Bridging the Distance_A Kindred Tales Novel

  She’d also spent a fair amount of time trying to get the damn nipples rings with their star-shaped charms off. Though she’d turned the water as hot as she could stand, the damn things wouldn’t be removed. At last she gave up, thinking that she might need to ask Bound to help her again—not that she minded. Just the thought of having his mouth on her breasts again gave her a little tingle of anticipation between her legs.

  She was finally squeaky clean and had been anticipating wrapping herself in several of the big, fluffy towels and drying off at a leisurely pace when she finally got out.

  No time for that now.

  Grabbing a towel from the rack, she hurriedly wrapped it around herself as she ran, dripping, out the bathroom door and into the bedroom.

  The sight that met her eyes was worse than she’d imagined.

  Torn had Bound down on the floor and was punching his brother as hard as he could with his free hand. Bound was doing his best to shield his face with his arms but he wasn’t trying to fight back. He was saying something—something Lorelei couldn’t make out at first.

  “I’m not going to fight you,” he gasped as Torn continued to pound him mercilessly. “You’re my brother—I love you.”

  The words nearly broke Lorelei’s heart and she ran forward shouting, not even caring when her towel began to slip.

  “Stop it, Torn! Stop it, you’ll kill him!”

  Torn didn’t seem to hear her. His face was a mask of murderous rage and he seemed wholly intent on pounding the life out of the man beneath him. The black speck-like nanites had congregated around his eyes again, making them blaze like a demon’s. He looked almost exactly as he had when she’d first found him in the cage at the back of the Fren and Chulk, before she’d touched him.

  Worst of all, his metal arm, still pinned against his side, was straining to be free and it looked like the metallic strap that held it in place was actually beginning to fray in some places.

  Oh God, Lorelei thought frantically. If that thing breaks and he gets free he’ll kill us both!

  “Stop it,” she cried again, grabbing for the Dark Twin’s free arm and, at the same time, trying to shield Bound from his brother’s blows. “Stop it!”

  As her hands made skin-to-skin contact with both twins at once, something happened—something so strange that for a moment, Lorelei thought she might be dreaming.

  A shock of pleasure ran through her—pure, sexual pleasure. Though she would have sworn a moment before that she had never been less turned on in her life, her nipples were suddenly hard little points beneath the damp towel and her pussy was throbbing and wet between her thighs.

  Did it have something to do with the Touch Interface of the nanites? The bond between the twins? Lorelei didn’t know—she only knew that she felt like an electrical wire strung between two conductors—a wire that was suddenly humming with sexual energy.

  It seemed that Bound and Torn felt it too—or at least, they stopped fighting. The Dark Twin’s free arm stopped in mid-punch and the rage on his face abruptly cleared. He looked down at Bound, who slowly lowered his arms.

  “Do…do I know you?” The Dark Twin’s voice was low and hoarse from shouting. His green eyes no longer blazed—now they were filled with confusion and a kind of mute yearning.

  “Torn!” Bound struggled to sit up and his twin let him. “Yes, you know me—I’m Bound, your brother!”

  One cheekbone was bruised and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth but he wiped it away on the back of his hand and Lorelei thought with relief that he didn’t look that much worse for wear.

  Bound looked at her, his blue eyes shining.

  “It’s coming back to him—he’s beginning to remember!” he exclaimed.

  “I’m so happy for you.” Lorelei smiled at him, immensely relieved that the fight seemed to be over. The sexual current that raced through her body seemed to have lessened a little, but it was still there under the surface of things, teasing her nipples…licking between her legs… She shifted uncomfortably and her towel nearly dropped off. “Oops!”

  Letting go of her hold on both warriors, she reached up to adjust her towel. The moment her skin was no longer touching theirs, the current of sexual need was abruptly severed.

  Lorelei felt a sense of relief. Whew—that had been uncomfortable! She wasn’t used to having her sex drive turned off and on like a freaking light switch! She sat back on her heels, clutching her towel tightly around herself, and watched Bound and Torn who were still staring at each other uncertainly.

