Page 106 of Taking Jenny
“Just a concussion,” Surge said after an hour had passed. “He was hit near some old scar tissue, which makes it more difficult to heal, but he’ll be fine. He needs rest. You need rest. Go to bed.”
I shook my head. “I’m not leaving him.”
“I thought you might say that.” Surge rolled another exam table next to Mal’s. “Then rest here. At least you’ll both be off your feet.”
I swallowed hard as I moved on top of the table. “Thank you, Surge. For everything. Jenny, Mal, all of it.”
He smiled, then looked at Mal as he spoke. “Jenny is the first conduit who liked me. I wasn’t about to let that go without a fight. And this bastard has been my friend for a very long time.”
At the mention of Jenny being a conduit, the hair on my body stood on end. “What makes you think she’s a conduit?”
“Relax, Tiger,” he said, patting my back. “I knew when I tasted her blood to analyze it after she fell when training. Jenny told me you know. She and I had a little conversation about things and there’s no animosity between us. I’m not going to tell anyone. I know what kind of target that would put on her.”
“I’m not saying that she is,” I said carefully, “but if she was, since you’re a magician, would you try to kill her?”
He smiled, and I knew the answer. “If she were to come in here and threaten my friends, sure, I would. But I have no reason to attack her. I don’t hate people for how they were born, Tiger. That sort of thinking is madness. You get some rest, okay?”
I nodded, settling in next to Mal, and he turned out the lights on his way out. I stayed at Mal’s side, his hand curled loosely in mine. His warmth anchored me, lulling me to sleep.
Neither of us woke until the evening, when it was time to get ready for the ball. Mal was back to normal, as though he’d sustained no injuries at all. He wore a gray suit, and in my room, an indigo suit in a regal cut awaited me, which I changed into before meeting him back in the foyer.
Mal straightened my gray tie, which I did not expect, though I liked him touching me. “You can be sweet sometimes, you know that?” I said to him.
He smirked. “Don’t tell anyone. It would ruin my reputation.”
“Not to worry,” I replied with a grin. “I don’t know anyone.”
Mal laughed and smoothed a hand down my chest, sparking awareness of just how handsome this man was. “By the end of tonight, you will.”
“Oh?” I arched a brow. “How’s that?”
“You will be the man on the arm of the winner of Illiapol,” he said, pride in his voice for Jenny’s accomplishment, which I echoed. “Plenty of people will want to speak to you.”
I groaned. “I’ll be subjected to her sycophants?”
“Justice’s. Maybe mine.” His grin widened. “Don’t worry. You’ll hate it.”
I laughed and kissed him lightly on the lips. “How are you feeling?”
“As right as ever.” He hesitated a moment, and winced uncomfortably. “There’s something you should know.”
I had no idea what he intended to tell me that would make him look so uneasy. “Yes?”
He exhaled a deep breath. “During Illiapol, I met up with Jenny on the path while I was protecting her. One of the hunters passed by…” he shook his head. “Not the point…once he was gone, that tension that’s always been between Jenny and I…”
“You fought?” I guessed.
His gaze met mine. “We fucked.”
“Oh.” I smiled at the thought. “Really?”
He hesitated. “You’re not mad?”
I laughed. “Not at all. I’ve been hoping the two of you would get together since you and I fucked. I’m not mad. If anything, the thought arouses me.”
Mal tugged on my tie and kissed my lips, grinning. “Deviant.”
“Yeah, but you like it,” I said huskily.
