Page 4 of Taking Jenny
“Since it’s no longer fashionable to be in a clan, no one wants to unite with anyoneina clan,” I told her. “My parents’ union was the last one of the Orne clan.”
Her face scrunched up, as if she were trying to make sense of everything I’d just said. “And your clan master, he’s in charge of you?”
“Not in charge. But he keeps the family on course, so we can continue to grow as a clan. And I can’t help with that if I get killed on a risky mission working for Jac.”
“So, your clan master wouldn’t like it if you were running a mission by yourself,” she said, seemingly starting to understand.
I shook my head. “No one in the clan would. This is the kind of dangerous mission Kapok used to do for Jac.”
“Then why can’t you?” she asked simply.
“He was older than me. More experienced. A fighter.”
She looked me over, slowly, then grinned. “You look like you can throw down.”
I chuckled under the weight of her warm, appreciative gaze. “I’ll defend myself if I have to. But I’m not the kind of guy who will pick a fight over a bad split disk call. I’d rather try and talk my way out of situation than hurt someone. Kapok? Total hothead. He loved fighting and had no problem jumping into the thick of things.” I swallowed hard to keep my emotions in check. “I miss that guy.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“Thanks.” I steeled my resolve as I glanced back at her. “But I’m not like Kapok and that is why I should drop you off on Halla before I go to Orhon. I don’t want to risk your safety.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing my gaze to her full breasts. “So, you’re going to be overprotective of me, too? Just like my sisters. Just like your clan master?” There was a definite challenge in her formerly warm brown eyes.
I leaned back in my captain’s chair and smirked, realizing just how bewitching she could truly be. “So you made me talk about all of that with my clan and Kapok to trick me?”
“No.” A sly smile curved her lips. “That was just a bonus. You clearly needed to talk about all those things that were obviously bothering you.”
She wasn’t wrong. “How did you know it was bothering me?”
She shrugged. “Once you started telling me everything, I could sense you needed to let it all out. It’s a barista thing.”
I glanced at the console screen, checking to make sure our altitude was still in the right range. “What’s a barista?”
“I work at a coffeeshop,” she said. “I serve espresso drinks and a lot of people like to tell me their problems. I’m easy to talk to, I guess.”
“You are.” Jenny was easier to talk to than anyone I had ever known. She’d gotten more out of me in minutes than most people did in years.
She smiled wistfully. “I love to travel, which drives my sisters crazy. But going to new places, meeting new people, trying weird food—it’s what I live for. I live cheap and save every penny just so I can travel and experience different parts of the world. Exploring is my passion. So yeah, I want to come with you to Orhon and experience it firsthand.”
She continued on when she saw my hesitation. “I understand wanting to tell Sarah that I’m on the ship. That’s fair. But can you wait until we’re already on Orhon before we let her know?”
I shoved my fingers through my hair and exhaled a deep breath, deciding to give Jenny what she desired. “I guess I didn’t find you on the ship…until we landed.”
She grinned and leapt up from her seat. The next thing I knew, she had her arms around my neck to hug me and placed a kiss on my cheek, sending parts of my body into chaos.
“Thanks, Tiger,” she said, beaming happily as she settled back into her chair. “I promise not to get in your way. You won’t even know I’m with you.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to be an easy feat when I was hyper-aware of every move she made, every breath she took.
Needing a diversion, I increased the speed on the ship and took over the controls again. As we broke atmo on Orhon, Jenny gasped and glanced out the windows in awe at the approaching planet. Except there was nothing appealing about where we were headed and I needed to prepare her for what to expect.
“Where we’re landing…it’s not the most pleasant place in Ladrille.”
“What do you mean? It’s gorgeous here.” She swatted my arm and pointed out the window, her excitement palpable. “Do you see that glass castle? It’s amazing.”
“That’s not a castle,” I said. “That’s Deacon’s family home.”
She gasped. “No! Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering how high ranking he is. Is that where we’re landing?”
