Sought

  Deep, who was sitting at the edge of the large bed they shared, grunted noncommittally. “All warriors have scars.”

  “Most get them in battle, though.” Gently, Lock smoothed some of the healing lotion Mother L’rin had given them over his brother’s wounds. Most of them were nothing but pinkish-white lines now, criss-crossing the tan expanse of Deep’s back. The wise woman had been right—he was healing remarkably quickly. His body, anyway. Lock feared that he would carry the memory of the beating with him forever. Not that he would admit to caring about such a thing—or anything for that matter. “Do you want to help me attend Kat again tonight?” he asked, changing the subject.

  Deep frowned. “She’s not going to be happy when she finds out we’ve been bathing her while she’s unconscious, you know.”

  “We drape towels over her to preserve her modesty,” Lock protested. “Besides, we’re only acting on Mother L’rin’s orders. She said Kat needed to spend plenty of time in the bathing pool—warm water is healing.”

  “Kat won’t see it like that,” Deep predicted sourly. “She’ll think it’s a violation. And she’ll think the same thing about completing the soul bond.”

  “We have to complete the bond. Nothing else will heal her fractured spirit.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t want to be healed. Maybe she’d rather be dead than bonded to the two of us,” Deep snapped. “Did you ever think about that?”

  “I know what you’re thinking but Kat isn’t like that. She isn’t like her,” Lock said in a low voice.

  “So you say.” Deep frowned moodily.

  “We swore to Sophia and Olivia that we would do everything in our power to protect and heal Kat,” Lock reminded his brother.

  “We’re doing a wonderful job so far, aren’t we?” Deep snarled. “We’re the reason she’s sick in the first place. We should never have used her as a focus. Never let ourselves feel…” He shook his head.

  “It’s too late for those regrets now,” Lock said softly, dabbing more lotion on his brother’s back. He could feel how tense Deep was—could see it in the way his broad shoulders bunched with misery. The emotion echoed inside his heart, making him ache for his twin. “All we can do is try to heal her, to undo the damage we’ve done.”

  “By completing a soul bond with a female who never wants to take the next step and make the physical bond with us as well? What good will it do any of us to have half a bond?” Deep demanded.

  “It will heal the lady Kat,” Lock said firmly, trying to ignore his own fears. “That’s all that matters right now.”

  Deep sighed and his broad shoulders slumped. “Have it your way, Brother. But don’t be surprised if she wants nothing to do with you—with either one of us—when this is over.”

  * * * * *

  Four, large warm hands on her body woke her up. They weren’t touching her anywhere inappropriate—shoulders, hips, thighs—but they were there, on her bare skin. Bare skin…oh my God—I’m naked! And so were the large, male bodies bracketing her own. She could feel their muscular warmth against her back and breasts, surrounding her, invading her, owning her. The familiar current of sexual electricity was running through her body—the feeling she always got when Deep and Lock were touching her bare skin at the same time. When the three of them were…

  Kat’s eyes flew open and she found herself looking into Lock’s melted chocolate gaze.

  “Welcome back to the land of the living, my lady,” he murmured with a smile. “We’re very glad to have you back.”

  “Lock’s right—you gave us quite a scare,” Deep’s voice rumbled from behind her. “We didn’t think you would make it, there for awhile.”

  “I almost died,” Kat blurted, the memory momentarily overcoming her shock at finding herself naked between them. “I was floating above my own body, looking down. I saw you talking about me. And then…” She frowned. “I had another dream. It was terrible but—”

  “But it’s over now,” Lock finished for her, soothingly. “You’re getting better, Kat, but you’re not out of danger yet.”

  “In my dream you were taking me to Twin Moons. Where am I?” she demanded.

  “I would think that would be obvious,” Deep growled in her ear. “You’re in our bed, little Kat. And that’s where you’re going to stay until you’re all better.”

  “What are you talking about?” She struggled to get up but they held her down, gently but firmly.

  “Don’t be upset,” Lock pleaded. “We won’t hurt you, my lady. You must know that by now.”