  “I…had a brother once.” Torn’s emerald eyes were uncertain. “I…lost him. Or he lost me.”

  “I came to find you. Lorelei and I came to find you,” Bound was laughing and crying at the same time. He reached out to hug his twin again but Torn pulled back.

  “Stop. I don’t…I’m not sure,” he muttered hoarsely.

  “My Lady?” Bound looked at Lorelei appealingly. “Please, it seemed he almost knew me a moment ago when you were touching both of us. Can you…would you try again?”

  Lorelei wasn’t exactly eager to have that weird current of sexual need running through her again—it made her feel like she’d lost control of her own body. But the pleading look in Bound’s intense blue eyes was more than she could resist.

  “Of course,” she murmured. “But why don’t we all stand up? All this stooping on the floor is about to make my towel fall off.”

  “As you wish, My Lady.” Bound got to his feet and Torn followed suit, standing opposite his brother and staring at him uncertainly.

  “All right.” Lorelei took a deep breath. “Now, give me your hands.”

  “Of course, My Lady.”

  “Yes, Mistress,” they murmured at the same time.

  Torn held out his left hand—the one not strapped to his waist—and Bound held out his right.

  Taking a deep breath and bracing herself, Lorelei took both big, masculine hands in her own.

  Immediately the current was switched back on and this time she could tell she wasn’t the only one who felt it.

  “Gods!” Torn groaned as a rigid bulge began to grow in the tight, black leather trousers he wore.

  Born made a muffled exclamation and widened his stance almost involuntarily, as though to make more room for the heavy shaft hardening between this legs.

  “You feel it too?” Lorelei asked Bound, just to be sure. “Feel that, uh, current when I touch both of you at once?”

  “I…do.” He groaned softly. “My Lady, I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

  “So…it’s not a Kindred thing? A Twin Kindred thing, I mean?” Lorelei asked.

  He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like it before.”

  “What’s happening?” Torn asked, looking at both of them. As before, when she had touched them both, his face looked like a man waking from a dream—as though her touch brought him back to reality somehow. “Why am I so fucking horny all of a sudden?” he demanded.

  “I’m not sure,” Lorelei said honestly. “Maybe…maybe it has something to do with the nanites inside you. The Touch Interface—maybe we’re overloading it somehow.”

  I should stop touching them—I should take my hands away! But somehow she didn’t want to. Especially if it was helping. Torn was looking at Bound with the strangest expression on his face—a look like someone who has a word right on the tip of his tongue but can’t quite spit it out.

  “Do I know you?” he asked the Light Twin again. “I feel like I know you.”

  “You do…you do know me. We’re brothers,” Bound assured him.

  “I don’t know…” Torn shook his head, frowning. “I’m just…not sure.”

  Lorelei looked at both of them, feeling helpless. If only she could bring them closer together! If only she could find a way to help Torn regain his memory and his bond to Bound!

  There is a way, whispered a soft voice in her ear.

  Lorelei whipped her head around. Where had that come from? br />
  Do not worry where my voice is coming from, daughter—only heed my words, the low, feminine voice spoke again. There is a way to bring these two back to each other and you know what it is. I have put the three of you together for a reason. You are their missing piece. Only you can bridge the distance that separates them. Do not fear to do what you know will work.

  Then the voice—and the warm, overwhelming presence that had accompanied it—was suddenly gone, leaving Lorelei feeling stunned and a little dizzy.

  Whoa—if I wasn’t an atheist I’d almost think I just had some kind of divine visitation!

  But that was impossible, wasn’t it? The voice she’d thought she’d heard was probably just her own subconscious surfacing to tell her what to do, how to help these two warriors she had sworn to bring back together.

  “My Lady, this isn’t working. Torn still cannot remember me.” Bound’s deep voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see genuine anguish in his lovely blue eyes.

  This hurts him, she realized, her heart aching for the Light Twin’s pain. Not being able to connect with his twin actually hurts him.

  “I…I have an idea,” she said, stumbling over the words. “Maybe…maybe we should try a little more, uh, contact.” She couldn’t believe she was saying this but somehow she knew it was right—knew it was the only way to bring the two of them back together.

