And what about the damn bonding fruit? Her hands still smelled of the triangular, palm-sized fruit. The scent was tempting and incredibly delicious but Kat had no desire to eat any more now. What was going to happen to her when the weird, alien aphrodisiac kicked in? And how was she going to make it through a huge formal party if she was horny out of her mind?
Not that I’d ever get horny enough to let Deep and Lock try that on me. Just the idea of both of them trying to fit their huge shafts inside her at the same time gave her the shivers. There was just no way that any fruit, no matter how “special,” could make that kind of three-way action anything but painful. How would you even get in the right position to do that? It made her head hurt just to think about it. Then don’t think about it. But the image wouldn’t leave her head. It was the same one Deep had sent her the night before while she was swamped in lust. Then it had seemed almost plausible and extremely hot. But now…Kat shivered and shook her head. No way. No way in hell.
Sighing, she got up to pace back and forth in front of the wide window. Then she looked down at her bare legs and had a sudden thought—who knew if what she had on would be considered decent or not? She didn’t need to be putting on another show. Quickly, she shut the shade, plunging the room into bluish-purple gloom, but not before she saw several men on the street below smiling and waving at her. Kat did not wave back. God, some of those jerks will probably be at the party tonight!
The thought made her wince. Her time on Twin Moons was really getting off to a great start. She hadn’t even been awake for one whole morning and she’d already given a peep show to strangers and eaten a whole bowl full of horny fruit by mistake. What the hell was she going to do tonight? And what—
“My lady?” A soft rapping on the door interrupted her mental tirade.
“Yes?” Kat sighed with resignation. “Come in.”
“Thank you.” Lock came in and shut the door behind him. He was alone, Kat saw with relief. She didn’t think she could handle another dose of Deep just now. “I just wanted to talk to you,” Lock said, coming over to the window where she was standing. “I wanted to tell you—”
“Have you been washing my hair while I was unconscious?” Kat blurted.
“Um…” Lock coughed and looked down at his boots. Then he looked up and nodded. “Yes.”
“You and Deep both or just you?”
“It was my idea,” he said softly, looking into her eyes. “But I did get Deep to help me.”
“God!” Kat started pacing again. “I knew it. I knew it wasn’t just a dream.” She rounded on Lock. “Do you know how creepy that is? I mean, I was unconscious, for God’s sake! You two could have been doing anything to me.”
“We only bathed you,” Lock said in a low voice. “Deep and I are honorable males. We would never take advantage of you as you slept.”
Reluctantly, Kat shook her head. “No, I guess not. You wouldn’t anyway.”
“Deep would not take undue advantage either,” Lock said, obviously taking her meaning. “And we draped you in towels to preserve your modesty if that makes you feel any better.”
Strangely enough, it did. Kat sighed and nodded slightly. “I guess, maybe a little.”
“Try to understand.” Stepping forward, Lock took her hand in his. “We were charged with your safety and well being. We were acting as any males would toward the female they cared for.” Bending his head, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand and gave her a soft, lingering kiss.
Kat felt her heart skip a beat at the old fashioned gesture and the feel of his warm lips on her skin. He looked so handsome standing there, so earnest and hopeful as he kissed her hand. When he looked up, his whole heart was in his chocolate brown eyes.
“Lock…” she said, not knowing how to continue.
“My lady,” he murmured. “Forgive me for offending your modesty. Please know that I acted only out of affection and the most earnest desire to see to your needs.”
He had needs of his own. Kat could feel them. She could feel the yearning inside him—the wanting so strong it brought tears to her eyes. And all of it, all his desire and need and love and lust, all was centered on her. “Oh, Lock…” Somehow she found herself hugging him, wrapping her arms around his muscular torso and holding him close.
“My lady… Kat,” he murmured into her hair, returning the hug carefully.
