Grounded by Constance Sharper Page A

his massive wings. There wasn’t really anyone out during this time at night but he was still playing with fire.
    “I never said the word ‘good’. I said stupid.” He corrected.
    “Yea but you also said possible.” She stepped closer.
    Mason kicked the ground but didn’t budge when she slid next to him. Truth be told, her nerves were screaming in protest and her muscles burned with
    anxiety. She hopped boot to boot, trying unsuccessfully to keep the jitters at edge.
    “Look, no one else knows where the Band is besides Leela. And she doesn’t know I’m on to her. If I could just meet up with her and act it out, she might have me taken to the Band’s headquarters to help them decipher Jericho’s journal.” She reiterated the plan she decided earlier, step by step. “Then we can not only find the journal but get it back.”
    “I don’t think you understand. You’ll be walking straight into Mikhail’s hands and this time, he isn’t too interested in keeping you alive.”
    She pouted but he did raise a point. She’d run into Mikhail once before on Hatcher Pass last year. He’d kept her alive specifically because he didn’t know how to harness the magic that was in her body. If he believed, like everyone else, that all the magic was gone then she meant nothing to him now. Rubbing her frozen hands together, she shrugged off the possibility.
    “I’d rather do it before he creates another amulet than after. Besides, you’ll be there to back me up.”
    “Thanks for the confidence but I’m not a miracle worker, Avery. We can’t take on the entire Band at once. There is a good chance that we could both die.” His voice dropped and she didn’t disagree.
    Acting without much thinking, she reached out and caught his warm hands until he grudgingly opened up his fists. Unfazed by the attitude, she clasped his hand and used it to draw him closer. His green eyes dropped to meet hers. The expression on his face hurt to see. Lips tilted downward with a helpless frown, the light had gone from his face and had been replaced by darkness.
    Despite the situation at hand, the close proximity
    to him made her mind wander. Adalyn was officially out of the picture. That meant there was finally a “them” as a couple. And though Avery had been thinking about it for months, seeing it happen still left her mind spinning.
    His mind must have followed the same track.
    “You look like you want to kiss me.” He said lazily.
    “Stop being so full of yourself.” She rolled her eyes for drama’s sake but didn’t move away when he leaned down.
    “It’s hard to when you follow me around with those puppy dog eyes.”
    She opened her mouth to protest but he leaned down and caught her lips before she even got a word out. His lips were soft but he pressed into her mouth hard. The kiss was wet but passionate and she could taste spiciness on his tongue. She let herself slip back into the wall and he pinned her against it. She tilted her head up and arched her back forward giving him easier access and Mason took full advantage of it. Arms looping around her back, he pressed his body against hers until she could feel every inch of his rippled chest. Nerves hypersensitive, she shuddered when his hand slipped beneath her shirt and she felt the gentle touch of his calloused fingertips.
    Mason moved his mouth away and shifted his attention to her cheek. He trailed kisses down the side of her face, underneath her chin, and to the hollow of her neck while leaving a burning sensation in the wake of each kiss. He stopped just before her collar bone and suddenly looked up to catch her eyes.
    “What?” She asked, breathless. Her cheeks burned red hot and she licked her swollen lips.
    He quirked an eyebrow.
    “Puppy dog eyes.” He said with a devilish smile.
    Pushing him off, she groaned.
    “Shut up, Mason.”
    His smile only grew wider and refusing to look at him any longer, Avery turned away and composed herself.
    “I should be going.”