King, for his part, stood in silence as he stared at his brother. I didn't know anything about the man except that he threw a mean punch.
But there was no mistaking the look of complete and utter disbelief on his face as his younger brother moved slowly toward him. I wanted to snap at the man to get over himself and put his arm out so Lex could find him, but I held my tongue. Clearly, King hadn't been expecting to see the advanced stages of his brother’s blindness. It made me wonder why that was. I remembered Lex mentioning that he’d told Grady about losing his sight before he’d told his brothers, but I’d just assumed he’d eventually told them. But what if he hadn’t? Either way, it was clear that King, at least, had had no clue how advanced his brother’s vision loss really was.
King finally put his arm out and then stepped forward to meet Lex. "I'm here," he said gruffly and then he pulled Lex into his arms. It was hard to see Lex being comforted by someone other than me. Especially considering how the events had played out. But it was just further proof that my feelings for Lex ran deeper than his did for me. Maybe his entire reaction to me admitting that I loved him had been his way of trying to tell me that he didn't love me back.
I felt sick to my stomach. In addition to the searing pain along my cheek and jaw, I felt lightheaded and dizzy.
"Come on, Brewer," I said quietly as I headed toward the door. I definitely needed to lick my wounds a bit before I could face Lex again. Hell, at the rate things were going, I wasn't sure I could face him at all. How had we gone from having such a strong connection in bed to being worlds apart again outside of it?
"Gideon, wait," Lex called from behind me.
"It's fine, Lex," I murmured without looking back. "Talk to your brother."
I was halfway out the door when Lex's seeking fingers landed on my back. "Gideon, please, please don't walk away."
I wanted to keep going. I really did. But as much as I wanted to escape, I wanted him more.
Lex pressed along the length of my back while his arms wrapped around me from behind. "Please, Gideon," he whispered.
I sighed and found myself turning around. Lex pushed into my embrace and all my efforts to resist him fell away. I tucked him against me and dropped a kiss to his head. It was Brewer growling that drew my attention back to King. The man was slowly approaching the two of us, his hard eyes on me. He had Lex's pants in his hand, so I called Brewer's name. The husky immediately fell quiet again, but he stayed by my side. Since Lex hadn’t moved, I held out my hand and took the pants from King.
"I'll be in the kitchen," he said stiffly as he moved past us.
I wanted to tell the fucker to get the hell out of my house, but I knew it would just upset Lex. I also had a sneaking suspicion that if King left, Lex could very well go with him and despite my frustration with the man in my arms, I didn't want him to leave.
Lex clung to me for several long seconds after his brother left. When he finally did put some space between us, it was only so he could seek out my face with his hands. I grabbed him gently by the wrists. When his face fell, I quickly said, "There's blood."
I'd only told him so he'd know why I'd stopped him from touching my face, but all he did was gasp and then his hands were on my cheeks anyway.
"Gideon," Lex said softly. I could hear the heartbreak in his voice.
"It’s not too bad," I said. "I need to go clean up, though." I reached up to touch the cut on his temple where he'd hit the headboard when he’d tried to flee. "You do too," I murmured.
"I'm sorry," he said with a shake of his head.
I was too tired and in too much pain to try and hash things out between us, so I simply took his hand and led him to the bathroom. When I asked Lex to sit on the closed toilet, he did so without argument. He didn't make a sound when I cleaned his wound and put a bandage on it. Only when I was done did I take a look at myself in the mirror. His brother had really done a number on me. It was no surprise that he’d put Grady in a coma. The guy had fists like a battering ram.
As I began cleaning my wounds, Lex stared straight in front of him. His skin was pale and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his brow. "Lex?" I said as I tossed the washcloth I'd been using into the sink and went to kneel in front of him.
"Tired," he murmured. He swayed to one side without warning, but I managed to catch him before he fell. "King!" I shouted even as I sat Lex back up and looked at his abdomen. The insulin pump patch was gone. I tried to think back to the last time I'd seen it on him, but I couldn't remember if it had been there when we'd undressed each other.
God, had it come off while we’d been making love? He and I had both been so engrossed in each other that it would've been easy for neither of us to notice. Guilt went through me as I realized I hadn't given any thought to checking his blood sugar before, during, or after the three-hour video game marathon.
"Lex, baby, where's your pump?"
Lex pitched forward a little so his forehead was resting on my shoulder. "Out of cartridges," he murmured. “Used pen but dn’t eat…”
King threw the bathroom door open a moment later. I'd taken Brewer into the bathroom with us, so the husky began snarling when the big man stepped into the small space.
"Brewer," I called sharply, and the dog immediately fell silent and dropped to the ground. To King I said, "Get his testing kit. Black bag, either in the living room or the bedroom!"
To his credit, King didn't argue with me, he just turned and disappeared as quickly as he’d shown up. I cradled Lex against my chest and then lifted him as I stood.
"S'ry, Gid-on… love too," Lex mumbled tiredly against my chest. I didn't have time to dwell on Lex's garbled words as I carried him to the living room. King met us there and tossed Lex's testing kit to me as he strode toward the kitchen. My fingers shook as I searched out the supplies I needed. By the time King had returned with a carton of orange juice and a glass, I'd managed to prick Lex's finger. As soon as I saw the number on the screen, my stomach dropped out and I reached for the orange juice. King had already poured some into a glass.
"Lex, sweetheart," I said as I held the glass to his lips. "I need you to drink this for me."
He mumbled something I couldn't understand, but he took a sip of the juice and then another. I stroked his face repeatedly as I urged him to continue drinking. When the glass was empty, I handed it back to King who immediately filled it again. But he seemed to know the drill because he hung on to it rather than returning it to me. I glanced at the clock to track the time. Lex's eyes were closed, but he seemed to be breathing easily and I didn't see any signs of further distress. I pulled him against me so I could pick up on any changes with his body, like whether he was shaking or not.
King set the glass of orange juice down on the coffee table in front of me, along with the carton. Then he took up residence in an armchair in the corner of the room. I didn't give a shit that he was watching me like he was trying to stare me down.
A good five minutes passed before the grim-looking man said, "What happened to his head?"
I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but the reality was that it was. As much as I disliked the guy, he was Lex's brother. "He hit it when he was getting out of bed," I said simply. I didn't give him any additional details because the fact that Lex had hurt himself while trying to escape me after I'd admitted that I loved him was really none of King’s business.