Kat breathed in his scent without speaking, knowing it was his mating scent but not caring for once. It was warm and calming—a mixture of hot coffee on a cold morning and fresh laundry straight from the dryer. Under it was a hint of masculine spice that tickled her nose and made her nipples and the tender vee between her legs throb. But despite her desire, hugging Lock was wonderfully comforting. His arms were hard and strong around her and she realized for the first time that she liked him—liked him a lot.
He liked her too. She could feel the warm iron bar of his cock against her thigh, but she didn’t pull back. It seemed right somehow—or at least, not scary. Her irritation and worry seemed to melt away and for a moment she allowed herself to just feel good in his arms.
“Kat,” he breathed and she looked up. His brown eyes were half-lidded and she realized he was going to kiss her.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m probably only feeling this way because of all the damn fruit I ate. But she couldn’t help remembering the gentle way he’d tasted her the night before, the sweet way he’d made her come with his tongue. The memory made her hot and cold all over and she shivered in his arms. She tilted her mouth up to meet his—
“Brother, I—” Deep’s voice at the door made her jerk away, but not before the dark twin’s coal black eyes had taken in the way she and Lock were wrapped in each other’s arms.
“Deep.” Lock raised a hand to his brother. “The lady Kat and I were just—”
“I see what you were just doing.” Deep’s eyes flashed. “Don’t let me interrupt you.”
“Stop,” Lock pleaded. “You know it isn’t like that. It can’t be. Without you—”
“I’d say you’re doing just fine without me.” Deep nodded at both of them coldly and left, shutting the door behind him.
Lock sighed and stepped back, away from Kat. “I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
Kat frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We’re bonded twins.” Lock ran a hand through his hair. “Touching a female in the way I was touching you should have been excruciatingly painful for me without my brother somehow involved.” He sat heavily on the edge of the bed. “It hurt me to take you in my arms without Deep touching you as well, but I was able to do it.”
“It hurt you to hold me?” Kat looked at him, her eyes wide. “Really? How…how does it feel?”
“Like a low-level electrical shock running through my body. But just the fact that I was able to do it at all…” He shook his head. “We’ve grown apart lately. Ever since—”
“Since what?” Kat asked but he only shook his head.
“Never mind. I owe you an apology.”
“It’s all right,” Kat said softly, sitting beside him. “I wasn’t exactly trying to get away. I should have, though—I don’t want to lead you on.”
He gave her a look from the corner of his eye. “Meaning you still have no interest in us.”
“I think I could if I let myself—I could have feelings for you, anyway,” Kat said honestly. “I mean, you’re sweet and kind and caring and gorgeous—what more could a girl want?”
“But?” Lock raised one dark blond eyebrow at her.
“But…” she said reluctantly. “You come with an awful lot of baggage. You know what I mean.”
“Yes.” He nodded heavily. “Yes, I do. But my lady, if you could just give Deep a chance…”
Kat was already shaking her head. “I’m afraid not, Lock, it would never work. Deep and I—we’re like oil and water—we don’t mix. We can’t even have a single conversation without it turning into a
shouting match.”
Lock’s broad shoulders slumped. “I know he’s difficult to get along with. But he truly does care for you.”
“Then why don’t I feel it?” Kat asked. “I get all these strong emotions from you two but what I mostly feel from him is lust and annoyance. He wants me but mostly I irritate him.”
“You’re only feeling what he lets himself feel,” Lock protested. “But under all that, he cares. I know he does.”
“Maybe you just want him to,” Kat said gently. “Because you two come as a package deal and I can’t take one without the other. Look, I can tell how hard it is for you and I’m sorry—really I am. But aside from the whole feeling both of your emotions thing and the, uh, way you perform bonding sex which is scary to say the least…” she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Aside from that, the fact is, I just can’t let myself get involved with two guys when one of them can’t stand me.” She shook her head. “God, that sounds so weird.”
“No, it sounds like common sense.” Lock looked down at the green wooden floor between his black boots. “I can’t blame you for what you feel, my lady. But I can’t help what I feel, either.”
