Page 57 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

“Thax?” Liria called as she went through the house after him.

As she hurried down the hallway, Aga came out of the kitchen and pointed in the direction of the front door, her eyes wide.

Liria nodded her thanks and put on speed.

Past the rooms they never used, past a door to the courtyard they'd never been in together, and past the bare walls they hadn't adorned, Liria ran.

The front door opened for her. She burst through and stopped short, looking left and right. There!

“Thax!” Liria ran over to him.

Thax was in the front formal garden, standing in the shade of their only willow tree, half hidden by the fall of delicate, flexible branches. He flinched when he heard her and then shrank back against the trunk.

Parting the branches, Liria paused. “Hey, destru.” Liria cleared her throat. “You're all right. It's all right.”

Thax shook his head. “Liri, I couldn't have done that. That's not me. I am magic. I don't wield it.”

She went to him and laid a hand on his chest. “It is you. You've always had access to the Source of Magic. But now, you have access to the Source of Technology too.”

He shuddered and looked away. “I don't want that.”

“Well, too fucking bad.”

His head spun back toward her. “What?”

“You heard me. Too bad. This is what you've got. You get to live, and now you get to converge. You said you wanted to find a new way to be strong. Well, this is it.” Liria slid her hand down his arm and then wove her fingers with his.

“I can teach you how to make incredible things, Thax.

With convergence, almost anything is possible.

Medeans are limited only by their talent and imagination.

And you've got talent, Thax. We just need to work on your imagination.” She winked at him.

Thax jerked away from her. “I am not a Medean!”

Liria lifted her chin. Stared at him. She stared until he looked down.

Then she said, “You always acted as if you were different—that you didn't see Medeans as less than Aethari.

Was that a lie? Or did you think you were being kind?

Generous? Oh, thank you, great Aethari, for deigning to treat us as equals even if you didn't believe it.”

“Fuck, Liria.” Thax shook his head. “You can be a vicious bitch.”

Her jaw dropped. It took her a second to process what he'd said.

Then she squared her shoulders. “Yes, I guess I can.

Truth is a vicious bitch, isn't it?” Liria turned and walked away.

There was only so much bitterness she could swallow in one sitting.

If she didn't leave, she was going to prove his accusation true.

With a snarl, Thax grabbed her hand and spun her.

Liria's back hit the trunk of the willow tree.

She gasped, but he was already there—his mouth covering hers to steal her air.

The man stole her very soul. Liria didn't know how he did it.

She had once thought it was his goodness—the steady kindness he showed her.

But that was ridiculous. Thax had been cruel before he'd been kind.

That sharpness had always lurked beneath.

And it had only gotten sharper with his loss.

But he had vowed to get better. He was trying.

Thax had gotten back on his horse, but then it threw him.

That convergence had been a shock to both of them.

To him more so than her. And instead of letting him have some time alone to process it, she had followed him.

Pushed him further. So, yeah, he had snapped.

But now he was snapping in the best way possible.

Thax's hands curled into claws, pulling at her. Demanding. Something tore—the slip of silk Liria wore over her sex. Gone. Replaced by his hand. His curling finger. It slid inside.

Liria gasped into Thax's kiss even as she fumbled with his pants. He sprang forth—hot, hard, and heavy—and she tried to mount him. But with the height difference and their position, Liria needed his help. Pulling back, Thax met her gaze. His eyes were glowing.

Wait. What? Should he still be able to do that?

Liria inhaled, about to tell him, but then Thax was at her throat, kissing her there as he lifted her. She couldn't think straight. He had her propped against the trunk, his hands under her bare ass. Then he angled her down to him.

Thax's eyes could wait. This was not the time for a discussion. Liria gripped his shaft and guided him home. They groaned together as he slid inside with barely any drag. She was so ready for this. The sex in the shower had only whetted her appetite.

As if he knew how she needed him, Thaxvarien shoved himself deep. The willow shivered with every slam of his hips, its leaves creating an intimate symphony that their cries wove into. Liria looked up and saw the branches twisting.

Again, she stayed silent, but she kept her stare lifted as Thax buried his face in her neck.

