Page 22 of Choosing Jenny
“You forget, I was inside her body, her mind,” he said, reminding me of the possession my sister had resorted to in order to save the people she cared about. “I know what she knows, or at least what she knew until the moment her child doctor murdered me. I enjoyed her memories, most of them anyway. Particularly those of her childhood. She thinks you are fun and smarter than her. But she also believes you don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
That one hit harder than I expected but I didn’t let it show.
He reached out and pulled my dress strap up my shoulder, like we were familiar with each other and touching me was no big deal. It made me fight a shiver of disgust.
His voice lowered, along with his gaze. “I’ve always admired women who only care about themselves,” he mused. “That instinct usually gets socialized out of them at an early age. A pity. It’s the only way to survive.”
I hated him more than ever. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I think you and I have more in common than caring for Malice Ripper. Fun, smart, self-centered, untrustworthy, devastatingly attractive to men…” he listed off the attributes he believed we shared. “We are alike more than we are different, Jenny Hollinger. The things we could accomplish together…” he sighed with another dip into my cleavage. “The people of Orhon deserve a queen of your…magnitude.”
“What are you talking about?”
He tilted his head, studying me more intently. “Justice Bateen has as many fragile plans as he has exploitable flaws. It is only a matter of time before something goes wrong for him, and Orhon needs new leadership. And as much as I adore him, Malice will never lead Orhon.”
I gave a shrug of my own, practiced and uninterested. “I don’t care what he does.”
“Justice or Malice?” Rex’s eyes flicked to mine, searching for a tell.
“Either. Both.”
“I see.” He paused, then added with smug certainty, “Do you know that when you lie, your nipples get hard?”
“Do you know you’re an asshole and your absolute lack of decorum will get you killed one day?”
“That seems likely,” he said cheerfully. “But I’ll have a good time before that happens. Andafterit happens, because no matter what, there is no way to kill me. Not really. Noc will always bring me back.”
He chucked his head upward, gesturing behind me. I looked in that direction. Everyone from the dining room was in the doorway, watching us from thirty feet away.
He leaned closer, his warm breath against my ear. “You and your friends would do well to remember that I am immortal, and if they forget, I’ll happily show them the true meaning of death. Or, I could seduce you or the Orne and make them watch. Or, and this one is what really gets me hard, I could manipulate Malice into murdering all of you. Sleep tight.”
He licked my ear before he turned around and strolled to the door, whistling a jaunty tune the whole way there. As soon as he stepped outside, the housekeeper threw all the bolts loudly behind him, ensuring he knew he was not welcome to return anytime soon.
My mouth had gone dry, trading barbs with that prick. My skin itched like it had been touched with acid. On shaky legs, I strode back to dining hall, and between questions of what he had said to me, I drank my banwine and anyone else’s I could get my hands on. Ignoring them, I held up a hand for them to stop hounding me and hurried past them to my room.
Inside my quarters, I stripped down and turned my shower on, blasting it as hot as it would go. Every inch of me felt filthy. I could not stop thinking about what Rex had said.
We’re alike, Jenny Hollinger. The things we could accomplish together…
He didn’t see me as a threat. He saw me as a weapon. One he thought he could wield. I knew all of it was a mind fuck, and I just needed peace and quiet to clear my head—
Someone banged on my bedroom door. “Let us in!”
It was Mal, and presumably, Tiger, since he said, ‘us.’
I sighed, getting out of the shower. I threw a robe on, before I opened the door. “Guys, I don’t—”
“We need to talk,” Tiger said, brushing past me.
Mal closed the door behind himself. “What did Rex say to you?” he asked, his voice too calm.
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” I walked to my vanity chair and sat down. “He’s just trying to get a rise out of us.”
“What did he say, Jenny?” Mal pressed.
I exhaled and told them most of it while they sat on the edge of my bed. “…could manipulate you into murdering all of us, then he licked my ear and left.” I shuddered all over again at the thought.
“After he touched your shoulder, you mean,” Tiger noted angrily.