“I’m so sorry.” Kat put a hand on his knee to comfort him. Then she pulled it away quickly. “Oh, I didn’t think. Did that hurt you just now? Me touching you without Deep being here?”
“A little.” Lock gave her a sad smile and put her hand back on his knee. “But it’s worth it.”
“That’s sweet.” He looked so dejected and his feelings of sadness and loss were so overwhelming, Kat felt like she was going to cry if they sat that way much longer. Clearing her throat, she rose and began pacing in front of the bed. “So when do the effects of this, uh, bonding fruit I ate kick in? And how long do they last?”
Lock shook his head. “The fruit should be in full effect in a few hours. As for how long it will last, it could be days.”
“What?” Kat rounded to face him. “Are you telling me I’m going to be feeling…uh, amorous for days?”
“No, no.” He shook his head hastily. “That will be the first effect to fade. But your scent will remain enhanced for a long time. As well as your…” He coughed delicately. “Flexibility.”
“Oh, well…” Kat crossed her arms over her chest protectively. “I don’t think we need to worry about it then. As long as I can get through tonight at the party…”
“You’ll be all right,” Lock finished for her. “And I promise we’ll take you back to Mother L’rin tomorrow. She wanted to examine you after we healed you, anyway. And maybe she can help you to shield yourself against some of our emotions.”
“I certainly hope so,” Kat muttered. “But about the party, tonight—before we go, I really need a shot of those translation bacteria that Sophie got. I mean, this whole mess could have been avoided if I could have talked to your mom instead of just pointing at the fruit I wanted. I don’t want to get into any more trouble.”
Lock shook his head. “I’m sorry, but those are only available on the Kindred Mother ship.”
“Really? Damn!” Kat sighed and raked a hand through her hair. “You know, I don’t get it. Back when you two were bringing me here in the spaceship I heard Deep talking in another language and I could understand it. But when I talked to your mom I didn’t catch a word.”
“You weren’t conscious in the ship,” Lock protested. “In fact you almost…almost died.” His face had gone pale and the last word came out in a whisper.
Kat nodded grimly. “I figured it was something like that. I was floating above my body looking down. And I saw you doing some kind of weird CPR on me. But the talking…I don’t see how I could understand the Twin Moons language then and not now.”
“Maybe you were dream-sharing with us.” Lock looked thoughtful. “It might explain why your spirit didn’t drift away entirely and also why you could understand our language. However tenuously, you were linked to our minds, seeing and hearing as Deep and I saw and heard.”
“Well I wish I could have a little of that now,” Kat grumbled. “This is going to be some fun party. I’ll be high on horny fruit and I won’t have any idea what anyone is saying to me.” Then she thought of the males who had seen her in only a sheet that morning. “Come to think of it, maybe that last part won’t be such a bad thing.”
“There will be a few people there you can talk to,” Lock told her. “Some of the ambassadors and their mates have had the translation implants so they’ll understand you. And they’ll be safe—your scent won’t affect mated males.”
“So I should stick with the couples.” Kat nodded. “Got it.”
“Only if you should get separated from Deep and myself,” Lock said. “But I don’t think that will be a problem. We’ll be shadowing your every move.”
“Oh joy,” Kat said dryly. “I can’t wait.”
It certainly was going to be a party to remember.
Ten
“What’s the matter, honey? You look like you just lost your last friend.”
At the sound of English being spoken, Kat looked up eagerly. The party, which was being held at a huge structure that was reminded her of an opera house, with frescoed ceilings and elaborate carvings, had been horrible so far.
It wasn’t so much that she didn’t know the language—although that was a big part of it. But she also felt like a prisoner, being flanked at all times by Deep and Lock. She was on an alien planet for the first time—she wanted to go explore. There were amazing works of 3-D art all over the walls and vast rooms full of strange and exotic things to look at. Not to mention all kinds of new foods to try—though Kat was being careful about that. But instead of wandering through the crowd checking things out, she was stuck staying where it was “safe.” At least according to her two captors.
