Threshold of Annihilation (The Firebird Chronicles #3) - T.A. White Page 0,128
your body because of germs and dirt, you made do with what you had. Even if it was a six-person shower with a ten-minute time limit that needed to accommodate thirty women in that short period.
Add in a childhood where her keepers found such things to be a hindrance to their training, and Kira had long since been conditioned not to care.
At least that was what she'd always thought right up until the moment she caught Graydon watching her like a hawk who’d just spotted a juicy rabbit.
There was a dark awareness in his eyes. A sensual decadence that made her chest get tight and her breathing a little heavier.
It was as if the very molecules that formed the epidermis of her skin could sense his presence and were doing their own tango of delight.
Why? Why was it this man out of all the rest?
Kira had had partners before. They were rare and always consisted of one-night stands. She'd never been willing to make herself vulnerable to another in an emotional way.
After seeing what happened to Raider and Elise, she was even more determined.
Yet, here she stood.
Danger circling.
Not the type to steal her life. No, it just wanted her soul.
"Aren't you going to sit?" Graydon asked when she remained standing.
Kira didn't mistake the challenge in those words that were nothing short of a dare.
Never one to back down, Kira took a seat next to him, turning from him to give him access to her hair.
He tugged at a lock, the gentle pulling sensation sending tingles rocketing through her.
Get a hold of yourself, Forrest. He's just a man. A potent, alluring man, but a man, nevertheless.
Even as Kira scolded herself, she knew it wasn't that simple.
Graydon was like a drug, tempting her into addiction.
Maybe if there hadn't been admiration mixed into this craving, Kira would have had a hope of resisting.
She knew better now the trials Graydon dealt with on a regular basis. The Houses weren't easy to control. They were rife with infighting capable of toppling the Tuann if allowed to go unchecked.
Only someone like Graydon could keep the balance without turning into a tyrant.
He was harsh when protecting what he loved, but Kira didn't see cruelty in him.
All she needed to do was look at the oshota around him. They loved him. They would die for him.
Not just anyone could engender that type of loyalty in another.
"Was it you who got Elena out of the audience?" Kira asked.
Graydon hummed as he prodded at another stiff chunk of hair.
"Why?"
With his duties, she would have thought he wouldn't have the time to safeguard her niece.
"She's important to you."
Such a simple answer.
Yet the words felt emblazoned on her soul.
Had anyone besides Jin ever understood her in this way?
Even Elise had been held at a distance. Kira had seen Elise as a sister, but she never let down her guard. Not fully.
Now here was Graydon. Able to see through her so easily.
Kira had a feeling if she let him, he could wreck her, destroy her beyond all recognition.
Fear and desire melded, creating a cocktail of emotion that threatened to drown her.
As if sensing her preoccupation, Graydon went to work on her hair, his light tugs on her scalp feeling like they had a direct line to her libido.
"Lu-ong saliva is rather special. It has a hardening agent that reacts to heat and air."
Kira frowned in realization. The substance coating her hadn't become unmanageable until right before she climbed into the shower.
"There's a trick to getting it out," Graydon continued.
His ki enveloped her skin, an invisible caress that sent shivers through her.
Graydon used gentle movements to run his fingers through her hair. Each pass softening the strands a little more.
"The lu-ong are made of soul's breath." Graydon's voice was an intimate rumble in her ear, his breath stirring the hair on the back of her neck.
The skin around her breasts tightened as she sucked in a shaky breath.
Mentally, she upgraded his threat level.
If he could draw out this type of reaction from her when he hadn't even really touched her, she'd self-combust if they ever had sex.
"Is that how one ended up on this planet?" Kira asked, trying to distract herself.
Graydon made a sound of agreement. "They're not constrained by the same laws of physics. The lu-ong are wanderers. They follow the paths of the universe and always have."
Kira felt like this was important information Graydon was giving her, but she couldn't concentrate enough to put it all together.