Divided

  He couldn’t turn his head but Truth registered from the corner of his eye that Far and Rebecca were finally there, standing to one side of him with worried expressions on their faces.

  It’s all right—I feel fine, he wanted to tell them but his mouth wouldn’t work. A few minutes ago that would have bothered him but now, it seemed all right. Perfectly natural, in fact.

  “Truth, no!” Rebecca was in his face now, peering anxiously into his eyes which felt strangely hot and irritated. “Truth?” she asked again. “Look, Far—his eyes are red!”

  “Truth is no more. It is only I, Ur,” the dark voice said, speaking out of Truth’s mouth.

  Rebecca took a step back, a hand going to her cheek.

  “No. Oh, no,” she whispered.

  “Truth, no—it can’t be!” Far looked horrified.

  “You can’t be gone!” Rebecca seized his hand and Truth was surprised to actually feel it. With the physical sensation, some of his free will seemed to return as well. He no longer felt quite so sanguine about the idea of having his body hijacked.

  “Rebecca,” he croaked, and the voice that came from his throat was his.

  Far looked at Rebecca excitedly. “He’s not gone! Not completely.”

  Truth felt the demonic presence surge within him.

  “Stand back! He is mine!” it bellowed but Rebecca still held his hand, refusing to let go.

  “Far,” she said. “Take his other hand. Let’s claim Truth and cast this thing out.”

  “No!” The demon inhabiting him made a jerky movement, trying to get away. But Truth could feel again and he resisted. When Far grasped his hand, he held on as though it was a lifeline—the one thing that might save him.

  Rebecca and Far were also holding hands and together the three of them formed a complete circle. Truth felt a surge of power run through him—through all of them, he supposed. His thoughts were suddenly perfectly clear and his will to fight the being that was trying to invade him solidified.

  “He is mine…mine!” the dark voice raged.

  Truth clamped his mouth shut. “Stop…using…my…voice,” he growled through clenched teeth.

  “That’s right, leave him alone!” Rebecca shouted. “Truth doesn’t belong to you. Far and I claim him—he belongs with us.”

  “We will never let you have him.” Far squeezed Truth’s hand. “Never.”

  The force of their emotions seemed to collect on either side of Truth, filling him with love and caring and light. It was a pressure that the dark being inside him couldn’t stand. It threw back Truth’s head and let loose a fierce, angry howl that felt like it would tear his throat to ribbons.

  His body jerked convulsively as it fought its way free of him. Truth felt like a rag doll, tossed by an angry child but there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing but cling tightly to the hands on either side of him and try to endure.

  Then, finally it was gone and he was alone in his own skin.

  “Ahhh!” he gasped. Though the entire encounter had taken less than two minutes, he had never felt so drained. He slumped to his knees, his head hanging low in exhaustion.

  “Truth, honey? Are you okay?” Rebecca asked anxiously. She went to her knees beside him and began stroking his hair soothingly.

  “Brother? Are you well?” Far also crouched down, putting his arm around Truth’s back. In the past, Truth would have shied from such contact but he was too weary…and it felt too good to be surrounded by people who cared for him—even if one of them was another male. He let himself relax into the protective huddle, not caring about anything else.

  Over, he thought. Thank the Goddess that’s over!

  Chapter Fifteen

  Becca was flooded with relief as she pressed close to her men. By claiming Truth, they had driven out the intruder. He was theirs—hers and Far’s—and she would be damned if any horrible demon creature would get its claws in him! In fact—

  Suddenly the air above their heads was split by a deep, inhuman laughter.

  You think you’ve won! the dark voice bellowed, sounding even more strange and distorted now that it was no longer using Truth’s vocal chords.

  Becca winced as the feeling of pure evil flowed over her. It felt like hot slime trying to find a way to penetrate her mind. But as long as she was touching both Truth and Far, she knew instinctively the three of them would be all right. She kept one hand on Truth’s neck and reached out to touch Far’s arm with the other.

