“Oh, my God, you had sex with them! How was it? Were they hot? Can you read their minds?” Julie had quieted down, but her eyes were bright and she bounced in her seat.
“I am not answering questions about my sex life!” Emma retorted.
Julie snorted and rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, but still. At least tell me what it was like! I mean, I don’t know of any cases where three people bonded with each other. How does that even work?”
Emma closed her eyes, feeling the distance from Jake and Duncan acutely. She wished they were here, though she knew they had their own problems to deal with. “It was scary. And amazing. And I can sort of tell what they’re thinking, but it works better when we’re closer together.” Emma hoped that would be enough detail for Julie. She had no intention of explaining the extra abilities she gained from the triple bond. She didn’t want anyone knowing about that. She instinctively knew that was dangerous information.
“Wow, that’s incredible,” Julie said. “What are you going to do?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t know. We haven’t figured out the details yet.” Julie nodded. Emma reached down for the remote and turned the television off just in time to hear a knock on the office door. She looked up through the window and saw the two bonded students she’d helped last week. Their auras were roiling, disturbed, and Emma frowned. Neither student looked happy and she noted the dark circles under Samantha’s eyes.
“Ms. Bell? Can we talk to you?”
Emma nodded and the two filed into her office. “Julie, would you mind supervising the next class?”
Julie nodded. “No problem.”
Emma gestured to two chairs near her desk and Samantha and Jonathan sat down as she pulled the blinds on the window that separated the office from the library. Julie pulled the door shut behind her as she went out to welcome the next class. Emma had the feeling that this conversation was going to need privacy as she walked back to the students. “What can I do for you?” Emma asked as she sat down.
Jonathan fiddled with his sleeve, eyes down. Emma waited patiently, sensing Duncan and Jake in the back of her mind, listening in. Where were they now?
On the way to a meeting, Duncan thought to her, sending a mental kiss her way. Emma smiled at the gesture, then caught Samantha watching her, face intent. Emma cocked her head and Jonathan looked up suddenly.
“We heard that Duncan Green and his manager bonded,” the young man said, his voice cracking. He looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown and Emma put her hand on his, stilling their nervous fiddling. She calmed his aura, smoothing the violent swirls of brown and scarlet that drifted around him and Samantha. Both students relaxed.
“Yeah, I heard that too.” Emma sat back. Their aura pattern showed that the two were completely bonded, she noticed, and she abruptly realized that they must have had sex. If so, she hoped their parents didn’t know. She hadn’t got the impression that they believed in bonding, and Emma knew that Samantha’s parents weren’t particularly happy about Samantha even dating Jonathan, let alone forming a permanent attachment.
“What does that mean?” Samantha asked, her voice plaintive. “I was just on the internet. I saw a live stream of the interview they just did and they said it was permanent. I have the same kind of tattoo.” The girl shoved up her sleeve, thrusting her arm towards Emma. Jonathan captured Samantha’s elbow and soothed her, running his palm down her arm and clasping their hands together.
“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Emma began but Jonathan cut her off.
“Her parents wouldn’t let us stay together last night! They don’t understand.”
Samantha was nodding. “It’s like having a piece of my body cut off. It burns.”
Emma sighed. She understood the feeling all too well. She could sense the absence of Jake and Duncan in her bones. “I know, Samantha. Your parents are just worried and want you to be safe—”
“You don’t know! You have no idea what it feels like!” Samantha cried out, tears in her eyes. Jonathan pulled the girl close and held her tight.
“You really can’t understand,” Jonathan said and Emma took a deep breath.
Show them, Jake urged.
To Emma’s surprise, she caught not just the emotion behind the thought, but the words as well. He must feel very strongly about it for me to receive words instead of just emotions at this distance, Emma thought. She could tell Jake and Duncan were still in the car, stuck in traffic. They were holding hands but that didn’t assuage the longing that gnawed at the three of them. Distance was a problem.
“I do understand.” Emma looked at them and slowly pushed her sleeve up until one of her bonding tattoos was visible.
Samantha gasped. “It looks like ours! Only, you have color on yours.” The girl looked at her, confused and Emma sighed, then slowly pushed up her other sleeve.
“Shit,” Jonathan breathed. “You have two? How—wait, does that mean you’re bonded with two people?”
“Yes.” Emma took a deep breath. “I’m bonded to two men, so I do understand what you’re feeling.”
Samantha reached a tentative finger out to touch Emma’s arm. “You have color in yours. What does that mean?”
“I don’t have a lot of information.” Emma laughed and shook her head. “No one has a lot of information, but I think that when three people bond instead of two, this is what happens. The bonds are also a bit stronger. Not in terms of how you feel about each other. The love is just as strong as in any bonding. But I can sense more from my bond-mates.”
“What can you sense?” Samantha asked.
“Well, for one thing, we can see through each other’s eyes if we want. If I concentrate, we can exchange thoughts, not just emotions.” Emma worried about how they were going to handle this information. Neither seemed particularly shocked, though.
“You need to talk to our parents again,” Jonathan said, abruptly. He pushed away and stood up, pacing through the clutter of the office. “Her parents wouldn’t let me stay with her the past couple nights and my parents don’t understand why it’s such a big deal. It hurts. Samantha can’t sleep, and I feel like I’m going crazy worrying about her.” He shoved his hands through his hair. “It’s like reaching out for the other half of your soul and not being able to touch it.”
Emma stared at him, knowing exactly what that felt like. Yeah, Jake said in her mind. She could feel his worry as the three of them considered their situation. Emma suddenly knew that she was going to quit her job. There was no other way.
No! Duncan thought to her, sharp enough to make her wince. We don’t want to be the reason you quit what you love to do.
Hush, Emma thought back. I love you a lot more than I love my job. She sent them reassurance.
We’ll talk about it later, Jake sent.
Samantha was looking at her oddly. Jonathan had stopped pacing. Emma discarded a dozen different responses before she figured out what she wanted to say. Their auras were pulsing again and she sighed, knowing that neither she nor Duncan and Jake could spare the energy for her to calm the two students down that way again. “For now, the most important thing you can do is touch each other as much as possible.” The two students nodded and Jonathan touched Samantha on her shoulder. The girl turned her face into his hand. It broke Emma’s heart to see them together. She wondered if it wouldn’t be better for them if they hadn’t bonded.
No! Jake thought, horrified. Emma shivered, feeling the same. But, if they had bonded when they were older, no one could keep them apart. As it was, they were too young and their parents could legally separate them. With a sense of dawning horror, Emma suddenly wondered if she could sever a bonding as easily as she could cement one. She felt the ability tingling in her hands. It would take a great deal of energy—