  “Contact, Mistress?” Torn looked down at her, frowning.

  “Yes.” Lorelei cleared her throat. “Right now we’re only, uh, holding hands. But what if we—you know—hugged?”

  “You mean the three of us together—with you in the middle, My Lady?” Bound’s voice was deep and filled with desire. “Gods, how I would love that.”

  “That’s what you’ve been wanting, isn’t it?” Lorelei asked him, trying to sound braver than she felt. “To have me between you and your twin? Well…now you get your wish.”

  They tried it standing up but the result wasn’t exactly what Lorelei had hoped for. For one thing—the twins were too tall—especially Torn. Lorelei wasn’t exactly short but since the Dark Twin was as tall as a professional basketball player, she found that her face hit just below his chest. And Bound, who was standing behind her, wasn’t much better—his chest was also above her head so when they stood together and tried to hug, Lorelei felt like they were a PB&J sandwich and she was the inadequate amount of jelly in the middle. Plus, they weren’t achieving what they needed which was more direct skin-to-skin contact.

  “Wait a minute—wait a minute,” she said, putting a hand on both broad chests and pushing them apart. “This isn’t working. We need to get someplace where our height difference doesn’t matter so much.”

  “There’s always the bed, Mistress,” Torn growled softly. There was a hungry look in his deep green eyes that made Lorelei shiver.

  “Well…yes,” she said, her voice almost breaking on the last word. “I…I guess that might work.”

  “We won’t hurt you, My Lady,” Bound assured her. Leaning down to kiss the side of her neck, he whispered in her ear, “We will be ever gentle and mindful of how delicate you are.”

  “I know you will,” Lorelei murmured. At least, she knew the Light Twin would be careful of her—but what about the Dark Twin?

  Do what must be done, daughter and fear not.

  Lorelei looked around. That voice again! Where was it coming from? But it was already gone, leaving only a feeling of peace and courage in its wake.

  I can do this, she thought, telling herself again that the voice was just her subconscious speaking. I know I can. Everything will be all right.

  “All right,” she said, looking up at the Twins. “Let’s…let’s go to bed and, uh, cuddle. Okay?”

  “As you wish, my Mistress,” Torn growled softly.

  “Yes, Mistress,” Bound murmured.

  “Good,” Lorelei said. “But Bound, I think…” She cleared her throat. “I think maybe you’d better take off your shirt. We need skin-to-skin contact for this to work. Torn is already shirtless so he’s okay.”

  “What about you, Little Mistress?” Torn rumbled, giving her that hungry look again. “Why are you still wearing a towel? If you intend to let us stroke your beautiful, curvy body, shouldn’t you be bare so that we can touch you everywhere?”

  Lorelei felt a tingle of fear mixed with desire race through her. What the Dark Twin was saying made sense. She ought to lose the towel. And yet…and yet she was still shy about being naked in front of the two tall, handsome warriors. All her life she had never felt thin enough—or thin at all, for that matter. And Torn and Bound looked like they would be at home on any movie set in the world—they were that gorgeous.

  What if they don’t like what they see? What if we go too far? What if…

  Suddenly she felt impatient with herself.

  What if, what if—you’ve spent your life playing the what if game, Lorelei! You know they like curvy girls—or that’s what Bound says anyway and there’s no reason not to believe him.. Go ahead and do it.

  “All right,” she said, in a voice that shook only a little. “You two get on the bed and I’ll follow you. Just give me a minute to get my nerve up.”

  Wordlessly, the two of them got on the bed, Torn lying on his right side and Bound on his left. They left a space in the middle for Lorelei. Both sets of eyes—intense blue and deep green—were trained on her.

  All right—here goes. Taking a deep breath, Lorelei dropped the towel.

  “Gods…” Torn’s deep voice was ragged with lust. “So beautiful, Little Mistress!”

  “We are blessed indeed to be witness to the beauty of an Elite,” Bound murmured. “Come to us, My Lady. Lie between us and let us pleasure you.”

