Page 71 of Lost Feather
“You’re not going to bury one,” she replied, holding up a tiny toga-kini I’d sequined weeks before as a gag, which had a separate bralette and mini-skirted panties, and a few strands of sequins to hold it all together. “You’re going to merge one, though.”
CHAPTER28
Feather
The Merge was even louder tonight than the first time I’d been there. I fidgeted with the hemline of my almost-nonexistent mini-toga, just inside the door where Sunny had parked me. She had assured me I looked smoking hot, but I still felt smutty. I snorted at my own thoughts, wishing she had stuck to my side so I could share them with her. But she’d vanished into the writhing, merging crowd the instant we’d arrived, saying she was going to grab someone. Whatever. I was alone, but only for a few seconds.
“Hey, shiny soul. You’re Feather, right?” I nodded, staring up at a tall Protector who wore his toga loose, so a swath of his golden chest hairs showed. On Earth, he would definitely have accessorized that look with some gold chains and a spray tan. He stood a touch too close, two drinks in his hands, long golden hair flopping over one smoldering eye. “I saw you over here, and wondered if you’d like to dance.” His breath smelled funky, like rotten fish. I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.
“Get lost, Fidelity.” Sunny bumped the guy with her hip, and the drinks sloshed all over him. “Nobody wants to have anything to do with you until you pull your head out of your ash.”
“Oh my goodness, is that what the smell is?” I squeaked. “He has poop on his lips?”
His face flamed, and he stalked back across the room, tossing a “Bad call, little smut lover” over one shoulder.
“What was up with his breath?” I mumbled as she handed me a cup of what looked like water.
“His smut is on the inside of his mouth,” she murmured back. “On his last mission, he made out with a girl while he was dating this other guy… It was a whole thing. He doesn’t think it was wrong, something about sex not being a crime.”
“Doesn’t he get that it was the infidelity, not the actual physical act?” It seemed obvious to me. “Like, it’s okay to have a whole group of lovers, as long as everything’s done openly.” I mean, if sex itself had been a sin on Earth, I would have ended up the universe’s oldest virgin.
She fist-bumped me. “Exactly. And that’s why we’re here. You’re going to start collecting your harem.”
I choked on my water, dribbling on the sequined push-up bra part of my outfit. “Harem? I haven’t even merged with one person yet, Sunny. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“That makes one of you,” she grumbled. I still had no idea what she was talking about. I ran a hand absently over the new feather tattoo she’d pointed out. How had I not noticed it before? I suppose the workshop was pretty dark, with only the fire for light now. Had Mikhail given it to me while I was unconscious? That wouldn’t be like him, not unless he had a good reason.
Sunny hummed with satisfaction. “I see our first victim. Pucker up, Feather. It’s time to start merging.”
“Not liking the term victim, birch,” I muttered, but let her drag me across the floor to a tall, older Protector. He had a real daddy vibe going, with silvered hair and huge silver-gray wings. I couldn’t see a patch of smut on him, and I could see a whole lot more of him than usual, since he had no shirt on. Holy ab day, this guy was ripped. Not like Mikhail, but nothing to sneeze at.
Sunny pushed me in front of her, closer to the abs. “Hi, Vigor? This is Feather. She’s never merged before. Wanna show her how it goes? Maybe get your friend Endurance to join in?”
What. The. Actual. Fudge.All my blood raced to my cheeks as I blushed so hard, I was surprised the whole room didn’t catch fire. “Holy sheep, Sunny!” I hissed. “He doesn’t want to merge with me!”
“Oh, sweet Feather, you could not be more wrong,” Vigor purred, taking my wrist in one hand and my hand in the other. Sunny plucked the cup out of my grip as he spun me around and onto the dance floor. “I would be honored to be your first merge. I’m not afraid to get a little dirty. And you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in all my life.” In seconds, I was doing some sort of tango-lambada, even though I knew I couldn’t dance. This guy wasthat good.
The room was a blur as we whirled and dipped and spun. When we finally slowed for a moment, I panted, “I see you live up to your name, Vigor.” The flash of desire in his gaze didn’t make me feel warm and gooey, like when Mikhail looked at me. It just made me feel hunted.
Vigor leaned close. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” His lips moved against my neck, and I felt a sickening wave of dizziness rush over me. I tried to push back, but he was wheeling me around in a circle again, his lips too close to my mouth.
I was going to throw up. Then suddenly, the world stopped. I couldn’t focus my eyes, and I was about to tip over when arms came around me, lifting me up, holding me against a chest. I heard some sort of commotion, things breaking on the dance floor.
I sucked in a breath, trying to figure out who had me. Whoever it was, he smelled great, and his arms felt… right. Almost familiar. I peeked up.
“Ry?” His face was frozen in a terrible snarl, eyes flashing as he stared around us. His wings were extended on both sides, keeping everyone else at bay. Vigor lay sprawled on the floor in front of us, wide-eyed and rubbing his jaw.
Had Righteous punched the guy?
“Leave,” Righteous demanded, and Vigor took a breath like he wanted to speak, but then shook his head.
“I’ll find you later, little Novice.” He winked at me and jumped into the air, flying over the heads of all the dancers. Righteous made an odd growling sound, pulling me closer to his chest.
“What… What are you doing?” I murmured into a wall of hard, hot muscles. Muscles that smelled really, really good. I sucked in a lungful of his minty cardamom scent.
“What areyoudoing, Novice?” His eyes skated over me—taking in what I was wearing, I presumed. “Don’t answer that. Dumb question.” His voice sounded like ground glass. “You’re trying to merge before Sanctuary falls. That’s what they’re all here for.”
His gaze passed over the crowd, and I noticed the pain shimmering in his eyes. The room kept dancing around us, staying clear of Righteous’s wings for another long moment. Sunny stood across the dance floor from me staring, her eyebrows so high they’d almost vanished into her hairline.
