Page 11 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

The next afternoon, Liria returned from work to find a feather on her pillow—a downy black feather that smelled like sin.

At first, she gaped at it, frozen, as if it were a coiled snake.

Then she gave herself a mental slap and pointed out to herself that it was just a feather.

Not even a big feather. It could have come from a bird.

“Oh, who am I kidding? That is not a bird feather.” Liria brushed the feather off her pillow with an annoyed slash of her hand.

The day after that, Liria was walking down a corridor on her way to the pit to do her weekly physical inspection of the barrier when a hand caught hers and pulled her into the nook of a window. Black wings lifted, blocking her view of the hallway, and she stared up into Private Rennux's face.

“What are you doing?” Liria pushed against his immovable chest.

“I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking about you. About your lips on mine. About your face. Your hair. Your scent.” He licked his lips as he stared at her mouth. “Every day is merely endured, waiting for the moment when you ask me to kiss you again.” Then he whispered, “Did you get my gift?”

Liria pushed him away and ducked under his wing. Rennux laughed as she hurried away, but the sound wasn't mocking. It was sensual. And it haunted her mind for the rest of the day.

That was just the beginning.

Rennux was shockingly quiet for a winged man of his size.

He managed to sneak up on Liria several times.

Once, he passed her in the corridor and brushed his fingertips against the back of her hand before she even knew he was near.

Then it was the tip of his wing stroking her hair.

A palm on her back. To everyone else, these teasing touches probably looked accidental or casual, something done when passing another person you knew.

But Liria saw them for what they were—target practice.

Thaxvarien was hunting her like he'd been hunted. Just with a lot more subtlety.

And success.

Just like any hunted animal, Liria got jumpy.

Evasive tactics were employed. Or attempted, rather.

She started eating at different times every day, never sticking to a schedule.

Still, Rennux seemed to have a divine insight into her movements.

He knew where she'd be and when she'd be there.

Often, he'd be waiting somewhere along her path, making it look as if he just happened to be where Liria was.

It took an exceptional hunter to make it look as if he were the prey.

After a week of this, Liria was ready to combust. And not just from anxiety. All those light touches and whispered words were getting to her. She had begun to dream about Rennux. Something had to be done.

After a particularly erotic dream, Liria decided it was time for her to go on the defensive.

She tucked Private Rennux's feather into her jacket pocket and waited for him to find her.

Not by sitting somewhere and twiddling her thumbs.

She knew that at some point, Rennux would insert himself into her schedule.

All she had to do was wait for it. And be prepared.

Sure enough, when Liria went to lunch that afternoon, Private Rennux happened to be in the dining hall.

Nothing aggressive. He was simply there.

But it felt as if he were standing there naked, shaking his erection at her while telling her how much he wanted her to ask him for it.

Yeah, all right, maybe that was part of her dream. But that's how it felt.

And it infuriated her!

Liria stormed up to Rennux's table and slapped the feather down before him. “Leave me alone!”

“Chief Drask, I don't know what you're talking about.” Rennux smirked at her.

He picked up the feather and inspected it.

“Where did you get this? Don't you know that an Aethari's down is the most intimate part of their wings?

You shouldn't go waving this about. We only give these to our lovers.

You might as well tell the whole dining hall that we're sleeping together.”

The other Aethari at his table snickered, especially the redhead.

“Can it, creep! Stay the fuck out of my room and stop stalking me.” She started to leave, but then stopped to add, “And you can shove your feather up your ass!”

“Chief, you're the one who keeps showing up wherever I am. I'm not stalking you. If anything, I could say you're stalking me.”

Liria put her hands on the table and leaned down to bring their faces together.

“I don't know why you're taking out your issues on me after I did you a favor, but I'm getting sick of it.

Keep this shit up, and you'll find out what it's really like to be stalked by a security chief.

I guarantee you it won't be fun. Not for you, at least.”

Pushing off the table, Liria spun on her heels, went to the buffet, made a plate of food, and then took it to an empty chiefs' table.

It was an odd hour to eat, so she was the only chief in the dining hall.

Thank convergence. The last thing Liria needed was a bunch of her fellow officers getting into her business.

Fuck. Was that shit about his feather true? And if so, what did he mean by giving it to her? And why did she wish she had kept it? Ugh. No. He could give her an entire pillow's worth of down, and she still wouldn't have sex with him. Not happening.

Don't look at him. Don't do it. Nope, not going to.

Liria glanced at Rennux. She found him staring at her, an odd expression on his face.

Was that sadness? Disappointment? Well, shit.

He was still holding that damn feather. Liria looked away.

Looked back. He had tucked the feather away but was still staring at her.

Lifting his chin, Thaxvarien held her stare. It felt like a challenge.

“Oh, fuck me,” Liria muttered. “Damn it, I can't even curse without making it sound sexual.”