Page 81 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

He had her at last!

Vor settled the erial into a smooth flight and then turned to admire the woman in the seat beside him.

Paralyzed by his bite, she could still feel and see, and her stare was latched onto him.

He reached over to stroke her face, and she whimpered.

Scowling, Vor looked down at his metal hand.

Compared to her perfect flesh, it seemed harsh. Cruel.

“Don't be afraid.” Dropping the tech part of him, Vor raised his flesh-arm. “I won't hurt you. You and I are bound. Don't you feel it?”

He cupped her cheek and, as if to verify his words, a shiver rocked through him to settle in his chest. The woman wasn't unaffected either. She closed her eyes on a moan. Yes, she was his. Both his flesh and his tech ached for her.

“I won't hurt you,” he repeated as he gently laid his metal hand on her thigh.

Her lips trembled. She was healing from his bite.

So quickly! This woman was special, but Vor didn't know why.

What was it about her beauty that drew him?

He had seen many pretty faces, and none had the power to inflame him as hers did.

Vor knew now that he had her, he would do anything for this woman.

It wasn't an enchantment. The feeling was real, and only she could draw it forth.

“We don't feel the softer emotions,” he whispered to her. “But you are changing me. I crave things from you . . .” Vor jerked his hand back and rubbed it over his face.

He had removed his helmet for the flight. For comfort. At least that's what he'd thought. Now, Vor knew he had done it for her. He wanted his woman to see that he was a man. Not the monster her people believed him to be. If only he could convince himself.

Vor's metal hand clenched. Blood surged down his arm and back up.

“Look at me. I am not a metal creature. Not a monster.” He opened his hand and turned it over for her to see.

“The tech is a part of me. It's alive. My blood runs through this arm just as it does in my arm of flesh. It brings these gears, tubes, and wires to life as it does my sinews, bones, and arteries. I can feel you with this hand.”

He tried to lay it on her cheek again, but this time, she cringed back. Still, he kept going until he pressed the padded tips of his metal fingers on her skin.

“I'll show you. You'll learn that there is beauty below as well. You will learn to see beauty in me.”

“Why have you done this?” she whispered.

“You feel it too. Don't deny it. You know why I've come for you. You and I are meant to rule this world.”

“What are you talking about? You're insane!”

“Is it your Aethari lover?” Vor's eyes narrowed. “I saw you with him when you were working on the barrier. You will forget him soon enough. I know how you Medeans are obsessed with the delights of the flesh. I will give that to you. I will satisfy you in ways he never could.”

“What Aethari? I don't have a lover.”

Vor leaned back. “Why are you lying to me? I saw you kiss him. I planted a camera in the pit. I saw you.”

“Pit?” She shook her head. “I've never been in a pit. I just came to Thennis for my . . .” Her breath caught. “Oh, sweet convergence. You think I'm Liria.”

A shiver ran down Vor's spine, and the wires in his tech lit up. “Who is Liria?”

“She's my twin sister. She used to work at Fortress 6. I came to Thennis for her wedding ceremony to an Aethari.”

“You're twin sister?” Vor's jaw fell as images the Source of Technology had shown him blasted through his mind.

He'd seen this woman with him while she was also with the Aethari.

He thought it meant she had two futures.

Two paths to choose from. But that wasn't it at all.

That woman he had seen in the pit wasn't his.

She was her sister. She had been the path to his woman.

What a complicated tapestry Source had woven to bring them together.

It proved to Vor how special she was. And that they were truly destined to be together.

“It was you, all along,” he said. “The Source of Technology led me to her so she could bring me to you.”

“You are mad,” his woman whispered.

“No, I am chosen. And so are you.” He took her hand, smiling when she allowed it. “What's your name?”

She just stared at him.

“I am Vor, Commander of the Ranuvul Forces. Please, tell me your name, beautiful one.”

Lips trembling, she said, “Lena.”

“Lena,” he repeated, the word shaking his very being. “Lena, I will lay this world at your feet.”

“I just want to go home. Please, take me back.”

“You are with me now. I am your home.”

A tear slid down her cheek. Her sister had seemed strong. She doubtless would have fought Vor, forcing him to subdue her. But his woman was gentle. Fragile. It made him feel even stranger than he had before. With shock, he realized he wanted to protect her.

“Don't weep, Lena. You are safe with me. I swear it to you. I will care for you now.”

“Please, just let me go. I have nothing to do with the war.”

“This isn't about war. Not anymore. It's about you and me.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “You will show me how to love you, and I will show you I am worthy of your love.”

Satisfaction filled Vor's flesh and metal.

This was no longer about purging his desire in her and going back to the way he was.

He could never go back. The very first touch of his woman's flesh had changed him forever.

And he knew it was Source's will. This was how he would bring his people to the surface. Through her.

She would change everything.