Brides of the Kindred Volume One Read online

  All because of one simple, innocent hug.

  She has no idea what she does to me—how she affects me, he thought as he put the engine through its warm-up sequence. For a moment he allowed himself to relive the sweet sensation of Lauren’s full breasts flush against his chest. He’d been able to feel her nipples, tight and ripe, rubbing against him through the thin material of his shirt. All her warm curves pressed against him as she came so willingly into his arms…it was almost as though she wanted to touch him. As though she wanted to be close to him despite what he was.

  She wouldn’t be so eager if she knew how I felt. The things I need, Xairn thought grimly. He didn’t want the desires inside him. Didn’t want to be like the rest of his race…like his sadistic father. Closing his eyes briefly, he remembered the many perversions he’d seen the AllFather perform. He’d savaged them—the unwilling females he took to satiate his monstrous appetites. I’d rather die than hurt Lauren that way, Xairn told himself fiercely.

  No, he decided as the ship rose above the skyline of O’ah and nosed toward the splicing district, he would never do that to her. Never use her that way. In fact, it would be better if he never touched her again. Gathering her into his arms had been stupid and impulsive, especially considering even such brief contact made his body react so strongly.

  From now on he would have to keep his distance—it wasn’t safe to be near her again.

  Chapter Eight

  “What’s troubling you, my lady?” Lock’s voice was soft as he washed Kat’s back.

  “I’ve sensed it too.” Deep kissed her and squeezed the sponge he was holding so that warm water ran down over her bare breasts. “Tell us what’s wrong, little Kat.”

  The three of them were in the huge bathing pool in their bathroom, enjoying a relaxing soak after the stress of Sophie’s wedding. And there had been considerably more stress than Kat had expected.

  “It’s Lauren,” she admitted with a sigh. “I really liked her—really felt for her. And now I’m worried.”

  “I would say you have cause to be.” Deep frowned. “If what Nadiah saw was accurate she could be in trouble.”

  “But that’s the thing.” Kat sat up a little straighter, splashing water. “Do you think it was?”

  “Sylvan seemed to believe in her power,” Lock pointed out. “Apparently it’s a rare but recognized phenomenon on Tranq Prime. A manifestation of the goddess in a few chosen females.”

  “But couldn’t she be wrong?” Kat pleaded. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to believe Nadiah had some kind of psychic ability—it was just that she didn’t want Lauren to be in danger.

  “I don’t know,” Lock murmured.

  “Well, she did think that Detective Rast was a Kindred,” Kat pointed out, feeling a spark of hope.

  “Yes, but you can’t blame her for that,” Deep objected. “Lock and I thought the same thing. He looks Kindred.”

  “He does,” Lock agreed. “And it’s not just the truegreen eyes. It’s his build, his bearing—”

  “Though he doesn’t treat females with the respect they deserve,” Lock pointed out, frowning.

  “Not exactly,” Deep agreed. “Although I got the feeling he wasn’t upset at Nadiah so much as at the application of her gift, which he claims not to believe in.”

  “But that’s the thing,” Kat said, feeling frustrated. “Can we believe that she’s accurate? Oh, I wish we had some way to check on Lauren but I know the Maw Cluster is way too far away for us to do a joining.”

  Deep looked thoughtful. “Ordinarily I’d say you were right about that, Kat. But there might be a way.”

  “Really? There might?” Kat asked excitedly.

  Deep’s voice was grave when he nodded. “Yes, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

  “What do you mean?” Kat frowned.

  “Well, as you know, sexual energy generates the power that we use to propel ourselves as seeker, finder, and focus into the astral plane,” Deep said. “The higher the tension between the three of us, the more energy is generated.”

  Kat smiled. “Of course. But I thought we generated more than enough energy. Hell, we could probably light up Yankee Stadium for a year if we could bottle what we put out.”

  “Be that as it may, it won’t be enough to reach the Maw Cluster,” Lock said softly from behind her. “Not unless we try something new. Something guaranteed to boost our output.”

  Kat frowned warily. “What exactly are we talking about here?”

  “Something we haven’t tried before.” Deep looked into her eyes. “I think you know what I’m talking about, little Kat—double penetration.”

  Kat’s mouth was suddenly almost too dry to talk. “I…” She cleared her throat. “What do you mean? We always do that. Every time the three of us make love when you and Lock fuse together to, you know, enter me.”

  She could feel herself blushing as she spoke the words but she couldn’t seem to help it. No matter how often she made love with her two new mates, she still felt a little shy about what the three of them did together. Deep and Lock might consider it perfectly normal to share a woman but it still counted as kinky in her book.

  “That’s not what I mean and I think you know it,” Deep said gently. “When Lock and I fuse our shafts together, we enter your pussy. But we’ve never tried filling both your pussy and your back passage at the same time.”

  “You mean one in front and one…” Kat cleared her throat again. “In back?” Her voice ended in a squeak.

  “Deep and I would like to make love to you that way, my lady,” Lock murmured in her ear. “While we enjoy fusing our shafts to enter you as one, we also crave the sensations of filling you individually.”

  “You…you do?” Kat swallowed.

  “Does that bother you?” Deep asked softly. “Do you not want to be touched here?”

  Kat felt his finger brush lightly between her cheeks, caressing her rosebud as he spoke. She gasped and jumped, splashing water out of the bathing pool all over the bathroom floor.

  “Kat, are you all right?” Deep’s concern washed over her. At the same time Lock said, “My lady?” And she felt his tenderness and affection as well.

  “Fine, I’m fine,” she said, backing away from the two of them. “I just…I think I’ve had enough time in the bath.” She climbed out of the bathing pool quickly and wrapped herself in a long crimson bathing robe. It had been specially developed by the Kindred to instantly absorb water so it dried her immediately. Trying to look as though nothing was wrong, Kat swept out of the bathroom and curled up in the middle of the huge, three-person bed.

  She heard the low murmur of voices and knew if she ‘tuned in’ to her guys, she would probably be able to catch some of what they were saying or thinking but she didn’t want to. Instead she closed her eyes and burrowed her head into one of the big fluffy pillows. Maybe if they thought she was asleep…

  “My lady, what’s wrong?” Lock’s question let her know her sleep ruse wasn’t working.

  “Nothing.” Sighing, she sat up. “I told you, I’m fine.”

  “We can’t help but know when you’re lying, you know,” Deep said, sitting down on one side of her as Lock took the other side. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing really. I just…” Kat grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest. “I’m just not a big fan of…that kind of sex. That’s all.”

  “You know the bonding fruit will help you stretch to accommodate us, don’t you?” Lock asked.

  “She knows.” Deep frowned. “But I’m guessing our Kat’s objection goes deeper than that.”

  Kat sighed. “I guess I might as well tell you or you’ll never leave me alone.”

  “I think you need to tell us,” Deep said, his voice unexpectedly gentle. “So no, we won’t leave you alone until you do.”

  “Fine.” She squeezed the pillow harder and looked down at the bed. “It’s not a big deal really. Just that I let…let a guy try that once, back there, and i