  “Ignore it and stick close. It can’t hurt us when we’re together,” she said in a low voice.

  It is true, I cannot invade you as you are now, the dark voice snarled. But the joke is still on you, human female. I have been inside Truth’s mind—I have tasted his past pain, dissected his pathetic memories. He will never form a true bond with his brother. Never—he is too closed, too unbending. The three of you may have cast me out now but you will not be together forever and I can wait. I can wait…

  With a gust of howling, inhuman laughter that made Becca’s stomach clench, the demonic presence finally left them to huddle together in the middle of the hallway in peace.

  “Gods.” Truth’s voice was hoarse when he finally spoke. “That was…I have no words.”

  “It’s all right, Brother,” Far assured him quietly. “None are needed.”

  “Yes, they are. I need to say thank you.” Truth’s handsome face was haggard when he looked at both of them. “For claiming me. For saving me.”

  “You’re welcome,” Becca said, squeezing his hand. “And I want you to know, I…I meant every word I said. “I know we didn’t part well earlier—you were a little freaked out by what we, uh, learned about Twin Kindred bonding. And to be honest, I was too.”

  “It was…a shock. And not something I feel I could ever participate in,” Truth said stiffly. He got to his feet slowly and pulled Becca up to stand beside him. Then he extended a hand to Far. “Brother?” he asked, waiting.

  Far looked up at him with a frown. “You just said you couldn’t bring yourself to participate in any kind of a bond with me. Why would you offer me your hand when it means you’ll have to touch me?”

  “Just because I don’t wish to participate in the Kindred way of bonding doesn’t mean I don’t wish to have some kind of relationship,” Truth said roughly. “You saved me just now—you as much as Rebecca, I know that.”

  Far raised an eyebrow at his twin.

  “So you’ll touch me out of gratitude? Is that it?”

  “Far,” Becca said softly. “Truth is trying. This isn’t easy for him—you should try too. Take his hand. There’s still a lot of dust out here.” She shivered. “We need to be touching—keeping each other safe.”

  “All right.” Far sighed and took the offered hand.

  Truth pulled him up and gripped his hand perhaps a little longer than necessary before letting go.

  “Come on,” he said at last. “Let’s get out of this dust. We’ll go in my suite and turn on the air cycler. Then we can talk.”

  “What do you want to talk about?” Becca asked curiously.

  “About this,” Truth said shortly. “About us. The three of us.”

  “I thought there was no ‘three of us,’” Far said softly as they walked into Truth’s suite and sealed the door behind them. “And no possibility of it in the future. Don’t tease, Brother.”

  Truth sighed and ran a hand through his short hair.

  “I’m not. I just think…we need to talk.”

  He flipped on the cycler over the door, which immediately began to hum, then went to the couch and sank down on one end with a tired sigh.

  Becca and Far followed him and she found herself in the middle of them as usual. Her position between the two, large male bodies made her newly aware of the fact that she was wearing only the thin, cream colored silk nightgown which molded to her breasts and barely covered her thighs.

  She fought the urge to cover herself—there were more important things for her to worry about
than modesty. Instead, she deliberately took both their hands. Who knew how long it would take the cycler to completely eradicate the deadly black dust? It was better to be on the safe side and keep up the skin-to-skin contact with both of them, at least for now.

  We’re all too worn out to be affected by touching right now anyway—aren’t we? she thought uneasily. It seemed to be true—at least for now. Though she felt a warm current running between them, it wasn’t nearly as intense as it had been in the past. It’s fine. Everything is going to be fine…

  “All right,” Far said, speaking to Truth. “We’re listening. Talk, Brother.”

  Truth blew out a frustrated breath.

  “Apologies, but I hardly know where to start. After what we just experienced I feel that maybe I was…hasty in rejecting everything you wished to offer me.”

  “And what did you think I was offering?” Far asked quietly.

  “Friendship…brotherhood…as I said before, a relationship.” Truth looked down at his hands. “I can’t promise to take everything you offered. I still can’t imagine…doing what…what is necessary to form a more traditional bond.”

