Simeon stopped beside her as she reached the door and pressed her back gently against it. He dipped his head and Clare felt the breath escape her lungs.

How the h.e.l.l was she supposed to be nervous or think coherently when he was so d.a.m.ned s.e.xy and could melt her with something as simple as a kiss? When she wanted him so much it ached inside her chest?

When you know you're pregnant with his twins, her mind echoed seductively.

Clare reached out to touch Simeon, needing the contact if only for just that moment. She let his lips press gently over hers, exceedingly soft and gentle after the roughness of their mutual need before.

Arching up to his lips, needing to taste him, and she subconsciously felt her mind open to accept him. She had no idea why they could share emotions and some thoughts when they touched now, but she had to admit the bizarre mental bond they now shared with their souls merged would make life interesting in the future.

As their lips roamed over each other, she could feel his need and satisfaction with her-the heat and urgency boiling inside him, though still simmering under the surface, was temporarily banked. He felt sated, satisfied, even though he still wanted more from her, from them.

As Clare explored his lips, her mind pressed further into his, knowing this intimate contact between them would only last as long as they kissed. With that guideline in place, she felt compelled to learn as much about him as she could in their short timeframe.

Clare gently reached out, felt utterly surprised to find his growing love for her, even though they had practically just met. She felt his desire for her and his need to help her, comfort her.

And then she felt a teasing laughter. She pulled back, not hurt exactly, but shocked, surprised. The laughter had been genuine, not mocking, and...not his? It didn't fit in with the Simeon she was growing to know.

"That will be Rylan," he whispered softly, groaning as she pulled her lips away from his.

"Rylan?" she said quietly, digesting the knowledge. It almost felt as if the man were in the room with them.

"Laughing, in my head," Simeon clarified and Clare felt a small measure of surprise, but only at the understanding of it being someone else in Simeon's head. As soon as he had said it, she had recognized the feel of Rylan, his twin.

"Then we'd better go down and face the bear."

She turned and grabbed the door, realizing too late there was no doork.n.o.b to reach for. She sighed and waited for Simeon to press his palm into the panel and open the door. When he grabbed her hand, pressed a few keys in the wall, and then pressed her palm onto the clear plate, she looked over her shoulder at him enquiringly.

"I'm adding you to my private system. Even when I lock the boys out, you will always be welcome here, and able to enter merely by placing your palm on the plate."

Clare smiled, felt the peace that had been slowly growing inside her as Gavreel, Alderic and now Simeon made her feel more protected, more at home, swell even greater. She felt accepted.

Kissing him lightly on the lips, she whispered her thanks and set off back down the stairs. She paused at the bottom, allowing Simeon to pa.s.s her and lead her to a large, sun-filled room.

Rylan lay sprawled out on the couch in a manner very similar to how she could imagine Simeon sprawled. He had what looked like an open holographic magazine with the word Wench emblazoned in red across its front cover. A woman with impossibly blue skin held enormous naked b.r.e.a.s.t.s and pouted for the camera.

Travel time and galaxies and men are invariably the same, she thought, amused. Though she had to admit not even the Playmates of the Year had b.r.e.a.s.t.s quite that big, neither was blue skin all the rage back home.

"Rylan, this is Clare. Clare, this is my twin brother, the bane of my life, Rylan Montague."

The handsome man looked up from his holo-zine and cast it aside onto the side table.

"Clare, lovely to meet you." Clare smiled and held out her hand to shake. Instead, she was enveloped in a huge hug.

"Terribly sorry for interrupting you, though it did seem as though you were pausing for breath. Bit of a miscommunication. If I'd known Si here had been entering heat I would never have come crashing through the door like that."

"How did you hack through the door, Ry? I had it locked against you and Michael."

"That would have been me."

Clare turned as a deeper, more melodious voice came from the hallway. She stifled a sigh as she watched yet another devastatingly handsome man walk into the sunny room.

Taller than the twins, with blond-streaked brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes, his face had a structural resemblance to the twins, yet his coloring was vastly different. "I have an override master key, Simeon, you know that," the man continued. "When Ry came thumping into my quarters, screaming about you being attacked and too panicked to even think to get his own master key, I overrode your code pa.s.s. I didn't know our youngest sibling had lost his marbles."

