Untying The Knot Novels & Stories

“The salve needs to touch the skin to work. And you need to breathe properly to heal. You can’t keep them on forever.” Tears of frustration and sheer terror pricked at my eyes. This was it. The moment it all ended. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the accusation, for the roar of betrayal, for his hands to tear the fabric away and reveal everything. But the accusation didn’t come. Instead, his hands went to the knot at the center of my spine. His movements were slow, deliberate, almost… careful. He didn’t rip or tear. He worked the intricate knot I’d tied with a quiet focus, as if he were solving a puzzle.

Then the cord pulled tight, and it forced her to straddle the bench. “Ty, I’m not sure about this.” “I got you, babe. These are quick release knots. You only need to say it’s over and I’ll stop. Gods, you need to see yourself. You’re beautiful.” He was watching her now. His hands ran up and down her body. Rose could do nothing right now, and Ty knew she was loving it. “Ty, talk me through what you’re going to do. Gods, I’m shaking, but I don’t know if it’s fear or need.”

“But wait. Hold up…” He winces as Kate tightens the jump-rope restraints, which have been inspired by Nurse Judy’s improvisation. She ties off the jump ropes behind his chair with a secure knot she learned from grade-school Girl Scouts. Her brain, freely associating, briefly recalls the Forever KnotTM that Nate used to tie up her boot laces back in Camp Unplugged, and she appreciates how ironic it is that she’s giving him a similar one now. “Why do your arms feel so tiny?” Nate asks.

“Help me over. We can untie each other. I couldn’t before— she was out cold.” Pain flared along my ribs; each movement felt heavy and leaden. But the sight of Ronan so close—his breath warm on my toes as he bent to chew at the rope knot—stirred something that had nothing to do with reason. He worked at the knot with his teeth and fingers, a low groan escaping him. When at last the rope loosened, he looked up, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and gave me a small, shaky smile. “Done.”

Which was when I discovered, it was also thrilling. My body was such a strange mix of arousal and fear as I reached for it, offering to show her first how to untie the knot, then how to retie another, a simple bond that wouldn’t slip. I showed her the two loops and how to pull the rope through, demonstrated that once the knot was formed, it wouldn’t move, then handed her the rope and urged her to try a couple of times. Unsurprisingly, she was a quick study. So, a minute later, as she quickly released the knot for the third time, I sat back again and kind of opened my hands.

She pleaded with him tearfully, "Hurry, don't untie it. It's too late..." Thaddeus struggled to keep himself calm, but the knot remained untouched. He glanced back and saw the sea just a few feet away from the car. The car keys were still in the ignition. He made the difficult decision to give up on untying the complex knot. As he walked away, Jessamine's emotions were mixed. She thought he had left. Although she wanted him to leave as quickly as possible, she couldn't help feeling sad when she saw him let go of the rope.

Quit reaching for the thing that already failed. I force myself to stop moving and watch instead. Piecing together the signs. What works, what doesn't. The wolf opens its belly and nothing that matters spills out. He bites an arm half through and the hand keeps grabbing. But when his teeth find the spine, when there's that grind of something structural, the thing jerks. Stutters. Loses a second of whatever's driving it. There. That's the tell. Not the soft parts. The frame. You don't kill it. You take it apart until there's too little left to hold the magic up.

Okay... before some of you come for my neck. 😂 I need to disappear for about 5 days. I know, I know... that's a long time, especially now that we're getting close to the ending, but hear me out first. We have about 38 chapters left, and my goal is still to finish Knotting on Ice before the end of this month. To make that happen without randomly disappearing again, I want to use these few days to properly outline and draft the remaining chapters.

The burly man shouted angrily, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and untie me!" "Oh, right..." The bucktoothed man fumbled, his hands shaking as he tried to untie the rope. But Lydia had anticipated needing to escape, so she'd made sure to knot the rope tightly. When the burly man saw Lydia making a run for it earlier, he had panicked and struggled hard, making the knot even tighter. Despite the bucktoothed man's efforts, the knot refused to budge. "You idiot! What the hell are you doing? I told you to untie me, not make it tighter!"

Especially if I’m still restrained. On my back, it’s easier to incline my head and look up at the ropes without yanking my joints out of place to do it. My hands dangle from purple-patterned mountain climbing rope held in place by intricate knots. I’ve done some mountain climbing in my time—hard not to when you grow up in the mountains—but I don’t recognize this knot. Fuck. I start working on the ropes, twisting my wrists and tucking my thumb in an effort to slide my hands free. Tugging on the ropes just seems to pull the knot tighter, and moving up to take the pressure off doesn’t release anything.