Page 80 of Taking Jenny
He shrugged unrepentantly as he took a drink of his banwine. “Call it generosity. Or opportunity. But if anyone asks, this conversation never happened.”
Mal pushed his finger deeper inside me, finding that sensitive spot that pushed me one step closer to orgasm. “I’ll…I’ll think about it,” I stuttered, my brain short-circuiting. “But I…I need to pray. To my god. Alone. Out here.”
Craven gave me a peculiar look. “I don’t know of human religions, but don’t let me hold you back from doing what you need to do.” Then, he flashed me a devious smile. “But If you want your hunting field preview, you know where to find me.”
He turned and sauntered back into the ballroom and I set aside my glass of banwine. As soon as the doors shut behind him, Mal sucked on my clit and I bit my bottom lip to keep from crying out. I reached behind me, curling my fingers around the railing, trying to stabilize myself as my orgasm finally crashed through me. My knees threatened to buckle but his hands steadied me.
When I finally recovered, he carefully slipped from beneath my dress, standing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes were dark and obsessed. He looked like he was seconds from throwing me to the ground and ravishing me.
His normally deep, smooth voice was rough. “Tomorrow, stay out of the trees. They’ll look like safety. They’re not. The trees will get you killed. It’s—"
The doors behind us abruptly opened again and Justice boomed, “Take Malice, now!”
Palace guards swarmed between us. As the guards held him, Justice tapped him on the nose like a petulant child. “You know the rules.” He jerked his head toward the palace and the guardsdragged Mal away. He didn’t fight. Didn’t resist. He just looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered to him.
My heart raced, fear and dread mingling. “What are you doing?”
Justice turned toward me, his tone infuriatingly light. “He broke the rules, Avatar, and he’s going to the royal prison. But don’t worry, he’ll be out after your trial.You, on the other hand…”
He snapped his fingers at the other guards, and they immediately grabbed me. I struggled in their hold, but it was no use. Their grip was like iron.
“You’re not going anywhere. Not until you’ve served your purpose.”
The guards pulled me through the glittering ballroom, the party still alive with laughter and music, like Justice’s chaos and cruelty had never happened.
Like I was already gone.
CHAPTER 23
Tiger
“Where are they taking her?” I grabbed Discord’s arm and pointed after the guards, trying not to panic.
“Stop acting like a tourist, Tiger,” she hissed, shoving my hand down, cool as ever. “You know where they’re going.”
But I ignored her calm composure and sprinted after the guards carting Jenny away. Mal could take care of himself. He didn’t need me the way that she did. The fear I’d seen in her eyes was enough to bring me to my knees.
I turned a corner, heart hammering, only to slam into a wall of muscle. Two more guards blocked the corridor, hands on their weapons, their eyes dark and threatening.
“Halt,” one of them said in a harsh tone.
“Where is she being taken?” I demanded, fists clenched.
“That is none of your concern.”
“It is my concern,” I argued, ready to battle my way through any obstacle in my way. “Where—”
“Thanks for finding him for us, gentlemen,” Surge cut in, clapping a hand on my wrist in a surprisingly strong grip as he laughed, loud and easy. “Excuse his erratic behavior. He’s imbibed a little too much this evening. You may carry on guarding this empty space for no good reason.”
“They took Jenny,” I said furiously. “And Mal. We can’t just—”
“Yes, and if you keep babbling about that, they’ll take you, too,” Surge said in a reasonable tone. “And then you won’t be able to help either of them, so let’s go.”
He tried to nudge me away from the guards, but I stood my ground and didn’t budge, not understanding why Surge wasn’t as worried and upset as I was over the situation. “Someone has to save Jenny!”
Longshot and Discord caught up to us just in time to hear me losing my shit.
Longshot said, “Come on, Tiger. We need to go.”
