Divided: Brides of the Kindred 10 (6 page)

“Which I never should have done,” Truth
growled. “Far was all over me at once. Touching me as no male should touch
another.”

“What are you talking about?” Far
demanded. “I only tried to embrace you—a perfectly natural act considering the
circumstances.”

Truth frowned. “Males do not embrace. They
may clasp arms on occasions of great grief or great joy but nothing more.”

“But that’s awful,” Kat burst out. “You
never,
ever
touch each other? Never hug?”

“What is a ‘hug’?” Truth asked, clearly
mystified.

“Where you put your arms around another
person and hold them,” Becca said quietly. “Surely your father must have hugged
you, Truth.”

He shook his head. “My father, Feels Pain,
raised me in the ways of the Rai’ku. I do not recall him ever touching me in
such a fashion from the moment of my birth until the day he died. It would not
have been right.”

Becca felt her heart twist. “How could he
raise you and never hug you even once?” she asked. “That’s
terrible.”

Truth lifted his chin. “It is the way of
the Rai’ku. Males do not touch other males. I am proud to carry on the
traditions of my people.”

“All right, I think I see part of the
problem,” Deep said, leaning forward from the other couch. “You don’t want to
touch your twin at all?”

“Of course I don’t want to touch him.”
Truth looked offended. “What kind of perverted male do you think I am?”

“The same kind we are, apparently.” Moving
as one, Deep and Lock stood and put their arms around each other’s broad
shoulders.

“You must never refuse the comfort of your
brother’s touch,” Lock said gently. “It’s natural to find solace in the
closeness of your twin. That’s part of the bond. Especially before you call a
bride.”

Truth frowned. “Yet another reason I don’t
wish to form a bond with Far.”

“But don’t you see?” Lock asked. “The bond
is already there—it forms in the womb. It may be starved almost to death by
such a long separation between the two of you but it
is
there.”

“And it would grow if only you would feed
it,” Deep continued for his twin. “You
must
touch each other.”

Truth shook his head. “I do not wish to.”

“And I won’t touch him if he finds contact
between us so distasteful,” Far added, frowning.

Deep sighed. “Fine. Then let us test the
limits of the bond you have now.”

Truth looked at him distrustfully. “And
how do you propose to do that, Commander Deep?”

“For one thing, you should be able to feel
each other’s pain and pleasure. Watch…” He produced a long, sharp straight pin
and jabbed his own finger with it.

Lock winced. “Ouch!”

Becca watched with interest. “Will you
bleed as well?”

“No, but Lock does feel my pain as I feel
his,” Deep explained. “It can be distracting in battle until you get used to
it.”

Truth shook his head. “I don’t
understand—why would I want such a weakness?”

“Because you feel your brother’s pleasure
as well.” Kat stood and kissed Lock softly on the mouth but Becca noticed she
was careful to hold Deep’s hand while she did so.

Deep smiled and pressed his fingers to his
lips. “Hmm…nice.”

Truth frowned at the display, clearly
disapproving.

“Commander Deep, this doesn’t bother you?
Seeing the female you have claimed being kissed by another male?”

“Of course it doesn’t bother me. Part of
the pleasure of being a Twin Kindred is seeing your lady being pleasured by
your brother,” Deep said calmly. “I feel both Lock’s joy in touching Kat’s
smooth skin and tasting her lips as well as an echo of her pleasure in
returning his kisses.”

Truth shook his head. “That seems wrong.
Unnatural.”

“It’s perfectly natural when you are a
Twin Kindred,” Deep said. “It doubles and trebles your own pleasure.”

“Of course, when your bond is weak, these
sensations are lessened,” Lock remarked. “At the time that Deep and I were
wooing our lady Kat, our bond was stretched very thin indeed. We were even able
to touch her separately, though it still gave us pain.”

“Wait—what?” Becca frowned. “It hurts if
only one of you is, uh, touching her?”

Deep nodded. “It’s a feeling akin to a low
level shock running throughout your entire body if you touch your bride without
your brother also touching her.”

“Again, you are not making a very good
case for me to wish to bond with Far,” Truth remarked.

Lock sighed. “I know it may not seem like
it, but there are so many benefits. When you are closely bonded to your twin,
sorrows are halved and joys are doubled. You share a kind of communication so
deep and intense it rivals any other bond in the universe. Truly, it is a
beautiful thing.”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for
it,” Truth said shortly.