Like serpents, the branches undulated. Liria watched warily.

But then the panels of her robe were flung apart, and his hot mouth was on her.

Sucking her nipple hard. Tonguing it. Moaning over her flesh.

Between the pulls of his mouth and the pumps of his cock, Liria could hardly concentrate on what was happening above her.

But she still knew something was going on.

Something momentous. And then she stretched up an arm.

A slender, flexible branch wrapped around Liria's wrist. Twined down her right arm.

Another slid around her left thigh. Then her left arm.

Her right thigh. Liria cried out as the branches pulled.

Lifted. Became supportive. Thax leaned back, his hands sliding down from her ass, and looked at the hammock he had created.

And yes, it was him. Of course, it was. His eyes still glowed, and his hand twitched, directing more branches beneath her.

A seat formed. Branches tightened. Liria's legs spread.

More rustling came as her ass lowered into a better position.

With her at the perfect angle and held aloft for him, Thaxvarien quickened his pace.

As the tree and Liria trembled, he worked his magic upon them.

She looked down to see his slick shaft moving in and out of her rapidly.

Her flesh clung to him. Her channel tightened.

“Thax,” she moaned.

With one hand clamped to her hip, Thax used his other to angle her face into a kiss. Despite how hard he thrust, he kept the kiss tender. Light pressure. Flicking tongue. He rubbed their lips together and tasted her.

At first, Liria enjoyed the pressure on her arms, but then she realized she couldn't touch him.

She jerked on the bindings that held her arms hostage.

Thax glanced up, and the branches withdrew.

He was mastering his new talent without instruction.

Feeling his way through it. It was the most incredible thing she'd ever seen.

Sex aside, this was not how Medeans learned to converge.

Maybe they should.

Hands freed, Liria clung to his shoulders. “Thax, you're something different, destru. This is beyond Medeans and Aethari.”

Thax looked up at her, and the glow in his eyes dimmed. As the light faded, she could see what was hiding beneath—his love for her. “Liri, I need you. Don't leave me.”

“Why would you say that?” She cupped his face as he slowed into a gentle pumping.

“I feel the magnitude of this. It's unnatural.” He brushed his lips over hers again. “It scares me. And if it scares me, it must terrify you.”

“No, it doesn't. I'm not scared. I feel the weight of this too, but I know what it is.”

He paused, chest shivering, and looked from the rustling branches to her. “What is it?”

“Destiny.” And then Liria pulled his lips back to hers.

Thax's cry was muffled in her mouth, pulled into her lungs to vibrate inside her, but the relief and joy in it couldn't be contained. He pounded into her, the glow returning to his eyes, and Liria held on. She would keep holding on forever.

“Liria!” Thax roared and gave one last thrust.

As he slammed forward—once, twice, and then held firm, Liria clutched Thax even tighter, as if she could protect him from what was to come.

Because she knew this was just the start of his trials.

But he was getting stronger, just as he vowed he would.

Not even a day had passed, and look at him.

He wouldn't need her protection. Only her love.

Breath rippling, Thax slid free of Liria. He eased a few inches away, his eyes back to their normal color, and looked down at her spread legs and bunched robe. Licking his lips, he met her stare before he knelt. Bracing her hands on his shoulders, Liria watched as he nuzzled her sex.

Tentative tendrils curled down to her again, and Liria grabbed them and leaned back against the trunk.

With her fully supported, Thax was free to push her thighs wider apart and set his mouth on her.

Wet heat lashed at her. Thax groaned. Licked deeper.

Slipped his tongue into her. Holding onto the smooth branches, Liria stared down at him.

She shivered to see him nuzzling and sucking at her.

The sight was glorious—his dark hair against her pale thighs.

His shoulders pushing her against the trunk.

His face moving slowly side-to-side. And then he flicked his gaze up and met hers as he brought his tongue to the most spectacular spot. That did it.

Liria's head flung back as pleasure took her, rushing through her body in a liquid explosion. Legs tensed, her thigh muscles trembled, and her back arched. Thax kept going, taking her through rapture and beyond.

“Cease!” Liria cried as her orgasm threatened to break her in two. “I can't take any more.”