Page 88 of Healed

And all I could think was that this wasn’t normal. No one should feel this strongly for another person. As though they weren’t whole themselves. As though a piece of them was missing, walking around, living in someone else.

He completed me.

Chapter 26

Gabriella

Hours later, I was still staring at the ceiling.

The shower hadn’t helped in the slightest. If anything, I was hotter and more bothered than I had been to start with.

I didn’t want to go downstairs and risk running into Vienna again. As much as I was learning to get along with Rachel, I couldn’t handle her and Dante this evening, and I wasn’t really close enough to anyone else to just strike up a conversation with them.

I’d decided that the best course of action was to get an early night, wake up tomorrow with a clear mind and start fresh.

What a stupid fucking idea that had been.

Sleep was the farthest thing from my mind, and no matter what I did, nothing helped.

I’d tried counting sheep—hadn’t worked. I’d counted backwards from one hundred, only to grow frustrated with myself when I got confused. Which made me think of Vienna and how he’d have made a big joke about it.

To try ridding myself of thoughts of that big brute, I’d tried thinking of Nico.

Dangerous, I know.

But I was out to cause myself pain, if only to get my hormones under control.

It hadn’t worked. Instead, I’d just imagined all the various ways Vienna would murder him once he’d found him. And then was slightly disgusted with myself for being turned on by that.

By the time the clock showed two AM, I knew I was deluding myself if I thought sleep was at all possible tonight.

So, climbing out of bed, I decided to do the one thing my mother had always done for us when we had trouble sleeping after my dad died.

Hot chocolate, a splash of cinnamon, and plenty of Bailey’s Irish cream. I already knew the bar downstairs had all of that, and I’d seen hot chocolate in the cupboards earlier.

With a spring in my step and a plan in mind, I climbed down the stairs, humming to myself as I did so, my mouth practically watering already at the thought of my late-night treat.

In fact, I was so distracted by my own thoughts that I didn’t hear what was happening in the bar until it was too late.

As I entered the archway, I saw them before I heard them, and I just about had time to smother my gasp before I shot backwards, leaning against the wall, my chest pounding and my skin flaming.

It seems like I wasn’t the only one engaging in late-night treats. But Rachel and Dante’s were definitely of a different variety.

“Fuck, Rachel,” Dante groaned, and I couldn’t stop myself from peeking around the corner of the archway.

I knew it was wrong. I knew it was incredibly intrusive and violating to be spying on them like this, but I was unable to resist.

Rachel was on her knees, her hands tied behind her back, and Dante was thrusting into her mouth, controlling the speed completely.

She had her head tipped back, her throat exposed, and Dante was relentless as he pounded into her. I could hear the wet sounds as spit pooled and dripped from her lips, but she took him like a pro, even if she did choke and splutter when he hit the back of her throat.

“The noises your throat makes are fucking insane,” Dante grunted, grabbing hold of her neck and squeezing. “That’s it, Rachel. Take me deeper. I want to feel my cock in your throat. Show me what a good girl you can be.”

With my skin flaming, the same arousal that had plagued me all night came rushing back to the surface. I watched with heavy breathing as Dante slammed himself down her throat and then stayed in place.

Rachel’s eyes flew wide, but I saw her jaw slacken, and knew she was accommodating him—that this wasn’t something new, but rather something they did often.

And then Dante pinched her nose, cutting off her breathing completely.