Deep frowned and pulled out a new straight
pin.

“Hold out your hand,” he demanded,
reaching for Truth.

Truth held out his hand reluctantly. “If
you’re hoping to provoke some reaction…”

Before he finished, Deep had jabbed the
straight pin deep into the pad of his thumb.

Truth tensed his jaw but bore the small
pain stoically. All eyes turned to Far who was staring at his own thumb
thoughtfully.

“Well?” Becca asked him anxiously.

Far shook his head. “Nothing. Or at least,
no more than a tingle.”

“That’s
something
, though,” she
said encouragingly. She thought of suggesting that they try it the other way
and jab Far with the pin but she was certain that Truth would deny feeling
anything, even if he did. She began to feel irritated with him—damn it, why did
dark twins have to be so stubborn? Then again, she was as determined not to be
permanently bonded to the both of them at once as Truth was not to be bonded to
Far. Could she really judge the dark twin for holding out?

“Let’s work with what we have,” Lock
suggested gently. “I do believe the bond is there—it just needs to be
nourished.”

“And how
exactly
are we supposed to
do that?” Truth asked warily.

Deep sighed. “There’s no other way—I’m
afraid you’ll have to touch your brother.”

“Touch me how?” Far demanded. “With his
fists? Because I’m pretty sure that’s the extent of how Truth wants to touch
me.”

“Boys,” Kat said, talking to her mates.
“Maybe it’s time for a demonstration.”

“Fine.” Deep and Lock turned to each other
and embraced.

It was a long, warm hug and it made Becca
feel good just watching it. Clearly this was brotherly love in its purest form.
Though the sight of two muscular male torsos pressed together was beautiful and
sensual, there was nothing sexual in the way Deep and Lock touched each other.
It was as though the brothers were drawing support from each other and offering
unconditional love at the same time.

“Look,” Lock said, turning his head to
take in both Truth and Lock. “Like this.”

Becca looked at the two men she was
sitting with. The expression on Far’s face was hungry but Truth still looked
closed—and completely disgusted.

“I will not do that,” he growled,
scowling. “Males do not—”

“Touch each other in such a fashion,” Far
mocked him softly. “Right. We know. Because Goddess forbid you show a particle
of love for another male—especially your own brother.”

“I cannot show an emotion I do not feel,”
Truth growled.

“All right,” Becca jumped up and glared at
the dark twin. “Then how
would
you be willing to touch another male?”
she demanded. “Didn’t you say something about clasping arms or something like
that?”

“Yes,” Truth admitted grudgingly. “But
only in moments of extreme emotion.”

“Well I’m feeling extremely emotional
about both of you right about now and none of the emotions are good,” she
snapped. “I’m getting sick of this mess—stop being a baby and hold your
brother’s hand, Truth.”

Truth looked at her, clearly surprised.
“All right. If my lady wishes.”

“I damn well
do
wish it.” Becca
crossed her arms and tapped one foot impatiently. She surprised herself a
little with her boldness but clearly she was the only one in the room Truth was
going to listen to. She couldn’t just sit back and do nothing—if she did,
nothing would get done.
“Now,”
she added, glaring at Truth pointedly.

“Fine.” Truth turned to his brother and
offered his right hand. “Will you clasp with me?”

Far considered his outstretched hand for a
moment and Becca thought she saw a tiny spark of hope in his black eyes.

“All right,” he said quietly with none of
his usual sarcasm or bitterness.

“Wait,” Lock said when the brothers were
about to touch each other. “Unbutton your cuffs and roll up your sleeves.”

Truth frowned. “Why?”

“Skin to skin contact works best. For any
kind of bonding,” Deep said, clearly picking up on his brother’s thoughts.

Becca was certain that Truth was about to
start complaining again but she fixed him with a look—one eyebrow raised and a
grim expression on her face. To her satisfaction, he kept his mouth closed and
started unbuttoning his cuff.

When both brothers had bare arms, Truth
held out his hand again.

“Well?” he asked Far.

Without a word, the light twin reached for
his brother’s hand.

They clasped arms to the elbow, each
brother gripping his twin’s muscular forearm, and stared into each other’s
eyes. Becca couldn’t help noticing that Truth’s tan skin was several shades
darker than Far’s. Indeed, it was only a few shades lighter than her own warm
mocha tones.

