Page 14 of Choosing Jenny
When the storm of passion passed, his hands slid up my back, anchoring me to his chest, his body trembling beneath mine. He held me there, still joined, his cock twitching inside of me. His breath slowed. Mine followed.
But even in the afterglow, as I snuggled against his chest, the weight of Tiger’s earlier words pressed into me.
“…no matter what the future holds, I love you and I always will…”
I wanted to ask him what he meant, but he was already fast asleep, snoring softly and I couldn’t shake the lingering thought in my mind.
Is he going back to his clan?
CHAPTER 5
Mal
Jenny's sister is preparing for war?
While I tried to focus on the dangers at hand, I couldn't help but worry about such a thing. Not that I minded a battle now and then. I rather enjoyed them, actually. But any war involving Jenny's family…no. I could not abide such a thing. It would put her in danger and that was non-negotiable for me.
Sarah's war must be stopped.
Then again, I had to consider the source. Rex Terian wasn’t exactly reliable. Even when we were together, I hadn’t trusted him. Our relationship had never been about trust or support or anything remotely resembling what I shared with Tiger and Jenny. Rex and I had been a storm of dangerous passion and combustible lust. There was nothing sustainable about it. The things we’d done together, none of it mattered now.
Rex was duplicitous in the best of times, and this was not the best of times.
When he told me about Sarah’s plans for a war, I’d seen a rage inside those new eyes of his. He wanted revenge for what happened to him. Whether Sarah had actually made plans or not might have been irrelevant. Rexwanteda war, and I suspected he intended to use the council to get it.
And now, here we were.
The council chamber had changed. The black marble floors remained, but the walls, drapery, even the council table, were now saturated in royal purple. Justice’s favorite color, the one he demanded every royal wore. Which was why I always wore black.
Until today.
I was glad Rex had insisted we stop at the palace residence ahead of the council meeting. It had given me a chance to shower off the blood and grime and change, though all that was available was a purple tunic and pants. Staring at myself in the mirror, I was disturbed by how conformist I looked.
Standing in the doorway of the newly purple council chamber, I would have felt camouflaged had I not been quickly noticed by Justice Bateen. Orhon’s ruler was tall and tan, exquisitely dressed entirely in purple, and beaming at me.
“Malice Ripper, welcome back! I believe you’ll find some things have changed, though your seat is always next to me.” He gestured to the empty chair to his left.
“Thank you for such a warm welcome,” I said, my expression pleasant but measured as I strolled past the new councilmembers to my seat. Some I knew and some I did not. I was glad to see Longshot and Rhonda there. But the rest I could have done without.
“You know Longshot and hislittle friend,” Justice said once we were all seated. “But everyone else, you will introduceyourselves, as many of you do not know one another. Thunder, let’s start with you.”
An insult, plainly. Intended to keep Justice’s sister in her place.
But she merely smiled at her brother. Thunder Bateen was well-known to all Ladrians. Being the only living daughter of Credo Bateen had that effect. Like her brother, she was taller than me. Unlike him, she was built like she lived in her gym. Thunder was heavily muscled and wore sleeveless tunics to display her hard work as well as the white and silver tattoos of Estran, which portrayed weapons and battles.
Her skin was tan and tinged with pink, her eyes a pale violet. She wore her head shaved and much to Justice’s annoyance she refused to wear the family’s deep purple colors. Instead, she opted for black fatigues with various patches of red that were rumored to indicate one for every kill she’d made.
She stood up and addressed the room. “Distinguished councilmembers,and Rex, for those of you who don’t know, I am Thunder Bateen, governor of Yesanol and sister to our eminent ruler. I have recently added Councilor of Ports to my list of titles. I look forward to working with you to keep our planets in check.”
She sat, as the next one stood. I didn’t know him. Had I been single, I would have wanted to know everything about him.
He was somewhere in his early thirties, nearly eight feet tall, and made Thunder look like a child. His skin was as black as mine, but shimmered pink in the low light. A white tattoo snuck out from beneath his left cuff. It looked to be a leaf of some kind. As intimidating as his size made him, the sheer affability in his wood brown eyes diminished the thought of any threat coming from him. His midnight blue hair was expertly coifed, and his clothes were immaculate—an Earth-style suit, in iridescent violet tailored around his enormous muscles. He was moneyed, showy, and seemingly friendly.
What the hell is he doing on the council?
He stood, grinning at everyone. “Good evening, all,” he said enthusiastically, his deep voice rumbling. “For anyone who doesn’t know me, I am Zavarion Saltino. Zavi for short. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on Orhon, but I was happy to get the call to join the council. Justice has named me Councilor of Ships and Envoy to Halla, and I look forward to finding out what exactly that means.”
It means he gave you a nothing role.But I wasn’t about to tell him that. He was much too charming to mock.
