Page 21 of Taking Jenny (Planet Orhon #4)

Tiger

T he moons were high when I woke in Jenny’s bed. She slept peacefully, half a smile on her face, streaks of her blue hair strewn over the pillows. I could have watched her sleep all night long, if it weren’t for the thought that ate at me, bitter and relentless.

She wants Mal more than me.

I had done everything I could not to feel that way, but I couldn’t stop thinking it.

Everyone had always preferred someone over me.

Hell, I had even heard my boss, Jac, lament the loss of Kapok as, “Now who can I talk to?” when I was standing right there beside him.

I knew he hadn’t meant it as an insult toward me, but in the moment between grief and moving forward, it had still cut deep.

Watching Mal and Jenny dance earlier? That cut deeper. Especially knowing he was hiding things from us. How could Jenny trust him? Couldn’t she see his deception?

I should have asked those questions, but after our time in the office, we had a shower, then shower sex, then supper with the others, and when we returned to our room, I went down on her until she couldn’t take another orgasm.

At least I was doing my part in making sure that she had the best sex of her life before Illiapol.

She wanted to return the favor, but I wasn’t in the mood, so I lied and told her I was tired.

I couldn’t tell her why I wasn’t in the mood, that I couldn’t stop thinking about her interaction with Mal, his dick against her ass as they’d danced and how he’d taken liberties and bit her neck. And how much she seemed to like it.

The longer I lay there, the tighter my chest got.

I couldn’t sleep, so I left the bed, quietly dressed, and slipped from her bedroom, needing something useful to do.

The library had all the answers when it came to pleasuring her, so maybe it would provide answers to save her from Illiapol.

I had to try and do something useful to help her.

It might even make you feel less helpless.

Mal’s smug words echoed through my brain, about me fucking Jenny. Bastard. I shook my head as I entered the library, like I could shake myself free from Mal. His cruel words. His full lips. The confident gleam in his indigo eyes.

I hated him.

The library was dimly lit at night, only every other wall sconce between the rows of shelves flickered.

I headed to the directory and pulled up everything tagged under Illiapol.

Thirty-four listings. Twenty-eight marked off shelf, which I found strange.

That left six, which I figured was better than nothing.

I made my way toward the corresponding shelves, only to find the books were scattered out across a table…where Mal was reading, thoroughly engrossed in whatever material held his attention, a small frown creasing his brows.

I hissed out an annoyed breath, and he visibly flinched before looking up from the book.

“Moons above, Tiger, you startled me.”

I clenched my jaw. For once, he wasn’t in his black Earth suit. A black tee molded to his broad muscular shoulders and chest, the sleeves stretched tight around those thick arms, and loose black pajama bottoms completed his outfit. He looked casual. Relaxed. And annoyingly hot.

He ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair before he focused on me. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d look into anything you had on Illiapol. Your library is…extensive,” I muttered, the compliment like sand in my mouth. “So I figured if there’s a loophole, I might find it here.”

He exhaled on a sigh. “I’ve been doing that every night since I found out her fate.”

I stiffened, unmoved by his words. “So you can defeat your guardian?” I sneered.

“So I can help Jenny.”

“Right. Sure.” I turned to the shelf, finding the six books he had left there. “I’ll take these to another table.”

“There is plenty of room here,” he said, gesturing to the other empty chairs. “And I’ve already gone through those books. There’s nothing useful. Mostly just recipes on what to do with the avatar…after.”

I grimaced and reshelved those books.

He pointed to the stack still unread. “I haven’t gotten to those yet, if you want to help.”

“Yeah, okay.” I sat across from him at his table, seething at the situation. His table. His library. The way he stared at me with that unreadable expression that did stupid things to my libido. But I was here for Jenny, not him.

“You know, I’m not here to help you ,” I snapped irritably.

“I know,” he replied in that smooth voice of his.

“So why did you say it like that? If you want to help . Like I’m doing you a favor.”

He looked completely exasperated now. “Tiger. I swear, I didn’t mean it the way you heard it. We’re both here to help Jenny, right? So, can we focus on that?”

“Fine,” I muttered, cracking open a book and starting to read.

It was the history of Illiamor, a chronicle of her short life. Dry, long-winded, and probably written by some classed scholar who’d never met the original avatar. Another privileged man who thought he knew everything. Like Mal.

I settled more comfortably into the seat, legs stretched under the table, trying to let my tension go. That lasted all of thirty seconds, until my foot accidentally tapped something warm and solid. I tried to nudge it away out of instinct, but it nudged back.

I looked up sharply to find Mal’s eyes flashing at me. “Can I help you?”

“ You kicked me ,” he said indignantly.

“I did not,” I shot back, aggravated. “ You kicked me .”

“If I ever kick you, Tiger, you’ll know it.”

“Is that a fact?” I grated between my clenched teeth.

“No. It’s a warning.”

The fire that flared in my chest had nothing to do with anger and everything to do with the low, charged hum suddenly threading the air between us. I slammed the book shut, grabbed it, and stood.

“I’m going over there ,” I said, pointing to a table across the way. “If you stay here, maybe I won’t kick you again.”

Mal’s dark eyes glinted with amusement. “So, you admit you kicked me.”

Thoroughly exasperated, I growled deep in my throat and stomped away without another word. I sat on the bench, opened the book, and tried to focus again. I didn’t even get through the first paragraph before he was standing beside me.

I looked up, scowling. “ What ?”

He shrugged in that irritating way of his. “Thought I’d join you.”