Light and dark,
she thought.
Day and night. They’re so different and
yet so much alike—if only they could let themselves see it.

No one said anything as the brothers held
the grip, their forearms pressed together, their eyes clashing. At first Becca
was anxious—she could tell by the tensing of Truth’s long fingers that he was
squeezing his twin’s arm as hard as he could. But Far bore the pain silently,
simply staring back into his brother’s eyes as he held contact.

He’s willing to take it,
Becca suddenly understood.
He’s been so hungry for
Truth’s touch that he’ll even willingly accept pain from him because it’s
better than no contact at all.

The realization wrung her heart and she
was about to scold the dark twin for trying to hurt his brother when she
noticed the dynamic between them had changed.

It was a subtle shift but noticeable—the
look in Truth’s pale gray eyes was no longer so angry, so disgusted as it had
been. In fact he looked almost…thoughtful. It was the most open expression she
had ever seen on the dark twin’s face when looking at his brother and it gave
her a tiny sliver of hope for the two of them.

Deep seemed to have picked up on the
change too.

“Good,” he murmured, speaking to both
Truth and Far in a low, soothing tone. “Feel your brother’s energy. His pain is
your pain. His pleasure is your pleasure.”

“I feel neither pain nor pleasure,” Truth
said but his voice wasn’t quite as harsh as it had been.

“That is because you have to have something
to feel,” Kat remarked. She looked at Becca. “Kiss Truth.”

Chapter
Eight

Becca felt her cheeks heating. “What,
now?”

“Yes, now. On the mouth while they’re
still touching,” Kat directed firmly. She nodded at Becca. “Go on. I know what
I’m doing.”

“All right.” Feeling like all eyes were on
her, Becca stepped forward and leaned toward Truth. Both brothers were so tall
that she barely had to stoop down at all even though they were sitting and she
was standing.

“Rebecca,” Truth murmured, his deep voice
harsh with desire. “Kiss me—let me taste your sweet lips.”

Becca cupped his cheek, well aware that
this was the first kiss she had shared with either twin outside the dream-world
of their strange joinings. Truth’s lips were full and red with a cruel but
sensual curve around the corners. How often had she fantasized about kissing
that mouth? Much more often than she’d let herself admit, especially back when
she was still planning on taking her vows. But now that she had renounced her
desire to become a nun, she found she was about to follow up on those
fantasies.

Truth’s mouth was hard and hungry against
her own. Heat rushed through her as he lifted his free hand and wove his long
fingers through her hair, bringing her even closer.

Besides the heat, she felt something
else—a third presence in the back of her mind. Someone else was hovering in the
background like a restless shadow, longing to be let all the way in.

Far,
she understood suddenly.
I can feel him—just barely
but he is there.

Despite her determination not to be
permanently bonded to both of them, her first instinct was to reach out and try
to draw the light twin in. Far needed this—needed it so badly it hurt Becca to
feel his pain. But she understood instinctively that without Truth’s help, she would
never be able to draw Far completely into their circle of warmth. He would
always be hovering just outside it, a hungry ghost unable to join the feast.

Truth must have felt his brother’s
presence too or maybe he just sensed that Becca’s attention was divided. He
deepened the kiss and his tongue caressed the seam of her lips, asking for
entrance, demanding her surrender and complete concentration.

But Becca wasn’t quite sure she was ready
to go there yet—not with Kat and her two husbands watching, anyway.

“No,” she murmured, breaking the kiss.

Truth growled softly with frustration. “I
wasn’t done tasting you.”

“I know,” Becca said softly but firmly.
“But now it’s Far’s turn.” She glanced at Kat who nodded approvingly.

“That’s right, doll. You’ve got the idea.”

“Good.” Becca smiled and turned to Far who
was looking at her with a quiet intensity that sent a shiver of need down her
spine. “I know you need this,” she whispered, speaking for his ears alone. “And
so…so do I.”

“Mi’now,”
he murmured, his black eyes drowning deep. For a long
moment they locked gazes, staring into each other, not touching at all. Becca’s
heart, already pumping hard from the kiss she’d shared with Truth, began to
really pound. In the black depths of the light twin’s eyes she could see all
the things Far wanted to do to her—all the ways he wanted to share her with his
twin.

