nodding to the oversized T-shirt.

“Yeah. Doubted you could breathe in the stuff you were wearing.” Kenny swiped a lock of hair from Aaron’s face. “Your underwear is still on, though.”

Aaron snorted. “Thanks for preserving my virtue.”

Kenny looked at him gravely, resting his hand lazily on Aaron’s hip. Aaron could feel those fingers burning through his skin. If he wasn’t so sick right then, he’d want Kenny to glide that hand under his top, to push him down flat and climb on top of him. The fact he’d narrowly escaped someone else doing that without consent showed how messed up about Kenny he was.

“You need to report this,” Kenny said and Aaron fluttered his eyes closed, so Kenny removed that hand from his hip to cup his chin. “This is serious.”

“You know why I don’t want to go through that.”

“So they get away with it?”

“I’ll knife them tomorrow.”

“Aaron!” Kenny rolled onto his back, raking his hands through his matted hair, so Aaron wriggled up, resting his head on Kenny’s chest, idly tracing a shirt button with his finger. Eventually, Kenny gave in and wrapped his arm around him, stroking a hand along his bare arm. Aaron smiled in small triumph, although it didn’t feel like a victory. Not when Kenny had to ask, “How do you feel?”

“Physically?”

“This time, yes.”

“Like shit. As if I downed an entire bottle of JD, then chased it up with tequila and, for good measure, ate a fuck ton of rotten raw prawns.”

Kenny’s arm tightened around him. “And emotionally?”

“Like a dumb fucking prick.”

Kenny paused, tilting his head to catch his eye.

“Thanks for coming to me,” Aaron said, burrowing into Kenny’s chest and inhaling his scent to hide how damn exposedhe felt. “I don’t remember calling you. I remember wanting to then talking myself out of it.”

“Why would you talk yourself out of it?”

“Because you don’t want my shit. Or deserve it.”

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