Clare felt her stomach flip-flop as the question burning in her mind became answered.

"You must be Michael, then," she said before she could censor her mouth. Gavreel had talked fondly about his three sons a few times in the short time they had spent together.

Being confronted with three drop-dead s.e.xy, make-a-woman-melt men was slightly different than thinking on a hypothetical level of Gavreel having three sons, however, and for a moment Clare felt slightly overwhelmed.

Thankfully, Michael merely smiled and came toward her. She hugged him back as he folded her in a warm embrace.

"Gavreel, our father, found two women whom he could have settled with," Michael explained as he reluctantly let her go. "For various reasons, he never did with either of them, though he did sire the three of us. And we are fairly rare, even amongst a rare species."

Clare smiled and sat down.

"Okay, so there aren't any more of you?" she teased, knowing the answer but just wanting to confirm she wouldn't have to take in many more surprises.

She smiled back as all three men settled themselves in varying places around her.

"Well, Vasili isn't a Montague, but he's almost always floating around somewhere," Rylan replied with a cheeky wink, "and he's as good as one of us."

"So how do you fit into all this, Clare?" Michael asked with a grin.

"Oh," she laughed, happy to have the slight change of topic, "Simeon came into the Book Nook, looking for Gav. I had no idea Gavreel hadn't informed you all of his leaving for an unknown period of time. He told Alderic and me he had no idea how long he would be gone, and so I never really worried much about it."

"You work at the Book Nook?" Rylan repeated incredulously. Clare merely raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, and I live there too, though that's a long, boring story. Tell you what," she finished with a smile, "why don't you guys tell me what you do know and how Chandra fits into all this, and I'll fill in what gaps I can."

Clare looked from Michael to Rylan, both of whom nodded. Clare turned to Simeon, who smiled warmly at her. She felt her chest heat up, and she looked away before she could send any naughty thoughts back to him to distract them both.

She wasn't certain how much of Gavreel's plans she could tell, as she honestly didn't think she knew much more than she had already told, but maybe if the brothers explained everything to her it could jog something free and she could give them a clue that might be useful.

Settling herself, she waited for one of the brothers to start speaking.

Chapter Eleven.

Simeon watched with pride as his woman settled herself on a large chair. Initially, when his doofus of a twin had come crashing through into his bedchamber, laser beamer in hand, he had been worried she might run. He would have chased her, of course, would have followed her anywhere. But he felt a huge welling of pride to find she had so much strength and courage when facing the unknown.

He felt his respect and appreciation of her courage notch up another slot as he realized she was even braver than any other woman who might have found herself in this position, as this was neither her time nor her place.

He had no idea how or what the tome had done, bringing her here. But he certainly felt grateful for it. He enjoyed the thought that one of his father's tomes had brought a woman through time and s.p.a.ce purely for him.

"Where should we start, lovie?" his twin questioned charmingly. Simeon tried to drag his mind back on track as he narrowed his eyes at Ry. His twin exuded charm at the best of times but Simeon knew his self-control well enough to know he could only take a minimum of Ry's lighthearted flirting directed at his woman for now.

Simeon felt his mind relax, as well as a hefty wave of grat.i.tude wash over him when Clare merely raised an eyebrow at Rylan. Simeon could have counted a hundred ways this woman appealed to him, a thousand ways in which she were special. But right now he wanted to drag her into his arms and kiss her senseless merely because she didn't instantly quiver and fall under his twin's spell.

Simeon sat down next to Clare, there being plenty of room for the two of them on the large chair. He placed an arm over her shoulders in what could only be described as a proprietary manner. He saw the shock in the eyes of both of his brothers, but more, he felt the surprise in their minds.

He merely smiled, refusing to explain any further or share his mind with them any deeper.

"Let's start at the beginning," he suggested silkily, nodding to his brothers to show they should talk about all they knew. He couldn't tell if they knew he had completed his Soul's Circle with Clare, but if the odd glances Rylan kept shooting him were any indication, he could tell his twin knew something was up with him.

