Chapter Eight
“What in the seven hells do you think you’re doing?” Lock shoved his brother up against the wall of the guest suite they were staying in and glared into Deep’s bottomless black eyes. “Why are you acting this way? Are you trying to scare her off?”
Deep laughed harshly and brushed off his brother’s hands. “As if we had a shot with her. Did you see those curves? She’s fucking gorgeous—an elite.”
“We’re not bad looking,” Lock objected. “I’ve heard Earth females find our kind attractive.”
“The other Kindred races, maybe. But not the Twin Kindred. We scare them, Lock. The idea of one woman with two males at once frightens them out of their skulls.”
“They can’t all be scared—there are plenty of Twin Kindred with brides aboard the Mother ship.”
“Not nearly as many as Beast Kindred and Blood Kindred. Why don’t you just face it, brother? Calling an Earth female as a bride is a bad idea.”
“You didn’t used to think so.” Lock narrowed his eyes at his twin. “Come on, Deep—what is this really about?”
“I told you.” Deep leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. “It’s a bad idea, that’s all.”
“And it wouldn’t have anything at all to do with what happened with Miranda?”
A spasm of pain passed over Deep’s dark features and was gone almost at once. “That was over two cycles ago. Why are you even bringing it up?”
“Because, Brother, I can feel your hurt—the pain still festers inside you.” Lock’s voice dropped and he went to the other man. “I know how you feel,” he murmured, squeezing Deep’s broad shoulder gently. “I felt the same agony when we lost her. But you can’t let that keep us from ever trying again.”
Deep shook off his hand. “Why are you so eager, anyway? We just met this girl—this Kat . What makes her so special that you’re already thinking of claiming her?”
Lock ran a hand through his dark blond hair. “Because she is, as you said, gorgeous. But it isn’t just that—she’s special, Deep. Couldn’t you feel it when you spoke to her?”
“I didn’t feel a damn thing and there’s no way you could have either,” Deep growled. “Our minds aren’t even aligned with hers—we haven’t shared a single dream.”
“But we could.” Lock glared at his twin in frustration. Deep had always been a pessimist, but ever since Miranda he’d closed himself off almost entirely. It was like he thought if he didn’t allow himself to feel anything he could never be hurt again. “Kat has potential,” he told his twin. “If you don’t scare her off, that is.”
Deep narrowed his eyes. “Define potential .”
“She’s beautiful, single, and she can stand up to you. The way she slapped you when you scented her…” Lock shook his head, laughing softly. “If that’s not potential, I don’t know what is.”
“She does have spirit, I’ll give you that.” Deep smiled grudgingly and Lock felt something loosen in his heart. He seldom saw a genuine smile on his twin’s face anymore. “But Brother,” Deep continued, “If you don’t want to scare her off, you shouldn’t have agreed to let her act as our focus. If there’s anything more frightening than having two males inside her body, it would have to be having two males inside her mind . She’ll have to have a will of iron to withstand our joining.”
Lock nodded, feeling troubled. “You’re right. But you saw her, Deep—she wouldn’t be denied.” He went and dropped down onto the extra long couch which was standard for all Twin Kindred suites. “And she’s right—she may make the difference between finding Sylvan in time or losing him and the Earth female he was with forever.”
“True.” Deep seated himself beside his twin and put an arm over the other man’s shoulders in a rare gesture of affection. “Take heart, Brother. If she survives the joining and still comes back for more, I’ll admit she has potential.”
“Very comforting.” Lock sighed and looked at his brother morosely. “I just wish F’lir was here to help us. We’ve never joined with a female mind before—hell, no male finder/seeker team has as far as I know. And the fact that she’s unmated just makes it that much more complicated.”
F’lir, their old focus, had also been their mentor but he had gone to be with the Mother of Life over a cycle ago. The brothers had been searching for another focus—someone to channel their considerable power and talent and point it in the right direction—ever since. But it was a rare skill and so far they hadn’t found anyone who had anything near their old mentor’s ability.
“F’lir’s gone,” Deep said shortly. “If he was alive we wouldn’t need Kat in the first place. But until we find another focus, using her memories and feelings for her friend is the best we’re going to do.”