She saw the three of them naked in bed
together, as they had been in their joinings. Saw the two large male bodies
bracketing her own smaller frame as four muscular arms encircled her, keeping
her safe and claiming her at the same time. Truth was kissing the vulnerable
nape of her neck while Far licked a slow, sensual trail down the valley between
her breasts. He was moving lower, clearly intent on tasting her—

Becca pressed her lips to Far’s before the
vision could continue. Was it her own private fantasy or was the light twin
somehow sending it to her? And if he was, could Truth sense it at all?

She didn’t know but the moment her lips
met Far’s, the thoughts and worries were wiped from her mind.

His lips were full and sensual, like his
brother’s, but they were much softer and more yielding. Where Truth’s kiss had
been a hungry demand, Far’s was slower, more lingering—a gentle caress.

He kisses the way he would make love,
Becca couldn’t help thinking.
Slow and gentle and
very, very thorough.
Far would want to look into her eyes the whole time,
she was sure. He would want to know every minute exactly how she was feeling,
would want to watch the pleasure grow on her face until she couldn’t bear it
any more and she came in his arms.

God!
She wound her fingers in his shaggy blond mane just the
way she’d fantasized and pulled him closer. She wanted Truth but the dark twin
also scared her with his single minded pursuit. Far, on the other hand, was
willing to wait, to let her come to him when she was ready. It made her feel
bold—hungry. Forgetting about their audience, she deepened the kiss herself,
licking softly at the seam of the light twin’s lips, asking for entry.

Far let her in with a low groan, his free
hand going to the swell of her hips and slipping under the hem of her blouse to
caress the bare skin of her side.

Becca moaned breathlessly at the
skin-to-skin contact. God, it felt
amazing
and not just because of what
Far was doing, she was sure. It was being between the two brothers, feeling Far
open to her and knowing he was open to Truth as well—if the dark twin would
only join them.

As before, she felt the dark shadow of
another just outside the circle of pleasure she and Far had formed. It was
Truth and she could feel his brother inviting him in, offering to share in the
sweet kiss he and Becca were engaged in.

But despite the intensity of the kiss or
maybe because of it, Truth was unmoved. He stayed where he was, hovering on the
outside, not joining in.

But he hasn’t left either. And he and Far
are still holding hands,
Becca thought
hopefully.
Maybe he’ll come around eventually…

Reluctantly, she broke the kiss. It had
been the softest and sweetest and most intense kiss she’d ever had and all
because Far was willing to share. For the first time, Becca began to see what
Kat and Deep and Lock were talking about when they spoke about pleasure being
doubled and trebled. The kind of pleasure and desire she felt when she kissed
Far was addictive—had Truth felt it too? And would he ever be willing to follow
in his twin’s footsteps?

“All right,” Kat said, stepping forward.
“Did either of you feel that?”

Far nodded. “I felt Truth when I kissed
Becca. He was there with us though he did not choose to join.”

“Truth?” Kat asked, turning to the dark
twin.

“I felt…something,” Truth admitted at
last, reluctantly. “It was…not unpleasant.”

“Not unpleasant? Those were the two
hottest kisses I’ve ever had!” Becca declared and then felt her face get warm
at once. “I mean, not that I’ve kissed a lot of people. But I just—it was
amazing. That’s all.”

“I agree with you, Rebecca,” Truth growled
softly. “The kiss we shared was extraordinary.”

“The
kisses,
you mean,” Far
murmured. “It was the fact that both of us participated, however passively,
that made both our kisses with Becca so sweet. Sweeter than any I’ve had
before.” He looked at Truth. “I know you felt it too, Brother.”

Truth looked slightly uncomfortable but at
least he was no longer proclaiming his disgust. “Agreed,” he said at last.

“And how did you feel watching your
brother kiss Becca?” Kat pressed, speaking to Truth.

He frowned. “It was…not as bad as I had
feared.”

“Good. And for you, Far?” She turned to
the light twin.

“It was beautiful,” Far said quietly.
“Sensual. I only wished that I could be touching and tasting our lady in other
ways as my brother kissed her lips. I wanted to help him bring her pleasure.”

“Oh…” Becca put a hand to her drumming
heart and thought of the mini-fantasy she’d had earlier of Far kissing his way
down her body. She could just imagine Truth devouring her mouth while Far split
her legs wide and pressed his hungry tongue between her thighs.

