Page 104 of Knot So Fast
I don't rememberLuke leaving, but I know he must have because the voices filtering through my consciousness are different now - still familiar but carrying different weights, different concerns.
Time moves strangely when you're hovering between sleep and waking, moments stretching and compressing like breathing.
The fresh cold towel against my forehead pulls me closer to awareness, the temperature shift sharp enough to make me stir but not quite surface.
Someone's adjusting it with careful hands - not Luke's, these are larger, more hesitant in their gentleness.
"Did she take her meds?" Lachlan's voice, closer than expected. The bed dips slightly with his weight, and his scent wraps around me like expensive cologne and victory champagne.
"Yeah," Luke responds from somewhere near the door. "Helped her out with that one."
There's a pause, heavy with unspoken questions. I can practically feel Lachlan's raised eyebrow even with my eyes closed.
"The Kieran way," Luke elaborates, and there's something defensive in his tone. "You know how stubborn she is with pills. Sometimes Kieran has to... help."
Lachlan huffs, but it sounds more amused than annoyed.
"Yeah, it would take her twenty minutes minimum to get five pills down. Maybe thirty if she's being particularly difficult."
I want to argue, to defend my pill-taking abilities, but my body won't cooperate. It's like my mind is floating above my physical form, fully aware but completely disconnected. My limbs feel weighted down, held in place by exhaustion and medication and the lingering effects of too much stimulation. This strange paralysis should be frightening, but instead it's almost peaceful - like being wrapped in warm water.
"Did Lucius leave?" Luke's question cuts through my drowsy observations.
Lachlan groans, and I can hear him shifting, probably running his hands through his hair the way he does when frustrated.
"Of course he did. He's mad."
"No shit," Luke says flatly. "But if he's not going to commit, he can fuck off."
The vehemence in Luke's voice surprises me. He's usually more diplomatic, more careful with his words.
But there's protective fury there that makes warmth bloom in my chest.
Lachlan's chuckle is unexpected, rich and genuine.
"I can see why he calls you a cockblocking gatekeeper."
"Born and raised," Luke shoots back without missing a beat. "Get used to it."
There's movement, footsteps across the floor, then Lachlan's voice takes on a different quality - probing but not unkind.
"You still have a thing for Kieran?"
The silence that follows is deafening. I can feel the tension ratcheting up even through my haze, like the air itself is holding its breath. My mind races despite my body's immobility.
Luke and Kieran? That's... actually, thinking about it, that makes a strange kind of sense.
"You two should explore it," Lachlan continues when Luke doesn't respond. "If you're both into it, I mean."
"Kieran's not—" Luke starts, but Lachlan cuts him off.
"I've known Kieran the longest," he says with the authority of someone stating facts rather than opinions. "He bends both ways, even if he tries to act like he doesn't. So keep bullshitting yourselves if you want, but you're wasting time. And I bet Auren can see through the bullshit anyway."
The casual revelation makes me want to open my eyes, to demand more information, but my eyelids might as well be sealed shut.
Kieran likes both? And Luke has feelings for him?
My mind spins with the implications, the possibilities.
