Page 28 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

Several hundred feet below Thax and Liria, Commander Vor snarled and punched the metal wall of his luxury suite.

Everything in his home was the best of its kind.

He worked too hard to abide anything less.

From the apartment itself—on the top floor of Ranuvul's most elite cavernscraper—to the linens on his temp-control, body-conforming bed, everything he owned was perfect.

Until now. Now, there was a dent in his otherwise immaculate wall.

Vor had been watching for his woman, always with a palm-vid in his pocket so he could check every alert on activity in the pit.

When he checked the latest alert and found her working on the barrier again, Vor had experienced the oddest sensation.

His throat had dried up, leaving him in need of water.

But he couldn't look away from the little screen to pour himself a glass.

Even without the gleam of tech enhancing her body, Vor's woman was lovely.

Every action she performed seemed geared toward seducing him.

It was as if she knew he was watching. He had to sit down.

Then he opened his pants. Vor didn't go to the copulation clubs anymore.

He couldn't. The last time he tried, he had fucked woman after woman—all with cream-colored skin and brown hair, wasting the entire day in ridiculous pleasure instead of taking his release once and leaving like a normal man.

Vor would orgasm and then an image of his woman would come to mind, and he would require another partner.

After the first four, he'd had to resort to women who didn't resemble his woman at all, and that made him even more frustrated.

The women had watched him with wide eyes, several whispering about his odd behavior.

Yet several had waited for a chance with him instead of availing themselves of whomever was open.

And he had satisfied them all. All but himself.

After that, Vor was too embarrassed to go back to his usual club.

He didn't need rumors spreading about the commander of the Ranuvul Army's perversions.

Now, he took care of matters himself.

Oh, and it was so much better with an image of his woman before him.

He could study her as he stroked his cock.

Note the curve of her jacket and imagine what her breasts looked like underneath.

What her womanhood felt like as it clenched around him.

Her hair had red tones to it—a color brought out by the sunlight.

He could see his hand wrapped in those silken strands.

Pulling her down, her greedy mouth taking his shaft.

Yes, she would understand his lust. Medeans were all about the flesh.

She would want as much as he could give.

She'd moan and writhe and beg him for more.

Then his woman bent forward, giving his hidden camera a close-up of her face.

Her beautiful face, with its full lips. Vor had never kissed a woman before.

That was something only married couples did.

Something to enhance a bond. Otherwise, it was seen as unnecessary.

Too close to emotional. But Vor found himself eager to learn the feel of his woman's lips.

Not just on his cock, but also on his mouth.

He wondered what her tongue would feel like against his.

What would she taste like? Maybe he would taste her everywhere.

Some of Vor's acquaintances confessed to him that they enjoyed the taste of a woman's sex.

That was yet another thing Vor hadn't explored.

It seemed like a waste of time. Not anymore.

Now, he wanted to see his woman spread before him on his bed, the mattress lifting her hips for his pleasure.

He wanted to make her writhe and scream before he even entered her.

Vor imagined what it would be like to place his face between her soft thighs and—

“What the fuck?!” Vor launched to his feet, his erection flopping furiously as he released it to form a fist.

An Aethari man had landed beside his woman and then kissed her cheek.

Vor went still as they embraced. Spoke intimately. Kissed with lips upon lips. That motherfucker was kissing his woman! He was doing what Vor had just fantasized about. The winged mutant was touching her as if he'd done it multiple times before! No. This couldn't be tolerated.

That's when Vor's metal hand closed into a fist and shot into the wall. Metal crunched into metal, but he continued to stare at his woman while she stared up at the mutant with affection. Maybe more.

“You will not have her for long, asshole,” Vor snarled at the screen.

“She's mine. Technology has proclaimed it so. It has shown me the path to her. And once I have her, you will never see her again.” He lifted the palm-vid as if he could force his words into the Aethari's head.

“I will have her beneath me. I will give her such pleasure that she will scream my name until yours is forgotten!”