Simeon smiled to himself. It felt so very interesting to see Rylan playing the cautious, overprotective, fretful twin for a change. Simeon wished briefly he could have milked this moment for even longer. He hastily threw the notion out of his head. Rylan and he genuinely shared a close bond, he wouldn't want to mess with that for all the credits in the galaxy.

"Well," Michael started, casting him a really odd, utterly unreadable glance, "Gavreel, as I am sure you know, is particularly interested in ancient and rare texts. He has always, to my knowledge, been interested in everything anthropologic, but his main focus has always been around how vampires as a species came into being."

Clare had been nodding at his words, and when Michael paused, she added her own queries. Simeon felt another shaft of pride pierce him. He truly felt pride and joy in this woman, and he felt humble and grateful for being "given" her.

"And so the tome I brought with me was particularly useful," Clare said, earning startled glances from both Rylan as well as Michael. Clare c.o.c.ked her head, smiled saucily and stated easily, "My story is much longer and better for a boring, rainy night in. We can do that later. What I feel is far more important than my own history is, do any of you know who Chandra is? And what's with all the secrecy Gavreel insisted on?"

"Well," Rylan piped up, smiling charmingly at her and making Simeon's stomach roll with jealousy. Since when had he felt the need to defend a woman against his twin? "Chandra is the only other vampire-or vampiress, to be exact-who is as seriously interested in our history and the gaining of knowledge as Gav is. There is rather a heavy rivalry going on between them. Likely anything Gav told you in confidence was so that she wouldn't be able to jump ahead on him and his research on whatever latest musty paper he was writing for those d.a.m.n journals he follows like the plague."

Simeon sat silently, his fingers gently caressing Clare's arm. He enjoyed the feelings of happiness, safety and pleasure she unconsciously sent to him. He and both his brothers waited silently, patiently, while Clare seemed to chew through her thoughts.

Simeon didn't even bother to try and read her mind. Anything she wanted to share she would, and his Clare was a brilliant young woman. She would work it all out.

Finally, she spoke again.

"Firstly, I don't really know much at all. I'm just hesitant to say anything at all because Gavreel was so insistent I not tell anyone, as he didn't want it getting back to this Chandra person. I don't break my promises lightly, even though I know full well logically he wouldn't have meant don't tell his sons anything."

I'm not pushing you to tell us anything at all, darling, he sent silently to her. He enjoyed the very slight jump his silent words caused in her.

His light touch on her arm continued stroking her. Now he could feel the links between their souls, now they had shared each other's mind-s.p.a.ce he could direct words to her, much as he could with his brothers or anyone else who had opened their mind to him.

Only as she jumped, startled, did he realize he hadn't explained that to her. When he saw Clare wrinkle her nose he had to resist the urge to chuckle. Obviously it would take a little while for her to get used to hearing him in her head.

I trust you a thousand percent, he added just for the h.e.l.l of it and to get her more comfortable with him speaking silently to her. You do whatever you think is right, dearheart.

He smiled smugly as Clare obviously wrestled with herself.

I know you trust me, she sent back to him. He grinned widely, impressed she had been able to work out how to follow their link and do so. But I still stand by the fact I don't want Gavreel upset with me for having broken my promise.

Simeon gently stroked her arm in a soothing rhythm, not wanting to push her any more in either direction. Instead, he held his silence while showing her with his body language and physical touch that she had his full support either way.

He watched as she struggled with her decision until she finally questioned Michael and Rylan.

"Why didn't Alderic tell me that I was only supposed to keep Gav's secrets from Chandra, not the rest of you?"

Simeon turned to look down at her in surprise. "You've talked to Alderic about this in depth?"

"Of course," she replied testily, as if he were a moron with not a brain cell in his head.

Simeon felt a goofy grin cross his face. He couldn't even point out silently to Clare how adorable she looked while indignant, as she was already barging ahead and he really didn't want to interrupt her flow. "Gavreel might be your father, but he's one of the very few friends I have on this d.a.m.ned rock."

