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  “Do I?” She grinned. “I guess I feel happy. Silly, huh?”

  “Not at all.” Sylvan lapped some stray honey from her other thigh with the flat of his tongue. “Your body was very hungry for pleasure. When was the last time you came?”

  “Before tonight? I…I don’t know. Why would you ask me that?” Her cheeks were getting pink—a sure sign she was embarrassed.

  Sylvan nuzzled her again reassuringly. “Don’t be upset—I’m not asking about your past lovers. Just when the last time you pleasured yourself was.”

  “That’s, uh, kind of an intimate question, don’t you think?”

  “We’re in an intimate situation,” Sylvan pointed out. “I just thought if you allowed yourself a release of tension more often—”

  “I don’t…don’t do that much, okay?” Her cheeks were really red now and she moved to disentangle herself from him. “I just…it’s embarrassing. And it’s usually something I’d rather not think about.”

  “You should give it some thought then.” Sylvan watched regretfully as she sat up and pulled the blue uniform shirt around herself. “Don’t be mad at me, Sophia. Please.” He came to sit beside her on the bed and put an arm around her shoulders. “I wasn’t trying to offend you. I was just wondering if I would ever get to see that beautiful smile on your face again—the one you get after coming so hard and long.”

  Her cheeks were still pink but she gave him a tiny ghost of a smile. “I’m not offended. Just…embarrassed.” She leaned against him, her waterfall of dark brown hair soft against his bare chest. “In case you haven’t uh, figured it out, I talk about sex even less than I have it. And that’s saying something.”

  “I want to talk about everything with you,” Sylvan told her, kissing her hair. “I want to know everything there is to know. Your past, your dreams, your secrets…”

  She stiffened against him. “Uh, there’s really nothing very interesting to tell. Just normal Earth girl stuff, that’s all.”

  Sylvan frowned. She was hiding something—he was sure of it—something he needed to know. Because if what he suspected was true, he needed to avenge her. She may only be under my protection for a little while but I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure she’s well taken care of, he thought grimly. Any that have hurt her will answer to me.

  “Sophie,” he began in a coaxing tone. “Please believe me, I just want—”

  A sudden low growling from outside the door cut him off. Every muscle in his body was suddenly flooded with tension and aggression as the rage swept over him again.

  The urlich were back.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kat crouched in the bare hallway beside the back door to Olivia and Baird’s suite and waited. On one hand she didn’t want to interrupt her friend’s hot ‘n freaky wedding night sex. On the other, she was scared to death that Lock and Deep would come after her and drag her back to their suite to have their own scary version of Kindred sex. Even now she could still feel their emotions—their need rolled inside her like waves crashing on a beach, filling her so full at times that it was hard to breathe.

  Get out of my head! she sent at them fiercely, not sure if they could hear her or not. She was relieved, at least, that she couldn’t hear them. She knew from talking to Liv that after bonding with a Kindred, a mental connection was created that allowed the Earth bride and her new husband to hear each other’s thoughts without using a Think-me. But I’m not freaking bonded to them. And I don’t want to be either! And anyway, the thoughts weren’t so much the issue as the feelings. Somehow the ability to hear each other’s thoughts wasn’t nearly as upsetting as feeling someone else’s emotions. Maybe because hearing someone else’s thoughts didn’t make her feel like she was going to overflow or explode at any minute.

  I so don’t need this right now, she thought, putting her head on her knees. Sophie’s in danger and I can’t even talk to Liv because she’s acting out the Kindred version of the Kama-sutra. I’m stuck on this damn ship without even a room to stay in and I’ve got two strangers filling my head with their feelings.

  Only they weren’t strangers—not really. Even though she’d known them a relatively short period of time, Deep and Lock had kind of leap-frogged over the regular getting-to-know-you routine when they had entered her mind and seen her naughtiest fantasies.

  “I don’t care,” she whispered sullenly. “Don’t care what they saw or heard or how much they know. I’ve known them for less than twenty-four hours and I don’t need to be stuck with their emotions in my head for the rest of my life.”

  Her head was still throbbing miserably and she wished longingly for some Excedrin or anything else that might stop the dull, aching pain. Did they stock such things aboard the Kindred Mother ship? They had plenty of Earth women here—surely one of the stores that catered to them would have something she could use. She started to get up and then remembered that most of those stores were past the unmated males’ area that Deep and Lock had been so anxious for her to avoid. Would she seriously have trouble if she went there? Olivia had had some kind of similar problem during her claiming period, she recalled. Although she had been kind of vague on the details, it hadn’t been good—that much Kat remembered.

  They thought I would have problems because of my smell—because I smelled hot. Just thinking about it made her blush. The memory of being linked to the tall, muscular twins invaded her brain and she couldn’t stop seeing the erotic images they’d passed between the three of them. That memory led to another. The burning intensity in Deep’s coal black eyes when he’d asked her to stay and the vast depth of need and loneliness in Lock’s warm brown eyes the last time he’d looked at her…

  Stop it! Stop it right now. You do not feel sorry for them and you are never going to see them again, she told herself sternly. After all, who knew what they might talk her into the next time?

  Kat shivered and rubbed her forehead hard with the heel of her hand. There it was again—the feeling of being horny and having a miserable, hangover-like headache at the same time. It shouldn’t be possible. Then again, a lot of the things she’d done tonight shouldn’t be possible. She thought of the amazing flying sensation she’d had when acting as Deep and Lock’s focus. The feeling of being a swift, invisible bird able to go anywhere, do anything…it had been truly wonderful, she had to admit. It was probably the only thing she didn’t regret. That and the fact that they’d been able to find Sylvan and Sophie and verify that they were alive. But for how much longer?

  I hope he really is taking care of her. Oh, Sophie, be safe! Come back to us soon. Kat felt a few tears of worry and weary exhaustion slip down her cheeks. She wasn’t normally the type to bawl but to say she’d had a stressful day would be an understatement. At least she could take some comfort in the fact that Sophie had been in one piece in her vision. And Lock and Deep seemed to have every confidence that Sylvan could keep her that way. Remembering his fright-night appearance, Kat tended to agree. But she still wasn’t looking forward to telling Liv that her twin sister was lost and in danger.

  Wondering how she was going to break the bad news, Kat closed her eyes and leaned back against the smooth silver metal wall. God, she was tired. It really was too bad she hadn’t been able to take the couch in their guest suite as Lock had urged her to do. But who knew where she might have ended up if she’d started on the couch? Even with her horrible headache the weird connection between them had been insanely intense.

  And even if they did keep their hands to themselves (which she doubted, remembering Deep’s hungry glare,) they felt too loudly to make sleep even a remote possibility. Whereas now, with a little distance between them, she was able to relax some. In fact, she was almost tired enough to drop off right where she was.

  But I won’t, she thought, shifting a little to try and get more comfortable against the slightly curved, cool metal wall. Not going to do that. I need to stay awake. That way I can talk to Liv the minute she pokes her head out the door in the mornin