Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series (46 page)

“Our fathers were buried at sea,” Lock
reminded him. “But I know what you mean. Yes, I swear it.”

“Thank you.” Deep breathed a sigh of relief
and took a step back.

“Well?” Lock frowned at him. “What is it?
And when do you need me to do it?”

“The sooner the better.” Deep drew his
blazer and pressed it into Lock’s palm. “Here.”

Lock looked down at the deadly weapon,
uncomprehending. “Why are you giving me this? What do you expect me
to do?”

“I expect you to honor your promise,
Brother,” Deep said calmly. “And kill me.”

Kat stared at herself in the bathroom
viewer, tracing the curling green lines that swirled around most of
her right cheek.
So this is how it ends. Done in by what looks
like a really bad Saint Patrick’s Day tattoo.
It seemed so
unfair—so unbelievable—that something so small should end her life.
But Kat knew it was true. Even now she could feel herself getting
weaker.
At least I don’t have that awful pain anymore. No more
rusty spike in my brain—that’s an improvement.

An improvement but little consolation,
considering that she was dying.

She frowned at her image in the viewer. She
was doing it again—having a pity party when she had promised
herself not to waste her last hours whining. Liv and Sophie had
wanted to take her dancing or drinking at one of the clubs on the
ship but Kat had vetoed that idea. Instead they’d decided to go
back to her suite for brownie sundaes and girl talk—possibly the
last girl talk they’d ever get.

But as much as she loved spending time with
her friends, Kat yearned for something more. If these were her
final hours she wanted to spend them doing something exhilarating.
Something incredible…but what?

Suddenly a memory came to her—the feeling of
flying like a weightless, invisible bird, the sight of suns and
planets and galaxies rushing past her, the incredible exhilaration
of being joined to two other minds as they swooped through space at
impossible speeds… It was the sensation she’d gotten the last time
she’d done a joining with Lock and Deep, when they were searching
for Sophie after she’d been kidnapped by the Scourge. By Xairn, in
fact—the same warrior who was now holding Lauren.

That’s what I want to do,
Kat
realized with a surge of excitement.
I want to feel that joy one
more time. And maybe we can help locate Lauren while we’re at it.
That way it will be like I’m doing something useful before I
die…leaving things better than I found them.
Of course, it was
joining with Lock and Deep that had started this whole mess in the
first place. But what did she care now if the pain came back? She
was going to die anyway.
If I could get Lauren’s mom even just a
little bit of hope it would be worth it.

Kat nodded at her face in the viewer. “I’ll
do it.”

Turning, she headed out of the bathroom to
tell Sophie and Liv her decision. Then all she had to do was
convince Deep and Lock.

Kat let herself into the twins’ suite
without knocking. The door recognized her and let her in with no
problem,
whooshing
quietly shut behind her. She was
rehearsing her argument when she came to the bedroom…and stopped in
her tracks.

Deep and Lock were standing in front of the
huge bed, neither one of them moving. But Lock had a blazer pointed
straight at Deep’s heart.

“Take the shot,” Deep urged, baring his
chest. “One quick, clean shot and you’re done.”

“I don’t want to.” Lock’s voice trembled and
so did his hand, holding the weapon. “I probably
should
after everything you’ve done but…I don’t. I can’t lose my brother
and the woman I love at the same time. I
can’t.”

“You’ve already lost me.” Deep’s voice was
desolate. “And we’re both going to lose Kat. I deserve to die for
the part I played in that—you know it’s true.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to be the one to
kill you!” Lock threw the blazer down and it
clunked
harmlessly on the carpet. “It’s not fair for you to even ask
me.”

“I thought you’d want to,” Deep said
quietly. “You hate me, don’t you? I thought it would give you
satisfaction.”

“How could I take satisfaction in killing my
brother? The other half of my soul.” Lock grabbed him roughly and
pulled him into a hard embrace. “I don’t hate you, Deep,” he
muttered into his brother’s shoulder. “Sometimes I wish I could but
I don’t, no matter what you’ve done.”

“I don’t hate you either,” Kat said quietly.
“I never could—which is what I was trying to tell you before we
were interrupted in the viewing room.” She stepped forward. “In
fact, I…I love both of you. Very much.”

