He raised one black eyebrow at her. “Are you accusing me of being sexist?”
“Among other things. I’ve seen you shirtless before and your back never looked like that. What happened?”
Deep’s bottomless black eyes narrowed as he stared pointedly at her hand on his arm. “It’s none of your concern. Now if you’re finished pleasuring yourself, maybe we can find my brother and get the seven hells out of here.”
Kat felt her cheeks heating in a blush but she refused to back down. “Why won’t you tell me?”
“Why don’t you tell me what you were doing talking to two strange males when I specifically told you what effects the bonding fruit would have on you? Do you want to be raped? Or were you just looking for anyone besides me to scratch your itch?”
“You bastard!” Before she could stop herself, Kat slapped his cheek as hard as she could.
Deep caught her hand before she could pull it back. “Very nice, little Kat.” Slowly, he drew the two fingers she’d used to touch herself between his lips, sucking and licking gently as though trying to get every last trace of her juices.
Kat felt her heart skip a beat and then start to pound crazily against her ribs. Like it or not, she had to admit that the feel of his warm mouth on her flesh and the hot way he was looking at her was having an effect on her overheated body. “St-stop it,” she stuttered, trying to pull away. “Let me go.”
“For now.” He released her hand and began shrugging back into his shirt. “But you’ll pay for that little love tap, my lady. I promise you that.”
Kat wanted to respond in kind but somehow the words wouldn’t come. She watched mutely as he rebuttoned his shirt and tucked it into his tight black pants. Then, taking her hand firmly, he pulled her out the door.
“Wait,” she said, finally balking as they reached the head of the stairs. “I…I can’t go back to the party. I have a…a problem to take care of. I need to get home.”
“Of course you do.” Deep’s annoying smirk left no doubt that he knew exactly why she didn’t want to go back to the crowd. “I’ve alerted Lock. He’ll meet us at the back entrance and we’ll leave from there. We’ll go straight home and help you with your problem together.”
Kat began to panic. “I’m not bonding with you tonight!” she said, trying to pull her hand out of his. “I don’t care how much of that damn fruit I ate—there’s no way I’m letting you two get me between you.”
“Oh, you’ll be between us all right,” Deep snarled, keeping a firm grip on her hand as he dragged her down the spiral stairs. “That choice has been taken from you. You gave it up with your first bite of bonding fruit, little Kat.”
* * * * *
“What in the seven hells did you do to her? She’s scared to death and angry too.” Lock paced in front of the locked bathroom door. Kat was on the other side of it and she refused to answer his calls or pleas.
Deep shrugged lazily. He was leaning with one shoulder against the wall, a look of apparent unconcern on his dark face. “I simply told her that you and I would take care of the problem the bonding fruit had given her.”
Lock faced his brother. “And how exactly did you tell her we would do that? She probably thinks we’re waiting out here to pounce on her and bond her the minute she opens the door.”
“That’s exactly what I think.” Kat’s voice was muffled but audible through the thick wooden panel of the door. “Which is why I’m not coming out for the rest of the night until this damn fruit wears off.”
“My lady…” Lock paused, trying to think how he could put what he had to say delicately. “Forgive me,” he said at last. “But the, ah, effects of the fruit won’t just wear off on their own. Deep may have put things in the wrong way when he spoke to you, but he was right about one thing—you’re going to need help.”
“That’s not what Piper told me,” she protested.
“Piper also gave you an illegal life form to put in your ear. Look where that got you,” Deep pointed out sarcastically. “Now are you going to come out and let us help you or not?”
“Forget it. I know what your idea of help is—both of you skewering me at once. I’m not about to become a sexual shish-ka-bob for the rest of my life just because I ate the wrong fruit by mistake.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that,” Lock pleaded. “Please, my lady, we can help you without making love to you or bonding you to us—I swear it.” To his surprise, Deep sighed and came to stand beside him at the door.