Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series by Evangeline Anderson Page B

Lock
looked down at the green wooden floor between his black boots. “I
can’t blame you for what you feel, my lady. But I can’t help what I feel, either.”
    “I’m so sorry.” Kat put a hand on his knee
to comfort him. Then she pulled it away quickly. “Oh, I didn’t
think. Did that hurt you just now? Me touching you without Deep
being here?”
    “A little.” Lock gave her a sad smile and
put her hand back on his knee. “But it’s worth it.”
    “That’s sweet.” He looked so dejected and
his feelings of sadness and loss were so overwhelming, Kat felt
like she was going to cry if they sat that way much longer.
Clearing her throat, she rose and began pacing in front of the bed.
“So when do the effects of this, uh, bonding fruit I ate kick in?
And how long do they last?”
    Lock shook his head. “The fruit should be in
full effect in a few hours. As for how long it will last, it could
be days.”
    “What?” Kat rounded to face him. “Are you
telling me I’m going to be feeling…uh, amorous for days?”
    “No, no.” He shook his head hastily. “That
will be the first effect to fade. But your scent will remain
enhanced for a long time. As well as your…” He coughed delicately.
“Flexibility.”
    “Oh, well…” Kat crossed her arms over her
chest protectively. “I don’t think we need to worry about it then.
As long as I can get through tonight at the party…”
    “You’ll be all right,” Lock finished for
her. “And I promise we’ll take you back to Mother L’rin tomorrow.
She wanted to examine you after we healed you, anyway. And maybe
she can help you to shield yourself against some of our
emotions.”
    “I certainly hope so,” Kat muttered. “But
about the party, tonight—before we go, I really need a shot
of those translation bacteria that Sophie got. I mean, this whole
mess could have been avoided if I could have talked to your mom
instead of just pointing at the fruit I wanted. I don’t want to get
into any more trouble.”
    Lock shook his head. “I’m sorry, but those
are only available on the Kindred Mother ship.”
    “Really? Damn!” Kat sighed and raked a hand
through her hair. “You know, I don’t get it. Back when you two were
bringing me here in the spaceship I heard Deep talking in another
language and I could understand it. But when I talked to your mom I
didn’t catch a word.”
    “You weren’t conscious in the ship,” Lock
protested. “In fact you almost…almost died.” His face had gone pale
and the last word came out in a whisper.
    Kat nodded grimly. “I figured it was
something like that. I was floating above my body looking down. And
I saw you doing some kind of weird CPR on me. But the talking…I
don’t see how I could understand the Twin Moons language then and
not now.”
    “Maybe you were dream-sharing with us.” Lock
looked thoughtful. “It might explain why your spirit didn’t drift
away entirely and also why you could understand our language.
However tenuously, you were linked to our minds, seeing and hearing
as Deep and I saw and heard.”
    “Well I wish I could have a little of that
now,” Kat grumbled. “This is going to be some fun party. I’ll be
high on horny fruit and I won’t have any idea what anyone is saying
to me.” Then she thought of the males who had seen her in only a
sheet that morning. “Come to think of it, maybe that last part
won’t be such a bad thing.”
    “There will be a few people there you can
talk to,” Lock told her. “Some of the ambassadors and their mates
have had the translation implants so they’ll understand you. And
they’ll be safe—your scent won’t affect mated males.”
    “So I should stick with the couples.” Kat
nodded. “Got it.”
    “Only if you should get separated from Deep
and myself,” Lock said. “But I don’t think that will be a problem.
We’ll be shadowing your every move.”
    “Oh joy,” Kat said dryly. “I can’t
wait.”
    It certainly was going to be a