“Why?” I snapped.

“So you can kick me again.”

My eyes narrowed on him. “You are so…confusing. What is your problem, Mal? Why are you like this? Why do you keep challenging me, being petty, getting under my skin and—”

He leaned in a little closer. Not much. Just enough that I could feel the heat rolling off his body, smell the trace of something warm and clean on his skin.

His voice was low when he spoke. “Because it works.”

My pulse spiked. Because he wasn’t wrong .

We stared at each other, the charged silence thick enough to burn through the damn room. I hated that he was always so composed. That he always had a perfect, infuriating answer. That he was close enough to kiss. Too close. And not moving away.

Eyes dark, he suddenly gripped the hair at the back of my skull in his fist, jerking my head back right before his lips crashed onto mine.

There was no hesitation. Just heat, fury, and a reckless hunger that knocked the air from my lungs.

Mal’s tongue parted my lips, sliding into me, boldly taking my mouth, stealing my breath.

It wasn’t tender. It was consuming. A kiss made of every argument, every glare, every snarled insult between us.

He pulled back, eyes locked on mine, searching for something. I didn’t know what to say. Couldn’t find a single world. We just panted at each other in the flickering dimness of the library, neither of us moving. The silence between us pulsed, electric and taut.

Then my hand moved without conscious thought. I grabbed the front of his shirt, twisted the fabric in my fist, and yanked him back down to me.

The second kiss was worse. Or maybe better. Sloppier. Needier. A mess of teeth and heat and tension, all unraveling at once. It was nothing like kissing Jenny. With her, I felt grounded, worshipful. With Mal, it was a power struggle. A burning question without an answer.

And gods help me, I wanted more. I wanted him .

All the rage I’d harbored toward him, the hatred for the role he played in the system I loathed—it all combusted into something hotter, darker. Lust tangled with hostility, and it was all-consuming.

I’d spent years resenting everything he stood for, this wicked, forbidden, beautifully lethal man, the royal executioner , who now straddled my lap like he belonged there. One leg on either side of me. His mouth fierce on mine. His hands in my hair.

He was heavier than Jenny. Broader. The feel of his body was entirely different…less yielding and carved from something primal and unmalleable. My hands slid down his back of their own accord, cupping his ass. Strong. Tight. Muscled.

He groaned into my mouth when I gripped him there.

His body pressed harder against mine, every inch of him brimming with restrained violence and heat.

There was no tail curling behind him. Still such a strange absence, but I barely had the thought before he rocked his hips into mine, causing our stiff cocks to press and rub against each other beneath the fabric of our pants.

I shuddered. I had no idea what to do with a man in my lap.

I’d read everything there was about pleasing women, or people with similar anatomy, but skipped right over anything involving a man.

Every inch of Mal was solid in contrast to Jenny’s softness.

I had the same male parts, sure, but that didn’t mean I knew what he liked.

Maybe all he wanted was to kiss.

Then again, why the hell was he kissing me ?”

I pushed against his chest, confused, my breathing ragged.

He didn’t let go. Instead, he leaned in and gently bit the tendon at the base of my throat, right over my pulse.

I growled for more, for less—I didn’t know anymore.

The hunger and the questions inside of me tangled so tightly, I couldn’t separate one from the other.

But there was something I had to know. “Mal, stop.”

He lifted his head, his breath grazing my cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought…” I swallowed hard, trying to calm my racing heartbeat and the throbbing of my cock. “I thought you preferred Jenny.”

He stared deeply into my eyes, so many shadows there. “I prefer you both.”

My brain stalled, trying to make sense of his actions. “Then why have you been antagonizing me all this time, if you like me?”

He exhaled a harsh sigh and climbed off my lap, running both hands through his hair before resting them on his hips. “It’s too hard to explain.”

“Try. Please,” I insisted.

He just shook his head, dismissing my question.

“If Jenny doesn’t win Illiapol, it will be a trip to the executioner for you both.

Justice will see to that. But if she wins, she’ll have the public’s favor.

And as long as we make you appear as a couple, you’ll have the public’s favor, too.

That is all that matters.” His expression hardened, shutting me out in the process. “We should get back to work.”

He turned to leave, but I grabbed his wrist, stopping him. I couldn’t help but wonder…if there was some way for the three of us to be together, like my boss, Jac, and his consort, Sarah, and their companion, Deacon. “What about your public favor?” I asked him.

He gave a dry, bitter laugh. “I have none. No one likes me, Tiger. I’m tailless. I’m feared, and the public believes I am Justice’s executioner.”

My chest ached at the way he said it. Like it was carved into him. Permanent. Undeniable.

“Are you?” I asked, forcing the words out.

His expression shifted. Just slightly, before he pulled his arm away. “Go back to bed, Tiger. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He turned and walked to the other table, gathering the rest of the books.

Compelled by unknown forces, I stood up, walked to him, and knocked the books from his hands.

Before he could speak, I pinned him against the shelf behind him and kissed him.

Hard. Rough. Mine this time. No question.

No hesitation. My mouth devoured his, fierce and greedy, and he melted into me for one staggering second.

In the next, he pressed a hand to my chest. Not hard, but firm.

“Go to bed, Tiger,” he said huskily. “Don’t make me tell you again.” A beat passed before he added, “ Please .”

The moment between us was gone and my hands fell back down to my sides. I didn’t say anything else. I just turned and walked away, not knowing what to make of my awakened feelings, and my desire, for this very complicated man.