Page 88 of Seducing Jenny
“Don’t trust the blue-haired girl. She is not what she seems.”
I frowned. “Which one?”
Maniacal laughter drifted on the wind as she left me behind.
CHAPTER 25
Jenny
Iwoke staring at the ceiling in the dark. Tiger had left the bed at some point, so it was just me and Mal. He wasn’t normally much of a snorer but tonight he sawed logs.Poor thing is exhausted. I sighed, jealous of his ability to sleep so deeply after everything. But of course, he hadn’t had a passenger in his body.
Grass. That psycho bitch.
She was out of my system, but not out of my head. Not entirely. It was the image of Surge right before I tried—she tried—to kill him that haunted me. His innocent near-black eyes looking at me with friendly affection and concern. I couldn’t even remember what he had been saying to me at the time. Every memory I had of the conversation was obliterated by what she had done.
And the fact that he wasn’t angry at me…I didn’t know what to do with that. How could he ever trust me again? I knew thehistory between conduits and magicians, and he could have been standoffish because of that alone, but the fact that he had no worries about me roaming free…
Unable to stay in the bed with my thoughts any longer, I scooted off and walked to the bathroom for another shower. Grass was gone, but my body felt as though there was still residue from her. The act of having my body taken over left me feeling…violated.
The hot water rained down on my back from high above. Ladrian showers were three feet taller than I was used to. I supposed they needed the extra room not only for their height, but also their long arms. Plus, all that hair most of them had. All but Mal. His hairline was like a human’s.
Sarah had told me our genetics didn’t mix with Ladrians the way they mixed on Earth and that if a Ladrian and a human had a baby, then the baby took after its mother, whatever they were. So, I knew his parents weren’t necessarily human, but of all the Ladrians I had met, he was the most human-looking. Even with his pretty indigo eyes and oil black skin’s blue shimmer.
I kicked the heat all the way up. I needed to feel clean and if I had to boil my skin away to do it, then I would. Steam flooded the glass around the shower—it was at least ten times as big as my shower back home—and I closed my eyes, breathing deeply.
It wasn’t my fault. I knew it. But itwasmy hand. I still had the memory of what it felt like to penetrate Surge’s throat with a scalpel. There was no ignoring that sickening feeling. The weight of the scalpel in my palm after. The hot red spray of blood coating my face. Panic flooding his expression before he clutched at his throat. And then, he fell.
Tears and hot water rushed down my face, and I couldn’t tell one from the other.
The door opened, startling me.
Mal stepped inside, his tall, bulky silhouette framed by steam. “Do you mind company?”
I brushed the wetness from my face with my hands. “No, I…I don’t know.”
His eyes searched mine. “I can go…”
“Don’t.” My voice cracked. “Please.”
He moved closer, studying my features, his own expression kind and compassionate after what I’d gone through. “What can I do for you, Jen?”
He only ever called me Jen when he was being gentle with me, and I liked it. “I don’t know,” I whispered honestly.
He tipped his head to the side. “Awfully hot in here.”
“I can turn it down—”
“No. I want you to be comfortable. I only brought it up because your pretty pink skin is turning bright red.”
I tried to smile, or do anything with my face that was not crying, but I failed and started to sob.
“Can I hold you?” he asked.
I nodded, unable to answer.
He closed the distance between us and gathered me into his arms, water pouring over us both. Well, him mostly. He dwarfed me and with his head over mine, he was like an umbrella in a storm. It felt good for him to hold me like that. Solid. Supportive. I could finally take a full breath when I was in his arms.
“Thank you,” I mumbled against his chest.