Kat couldn’t see that it was so very unsafe at the huge, bustling party. It was true that just about every male in the place seemed to be eyeing her hungrily, but none of them had made any off-color gestures or remarks. Kat assumed it was just the scent she was supposedly giving off. And come to think of it, she wasn’t even sure about that. She didn’t feel any different and she’d sniffed herself several times without smelling a thing. Could it be that Deep and Lock were making up the whole bonding fruit thing—or at least exaggerating it—in order to keep her close to them?
Entirely possible, she thought, eyeing Deep, who was scanning the crowd warily for possible threats. But at least now she had someone to talk to. The woman who had spoken to her looked to be about five years older than Kat and she was voluptuous in the extreme, her full curves draped in a peacock colored toga-type dress which seemed to be the traditional Twin Moons style.
Speaks English and she’s plus sized! Kat smiled at her, feeling like she’d just won the jackpot. “Hi,” she said, nodding gratefully. “I’m Kat. Kat O’Connor.”
“Piper.” The woman held out an elegant hand dripping with diamonds and Kat took it. “Oh, who am I kidding? Come here!” Piper pulled her into a warm embrace and held her for a moment before letting go. “Sorry.” She grinned unrepentantly at Kat. “It’s just that I’ve been out here on Twin Moons with my husbands for so long. I’m so glad to see another face from Earth I could cry.”
“That’s okay.” Kat grinned back. On Earth she would have been put off by such effusiveness but not here, under these circumstances. “I know how you feel,” she said. “I haven’t even been here that long and I’m already homesick.”
“Of course you are! I mean, it’s wonderful here. But sometimes you just want to go to McDonalds and get a Big Mac and some fries. And knowing the closest Mickey D’s is seven light years away can make a gal feel mighty lonesome.” Piper sighed and patted her honey-blonde hair which was piled on her head in an elaborate up-do. “Where are you from, anyway?”
“Tampa,” Kat said, smiling. “You?”
“Houston, honey. Born and raised.” Piper smiled wistfully. “You know, it’s a big, dirty, ugly city and around here it�
�s all quaint little fishing towns and unspoiled beauty—couldn’t be more different. I’ll be the first to admit it’s gorgeous and all, but sometimes I miss the traffic and the smog. Isn’t that strange?”
“Not at all,” Kat said earnestly. “I haven’t been here for long but before that I was stuck on the Kindred Mother ship. I miss downtown Tampa and the Tampa picture show—it’s this old theater that’s been running for the last hundred and fifty years. The acoustics are horrible and the seats are so hard they hurt your behind, but my girlfriends and I used to go there and watch all the indie movies that none of the multiplexes would play.” She sighed. “They have this old fashioned popcorn machine and they use real butter—not that nasty fake stuff.”
“Oh, don’t get me started on Earth food.” Piper’s lime green eyes lit up. “What I miss the most is good barbeque. You couldn’t get decent pulled pork on Twin Moons to save your life! I don’t even think they have an animal that’s anything like a pig. Everything is so lean and healthy and good for you.” She shivered.
“Which is probably why everyone’s in such good shape and all the women look like supermodels,” Kat said, looking around. Every Twin Moons woman she had seen was tall and thin with perfect cheekbones. They glided around the room, taking nibbles from the mountains of fruit which were piled on low pillars, and looking perfect in the warm lighting.
“Oh no, honey.” Piper shook her head. “You and I, we’re the supermodels here. And that’s the one thing Twin Moons has over dear old Earth.”
“Uh, because we’re ‘elites’?” Kat dropped her voice, not wanting Lock and Deep to hear her discussing it. “I mean, the guys I’m with, they’re always talking about how curvy women are valued here—”
Brides of the Kindred Volume One: Books 1-4 Page 96