  “But how can we have a relationship—a partnership—without a bond?” Far asked.

  “Maybe you can have a different kind of bond,” Becca suggested. “Truth is trying to meet you halfway here, Far. If you come to the table demanding all or nothing you’re going to get nothing. Just listen to what he has to say.”

  “All right.” Far nodded. “Fair enough. Continue, Brother.”

  Truth cleared his throat. “I thought I wanted Rebecca all for myself,” he said in a low voice. “But I saw tonight that was both foolish and selfish of me. She could not have saved me on her own. It took both of you to help drive the demon out.” He shivered. “It took both of you to save me.”

  “So what are you saying, Truth?” Becca asked softly.

  “I’m saying I feel that, well, maybe it is time for me to learn to share. At least a little.”

  “Share Becca, you mean?” Far asked. “Is that what you mean?”

  Truth nodded, his pale gray eyes hooded. “Yes. If she is willing to be shared, that is.”

  Becca felt her heart jump in her chest. “I’m not sure” she murmured. “Although, I think we just saw that the three of us are stronger together than apart.”

  “Agreed,” Far said. “We are stronger as three than we are as two or as one. But how far is Truth willing to go when he speaks of sharing?”

  Truth shifted uncomfortably and Becca couldn’t help noticing that there was a definite bulge in the loose sleep trousers he wore.

  “I don’t know. Earlier, when Lady Kat was trying to bring us together… That is to say, when she had Rebecca kissing both of us in turn…”

  Becca felt her whole body flush at the memory of being between them and kissing each brother as they clasped hands.

  “Did you like it?” she asked Truth softly.

  He nodded. “I…yes. Yes, I did,” he murmured, his cheeks getting faintly red.

  “Which part?” Far asked quietly. “Did you enjoy kissing Becca yourself…or watching me kiss her?”

  Truth cleared his throat. “Both,” he admitted at last. “I enjoyed both.”

  Becca felt another wave of heat wash over her. “So you enjoyed sharing me, even that little bit,” she murmured, stroking Truth’s hand gently with her thumb.

  He nodded again. “Yes. Very much.”

  “And you’d like to…share some more?” Far murmured.

  “I never thought I would wish to see another male with my chosen female but…yes.” Truth’s deep voice was slightly hoarse. “Yes, I wish to learn to share more fully. If Rebecca will allow it and you will teach me, Far.”

  Far looked at her.

  “Becca? How do you feel about this?”

  “I…let me think about it.” Becca bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this turn of events. On one hand, she was glad for Far’s sake that Truth seemed finally to be coming around, at least a little. On the other hand, he was admitting that he’d enjoyed sharing her with his brother in a sexual way and wanted to share more. Should she encourage something like that? Where would it lead if she did? And how far was she prepared to go?

  Earlier she had been so sure she had to take the moral high ground—now she wasn’t so certain that was the right course of action. Then again, maybe being between the two large, muscular bodies was affecting her judgment. Though she had been sure she was too tired and worn out to be affected by touching both of them at once, Becca began to feel decidedly warm.

  She had started out holding both their hands in an instinctively protective gesture. A gesture born of the knowledge that she needed to be touching both her men in order to keep them safe from the demonic presences and the black dust which still drifted through the air. But now the contact was having another effect—she could feel the sexual heat coursing through her, almost burning her with its intensity as her nipples went suddenly tight and her pussy became unbearably sensitive and wet.

  Her first instinct was to pull her hands away but she couldn’t do that. There might still be unseen danger waiting to pounce. The demon that had called itself Ur might be hovering near, just waiting for her to leave her men unprotected.

  My men. Since when do I call them that? she thought distractedly.

  “Since you claimed us,” Far said softly and Becca realized she must have spoken her thought aloud. “Well, when you claimed Truth, anyway,” he added.

  “No…” Becca lifted her chin. “I claim both of you. You’re mine—under my protection—for as long as this threat lasts.”