  “Look, I don’t know what you two think you’re doing, but I’m not interested in any more joinings. Especially after the way I felt after our last one. I had a headache so bad I felt like my skull was going to split in two.”

  “We fully comprehend your pain,” Lock said.

  “Easy for you to say,” Kat muttered. “You can talk about it all you want but—”

  “It’s not just talk.” Deep’s voice was unexpectedly somber. “Lock and I know what we put you through. And we can’t tell you how much we regret it.”

  Kat sighed. “All right—it’s not like it’s all your fault. After all, I was the one who asked for that last joining in order to find Sophie. I guess you could say I got what was coming to me.”

  “No.” Lock shook his head. “We were dabbling in an area we didn’t fully understand. We never should have used you as a focus in the first place.”

  “And we have no interest in doing it again now,” Deep continued. “What we’re trying to do is heal you.”

  “Heal me? You’re trying to heal me by rubbing your…by rubbing against me?” Kat didn’t even try to keep the skepticism out of her voice. “Yeah, right.”

  “Truly, my lady.” Lock’s brown eyes were earnest. “Mother L’rin—”

  “Who?”

  “The healer we brought you to our home planet to see,” Deep supplied. “She’s an expert in the seeker/finder/focus relationship as well as a master of her craft.”

  “Okay, let me get this straight,” Kat said. “I was at death’s door so you two brought me home to the wise old healer lady to be cured. And her ‘prescription’ was for us to all get naked together in bed?” She twisted around to frown at Deep. “Can you see why I’m not buying this? I mean come, on guys—give me a break!”

  “It’s true.” Deep glared at her, his coal black eyes burning. “Your spirit has been fractured by the stress of acting as our focus. Until we bind it securely back to your body, you’re in danger of dying.”

  “Deep is right,” Lock said softly. “Your spirit could become untethered again at any time.”

  “Well that’s a risk I guess I’ll have to take,” Kat snapped. “I’ll let you know if I see a bright tunnel and start hearing the voices of dead relatives telling me to ‘go into the light.’ Until then, you two can keep your hands and your, uh, other body parts to yourselves.”

  She started to sit up and this time, as if by mutual consent, they let her. But the moment she was upright, dizziness swept over her, making the world spin and the room dance. She had a vague impression of a large, masculine space lit by soft, glowing lights in the corners. Then she had to put her head in her hands and shut her eyes to keep from getting sick.

  “My lady? Are you all right?” Lock’s voice was anxious.

  “Fine. I’m just…fine,” Kat managed to say weakly. But she wasn’t fooling anyone—not even herself.

  “Little liar,” Deep growled. “Lie back down and let us take care of you.”

  “But I don’t want…I can’t…” Kat shook her head and wished she hadn’t. It made the dizziness worse.

  “Come back between us,” Lock urged. “Please, Kat, you know we only want what’s best for you.”

  Kat struggled to remain upright a little longer. But when she lifted her head again, the spinning sensation was even worse. “Oh God, I can’t take this!”

  “Satisfied?” Deep asked. “The only way to make it better is to let us heal
you. So stop acting stupid and let us.”

  “I’m not stupid,” Kat snapped angrily, even as she allowed Lock to guide her back down to the bed. “That’s the main reason I object to letting you two grope me as a form of holistic healing.”

  “What exactly do you think we’re trying to do here?” Deep demanded. “You think we want to fuck you?”

  His rough words made Kat’s stomach clench. “I sure as hell hope not for your sake,” she said evenly. “You try it and I’ll knee both of you so hard you’ll be wearing your balls for bowties.”

  “Bravely spoken, little Kat.” Deep had the nerve to sound amused. “But that isn’t what this is about at all. We just need to heal you.”

  “And how…how exactly do you expect to do that?” Kat asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

  “We have to use pleasure to bind your spirit back to your body.” Lock’s voice was soothing.

  “How much pleasure? What…what exactly are you going to do?” Kat whispered.

