Page 11 of Taking Jenny (Planet Orhon #4)

Tiger

I didn’t realize how much I wanted Jenny until I saw her smiling at another man. Malice, specifically.

After our meal and colorful conversation, Malice rose from the table first. He walked to Jenny and pulled out her chair with a mocking elegance that felt performative, but still made my chest tighten.

His hand brushed her bare shoulder as she stood, lingering a fraction too long.

She didn’t recoil from his touch. She even laughed at something he murmured low in her ear.

I clenched my jaw so hard it ached.

He escorted us through the corridor like some dark prince leading his favored pets to their chambers, and my annoyance grew as I remained behind the two of them on our short journey to our rooms.

“So,” Malice drawled, glancing toward Jenny with amusement. “As first days on a new planet go, how was this one?”

She laughed softly. “Well, I’d say I’ve had better, but my frame of reference is… painfully small.”

“Not many star travelers on Earth, to my knowledge,” he mused, flashing her a charming grin that grated on my nerves. “But if you survive Orhon, who knows? You may become the first star-faring legend of your people.”

Jenny gave him a sweet, genuine smile. “That would be a dream.”

Malice placed his hand on the small of Jenny’s back, as if he had every right to touch her. “You say that with no fear.”

She blinked at him. “Why should I be afraid?”

“You’ve been here a day. You’ve been kidnapped and faced torture. Threatened to be executed. And yet, you look at me like I’m an old friend. Like I haven’t already designed a hundred ways to unravel you.”

I didn’t miss the sexual connotation in his words, and my hands balled into tight fists at my sides as I watched him flirt with Jenny.

“Would you feel better if I was afraid?” she asked, teasing him right back.

He gave her a dangerously sexy smile. “As Discord noted, it’s a little insulting that you aren’t.”

She laughed. “Malice, I—”

“Mal,” he interrupted smoothly. “My friends call me Mal.”

Jenny softened at that. “Mal…I don’t fear you. Either you’re going to torture and kill me, and I can’t do anything about it, or you’re not. And I’m willing to bet you won’t.”

He arched a dark brow. “And why is that?”

“Because you keep staring at my tits.”

He chuckled unapologetically. Rich. Full-bodied. Even I couldn’t deny how magnetic it sounded. His gaze never left her, and something unspoken passed between them. Something almost…intimate.

I hated it.

I barely registered that we were at our hallway until I recognized the carved door frame to my quarters. “This is me,” I said quickly, needing space to breathe so I didn’t do something stupid, like punch Malice in his handsome face.

Jenny turned to me. “I thought we were staying together.”

I ignored the stabbing sensation in my chest and glared at Mal, but said to her, “I have a feeling you might…snore. Goodnight.”

And before I could see the hurt in her eyes—or worse, the lack of it—I shut the door behind me, a little harder than I should’ve.

Alone again.

Malice was charming, in a very dark, alluring way. Confident. Powerful. He didn't question if he deserved a woman like Jenny—he simply expected her attention. He could have anyone. And tonight, I was sure he would do his best to seduce the woman I wanted for my own.

I paced, stripping off the jacket and shirt I wore and tossing them aside. I could still hear her laugh echoing in my head, picture her leaning in toward Mal, her lips parted, her eyes curious and daring.

Laughing together. Talking together. Doing more…together.

My gut twisted. I raked my hands through my hair, sat on the edge of the bed, and groaned in quiet self-pity. Until the knock sounded at my door.

“Yes,” I called out, my tone gruff.

“Tiger, can I come in?” Jenny’s voice was soft and unsure.

I leapt up. “Of course.”

She opened the door and her eyes flicked over my bare torso and lingered. She swallowed. I did too.

“I wanted to…check on you,” she said, almost breathless.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

She met my gaze, studying me for a long moment. “I want to know why you left me in the hall with Mal.”

I forced a casual shrug. “You seemed to have a connection. I didn’t want to be in the way.”

Jenny’s expression shifted, a hint of a mischievous smile on her lips. “You think I like him?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You seemed to.”

She moved closer, and when she reached me she pressed her palms against my bare chest. Her hands were small and warm against my skin, and my cock stirred in my pants. With the almost two feet of height difference between us, she had to tip her head back to look into my eyes.

“I do have a connection with Mal,” she admitted. “But more importantly, if flirting with him keeps us alive, I’ll flirt.”

I narrowed my gaze down at her. “So, you were pretending?”

