Page 121 of Angelic Vengeance

Wiping the steam off the mirror, I used everything I could to recreate my usual routine. Maybe once I looked like myself again, I’d feel better.

However, as I distractedly closed the bathroom light behind me once I was done and stepped back into the dark bedroom, I’d never been gladder for a towel than the one around my body.

I blinked up at the ceiling. My body ached, my head was foggy, my brain wanted to sleep.But I couldn’t. Not when she was everywhere. Everything smelled like her. Everything reminded me of her.

Yet nothing could fill the emptiness in my chest.

I missed her voice. I missed her comforting silence. I missed her pretty nails massaging my head.

Laying down next to her had been a big mistake; a stupid impulsive decision. But that’s all I seemed to be able to make when she was involved.

When I got back from the gym earlier tonight, I was determined to stop in her room only to leave her food, and then head straight to the room that I was sleeping in. However, as I walked past the kicked-down door, my eyes immediately found her, and before I knew what I was doing, I was standing next to the bed, towering over her.

Maria was sleeping profoundly; exhausted from our tousle or the crying. My eyes roamed over her body, noticing the awkward position of her suspended hands and the way her knees were tucked into her chest as if she was cold. Out of habit, I reached out, my knuckles grazing her shoulder.Fuck,she was freezing.

I muttered curse over curse in Spanish as my hands took hold of the handcuffs. With one strong pull, I broke the metal apart; her hands fell absently on the pillows above her head. Sighing deeply, I ran a hand down my face before I picked her up in my arms.

Her head lulled to the side, her cheek pressing into my chest. I felt the organ beneath thumping against my ribcage for her, seeking a deeper closeness.

I carried her to my supposed room, dropping the takeout bags on the table before laying her carefully on the bed and tucking her in. I stood there for a moment, watching her chest rising and falling with soft breaths.

I forced myself to walk around the bed and to the door, only to stop halfway and glance back at the empty space next to her. My feet carried my body back to her as if I couldn’t object.

The mattress dipped with my weight when I laid down on the edge, leaving space between us. My hands supported my head as I looked at Maria, whose back was facing me. Her long, brown hair was wild and messy, and I fought the urge to wrap my fist around it.

An uncomfortable noise suddenly escaped her and she turned on her back. My heart leaped into my neck; how would she react when she woke up and found me next to her, staring like a creep.

She twisted and turned again, small grunts of struggle leaving her throat. She was having a nightmare and there was nothing I could do. I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her close until all her demons were gone; I wanted to kiss the top of her head and nuzzle my face in the crook of her neck. I was about to get up when she threw an arm over the empty space between us. Her fingers landed somewhere on my ribs, over my shirt, and I froze as she unconsciously shifted closer to me. Her hand wrapped around my body, settling on my chest – above my heartagain– and she nestled her face into my chest.

My eyes zoned in on the gold bracelet I’d given her, still on her wrist. Something twisted in my chest, making me sigh.

Within seconds, her heavy breathing calmed and she was back to sleeping deeply. I slowly untangled my hands from behind my head and wrapped an arm around her back. She groaned softly, pressing her body into me, one of her legs slightly over mine.Fuck,I missed this.

I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, but somewhere somehow, I ended up counting her eyelashes. I was already looking at her sleeping peacefully when I started counting to stay awake. I didn’t want to fall asleep, especially with her no longer tied to the bed or me, and the door wide open. I lost count at around three hundred lashes.

My eyes fluttered lazily and I would’ve fallen asleep, but then she pressed her core harder into me, a soft groan escaping when her hips rolled into me.

My blood ignited, shooting straight to my dick.

It wasn’t the first time she had grinded into me when sleeping. I used to wake her up with my mouth and bring her fantasies to life.

But not tonight. Or ever again.

I rolled her off me and got the fuck out of there, making sure to lock the steel door behind me.

Now here I was, wide awake, staring at the ceiling of the room she’d been in previously. The ghost of her perfume was everywhere on the sheets, which didn’t seem to help lessen the hard-on in my pants. Knowing my head was just a couple of inches apart from hers, only divided by a brick wall, accelerated my pulse to a steady rhythm.

Bu-bum. Bu-bum.My heart still beat for her.

In theory, I could’ve walked out. Slept on the couch. Left and gone to my penthouse.

But I fucking couldn’t.

I couldn’t leave this godforsaken bed because the faint reminder of her was enough to calm the storm in my mind. I couldn’t leave her alone; something bad could happen. I couldn’t sleep at the penthouse – hadn’t slept there since we last did together. It didn’t feel right anymore.

The most pathetic part was that in my heart, I still believed she loved me – even if she didn’t know it. And that single thought overpowered all the logic in my brain.

She knew they called me thedevil, though she’d never met – neverexperiencedthat side of me. The one that knew no limits. No morals.