Chapter 14

Ijerk upright as both of us twist to look at the door with dawning horror. A key can only mean that Khiara is returning.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Panic rising I twist on the couch, tugging my shirt back down into place. Pants. Where are my pants?

Dilacs has them in one hand. They're a tangled bundle twisted into an almost knot. I grab and shove my foot into one hole but the leg is twisted and up and around, blocking me. Dilacs and I share a wide-eyed look then there is a jangling sound.

He dropped the keys. Thank all that's holy, it buys time. A little. Not much, but right now I'll take whatever I can get.

I jerk the pants off my calf, tug the legs straight then realize my panties aren't here. There's no time, I try to look quick, but the jangling of the keys is followed by the click clack of them being inserted into the lock.

I pull the pants on, lift my ass to slide them over my hips, and fight with the fastener. I drop my ass back onto the couch even as the door clicks open. Dilacs leaps across the living space to sit on the opposite chair.

I'm flushed and I know it, so I stare straight ahead until I hear the door fully open. Then I half-turn to see him standing in the entrance. He looks grumpy, but then that's nothing new. My heart is hammering and I'm struggling to not gasp air. My lungs burn as hot as my skin. I dart a glance towards Dilacs but he looks as cool as ever.

"Brother," Dilacs says.

I'm jealous of how calm he sounds. As if we weren't just doing what we were doing and almost got caught in the middle of. But, sounding cool or not, as I look away my eyes catch, and linger on, the enormous bulge in his pants.

The smile that spreads over my face is as broad as any I've ever felt before. It makes my cheeks hurt it's so wide and there is not a darn thing I can do about it. Until I see my panties lying between us on the floor.

Shit!

Khiara grunts and exhales heavily then walks towards the kitchen. In a second or two he's going to be in a position to see the offending panties lying there screaming what he missed. The one thing neither of us want, because there is no doubt it will hurt him. I know we need to talk to Khiara about it, but talk about it, not shove it in his face. This is definitely not what we intended to do or the way to do it.

Cheeks flaming hot I turn to look at Khiara while stretching one leg out. I angle my foot, stretching my toes, and tapping as I try to hook the offending garment. Khiara grumbles softly as he gets a glass from the cabinet, spots the bottle waiting on the table, then goes to pour a drink.

Dilacs is frowning, trying to figure out what I am doing, then he looks down and sees them. His heavy eyes lift slightly and he slides his foot forward, pushing the panties towards me. Khiara pours his drink and as he turns I hook them.

I jerk my foot back as he walks towards us. I bend over and pretend to scratch my calf, balling the panties up and when I rise back up I bring them along, stuffing them into the back of my pants. Khiara takes a seat as I suppress a sigh of relief.

"Well?" Dilacs asks.

"Yes," Khiara says, taking a drink.

He looks at each of us in turn. Does his gaze linger long on me? Does he know? I grit my teeth while forcing myself to have a friendly smile.

"Yes?" Dilacs asks. "Have you been reduced to single syllable answers brother? Are you going to tell us what you found out?"

Khiara tosses back his drink, grimaces as it burns, then smacks his lip and emits a loud ah sound. When he opens his eyes he stares at his brother.

"It seems," he says, pausing for effect or to gather his own thoughts I don't know, "that the rumors are true."

Dilacs scoots to the edge of his seat, anxiously leaning forward.

"You saw him? He is alive?" Dilacs asks, his voice is soft, almost hoarse, tense with excitement.

"Him, no," Khiara says, shaking his head. "But they say he is alive and that he is leading a resistance."

"Then…" Dilacs trails off.

"There is hope," Khiara finishes for him.

Dilacs leans back in his chair, hands gripping the arms tight. He growls, blinks, then shakes his head.

"What do we do next?"

"There is more," Khiara says, but instead of continuing he stands up and walks back into the kitchen.

Dilacs and I watch as he silently moves past us. He picks up the bottle, pours himself another, tosses it back, but instead of finishing his thought he pours another.

"More brother?" Dilacs asks.

His eyes are darting between his brother and me. My stomach is a solid ball of ice. He knows. He knows what we were just doing, that I am hooking up with his brother. He knows and he's angry about it. This is it. They're going to fight and I have to stop that, I need them both. I care about them both.

A hundred thousand thoughts flash through my head, all of them fueled by fear. Fear of being found out. Fear of hurting either of them. Fear of them hurting each other.

Khiara walks towards us, his full glass almost sloshing over the edge. He stops an arms length from me, his attention is fully focused. Staring, almost glaring. He nods slowly, motions towards me with the glass.

"Is there something you want to tell us Gweneth?" he asks.

Shit.