  “Just touch you.” Lock cupped her cheek and looked earnestly into her eyes. “My lady…Kat…please believe me when I say we would never try to take advantage of you. What we’re doing here is necessary, I swear it.”

  Kat opened her mouth to respond but suddenly she remembered something Sophie had told her. After her crash in the mountains with Sylvan, she’d woken up to find him licking her breast. She’d been sure he was up to no good, but it had turned out that he was actually healing her. Could it be that Lock and Deep really were on the level—that they were only doing what they had to in order to make her whole again? It seemed crazy but then, a lot of things associated with the Kindred did, she reminded herself.

  Blowing out a breath, she nodded reluctantly. “All right. But no sex. Especially not bonding sex—whatever that entails with you guys.”

  “Don’t worry.” Deep’s voice sounded bitter. “Lock and I would never want to tie an unwilling bride to us. The results could be…tragic.”

  Kat twisted to look at him again. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Never mind,” Lock said quickly. “Deep just means that we would never physically bond you to us against your will. So…shall we begin?”

  “I guess if we have to.” Kat could feel her heart thumping against her ribs. God, how did she keep getting into this kind of situation and how could she avoid it in the future?

  “We do,” Deep said grimly. “But I don’t see how we’re going to give you enough pleasure to heal your spirit when you’re so unhappy about it.”

  “Do you really find our hands on you so distasteful?” Lock’s eyes were wistful.

  “No.” Kat closed her eyes briefly. “No, you…you know I don’t.”

  “Then try to relax,” he urged. “Please, my lady. Here…” Kat had been lying on her side facing Lock, with Deep behind her. Now Lock turned her gently but firmly until she was lying on her back with both of them leaning over her.

  “This is worse,” Kat, objected, trying to cover her bare breasts and sex with her hands. “I feel so…so exposed.”

  “Are you ashamed to let us look at you?” Deep’s voice was surprisingly gentle. “You shouldn’t be, little Kat. I have never seen such beauty in my life.”

  “But I’m…” So many words hovered on her lips—fat, chubby, chunky—insults from a lifetime of being plus sized in a world where skinny women were the ideal. Living as a size eighteen in a society that preferred a size eight hadn’t been easy. “Not thin,” she finished at last.

  “We know.” Lock’s voice held only admiration. “You’re an elite. The most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.”

  That’s right—they like big girls here. It was still a novel concept to Kat, who was used to being defensive about her ample curves. “All right,” she said at last. “But only because the lights in here are pretty dim. I don’t want you to think I’ll be parading around in my birthday suit just because you two are into plus-sized women.”

  “Of course,” Lock assured her. “We would never want you to do anything that made you uncomfortable.”

  Slowly, her heart beating so hard she could almost hear it drumming in her ears, she let her hands drift to her sides. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to relax.

  * * * * *

  Deep couldn’t stop looking at her. Kat’s long, silky auburn hair glistened in the soft light of the glows and her full, creamy breasts rose and fell with each breath she took. They were tipped with deep pink nipples that were tight and erect, just begging to be sucked. And how he longed to do just that—to taste her. The last time they had been together it had been Lock that she allowed to suck her sweet, ripe peaks. Deep had cupped them in his hands but he still hadn’t had the pleasure of teasing her nipples with his mouth.

  Looking lower, he saw that her voluptuous body was curved in all the right places, her hips and thighs deliciously ample. The small triangle of dark red curls that guarded her sex made his mouth water. He longed to press his face against her there and breathe her in, to inhale the warm, secret scent of her pussy until she spread her legs for him and let him in. He wanted to taste her—to lap her juices from the source and feel her small, delicate hands tugging his hair as she cried his name and begged for more. Just the thought of it made his cock so hard it ached.

  Shouldn’t be thinking this way. Shouldn’t let her affect you so much. But he couldn’t help it—she was absolutely gorgeous. Adding to her appeal was the obvious fact that she had no idea how beautiful and desirable she was. Though how an elite could have no idea of her own devastating attraction, he didn’t know.