Tears stung her eyes as two sets of muscular
arms enfolded her. “Kat, little Kat,” she heard Deep murmur as Lock
whispered, “My lady…” into her hair.

“I’ve come to ask you for something,” she
said at last, pulling out of the sweet, three-way embrace and
looking up at them. “Kind of a last request.”

“Anything,” Lock said at once and Deep said,
“Name it.”

“A joining.” Kat spoke rapidly as both
brothers opened their mouths to protest. “Just hear me out. I want
to act as your focus so we can find Lauren. I spoke to her mother
earlier and she’s distraught. If I could give her any information
about where Lauren is and if and when she’s coming home, it would
mean a great deal to her. Will you help me?”

“Mother L’rin told us to never use you as a
focus again,” Lock protested. “She said that it was very dangerous
for you.”

“She also told Deep there was no hope to
save me from the soul poisoning,” Kat said flatly, pointing to her
cheek. “So what have I got to lose?”

The Scourge home planet is three times as
far as Twin Moons,” Deep said thoughtfully. “Such a distance has
never been attempted before. Even if we could cast a net so far, it
could be all for nothing if they’ve folded space. Attempting such a
distance might be the end of all three of us.”

“Oh.” Kat shook her head. “I…I didn’t know.
Then of course I withdraw the request. I wouldn’t want to put you
and Lock at risk.”

“Risk be damned,” Deep growled. “I don’t
care how dangerous it is at this point.”

“I agree with Deep,” Lock said quietly.
“There is no life for me without you, my lady. I too, will take the
risk.”

“I can’t let you sacrifice yourself for me,”
Kat protested.

“We’re not. Or not
just
for you,”
Lock said. “It’s for Lauren and her mother too, remember?”

“Well, yes…” she said hesitantly. “But—”

“I would rather burn brightly for an instant
and bring some light into the universe in my last moments than live
a thousand years in darkness,” Deep said softly. “And I want to be
joined with you again, Kat. I think Lock feels the same.”

“I do.” Lock nodded. “So very much, my
lady.”

“Well then…” Kat knew she shouldn’t let them
do it but the lure of being between them again, feeling their minds
joined to hers, was too tempting. Then she had a new thought.
“But…can we even do a joining now that you two aren’t connected
anymore?”

“Severing the bond between us won’t have
affected our abilities as seeker/finders,” Lock said. “Though it
may mean we’ll need a great deal of…contact in order to achieve a
good link.”

“We’ll need that anyway, casting a net such
a distance away.” Deep stepped closer and brushed Kat’s cheek
lightly with his fingers. “How do you feel about that, Kat?”

Kat’s breath caught in her throat. “What
exactly are we talking about here? Complete nudity?”

“At least.” Lock cleared his throat. “And
quite possibly penetration as well.”

“By both of us. At the same time.” Deep
searched her eyes with his. “Now how do you feel about it?”

Kat lifted her chin. “I say I’d rather go
out with a bang than a whimper. Although…” She bit her lip. “It
has
been awhile since I ate the bonding fruit.”

“Wait here.” Lock disappeared and came back
a moment later with a lovely blue crystal bottle etched in flowing
designs and a small crystal goblet to match. “Here.” Handing the
cup to Kat, he poured it about half full of a shimmering, clear
liquid.

Kat raised the goblet to look at its
contents and a familiar scent wafted up.
Fresh pineapple…ripe
raspberries…buttered popcorn.
“Bonding fruit.” She looked up at
Lock. “Is it made from bonding fruit?”

“It is distilled from the
Kala
fruit,
yes.” He nodded. “I found it in my things when we came back from
Twin Moons. I think our mother put it there.” He gave Kat a sad
smile. “She likes you a lot, you know.”

Kat felt a lump in her throat. “I liked her
too. I just…I wish I could have gotten a chance to know her.” She
took a deep breath.
Okay, I can’t do this if I’m bawling like a
baby. Get hold of yourself, girl!

“My lady, don’t—” Lock started to say but
Kat didn’t wait for him to finish.

