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  “Leave me the hell alone.” Kat jerked away from his touch. “I’ve had enough of you for one day.” Turning, she marched to the spiral staircase.

  “You’re going to have to put up with a lot more of me during the party tonight. A lot more of both of us,” Deep called.

  Kat didn’t bother to answer. She still had one of the triangular bonding fruits clutched in her hand. Acting on a sudden impulse, she flung it at his broad chest. The fruit hit him squarely above the heart and splattered all over his deep green uniform shirt, making what Kat hoped was a permanent stain. She was hoping to piss him off as much as he had irritated her. But to her intense annoyance, Deep only looked at her and laughed. Looking her in the eye, he drew one finger through the pulp that stained his shirt and stuck it slowly in his mouth.

  “Juicy, little Kat,” he rumbled. “Juicy and succulent and oh, so sweet.”

  Kat refused to dignify his leering with an answer. He was still laughing as, with one last glare in his direction, she climbed out of sight.

  * * * * *

  Lock sighed and reached down to pick up the remaining bonding fruit and the carved wooden bowl Kat had left on the cushions. He knew his mother only kept such fruit in the house to remind her of their fathers. Though she had loved their stepfather dearly, the same Kindred male who had been Baird and Sylvan’s true father, she had never forgotten her first mates—Twin Kindred who had died in battle with the Scourge.

  She had been overjoyed when he and Deep had brought an unmated female home with them. After what had happened with Miranda, she seemed to have lost hope that they would ever call a bride. So of course when Kat had reached for the bonding fruit, she’d gotten the wrong idea about what was going on between the three of them. I wish it was the right idea, Lock thought longingly. Gods, how I wish it.

  Putting the fruit in the bowl, he straightened up to see Deep staring moodily up the stairs where Kat had disappeared. The ruined bonding fruit was dripping down his shirt but he didn’t appear to notice or care.

  “Why do you do that?” he asked, unable to keep his frustration from spilling over. “Why do you antagonize her? Why do you push her away?”

  Deep turned to look at him. “In case you didn’t notice, Brother, I’m not the only one pushing.”

  “Kat only pushes you away because you push first,” Lock accused him. “Why don’t you tell her how you really feel? Why don’t you tell her what you did for her? How you took her pain?”

  Deep was on him in a flash, both hands fisted in Lock’s shirt. “That is not your secret to tell, Brother,” he snarled. “We haven’t come to blows since we were children but I promise if you tell her about the whipping—”

  “Fine.” Lock pushed him away roughly. “You don’t have to threaten me. I don’t know why you want to keep it from her, but I’ll keep your secret if it means so much to you. I’d no more tell her what you did than I would tell her about Miranda.”

  “See that you don’t.” Deep frowned and straightened his shoulders. “I’m going to try and get some rest before the party tonight. If you’re smart, you’ll do the same.”

  “I can’t rest now,” Lock said wearily. “I have to talk to Mumzelle and try to explain that the bonding fruit was a mistake. Then I’ll try to make peace between you and the lady Kat—if that’s even possible.”

  “Why should you care if we get along or not?” Deep demanded. “Just let it go, Brother. You know the minute we take her back to Mother L’rin she’ll be asking for a way to break the connection between us. Hell, she doesn’t even know it exists and she’s already angry. What is she going to do when she finds out we have a soul bond with her she didn’t ask for?”

  “I don’t know,” Lock said, running a hand through his hair. “But I don’t think now is the time to tell her. Right now I just want to keep her from hating you. From hating us.”

  “Too late, Brother.” Turning, Deep left him alone in the kitchen, clutching the last remaining bonding fruit. “Too late.”

  Chapter Nine

  Kat was a mess. She sat on the bed with her arms wrapped around herself and shivered. God, she hated to admit it but those two got under her skin—especially Deep! What was it with him, anyway? Why did she let him get to her so much?

  “Drives me crazy,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair. It was surprisingly glossy and clean, despite the fact that she’d been out of it for so long before she’d woken up between Deep and Lock the night before. Vaguely, she remembered dreams she’d had. Dreams of large male hands bathing her and washing her hair—but those were just dreams, right? The thought of the brothers handling her naked body while she was unconscious made her really uncomfortable.

  And what about the damn bonding fruit? Her hands still smelled of the triangular, palm-sized fruit. The scent was tempting and incredibly delicious but Kat had no desire to eat any more now. What was going to happen to her when the weird, alien aphrodisiac kicked in? And how was she going to make it through a huge formal party if she was horny out of her mind?

  Not that I’d ever get horny enough to let Deep and Lock try that on me. Just the idea of both of them trying to fit their huge shafts inside her at the same time gave her the shivers. There was just no way that any fruit, no matter how “special,” could make that kind of three-way action anything but painful. How would you even get in the right position to do that? It made her head hurt just to think about it. Then don’t think about it. But the image wouldn’t leave her head. It was the same one Deep had sent her the night before while she was swamped in lust. Then it had seemed almost plausible and extremely hot. But now…Kat shivered and shook her head. No way. No way in hell.

  Sighing, she got up to pace back and forth in front of the wide window. Then she looked down at her bare legs and had a sudden thought—who knew if what she had on would be considered decent or not? She didn’t need to be putting on another show. Quickly, she shut the shade, plunging the room into bluish-purple gloom, but not before she saw several men on the street below smiling and waving at her. Kat did not wave back. God, some of those jerks will probably be at the party tonight!

  The thought made her wince. Her time on Twin Moons was really getting off to a great start. She hadn’t even been awake for one whole morning and she’d already given a peep show to strangers and eaten a whole bowl full of horny fruit by mistake. What the hell was she going to do tonight? And what—

  “My lady?” A soft rapping on the door interrupted her mental tirade.

  “Yes?” Kat sighed with resignation. “Come in.”

  “Thank you.” Lock came in and shut the door behind him. He was alone, Kat saw with relief. She didn’t think she could handle another dose of Deep just now. “I just wanted to talk to you,” Lock said, coming over to the window where she was standing. “I wanted to tell you—”

  “Have you been washing my hair while I was unconscious?” Kat blurted.

  “Um…” Lock coughed and looked down at his boots. Then he looked up and nodded. “Yes.”

  “You and Deep both or just you?”

  “It was my idea,” he said softly, looking into her eyes. “But I did get Deep to help me.”

  “God!” Kat started pacing again. “I knew it. I knew it wasn’t just a dream.” She rounded on Lock. “Do you know how creepy that is? I mean, I was unconscious, for God’s sake! You two could have been doing anything to me.”

  “We only bathed you,” Lock said in a low voice. “Deep and I are honorable males. We would never take advantage of you as you slept.”

  Reluctantly, Kat shook her head. “No, I guess not. You wouldn’t anyway.”

  “Deep would not take undue advantage either,” Lock said, obviously taking her meaning. “And we draped you in towels to preserve your modesty if that makes you feel any better.”

  Strangely enough, it did. Kat sighed and nodded slightly. “I guess, maybe a little.”

  “Try to understand.” Stepping forward, Lock took her hand in his. “We were ch