Bridging the Distance Read online

  As the big Kindred came on command, Lorelei felt another surge of pleasure.

  He did that because of me—for me—I made him come. He’s mine—he belongs to me and I belong to him.

  It was a ridiculous thought—a ridiculous way to feel—but for just that instant when she felt him pulsing in her hand she felt a connection to the big Kindred she could neither ignore or deny.

  * * * * *

  Bound moaned with a mixture of pain and pleasure as he let himself go and came at Lorelei’s command. Pain because it hurt to take such sexual pleasure without his twin, and pleasure because the little Elite was so beautiful, so perfect, and her hand felt so right on his shaft.

  “My Lady,” he gasped and inside he thought, My Lady if only you were doing this for Torn and myself at the same time. If only I could feel the connection of the three of us together—both giving and taking pleasure. If only…

  But he knew he had to keep his hopes to himself. Even when they got Torn back, he couldn’t expect Lorelei to want to be with the two of them. After all, she had said more than once that this was a business relationship they were in. He couldn’t expect her to change her mind just because he wanted her to.

  And yet…her hand on him felt so right. It was almost as though she really did own him—own his heart, anyway. And maybe, in a way, he owned her too. Maybe…

  Slowly he came back to himself and became aware that Lorelei and the Countess were talking.

  “Very nice!” the Countess du’Montrive was saying. “And look—he’s still hard! His shaft hasn’t wilted a bit.”

  “Yes, he’s…pretty amazing like that.” Lorelei sounded surprised herself as she continued to touch him.

  Bound could have told her that Kindred males are multi-orgasmic—the better to bond their females to them by coming deep in their pussies again and again. But he knew it wasn’t his place to talk so he simply stood quietly, enjoying the painful pleasure of Lorelei’s soft little hand still caressing his rock-hard shaft.

  “Well, my dear Gentlewoman Daniels,” the Countess said. “I do believe I shall honor you with the right for to be dining with me and my own slave-mate, Tingor tonight.”

  “We would be, uh, we are being most honored, my Countess,” Lorelei said. “Thank you for your great kindness to us.”

  “You’re being more than welcome, my dear.” Countess du’Montrive smiled at her. “Any gentlewoman who owns such a fine slave-mate must be worthy to be sitting at my table. Come now—we must to being seated in my pod before the vapors of the first course are growing cold.”

  At last Lorelei’s hand left his shaft and Bound felt like he could think again. He tugged down the leather kilt and followed the two of them. But as he went, he couldn’t help wondering where his brother was and how close he might be to them even now, as they prepared to eat before the sale.

  Chapter Eight

  The tall woman who had met them at the door had suddenly reappeared when the Countess had mentioned getting seated in a “pod” whatever that was. Lorelei was still feeling a little breathless and half-ashamed of herself for manhandling Bound in such a public way so she could do nothing but follow along quietly behind the Countess as she stalked along in her high-heeled boots. They left the dark wood-paneled reception hall and passed into a quiet, restaurant-type area carpeted in some kind of red fur which extended from the floor up the walls and even onto the ceiling.

  “Please to be enjoying yourselves. The feast will begin soon.” The tall woman bowed low, eyeing Lorelei with more respect than she’d shown previously, and then disappeared.

  Lorelei looked around at the strange dining area. Sunk deep in the strange dark red fur carpet were little oval shaped areas which contained tables and chairs—none of them very large. Lorelei could see other people sitting in the oval holes in the floor with only the tops of their heads poking up. The sight reminded her of gophers or Meer cats, peeking out of their burrows.

  “Oh, here we go, my dears. This is being my pod! Come for to be sitting with me!” the Countess exclaimed. She was leading them to a larger, more luxurious oval opening—about twice as big as the others—which was in the very center of the room.

  The moment they reached it, her slave-mate, whom she had called “Tingor,” hopped down into the hole and then reached for her. With no trouble at all, he lifted the Countess smoothly down into the pod and waited until she got settled before sitting himself.

  “Well now, Gentlewoman Daniels,” the Countess called, her tall top hat and long white plumes bobbling well above the level of the floor. “Do be coming down.”

  Lorelei looked up at Bound a little apprehensively. She knew he was strong but she wasn’t exactly skinny. Would he be able to lift her as easily as Tingor had lifted the Countess?

  Then she remembered the way he’d held Bob the repo guy easily over his head with one hand and felt a surge of relief. They would probably be okay.

  It turned out she was right—the big Kindred lifted her as easily as if she was light as a feather and placed her carefully beside the Countess, as though she was made of china and might break if he wasn’t careful. Then he seated himself beside her and waited, respectfully, being absolutely silent, as was the Countess’s slave-mate.

  Lorelei was trying to think of a graceful way to start a conversation about the upcoming sale and find out about bidding when two male servants came and started handing dishes down into the oval pod. Tingor took his and the Countess’s, making certain to place hers directly in front of her before he got his own. Bound did the same for Lorelei and soon they all had a dish sitting before them.

  Lorelei examined hers with great interest and some trepidation. The dishes were silver and round on the bottom—completely enclosed so she couldn’t see what kind of food they held. Each had a narrow, fluted top which ended in a little spout rising from the very tip. The spouts all had a kind of cork in them and the rounded sides of the dish were covered in padded, patterned fabric in blue and gold and green.

  “Ah, the vapor course! My favorite!” Countess du’Montrive clapped her hands excitedly. “Well, my dears—let us be getting started.”

  She picked up a strange, tapered silver instrument that looked like a sharpened chop-stick and stabbed it into the cork at the top of her vessel. With a flourish, she pulled it out. At once, a rush of steam escaped from the fluted spout. Eagerly, almost greedily, the Countess leaned over the spout and began taking deep, gulping breaths of the vapor rising from her rounded dish.

  Lorelei looked at Bound who shrugged. Apparently they were supposed to do the same thing. Finding her own sharpened chop-stick, Lorelei stabbed the cork at the top of her spout and, with a twist, pulled it out. Then, uncertain what she might smell, she leaned over and took a whiff of the steam rising from inside.

  “Mmm! Fresh-baked bread!” she exclaimed as the delectable scent hit her nose.

  “I do be begging your pardon?” the Countess asked, looking up from her own spout with a quizzical look on her face.

  “Excuse me,” Lorelei said quickly. “It’s just—this smells like something from my home. A delicious dish I almost never get to eat,” she added sadly, thinking of how she’d been depriving herself of carbs for pretty much forever in a failed attempt to lose weight. Not that it ever helps, pointed out a little voice in her brain. She could shun bread for the next two decades of her life and still be a size twenty.

  “Well, I am being so glad that you are enjoying our vapor course, my dear.” The Countess smiled at her. “Do please, continue to smell your fill.”

  Forget smelling, I want to eat some!

  Surreptitiously, Lorelei felt the bottom of her rounded dish, trying to find a way to open it. But though she felt everywhere, even under the padding where the hot part of the dish burned her fingers, she couldn’t find a seam.

  At last, she gave up and leaned over to sniff some more. This time she smelled something like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. God, the smells this little vapor dish put ou