Bridging the Distance Read online

  “Sure. They were my specialty in college.” Lorelei smiled as she began to run the black pencil over the bottom lid of his right eye. “Ancient Egypt was a country where they wore all this elaborate eye-makeup. People like to dress up like Egyptian Pharaohs and queens for Halloween and costume parties. I was always good at doing the makeup for it on all my friends and roommates.”

  “Then the little act we’re about to put on must be something you’re used to,” Bound remarked, his eyes flicking up to her face.

  “Not exactly. Dressing up for a costume party is a lot different from trying to blend in with an alien culture,” Lorelei pointed out. “But I think we can manage. Hey—stop moving your eyes. Just look straight ahead and keep your eyes wide open, okay?”

  “Forgive me. I will…do as you say.” He stirred uncomfortably but shifted his gaze in the right direction.

  “That’s better.” The black eye pencil had a delicate tip and Lorelei was so engrossed in getting the easily-smudged black eyeliner exactly right that she didn’t notice the bulge growing under his leather kilt until after she’d done his second eye.

  The sight gave her a hot little shiver down her spine. She’d always heard that Kindred were hung like literal horses—well, here was the proof. What was going on? Was he getting turned on because she was touching him? Quickly, she took her hand from his jaw but he didn’t move.

  “Um, Bound? You can blink now.”

  “Thank you,” he murmured. But he seemed to have trouble looking away. Suddenly Lorelei realized why—due to the position she’d been in while she was putting on the eyeliner, she’d basically told him to stare directly at her barely covered breasts. And after the half-teasing conversation they’d had about how he wanted to suck her nipples, getting up close and personal with her chest must have aroused him.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, taking a step back and putting an arm over her chest. “Uh, I didn’t mean to be, um, flashing you all that time.”

  “It’s all right, My Lady. I am the one who should apologize.” Bound shifted again, as though wishing he could hide the bulge which had appeared under the thin leather kilt. “You’re so beautiful it is impossible to keep myself from…reacting.”

  “Thank you.” Lorelei bit her lip. “You’re pretty gorgeous yourself, you know,” she admitted in a low voice. “I mean, I guess I shouldn’t say that since we’re only here in a business capacity but—”

  “It’s all right.” He looked up at her. Ringed in the thick, black makeup, his intensely blue eyes were startling in their beauty. “I am glad to know you find me as…desirable as I find you,” he said in a low voice. “But that wasn’t the only reason I was, um, staring at your breasts. It occurred to me that you aren’t wearing your marks of status.”

  “Marks of status?” Lorelei frowned. “What are those?”

  “Two little gold rings which—oh, there they are.” He was staring at her hands and Lorelei realized he was talking about the two little golden rings with star-shaped charms dangling from them. “Those do not belong on your fingers, My Lady.”

  “What? Where do they go then?” Lorelei asked, taking one of the golden rings off her pinky finger and examining it. It really was too small for her finger and she was glad to take it off.

  “Well, on your…ahem…they’re meant to go around your nipples, My Lady,” Bound murmured. “To make them more erect. And the charms dangling from them proclaim that you have a high and exalted status. Without displaying them, you’ll never be allowed into the Fren and Chulk.”

  “So…I have to put these around my nipples?” Lorelei took off the other ring and looked at the two of them, lying on the palm of her hand. “They’re too small for my fingers but I don’t really know if they’re going to fit on my, uh, nipples either.”

  She could feel herself blushing as she spoke. It seemed so surreal that she had to wear nipple rings as part of her disguise but she supposed if all the other Femalian gentlewomen were wearing them, she would have to as well.

  Oh well, she thought. When in Rome…

  “They are made of Smart-metal which should pick up on your body heat and mold to fit your nipples when you put them on,” Bound told her. “At least, that is my understanding. You just hold them in place and wait until they conform to the shape you need.”

  “All right. I can do that.” Lorelei wondered if she ought to go back to the bathroom, but the Big Kindred had basically seen her breasts already. With a sigh, she decided just to turn her back for privacy. “Just give me a minute,” she said, turning around.

  “As you wish, My Lady Lorelei,” Bound murmured.

  The black mesh tanktop was super stretchy and she found it easy to pull the neckline down and tuck it under the curves of her breasts so she could get to her nipples. She put one of the too-large golden rings around her nipple and held it there with her fingers, waiting for it to change shape and mold to her breast.

  Nothing happened.

  Well, maybe I have the wrong ring—maybe there’s a left one and a right one, Lorelei thought. She tried again, putting the other ring around her nipple this time and holding it in place but again, nothing happened.

  “My Lady?” Bound’s deep voice murmured behind her. “Are you having problems with the rings?”

  “I thought you said they were made of Smart-metal.” Lorelei looked over her shoulder at him. “But these don’t seem too smart to me. I’m holding them in position and nothing is happening.”

  “Are your hands warm?” he asked. “They react to body heat.”

  “Well… not so much,” Lorelei admitted. “I guess I’m nervous about what we’re about to do—my hands always get cold when I’m nervous.”

  “Would…would you like me to help?” His voice sounded hesitant, as though he was afraid he might offend her. “Kindred generally have slightly higher body temperatures than humans, I think.”

  Lorelei felt her breath catch in her throat. Did she want him to help? Did she want to feel his big, warm hands cupping her breasts and helping to adjust the rings around her nipples?

  You really shouldn’t do this, whispered a little voice in her head. You’re trying to keep a business relationship between the two of you, remember?

  Then again, what choice did she have? She clearly wasn’t going to be able to put the damned rings on herself. And not wearing them wasn’t an option—she wouldn’t be able to get into the Fren and Chulk where the sale was being held without them.

  “Forgive me if I offended you,” Bound murmured and she realized that her long silence while she thought the matter over must have made him think she was mad at him.

  “No, no—you didn’t offend me,” she said quickly. “It’s just…letting someone, uh, handle my nipples isn’t something I’d normally do with a business associate.”

  “Of course not,” Bound murmured. “It was a bad idea.”

  “No, no,” Lorelei said again. “I think it might be a, uh, pretty good idea.” She had another thought. “But…won’t it uh, hurt you to touch me without your twin here?”

  “I would be doing my best to keep my interaction with you completely professional and businesslike,” Bound said. “So I would like to say no. But to be honest, I don’t know if I could touch your beautiful breasts without feeling sexual desire. So it’s possible that the interaction might be somewhat uncomfortable.”

  “Well, I don’t want you to…to hurt yourself,” Lorelei pointed out breathlessly.

  “For the sake of getting my brother back, I will endure any pain,” Bound assured her. “And…” He cleared his throat. “I would be lying if I said I don’t relish the chance to hold your lovely breasts in my hands.”

  “Well…thank you for being honest.” Lorelei’s heart was pounding and her whole body felt tingly.

  “I try always to be honest,” Bound told her. “I cannot be untruthful and say I don’t want to touch you, My Lady. You are so beautiful…an Elite…and so very desirable.” He cleared his throat. “But having s