  “What are you going to do to me?” Kat murmured and he realized that he and Lock had both been staring too long, drinking in her beauty.

  “Touch you,” he said, trying to soften his voice which kept coming out too rough. “Bring you pleasure…Make you come.”

  Her eyes flew open. “You…you have to do that?”

  “An orgasm is the fastest way to bind your spirit back to your body.” Lock spoke quietly, obviously trying to relax her. “But we’ll be gentle, my lady—you know we will.”

  “But…” Her eyes were wide with fear and uncertainly. “What exactly…?”

  “To start with, this.” Leaning closer, Deep kissed the side of her neck gently. Her skin was as smooth as silk against his lips and he could feel her pulse pounding out of control just under the surface. Gods, she smelled good! He deepened the kiss, lapping hungrily at her neck.

  Kat drew in a ragged breath and he knew he was affecting her. Looking up briefly, he caught his brother’s eyes and nodded.

  Lock knew what to do. Sliding down, he pressed his mouth to the other side of Kat’s neck and began to kiss and lick gently while Deep continued to do the same.

  “Oh…” The soft sound fell out of her and she trembled between them. “That feels so good.”

  “It’s about to feel better,” Deep assured her, looking up. Cupping her right breast, he thumbed the tight bud of her nipple. Her soft gasp of pleasure and surprise went straight to his cock, making it feel like a bar of steel trapped between his thighs. “Gods, I want you, Kat,” he growled, capturing her eyes with his own, not letting her look away. “Want to feel you under me while Lock and I fill you at the same time.”

  “Deep…” Lock put a restraining hand on his arm. “Don’t frighten her.”

  “I’m not frightened.” Kat lifted her chin, her blue eyes snapping in the dim light. “But I’m not willing to go that far, either.”

  And there’s the problem. We’re forming a bond with a female who doesn’t want to be bonded to us. And we haven’t even told her what we’re doing—not really. There’s going to be hell to pay when she finds out. Deep felt a wave of frustration. “We’re aware that you don’t want to go too far, little Kat,” he growled. “But know this—you will spread your legs for us tonight, even if it isn’t to get fucked.”

  * * * * *

  Kat’s breath caught in her throat
at his blunt words. “I don’t see why I should…should have to do that,” she said, wishing her voice didn’t tremble so much.

  “Because unless you can come from having your nipples sucked, Lock and I need access to your pussy,” Deep said roughly. “Remember how you didn’t want to let me open you and stroke your sweet little cunt the last time we were together? Well this time you’ll have to.”

  “It’s all right, my lady,” Lock murmured, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “We’ll go very slowly if you like. And penetration might not be necessary. It might just be enough for us to stroke or kiss you between your thighs”

  “Kiss?” Kat’s heart skipped a beat. “But I thought…thought that you just wanted to touch me.”

  “We want to do whatever we can to bring you the most pleasure.” Lock cupped her left breast and laid a soft, hot kiss on her nipple. “See, that’s not so bad, is it?”

  “Not there, it’s not,” Kat said. “But I just don’t know…”

  “You don’t have to know,” Deep interrupted. “All you have to do is spread your legs for us and let us touch you and taste you.”

  “We can try touching first,” Lock assured her. “If the idea of being tasted makes you uncomfortable. Here.” His hand slid down her trembling abdomen to cup her mound of curls gently. “Like this. Does that feel all right?”

  “I suppose,” Kat admitted doubtfully.

  “Spread her open.” There was a hungry look in Deep’s eyes as he watched his brother’s hand between her legs. “Slip your fingers inside her soft little pussy and see how wet she is.”

  “May I?” Lock looked at her uncertainly. “Or would you prefer that we suck your nipples some more first?”

  “I’ll take care of her nipples.” Suiting actions to words, Deep leaned over and sucked her right peak deeply into his hot mouth, taking as much of her breast as he could at once.

  Kat couldn’t help herself, she moaned and arched her back, responding to the fierce suction and the burning desire she could feel inside him. God, he wanted her so badly…