“Just promise me you’ll stop acting like a bastard,” Lock pleaded. “Having her hate us won’t help the process any.”
Deep gave him a sardonic smile. “Don’t worry—I’ll be on my best behavior.” He looked at the chronometer on his wrist. “Shouldn’t she be here by now? Maybe she has less potential than you thought.”
Just as he spoke, a sharp rapping came at the suite’s wide silver door.
“That’s her!” Lock jumped up and headed for the door. “Remember your promise,” he said, pointing at Deep.
Deep raised a hand. “Warrior’s honor. Go ahead, let our lovely little Kat in.”
Taking a deep breath and praying to the Mother of Life that his brother would behave, Lock turned toward the door and pressed the release.
* * * * *
Kat was slightly relieved to see it was Lock standing at the door instead of Deep. Then again, she reminded herself, she would have to deal with the dark twin eventually. She’d agreed to do this…whatever it was, with both of them.
“Hi.” She smiled brightly as she stepped into their suite. It was large and roomy, with a fireplace in one corner and deep blue carpeting on the floor. Paintings featuring a wide golden ocean dotted with craggy islands were hung on the light blue walls. Not bad for a guest room. She hadn’t been issued one herself because she’d expected to leave right after the reception. Now it looked like she would be on board the Kindred Mother ship for quite some time which made her wish she’d brought a change of clothes. The silk sapphire dress she’d worn to Liv’s wedding looked outstanding with her creamy skin and auburn hair, but she’d been wearing it for hours now and she was dying to get into something more comfortable.
“Welcome.” Lock smiled at her and the expression reached all the way down to the bottom of his eyes. Looking at him, Kat realized there was heat in those chocolate brown depths. He might not be as forward as his brother, but it was clear he liked what he saw when he looked at her.
Fighting the urge to blush, Kat looked at the couch where Deep was sprawled like a lazy panther. “Hello,” she said in a much colder tone—more because she thought it was polite than because she really wanted to talk to the big bastard.
To her surprise, Deep rose and made her a formal bow. “You are very welcome to our place of residence, my lady,” he murmured.
Kat blinked in surprise. Was it her imagination or had he actually sounded sincere? “Thank you,” she said. “I’m, uh, pleased to be here.” Clearing her throat, she looked back at Lock. “Well? I’m ready so let’s get started.”
“My lady—” Lock began but Kat held up a hand.
“Okay, I just have to say this. Before we go any farther, could both of you please stop calling me ‘my lady?’ It’s getting really old. We’re not at the freaking Renaissance Fair, you know. I mean, what’s next? Are you going to offer to buy me a tankard of mead and joust for my honor?”
Both the brothers looked thoroughly confused.
“Buy you what?” Deep said.
“What’s a joust?” Lock asked.
Kat blew out a breath in frustration. “Never mind. The point is, I want you to stop calling me ‘my lady.’ All right?”
Lock frowned. “But it’s the only proper term of address for an elite female.”
Kat had a feeling she was getting in deeper and deeper, but she couldn’t help asking. “What’s an elite female?”
Lock’s dark brown eyes were suddenly as hot as his brother’s had been earlier when he’d scented her. “One with a shape like yours, my lady.” His big hands described a generous hourglass in the air. “Most of the females on Twin Moons are lean and tough—our lifestyle and diet make them that way.”
“But there are a few,” Deep went on, taking up where his brother had left off. “A lucky few whom the Mother has marked with curving hips and ripe breasts, full to overflowing.” His black eyes flickered hungrily over her body as he spoke and Kat had to fight the urge to cover herself. She suddenly felt naked under the blue silk gown.
“They are blessed by the Mother—goddesses who walk among us. We call them the elite,” Lock continued, still eyeing her. “And naturally we thought you were an Earth elite. Were we wrong?”
Kat stared at them, unbelieving. “Uh, I guess so. But on Earth we call it ‘plus sized.’”
“Plus sized?” Deep raised an eyebrow at her.
“You know—more to love? Pleasingly plump? Big beautiful woman?”
His eyes gleamed. “Most intriguing. I like all those descriptions.”
“I do, too.” Lock gave her a ravenous look.
