Page 8 of Choosing Jenny
“Hmm.” He folded his arms and studied my face again. “Perhaps I should give her a try.”
He was testing me, and there was no fucking way I was going to let him near Jenny. “You’re welcome to try but be warned, Jenny isn’t one to be trifled with. Shedidwin Illiapol, if you recall.” That’s what everyone believed, outside of what had happened at the end on the hunting grounds, when Justice had released her.
“She not only won it, but she also successfully slaughtered the rest of the council in her bid to live.” Rex gave a low whistle. “Jenny Hollinger is an impressive girl, indeed, presuming she did it all on her own.”
Before I could respond, he smiled again, a devious light in his eyes. “Did you know her Queen sister, Sarah, is planning to start a war?”
CHAPTER 3
Tiger
As I pulledCheesecakeinto dock, two questions gnawed at me. One, what the hell was my boyfriend doing flirting with that other man? And two, was the other man more handsome than me?
When I asked Jenny, her answers were, “I don’t know,” and, “Of course not”. But she was biased, and I needed an impartial opinion.
So, I turned to Surge. “Do you think that guy Mal was talking to is better looking than me?”
“Generally speaking, I do not find men covered in blood to be all that attractive,” he said in a dry tone.
Surge had joined me in the cockpit just before we broke atmo on Orhon. He claimed it was to keep me company, but I was sure it was so he could see Sam as soon as possible, and the cockpit had the biggest window.
The dock was a snug fit forCheesecake, but I managed her just fine. It was inside of Mal’s underground hangar, where he kept his own private vessel. He had told me the underground hangar was there as a failsafe, in case he needed to quickly escape Orhon. But he had also said there was no escaping Justice’s wrath, so it was as though he was planning for it, even though he knew there was no hope.
I rerouted my thoughts back to my conversation with Surge. “But all the blood aside, is that guy better looking than me?”
“What are you worried about? Some harmless flirting?”
“It didn’t seem harmless.” I powered down the systems and slumped in my seat, arms crossed.
“Tiger,” Surge said patiently. “Mal is crazy about you, so if he has to flirt with some guy to keep himself alive, what are you worried for?”
That caught my attention. “You think he was flirting to stay alive?”
“I don’t know what I think about it,” Surge replied honestly. “What I know is, Mal came out of that house, covered in blood. After what we saw in the house, I have no idea how things went down in there. None of us do. That scene was someone’s idea of a party. So whatever Mal had to do to survive it, I’m glad he did. Aren’t you?”
“When you put it that way, yeah,” I mumbled. “It just…”
“It hurt to see him flirt with someone else,” Surge finished for me.
I nodded, feeling petty after Surge had put things into perspective.
“I can’t say I know how you feel, Tiger. I’ve never been in your position. But I know how IthinkI would feel, and I’m sorry you had to see all of that.” Surge unbuckled his lap belt and stood, still the same height as when he was sitting, and pattedmy shoulder. “But I’m glad Mal survived, and I think that’s what we should all focus on right now. Survival.”
I exhaled a deep breath. “Yeah. You’re right. Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Anytime.” He grinned. “Well, any timeafterI see Sam.”
I smiled at him. “You really like her, don’t you?”
His expression softened. “Has it always been obvious, or—”
“I had a feeling,” I said, but yes, it was pretty obvious to all of us. “I’m glad you’ve found someone to connect with, Surge. You deserve to be happy.”
Discord showed up at the cockpit entryway, hand on her hip. “Are you two going to sit around gossiping, or are we going to the house?” With that, she headed toward the offramp.
“Let’s go before she skins us,” Surge said on his way out.
I called after him, teasing, “Is that something she does often?”