  “I never thought claiming protection from a female would feel right but this does.” Truth sounded thoughtful. “I thank you for claiming me, Rebecca.”

  “I’m thankful too, mi’now,” Far murmured.

  Becca smiled. “Never thought I’d hear the two of you agree on anything.”

  “I think we can both agree how we feel about you,” Far said softly.

  “Far is right,” Truth said. “Your beauty and courage are beyond praise, Rebecca.”

  Becca laughed embarrassedly. “All right now, you two are going to give me a big head.”

  Truth frowned. “Why would your head begin to enlarge if we speak well of you?”

  “It’s an Earth expression,” Far explained. “It means that she would become too proud of herself if she listened to our flattery.”

  “It’s not flattery—I speak the truth. And I don’t sense any pride or hubris in our lady.” Truth looked at her speculatively. “What I mostly feel is heat…heat and embarrassment. Tell me, Rebecca, is being close this way affecting you the way it is affecting Far and me?”

  He had asked her a similar question during their last joining and she had evaded him. Now she couldn’t evade anymore.

  “It is,” Becca confessed. “It…it always does. Every time I’m touching both of you at once, skin-to-skin, I feel it.”

  “Feel what?” Far said softly. “Tell us, mi’now.”

  Becca felt like her cheeks might catch fire from embarrassment but she couldn’t lie or duck the question—not any more. Not after what the three of them had just been through together.

  “It’s sexual. Sexual heat, I guess,” she admitted. “I…I feel it everywhere but mostly in my…my breasts and between my legs.”

  “Here, then…” One of Truth’s big hands reached up to caress the side of her breast though the thin nightgown she was wearing.

  “And here,” Far murmured, his long fingers stroking lightly between her legs.

  “Yes.” Becca’s voice came out in a breathless little gasp. “I…I can’t help it.”

  “And we only affect you this way when both of us are touching you together? At the same time?” Truth asked.

  She nodded. “I don’t know why. Maybe…maybe because you’re supposed to be a matched set whether you want to be or not.”

  “Maybe,” Truth said, frowning a
little.

  “I’m glad you told us, at least,” Far said softly. “I always wondered why you got so jumpy when both of us touched you at once.”

  “Well, now you know.” Becca tried to laugh lightly but the sound came out as more of a moan.

  “Becca?” Far asked anxiously. “Is this hurting you? Is it too intense?”

  “No, I just need…” Becca bit her lip in frustration. “I don’t know what I need."

  “You need what we gave you the first time we joined,” Truth rumbled. “A release.” His hand came up to touch her again and this time he cupped her breast. His thumb began moving gently over the tight bud of her nipple, slipping smoothly over the thin, silky material of her nightgown, teasing her unbearably.

  “Oh!” Becca gave a little moan.

  “Truth is right.” Far’s big hand cupped her pussy, his palm warm through the silk. “Why don’t you let us touch you, Becca? Let us ease your tension.”

  “We…we shouldn’t,” Becca moaned.

  “We should,” Truth insisted softly. “How will I ever learn to share otherwise?”

  “That’s true,” Far murmured. “Truth needs to see that sharing a female in the Twin Kindred way can be pleasurable.”

  “I…don’t know,” Becca said softly. But you did promise to help the two of them bond, remember? whispered a little voice in her head. This could be the first step—just teaching Truth to share with his brother. Even if you’re the one getting shared.

  “Please, mi’now,” Far said. “Perhaps if we simply share kisses at first…as we did at Lady Kat’s suite. Would you like that?”

  “Yes…” Becca couldn’t lie. “I…I would like that. Very much.”

  “Good.” Leaning forward, Far kissed her gently on the lips, a slow, tender owning of her mouth that left Becca feeling breathless and needy. She liked the taste of his lips—they were sweet and warm and oh, so gentle. He ran his hand through her hair, carding through her curls with his long fingers, making her feel loved and cherished and wanted. She would have liked the kiss to last forever but at last he leaned back and nodded at Truth. “Brother,” he murmured. “Taste our lady’s lush mouth.”