Kat felt the sudden urge to pinch herself. Are they seriously saying they come from a planet of skinny-minnies but they think plus sized girls are hotter? Did somebody slip me some crazy pills? She shook her head, trying to clear away the mental images the brothers’ words brought to mind. “Look,” she said sternly. “It’s great you’re so into women with curves, but we are getting way, way, way off point here. One, I’d prefer if you just called me Kat. And two, we need to do this…whatever it is we’re going to do and try to locate Sophie and Sylvan. They’ve been missing for hours now.”
“Very true my…Kat,” Lock said, coming over to her. “But the fact is, one doesn’t just jump headfirst into a joining with no preparation.”
She looked up at him, refusing to let herself be intimidated. “A joining? Is that the name of what we’re doing?”
He nodded. “Indeed.”
Kat took a deep breath. “Okay, what’s the prep? Do we have to do some kind of special exercises or what?”
“You’re not far off.” Deep came to stand directly behind her, which made Kat nervous since Lock was standing directly in front. Even though they weren’t touching her, she could feel the heat of their large, male bodies radiating against her skin through the thin dress. Suddenly she felt surrounded.
“Okay, hold on a minute.” Kat took a step to the side and faced both of them. “Look, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I did not come here for some kind of a booty call.”
Lock frowned. “I’m sorry, a what?”
“More Earth vernacular,” Deep rumbled. “I believe our little Kat is saying she’s not prepared to surrender herself to us sexually.”
“That’s right.” Kat crossed her arms over her breasts protectively. “I’m not about to have sex with either one of you, so you can just get that out of your heads right now.”
Lock looked confused. “But we didn’t ask you here to have sex.”
“And you couldn’t make love to either one of us individually,” Deep said, arching an eyebrow. “You’d have to take both of us at once. We come as a pair.”
Kat felt her cheeks heating at his double entendre. “Good to know—now I have twice as much reason not to get physical. Because I am not interested in being the filling in your sex sandwich—I’m only here to do the uh, joining. So you can stop it with the whole surrounding me thing.”
Lock shook his head. “Surrounding you? Do you mean the way we were standing?”
“Exactly.” Kat nodded. “I don’t like that. It makes me…nervous.”
“But that’s the traditional grouping for a joining,” Lock protested. “The finder in the front, the seeker in the back, and the focus in the middle. Sometimes the finder and seeker switch places, but the focus must always be between them.”
“We’re usually lying down when we do a joining,” Deep added. “But we thought you’d be more comfortable standing up.”
“Oh, uh…” Kat cleared her throat. “Well yes, standing is better than…it’s definitely better. But…we don’t have to touch each other, do we?”
“Skin to skin contact generally makes the joining better and more effective,” Lock said gently. “But we don’t have to remove any clothing if you’d rather not. We can just hold hands.”
Coming to stand in front of Kat again, he held out a hand. Hesitantly, Kat took it. It was warm and large and enveloped hers completely.
“See?” Lock smiled. “That’s not so bad, is it?”
She smiled back. “No, not bad at all.”
“Good, then it’s my turn.” Deep moved up behind her again and Kat could feel him looming over her in a way that felt almost predatory.
Taking a deep breath, she reached behind her with her free hand. “Here.”
“I prefer it like this.” Deep wound an arm around the front of her body and took her hand. Entwining their fingers, he rested his chin on the top of her head. “So much nicer this way.”
Kat wanted to answer but she was frozen to the spot. From the moment Deep had taken her hand in his own, a strange sensation had started inside her.
It felt like a warm tingling that started in her hands and ran up both arms like a low level electric current. The sensation, while strange, wasn’t too bad until it reached her torso. There it became a warm glow in the pit of her stomach—like the best buzz she’d ever hand. Then, however, it moved to the tips of her breasts and the vee between her legs. Suddenly her nipples were painfully hard and her pussy felt swollen and wet. And the current didn’t stop there—it stroked her like a knowing hand, tugging at her nipples and caressing her clit until she felt like she was going to explode.
Finally her paralysis broke and she pushed away from the brothers. “What the hell?” she demanded, glaring at them. “What the hell did you just do to me?”
“What do you mean?” Deep asked at the same time Lock said,
“We didn’t do anything but touch you.”