  “All right but touching and cuddling only,” Lorelei cautioned. “You two keep your trousers on. I haven’t eaten any of that bonding fruit Kat said I would need to, uh, accommodate the two of you. Not that we would, you know—go that far.”

  “Of course not, My Lady.” Bound’s voice was soothing. “We only wish to touch you—you make our bond stronger, just by being between us.”

  “It’s true,” Torn rumbled. “When the Mistress isn’t touching me I feel…feel the rage coming back.”

  Lorelei, who had been hesitating at the foot of the bed, realized that she needed to get moving to avoid another scene like the one she’d broken up when she first came out of the bathroom.

  “All right.” She climbed onto the broad, low bed and crawled towards them, very conscious of their eyes on her and the way her full breasts swayed as she moved.

  “Gods, so lush—so ripe,” Torn growled as she came to lie in the space they had left between them. “You have beautiful breasts, Little Mistress. May I touch them?”

  “I…I um…” Lorelei was tongue tied with uncertainty. The Dark Twin looked so huge in the dim golden light of the bedroom glows—so wild and frightening. Then she heard Bound behind her and felt his large, gentle hands caressing her bare back.

  “It’s all right, My Lady,” he murmured in her ear. “I will hold you and protect you while my brother strokes your lovely breasts if you will permit him.”

  He wants to see it happen—he wants to watch while his twin touches me, Lorelei thought. But she knew Bound’s deep desire to have his brother touch her bare body wasn’t really a perversion or a kink. It was literally the only way he could connect with the Dark Twin right now.

  You are their missing piece. Only you can bridge the distance that separates them, the soft voice seemed to whisper in her head again. Do not fear to do what must be done.

  Biting her lip, Lorelei nodded.

  “All right,” she whispered, pressing back against the broad planes of Bound’s bare chest. “I…I guess that would be okay.”

  “Thank you My Lady. You honor us,” Bound murmured in her ear. He curled himself around her, his big body cradling hers and turned her towards Torn who was already bending over her, a lustful light in his green eyes.


  “Little Mistress,” he murmured hoarsely. “I wish that I had both hands to caress you with. But those bastards—the V’radors—took my good right arm and gave me this.” He nodded down at the metal arm, still strapped to his side. He was lying on it so his left hand was free.

  “It’s all right,” Lorelei said soothingly. “Everything is going to be okay, Torn. We’ll get you all fixed up when we get to the Mother Ship. For now just…just touch me.”

  She didn’t know where she got the boldness to say it—to lie naked between the two huge Kindred warriors and offer to let them caress her bare body. But the desire she felt when she was touching both of them at once seemed to flow through her like a current and she didn’t want to stop.

  “So beautiful…so ripe,” Torn murmured raggedly. His bare left hand, which looked so huge and rough, was surprisingly gentle as he cupped her right breast and thumbed her tight nipple. “I’ve never touched an Elite so intimately…” He looked up at Bound as though for confirmation. “Have I?”

  “No, Brother.” Bound shook his head. “We have not been privileged to share an Elite before. Isn’t the Lady Lorelei lovely?”

  “She’s perfect in every way—her curves are so full and lush,” Torn agreed hoarsely. “And her nipples…” He stopped, frowning as he tugged gently on the golden ring which still encircled her pink bud. “Little Mistress, what are these?”

  “They are symbols of status—My Lady had to wear them in order to fit in on Femalah when we came to rescue you,” Bound told his twin, answering for her. He looked down at Lorelei. “Why have you not taken them off yet, My Lady?”

  “I…I tried in the shower.” Lorelei’s breath seemed to be coming short as Torn continued to stroke her right breast. At the same time, Bound had reached beneath her and was cupping the left breast in his left hand, tugging gently on the golden nipple ring she still wore. “They…they wouldn’t come off, no matter how hot I turned the water. Some ‘Smart-metal,’ huh?” She tried to laugh but it turned into a breathless little moan. God, their big, warm hands felt good on her body!

  “Maybe they need to be taken off the same way we put them on,” Bound murmured in her ear.