Page 16 of Taking Jenny
No one liked the tailless. Not that I gave a shit about their approval. It was a joke, really. Their protests held the weight of a cina.
We passed through the gates at the end of my drive and onto my property. The lemon oaks were in bloom, as were the riskops and wrentons. I parked my onworlder, then let the prisoners out. I unlatched their gags and manacles. The woman’s jaw cracked as she stretched it. The guards had given her a gag for a Ladrianmouth, so her jaw must have ached even more terribly than the Orne’s.
“Now that we are here, you don’t need such things,” I said, then turned toward my home. “Follow me.”
We walked up the massive steps to my front door. My home was not as oversized as the palace, but it was not without its charms. The black door suited the ivory exterior. Where Justice preferred gold, I preferred silver, and the doorknobs gleamed in the last of the suns’ light. I led them inside, both of them wary and neither one speaking. I had expected them to beg or pray or some such, but they were silent as the dead. Only footsteps sounded behind me.
I took them to the east hall, where I showed them to their bedrooms. “This is where you will be staying. You will find clothing, washrooms, all that you need inside.”
The human frowned in confusion, her gaze drifting to Tiger, then to me. “Bedrooms? Not cells?”
Tiger winced, as though he thought she had reminded me that they were to be my prisoners.
“Bedrooms.” I nodded. “Not cells.”
Her gaze turned suspicious. “Why not cells?”
Because your beauty does not belong in a cell. Because his perfect jaw belongs around my cock, not quivering in the madness of isolation.
I said simply, “Because it amuses me.”
Tiger’s expression was equally skeptical. “What do we owe you in exchange for being in bedrooms instead of cells? I will not betray my employer, if that’s what you’re after.”
I arched a brow. “What makes you think I want anything?”
Tiger’s lips flattened into a grim line. “The Bateens are not known for their kindness.”
I fought the urge to snarl the words, but they came out angrily anyway. “I amnota Bateen.” I paused, gathering mycomposure once again. “Though thereissomething I want in exchange. Your presence at mealtime.”
They looked at one another, something silent passing between them before she nodded and answered for them both. “We can do that.”
“Very good.” I turned on my heel and started for my office, but then thought better of it and stopped, turning back around. “Additionally, my friends tend to come and go as they please, so outside of mealtimes, do not leave this hall unless you are feeling particularly brave. Supper is in twenty minutes. Dress in whatever manner you see fit for the occasion.”
Upon their confused looks, I left for my office.
CHAPTER 7
Jenny
“Iguess…we go to our rooms?” My jaw was just starting to have feeling again as I spoke, the dull ache reminding me how much today had changed me, and how much more change was coming.
Tiger glanced at me, his eyes warm and searching. There was a softness there, a flicker of something more protective than casual concern. “Would you prefer we stick together?”
I swallowed hard, and nodded. “For now, at least. I mean, I don’t…if you want privacy, I understand.”
“Same here,” he said quickly.
But I shook my head. “I don’t want to split up. I would prefer you were in here with me.”
“Of course,” he said without hesitation. “Whatever you need, Jenny.”
Relief loosened something tight in my chest because I wasn’t ready to be alone yet, not in this place. I half expectedthe bedroom to be some kind of sterile cell or twisted royal hellscape, but when I opened the door, I gasped.
It was a room fit for a goth princess.
Shining charcoal marble floors paired with ebony walls lit by ornate sconces. An enormous chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling, silver with strands of black jewels cascading down like glittering vines. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the far wall framed a darkening orchard touched with violet light. The massive bed to the left looked like it belonged in a dream, with an upholstered headboard and footboard in plush black velvet, dressed in midnight blue sheets that whispered decadence. A sleek black vanity shimmered with silver trim around the mirror, and a towering wardrobe stood beside it.
Tiger let out a low, impressed whistle. “Well, now I want to see my room.”