“Bottom’s up!” Lifting the goblet, she
tossed down the contents in one gulp. The sweet, innocent-smelling
liquid lit her insides on fire. “Wow!” Kat gasped, her eyes
watering. “What the hell is in that stuff? I don’t remember the
bonding fruit tasting like that.”

“That’s because this ‘stuff’ is the
distilled and fermented essence of the bonding fruit,” Deep said
dryly. “It’s incredibly potent.”

“I was about to tell you not to drink it too
quickly.” Lock gave her a worried look. “Most females just sip
it.”

“Just sip it, huh?” Kat looked ruefully at
her empty glass. “Sorry. I guess my history of bonding fruit abuse
continues. I’d offer to go to rehab if I had the time.”

“Let’s not talk about time right now.” Deep
pulled her into his arms and Lock came up close behind her,
pressing against her back. “Let’s talk about pleasure…and building
enough power to cast our net.”

Kat had one more fear. “Before we do this…is
it going to cause a bond?”

Deep raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you
still
afraid of being bonded to the two of us?”

Kat frowned. “Not at all. I just don’t want
to drag either one of you down with me—if the joining itself
doesn’t do us all in, that is.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, my lady.”
Lock sounded sad. “With the bond cut between the two of us and
Deep, I don’t see how we could form a bond with you—even half a
bond as we did before.”

“All right then.” Kat relaxed. “I just
wanted to be sure.”

“What you can be sure of is that we want
you,” Deep rumbled in her ear. “And right now, we want you
naked.”

Kat bit her lip but allowed them to undress
her. She knew she ought to have lost her body consciousness by
now—they saw her ample curves as beautiful and alluring, after all.
But she didn’t know if she’d ever get used to being naked with two
gorgeous guys staring at her.
You don’t have time to get used to
it,
a nasty little voice whispered in her head but Kat pushed
it away. As Deep had said, it was better not to talk about
time.

True, little Kat. Better we should speak
about desire.
Deep looked down into her eyes, a faint smile on
his sensuous lips.

Oh, I can hear you again!

And I can hear both of you—though Deep’s
mental voice is very faint,
Lock said in her mind.

That means we need to get closer,
Deep sent.

All right.
Reaching up, Kat cupped
his scratchy cheek. With her other hand, she laced her fingers with
Lock’s. It was surprising how good it felt to be able to hear both
brothers inside her head again. She had thought during their first
joinging that she would never get used to having two sets of alien
thoughts and emotions filling her all the time…but apparently a
girl could get used to almost anything.
What about having two
cocks filling your pussy?
Kat blushed but neither Deep or Lock
reacted so apparently she’d managed to keep the thought to
herself.

Not quite,
Deep sent through their
link.
But that’s all right…we won’t get to that for
awhile.

We want to see you first, to touch you
and bring you pleasure,
Lock murmured in her mind.

That sounds wonderful
, Kat sent.
But you two are
always
the ones giving
the pleasure.

Meaning what?
Deep frowned.

Meaning that
I
want to be in charge this time.
Kat nudged them toward the
bed.
At least to start with.

What would you have us do, my lady?
Lock asked.

First I want to undress you.
Turning
to him, Kat began to suit actions to words. Off came the green
Kindred uniform shirt, baring a broad, smooth chest with golden tan
skin. Kat ran her fingers down it and pinched Lock’s nipples
lightly until he moaned low in his throat. Then she reached for his
pants and peeled them down. Lock toed off his boots for her and, as
she rose from pulling the pants all the way off, she saw that his
cock was already more than half hard. His bonding scent, the hot
coffee/clean linen aroma she found so soothing, was beginning to
manifest as she touched him.

My lady,
he sent breathlessly as she
took him in her hand. Hot and silky smooth against her palm, his
shaft was long and thick. It was hard to believe that it would ever
fit inside her—let alone it and another just like it at the same
time. But already Kat could feel the familiar tingle in her nipples
and pussy that let her know the bonding fruit drink was working on
her.

Fast stuff,
she thought to herself.
Either it was working faster because she’d had bonding fruit before
or the distilled essence was just more potent.

Both,
Deep sent her, apparently
hearing her thought. His coal black eyes watched hungrily as she
stroked Lock’s shaft.