Page 47 of Taking Jenny
The day I saw them both at court, when Jenny had fought for him, Tiger had fought for her in a different way. He had known she would be taken to task for kicking at the guards, so he bravely told her that getting his tail clipped would be alright, that he would be fine. He banked on her human ignorance of Ladrian anatomy. Tails were loaded with nerve endings, highly sensitive areas. Some even used them during sex to bring a person to completion. The idea of his tail being cut should have horrified him. He should have tried to run away. But instead, he comforted her, in the face of his own excruciating pain.
Tiger wasn’t a fighter in the traditional sense, but he was braver than many I had known, and he saw what people needed in their hearts. His emotional intelligence was beyond his years. It certainly outpaced mine.
I understood why he had hated me. I was used to it, particularly from the unclassed. I was given a life they could never have. But even with those barriers in place, even with all the valid reasons he had to despise me…he still hadn’t been able to pull himself away from me.
There is something between us. And I owe it to us both to find out more.
I pushed off the wall and quietly walked toward their hallway. Every step toward his bedroom, my heartbeat quickened. Hope and lust made me dizzy. The lights were out at the bottom edge of both their bedroom doors. I cracked his open and his bed was empty.
He’s sleeping with her. Of course.
Gently, I turned the knob to her bedroom.No, only Jenny inside.
I frowned, sighed, and carefully closed her door.
“Have you—”
I jumped at Tiger’s voice behind me and glared at him. “You’ve startled me twice tonight. Have you any idea how rare that is? No one sneaks up on me.”
But his expression did not smooth, and he did not smile at me. Instead, he scowled. “Have you been sneaking around with Jenny?”
I realized how my actions might look to him, and tried to explain. “No, I was looking for you.”
His narrowed gaze flicked across my face. “I don’t believe you.”
“Well, I’m telling you the truth.”
He crossed his arms over his solid chest, biceps bulging beneath the thin shirt. “You don’t need to flirt with me to persuade me to help Jenny. I would do that anyway. Even if you twoaresleeping together.”
“We’re not!” I snapped irritably. “Not yet, anyway—”
“Whatever you say,Malice.” His voice was coated in acid as he turned toward his room. “Goodnight.”
“Iswear, I was only looking for you!”
He shrugged, and went to his room, slamming the door in my face behind him.
“Oh, the fuck you did!” I threw open his door, shoving it closed after me.
Tiger whipped around, startled that I had stormed into his bedroom. I saw it in his wide eyes and the way his shoulders braced.
“You take that shit back, Tiger,” I said in a low, heated voice, aggravated by this man for so many reasons. “Take it backright now!”
“I will not.” He folded his arms over his chest again, planting his feet like he was daring me to make a move.
“I came here foryou!” I insisted. “I kissedyou! Not Jenny—”
“No, you just bit her.”
I closed my eyes, my hands clenching into fists at my side. When I felt as though I’d regained some of my composure, I looked at Tiger again. “Yes, I did. Because I couldn’t take having her so close to me and not at least tasting her. But I already told you, I like youboth.”
Tiger scoffed. “How can I believe that?”
I groaned in frustration. “Because you can trust me.”
“I can’t—”
“You can!” I shouted.