Kat’s entire body was still tingling like she’d touched a live wire, but at least the more intense sensations in her nipples and between her legs were gone. She put her hands on her hips. “You’re going to stand there and tell me you didn’t do that?”
“Do what?” they asked together.
Kat put a hand to her forehead. Give me strength! These two are going to drive me crazy! “That…that weird tingling . You mean you didn’t feel it?”
“Feel what?” Deep stepped toward her and frowned, his nose wrinkling. “Why do you suddenly smell so hot?”
“What?” Kat crossed her arms over her chest protectively.
“Hot—in heat. In need.” Deep’s black eyes were positively glowing. “Come smell her, Brother,” he told Lock, who was still standing a little distance away. “It’s as though she went from being disinterested to panting to be bred and bonded in the space of an instant.”
Lock took a step forward and leaned in to sniff Kat’s neck. When he straightened up, his eyes were half-lidded with lust. “My lady, er Kat, Deep is right. You smell delicious and very, very…ready.”
“R-ready for what?” she asked in a voice that trembled more than she liked.
Deep’s eyes flashed. “Why, ready to be fucked, little Kat.”
Kat took a step away from both of them. “Look, I’m not… I don’t know what you’re talking about—I only know what I felt.”
Deep gave her a lazy smile. “And what exactly did you feel?”
“I told you—just a tingling sensation.” Kat felt her cheeks getting hot and cursed her fair complexion that showed a blush so easily. “Look, are you seriously going to stand there and tell me this has never happened to you two before with some other, uh, focus?”
“Our only other focus was our mentor, F’lir, who was male,” Deep told her.
“Really? Was he gay?” Kat couldn’t imagine a straight guy wanting to get such intense sexual sensations from two other males.
“Gay? Meaning did he enjoy the company of other males?” Lock shook his head. “No. He was old enough to be our grandfather—he taught us to harness our talents in the first place.”
“But, I mean, he never felt anything strange? Like I just did? Maybe you could call him up, uh bespeak him, and ask him,” Kat suggested.
“Not unless you can place a Think-me call to the Mother herself. F’lir is dead,” Deep said soberly. “And we have been without a focus since he died over a cycle ago.”
“Maybe that’s it then.” Kat was still looking for an explanation. “Maybe your power kind of…built up over that amount of time and it sort of…came out when you two, uh, touched me.”
Lock looked thoughtful. “I don’t think so. I think it’s more likely to have to do with the fact that you’re female.”
“So you’ve never had a female between you before?” Kat asked.
“I wouldn’t say that , exactly.” Deep gave her a lazy smile. “But Lock and I have certainly never had a female as lovely as you between us, little Kat.”
Kat frowned, wishing she could stop blushing. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, we know what you mean.” Lock gave his brother a warning look. “And the answer is no—we’ve never tried to mesh our minds with a female’s before.”
“So…is this even doable?” She looked at them. “I mean, is my mind too different from yours to make it work?”
Deep raised his eyebrows. “There’s only one way to find out. And you jerked away from us before we could even get a good connection.”
“But…” Kat bit her lip. “Am I…will it feel like that every time?”
“We don’t know.” Lock looked concerned. “Was our connection causing you pain?”
“Not…exactly. It was…it was…” Kat was sure her face had to be crimson by now. “It was pretty much the exact opposite of pain, actually.”
Deep smirked. “Which explains why you smell like a female in heat.”
“ Deep .” Lock frowned at his brother. “Remember your promise.”
Deep held up his hands. “Forgive me, brother. I know I swore to be on my best behavior but I had no idea our joining would be such an…interesting experience.”
“I had no idea either.” Lock turned to Kat. “Please believe me, my lady. Neither Deep nor myself had any intention of harming or upsetting you. We just want to find Sylvan.”
“And I want to find Sophie.” Kat hugged herself nervously. Oh Sophie, you are going to owe me when we find you. Owe me BIG. “Which means we need to try again, I guess,” she said.
“Only if you’re comfortable,” Lock said seriously. “There are no long term effects to being a focus that Deep and I have ever run across, but I hate the idea of you being uncomfortable the entire time we’re joined.”
“Thanks, but it looks like I’ll just have to put up with it.” Kat took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay boys, round two.”