“No…not exactly.” She licked her bottom lip and my gaze tracked the movement, my shaft thickening even more. “I’m leveraging the attraction. That’s all. For both of us.” Her hands skimmed lower, fingers tracing my ribs. “But I’d like to think we have a connection too.”

Her honesty cut through me, and some of the tension in my body eased. “I would like to believe we do, as well.”

She smiled, and it was devastating. “You seem like someone who doesn’t connect easily.”

“I never have,” I admitted huskily. “Not like this.”

“You’re shy with me,” she said, her voice soft as her fingertips drifted toward my belt. “More than most men ever are.”

I couldn’t look away, and unable to keep my hands to myself any longer, I lifted one and brushed blue streaks of hair away from her pretty face. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met.”

My heart thundered as she pulled the belt from my trousers. “Did you know people in life-threatening situations tend to make…impulsive choices?”

I nodded. “I’ve seen it firsthand.”

“Well,” she murmured, eyes heavy-lidded, “I want to make a good choice tonight. Do you?”

“I was going to turn in early—”

Jenny giggled. “Not the kind of good choice I had in mind. At least, not alone.” She rose on her toes, barely able to wrap her arms around my neck. “Can I kiss you, Tiger?”

“Yes,” I breathed, settling my hands on her waist. Ladrians did not indulge in that human custom called kissing, but I’d seen Deacon and Jac kiss Sarah, and I was curious to know what it would feel like with Jenny.

Her mouth touched mine, and my thoughts vanished. She tasted like heat and hope and something about the sensation reset my brain. Her tongue slipped past my lips to tease mine, slow and sinful, until I matched her pace, dizzy with the lust coursing through my veins.

When she abruptly jerked back, my chest seized. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No…” she said slowly, eyeing me. “Is there something on your tongue?”

Oh. I recalled one of the details of my human anatomy class, and the stark difference between a human’s tongue, and a Ladrian’s. “Ladrian tongues are longer than humans’,” I told her. “And our taste buds are more pronounced.”

Her eyes lit with mischief and she looked like she wanted to play. “How much longer?”

I wanted to play, too. “I could show you. Or you could find out for yourself. Aren’t you the one who is always up for an adventure?”

Her smile turned wicked. “Guess I’ll have to find out for myself.”

She kissed me again, deeper this time. Hungrier. Her body molded to mine, and I felt myself harden against her. I shifted, embarrassed—but she followed, pressing closer.

“Why are you trying to get away?” she whispered against my lips.

“I don’t want you to think I’m that kind of guy.”

Jenny tilted her head, eyes locked on mine. “What kind of guy?”

“The kind who wants a woman for only one thing.”

She sighed, but there was nothing exasperated about it—just something soft, something knowing. “Tiger, I could never think that of you. I’ve known plenty of those guys. Trust me, I’m an expert. You’re not like them at all.”

“Thank you.” I tried to breathe through the storm building in my chest. “I’ll calm down in a minute. I just—”

Her fingers traced down my chest, featherlight. “Why would I want you to calm down?”

I stared at her, lost in the curve of her mouth, the sparkle of desire in her eyes. “Jenny, I’m not sure what it is that you want from me.”

“I want you . In whatever way you’re ready for. Whatever way you’ll let me have you.”

My pulse kicked harder. “Well, I liked the kissing. A lot. It’s not that common for Ladrians—”

“Is that why you’re so standoffish with me?” she asked suddenly. “Because I’m human?”

“No,” I said, trying to keep the heat and desire from swallowing me whole. I’d never felt anything so intense as I did with her. “I’ve never been with…” The words caught in my throat and my skin heated furiously.

She lifted an eyebrow. “You’ve never been with a human before?”

I swallowed. “I’ve never been with anyone before. Not humans. Not Ladrians. No men. No women. No one.”

Jenny blinked, then understanding dawned. “You’re a virgin?”

“Untouched,” I said, voice low, embarrassed. “That’s the term we use, but…yes.”

She didn’t laugh. Instead, she took my hands gently in hers and lifted them to her mouth, kissing my knuckles like they were sacred.

“We don’t have to go any further than you want to, Tiger.

If kissing is what you want tonight, that’s all we’ll do.

If you want more—we’ll go at your pace. No pressure. Just you and me.”

“You’re not upset that I’m not more…experienced?”

Her smile was warm. “Why would I be?”

“I’m twenty-one, and for a Ladrian male, that’s…late. Most people think I should’ve—” I broke off, flustered. “I don’t know what the standard is for humans, but for my race, I am what you would consider a late bloomer.”

Jenny squeezed my hands again, then sat on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside her. I joined her, my heart thudding like a drum against my ribs.