All three men looked at her, patiently waiting. Simeon felt proud when she sighed and continued to speak.

"When Gavreel left he said he was going on a quest to find something he had been searching for for years. He thought it might take a month or two, but really had no idea how long he would be gone. A few weeks ago I asked Alderic when Gav would be returning, and he said he wasn't certain. I kept on asking him, just from curiosity more than anything, but all Alderic told me was that Gav was on a soul-search, only he didn't know it and instead thought he was on some quest or other."

"A soul-search?" Michael repeated. Simeon was about to defend her when she took his other hand and squeezed it gently, warmly.

"I thought that was what he said...a soul-search, or a Soul's Circle search. Hmm, yeah. Definitely something like that."

"Gav wants to close his Soul's Circle after all this time?" Rylan interjected, disbelief heavy in his tone. "Are you nuts?"

Simeon frowned at Rylan. Even though his twin hadn't spoken meanly, he didn't want Clare to feel pressured or upset.

"No," Clare a.s.sured his twin without any hesitancy. "Alderic said Gavreel didn't know he was on that particular quest." Simeon felt Clare tense up and he shot her another glance. He could tell she wrestled with something inside her. Finally she sighed deeply, as if she were giving up the secret to the Meaning of the All or something.

"Gavreel is actually trying to verify the dedication in the tome I brought him," she finally admitted. She closed her eyes and Simeon resisted the urge to drag her closer to his body, to protect her and shield her from everything the galaxies could throw at her. She took a few deep breaths, and then spoke, reciting something from memory.

"To reach your heart's desire, one must travel far and wide. But then take the time to look inside, that's where, for what you search, you will find." Simeon looked at his woman, impressed with her memory. When Clare looked back at him and smiled, he kissed her softly. He simply couldn't help himself.

He felt his twin's surprise, as clearly as if he had said something. Even Michael seemed to be radiating surprise. Simeon pulled back, not wanting to really cause a scene, he just hadn't been able to resist her lips.

"So where did Gav head to verify this dedication?" he asked huskily, not particularly caring whether she answered him or not. Personally, he would rather carry her back up the stairs and start again from the beginning, undressing her slowly and licking every delectable inch of her body.

He recalled with a vivid clarity that she wore no panties, and he felt his c.o.c.k harden. The fire of his heat phase licked at the edges of his control once again, and Simeon knew soon he would need to be alone with this tantalizing woman again. He craved her more than any drug possible.

Clare blushed slightly and merely shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but a woman entered the Book Nook a few days after he had left and asked for him. I blew her off, but she seemed to see right through me. Thankfully, Gav took the tome with him, and so it's highly unlikely she knows about the dedication. I have been a.s.suming the woman was Chandra. Tall, with short, cropped blonde hair, dark brown eyes?" All three of the brothers were nodding, knowing exactly whom she spoke of.

"So where do we go from here?" Clare asked, looking at each brother in turn.

"I'll ask around a bit, see if he's left a trail of any form," Rylan started until Michael elbowed him in the ribs.

"You hara.s.s Ruthie, and we'll hear about it."

"I have no intention of hara.s.sing anyone," Rylan said with a pompous amount of dignity. Clare smiled, finding his tone of offended righteousness amusing.

"I'll pair up with Vasili and check out Gav's other contacts, see if any of them have any knowledge," Michael said, ignoring Rylan's theatrical sigh of annoyance.

Simeon watched as Clare turned to him.

"What do we do?"

He sent her a heated thought, projected the fantasy of her naked and astride him, his c.o.c.k lodged deep inside her as she rode him up and down. Simeon could feel a few dots of sweat cover his body as his need rose. Barely any time had pa.s.sed since they had last made love, yet he needed her with a reckless urgency he couldn't suppress for much longer.

"We can...uh...question Alderic," he said, verbalizing the first thing that came into his mind.

"I thought you already pumped Alderic for all he had on Gav, bro," Rylan said teasingly. Simeon looked into his twin's eyes, and sent the nastiest mental thought he had in years. Shut the f.u.c.k up, Ry.