In that moment he hated himself more than he ever had. Even more than after what had happened to Miranda. It was apparent that Lock felt his pain and self loathing because he looked up briefly and shook his head.
“No, Brother, don’t feel so. She wanted more from you—she asked for it. It’s just the incomplete bond between us that made her too weak to withstand the pleasure you gave her.”
“The bond is no excuse,” Deep said roughly. “I hurt her. I killed her—”
“Hey, you guys, I’m not dead yet.” It was Kat’s voice—faint but unmistakable.
Deep felt a surge of hope. Gazing down into her lovely blue eyes he saw that she was looking up at them with a worried look on her face.
“What happened?” she whispered.
“You fainted for a moment,” Lock murmured, stroking her flushed cheek tenderly.
“Are you all right?” Deep demanded. “How do you feel?”
“Pretty good for someone who just took a trip to la-la land.” Kat struggled to sit up between them and Lock helped her. Deep sat back and kept his hands to himself, fearful of what might happen if he touched her again.
“Are you certain you’re all right, my lady?” Lock asked anxiously.
“Fine, except…” She looked down at herself blushing and then crossed her arms over her breasts. “Uh, that was all really intense but now I’m kind of embarrassed.”
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Lock assured her. “You were simply giving your all, participating in the reenactment of the legend.”
“What I’d like to be participating in right now is getting dressed,” Kat said. “I mean, I know you guys have seen me in my birthday suit but I’m still shy about putting on a show for anyone else.”
Lock shook his head. “Birthday suit? You have special clothing you wear on the day of your birth?”
“Birthday suit means nude,” Deep explained, glad to finally understand a piece of the confusing Earth vernacular Kat was always speaking. “Where are her clothes?”
“If you can call them clothes,” Kat muttered, still covering herself. She looked at both of them, frowning. “Hey, are you sure I fainted? I mean, I don’t feel dizzy at all. In fact, this is the best I’ve felt since before the first time we did our first joining to find Sophie and Sylvan.”
“You fainted, all right,” Deep said dryly, as he helped her fasten on the discarded leaf garments. “Only for a moment but it was long enough.”
“Long enough for what?” Kat asked. “What happened while I was out? Did she finish the story?”
As if in answer to her question, the chief’s soft, melodic voice floated out into the still night air again.
“And then Nyra declared that she could not choose between the brothers for she loved them both. And she took both Dakir and Lanare as her mates and slept between them every night, giving her light to the world every day as she shone in the sky.”
She might have loved them both but only one of them was good for her, Deep thought, eyeing the gentle way his brother was caressing Kat’s cheek. Ever since he’d walked in on them kissing, he’d had the sense that they belonged together—that Kat and Lock would be better off on their own, without him. The way she’d fainted while he was fucking her seemed to confirm that belief.
But she cares for me now—not just Lock. She cares for both of us, whispered the soft voice of hope in his head. And maybe Lock is right—maybe it’s just the incomplete bond that makes her weak. If the three of us were bonded completely maybe she could withstand the pleasure I give her, maybe I wouldn’t hurt her anymore. If only…
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft gasp from Kat. She was staring down at the ground around them, her eyes filled with wonder. “Oh my God! Look!”
“Look at wha—?” Deep started to say and then he saw.
Flowers had suddenly bloomed everywhere, covering the soft green belsh in fragrant beauty.
“They’re gorgeous!” Kat leaned down to examine one. “And look—they each have two blossoms coming from one stalk.”
Deep looked and saw that it was true. The flowers were large—about the size of his palm. And every stalk had two of them—one a pure, milky white and one a deep, velvety black. In the heart of each blossom was a crimson center—like a single, perfect drop of blood. But they weren’t here just a moment ago, he thought. Did they appear the minute the chief finished speaking the legend? They must have.
“The Moons blossom,” Lock breathed reverently. “So it does exist.”