Page 15 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

Chief Rinna Jass shook her head as she watched her bestie shove that hot newbie as she doubtless belittled him. You could lead a woman to a hottie, but you couldn't make her fuck him. Oh, well. Time to focus on her night goals for herself.

Nope. Nope. Nope. She scanned the crowd. Definitely not. Absolutely nuh-uh. That's another . . . hold on. Red hair. Golden-brown wings. A jawline that could split her in two. Yeah, Rinna liked that. Yummy.

All right. Sights locked. Now, all she had to do was wait for the guy to look her way. Come on, baby. Feel the focus on you. Turn your—Oh, here we go.

Rinna couldn't tell the color of his eyes yet.

He was too far away, and the lights were too dim.

But she didn't doubt they'd be beautiful.

A stare like that had to be. The way he locked in on her was primal.

One, two, three seconds passed. Done! Rinna looked away, pretending to search for something better.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the winger make his way over to her.

No grinning! Rinna locked that shit down.

No one likes a smug winner. Just keep looking away.

Act like you're hard to please. All right.

Now, glance back. Oh, my. He was nearly to her.

She could see his eyes now. They were just as expected—stunning.

Gold. They glowed under the lights. She couldn't look away this time.

Couldn't even smile as he stepped up to the table.

Those eyes weren't just gold; they also had blue centers.

Ocean blue merging into metallic gold like a physical symbol of convergence. Holy shit, he was better than expected.

“I'm Laroc,” he said.

Rinna recovered quickly. Unlike her bestie, she knew her worth. This guy may be attractive, but so was she. So instead of offering her name in return, she said, “That's a short name for an Aethari.”

“It's Larocran.” He smirked as if he knew she was posturing. “Larocran Ader. I've seen you at the fortress.”

“Really? I haven't seen you. With that hair, I would remember.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you haven't been looking hard enough.”

Rinna grinned and waved at Liria's empty seat. “Would you like to sit down?”

“No.”

Her eyebrows rose.

“I'd rather you stood up.” Laroc held a hand down to her. “Come dance with me.”

It wasn't a question. That was a little vexatious. But she was willing to let it go for that smile of his.

“I haven't even told you my name.”

“As I said, I've seen you around, Rinna.”

Her heartbeat sped up. To hide her reaction, she said, “That sounds a little stalkerish.”

“That would imply that you see yourself as prey. Do you think of yourself as prey, Rinna?” His hand remained steady. Waiting.

Rinna laid her hand in his. “Only for the right predator.”

The blue inside Laroc's eyes caught the light. “Oh, I'm the right one. Trust me.”

“I absolutely do not trust you. And I prefer it that way.” Rinna pulled him toward the dance floor.

They found a place in the writhing mass of people, and Rinna turned into his arms. Laroc's wings were folded back, but they still served as a buffer between them and the other dancers.

She set her palms on his arms and slid them up toward his shoulders.

Laroc's stare sharpened as he leaned down, his hair falling like curtains to either side of her face.

“Come closer, little bunny. I'm so very hungry.” He yanked her against him.

Rinna grinned up at her conquest even as she noted the baton of victory rising between his legs.

“Not hungry enough.” She turned, pressed her back to his front, and writhed to the music.

It just so happened that she rubbed her ass over his erection at the same time.

Completely accidental. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “I want you starving.”