Truth raised an eyebrow and looked at her
speculatively. “And how does that make you feel, Rebecca? The idea of being
shared between us?”

“I…I guess I never thought about it much
because I always assumed I’d be, um, picking
one
of you,” Becca
admitted, feeling her cheeks get even hotter. Honestly, she’d never
let
herself
imagine it or linger on the brief mental joinings they’d shared. It was
difficult enough letting herself fantasize about having just one of the
brothers at a time. Imagining the three of them entangled, actually
dwelling
on the forbidden image made her feel incredibly guilty so she mainly
avoided it.

“It embarrasses you as much as it
discomforts me. Admit it,” Truth said harshly. “It does not seem natural or
right.”

“Ah, but it is
compelling
, isn’t
it?” Deep asked softly, breaking into the tense conversation. “I saw the look
on your face when you watched your brother kiss your lady, Truth. It wasn’t one
of disgust. You felt the pleasure multiplied because Far opened himself to
you…invited you in as I am sure you did not invite him when you kissed Becca yourself.”

“He didn’t try to cast me out, either
though,” Far said quietly. He looked into Truth’s eyes. “I thank you for that,
Brother. For not breaking contact or trying to push me away when you and Becca
kissed.”

Truth’s face turned red and he cleared his
throat loudly.

“Enough of this nonsense. Are we finished
for today?”

“Hardly.” Deep frowned. “Or did you forget
that the vision the three of you had could come true at any moment?”

“I still don’t see how Far and Rebecca and
I can prevent it from coming to pass,” Truth objected.

“You don’t but the Goddess
does
and
it involves you and Far bonding,” Kat reminded him. “So you’re not done yet.”

“You can unclasp your hands, though,” Deep
said.

The twins did so—reluctantly on Far’s part
and with relief on Truth’s, Becca thought.

“Good.” Deep nodded approvingly. “Now
stand up and take off your shirts.”

“What?” Truth frowned, the old closed look
coming back to his darkly handsome features. “Why should we do that?”

“Do as he says,” Becca said, surprised at
her own sternness. “I think I know what Commander Deep has in mind—you’re going
to hug your brother.”

“What? Chest to chest with bare skin? No.
Not a chance in all the Seven Hells,” Truth growled.

Becca felt her heart sink. For a little
while it had seemed they were making real progress. And now they appeared to be
back to the beginning.

Kat sighed. “All right, I guess that’s
pushing Truth’s admittedly limited boundaries just a
wee
bit too far. Becca…”
She motioned with one arm. “You’d better take off your shirt and get between
them.”

“What?”
It was Becca’s turn to balk. “Kat, I can’t,” she
protested. “I mean, with all the guys in here I just
can’t.”

“Look, doll, I’m not asking you to get all
the way naked but we need skin-to-skin contact here.”

Skin-to-skin contact with both brothers at
once.
It was exactly what Becca most feared. It
was one thing to kiss either brother while they were touching each other. But
to voluntarily touch them both in such an intimate way…the very thought of it,
the memory of their latest joining and the lust that rolled through her so
strongly she could barely control herself was frightening. It was wrong….
dangerous
.

Kat frowned, clearly not understanding her
reluctance.

“Look, you don’t have to take off your
bra.”

“Actually, I’ve got a cami on,” Becca said
in a low voice. “But that’s not the point. I…” But she couldn’t go on. Couldn’t
explain the frightening lust she felt when she touched both brothers at the
same time, not in front of them as well as Commanders Deep and Lock.

“Oh, then a cami should be fine,” Kat said
dismissively. “Look, if it’ll make you feel better I’ll have my guys turn
around. Go on, boys,” she said to Deep and Lock who both turned obediently,
putting their broad backs to Becca.

Truth and Far, however, were still
looking. And despite the disparity of their coloring—one light and one dark—the
expression on both of their faces was the same—hunger.

Hunger for me,
Becca thought, feeling her stomach do a slow flip.
Hungry
to have me between them.

“But…what if we have another…another
joining,”
she asked desperately. “Or another vision?”

“That’s a chance you’re going to have to
take.” Kat raised an eyebrow at her. “You took an oath to help these two bond,
Becca. I hate to be pushy but I don’t think there’s any way Truth is going to
hug Far unless you’re in between them.”