Deeper Healing

25| Torture

Leilani Edwards

When I thought donating blood for the first time would be the least comfortable thing I'd do today, I hadn't put to mind that an hour later, I'd have to be stuck in a filthy rich people's friends' group and feel this fucking awkward.

For some reason, I felt extra self-conscious and couldn't relate to half of the things they laughed their hearts out about although I did let out some fake laughter every now and then and pretended I felt it.

Had it just been Alex, Isla, Nikolai and I, maybe I'd have been free to be myself and feel some degree of comfort, but with three unfamiliar men and a typical soft bitch who seemed to be one of Isla's closest girlfriends, I felt like a misfit.

Usually, adjusting to situations like these was a walkover and I could easily fit in despite the crowd with my outgoing personality, but this was weirdly different.

Maybe it was because I was overthinking the past decade of my life and beginning to question what was real and fake or it was the sharp throbbing pain I felt in my head ever since my conversation with Isla that made me feel lightheaded and slightly nauseous. It'd been long since I'd gotten a migraine and now that I felt it brewing, I felt like shit.

I maintained a casual and approachable appearance, alternatively stabbing the steak on my plate I'd barely touched and a salad I didn't find that appetising. There were other dishes on the round table, half of which I'd never seen nor heard of, yet nothing seemed to jerk my appetite and allow me to eat anything and actually enjoy it.

At least there was adequate fresh air since we sat outside in the park, the setting sun giving a beautiful view and a fleeting kind of warmth. Even that wasn't enough to distract me.

I dropped my fork quietly without drawing attention, slouching my shoulders a little. I needed to leave and go home. The only problem was, I needed a good excuse that wouldn't make me seem like a social freak.

Deep in thought, I felt something different from the slight exhaustion I felt. A familiar hand, familiar electrifying tingles that slowed edged into full-blown warm sensations.

Nikolai's hand was on my knee, slowly beginning to caress its way up to my thigh and the fact that he was firmly slipping it underneath my satin dress and rubbing his palm against my pantyhose made it even more sensual.

When I looked up at him slowly with a light brush of colour touching my cheeks, I was a little bit disappointed he wasn't looking at me. His head was tilted a little as he spoke to the blonde guy with a thick British accent next to him, talking and chuckling about something I was too distracted to understand.

I didn't know he had other friends besides Isla and Alex, but he seemed to be well acquainted with this guy more than the other two and the woman talking about a club date in Vegas with Isla and Alex.

I shifted my gaze back to my plate, picking up my fork again and this time actually tasting the salad. I nearly choked on it and spat it out when I felt the course of the heat change from the top of my leg to the region between my legs right at the base of my knees.

I cleared my throat lightly, fidgeting with my fork. His hand stopped for a few seconds, but when I heard him chuckle huskily, it began moving again, trying to force my thighs apart gently.

I stabbed a strawberry in my salad and popped it into my mouth, relaxing the muscles in my legs. I'd fucking regret it when he'd withdraw his hand and leave me burning like shit, but such an opportunity for something this stimulating and distracting from the pain I felt was too golden to allow to slip past my fingers.

His hand slipped between my legs with a bit more ease and I squirmed a little, slightly parting my legs. I didn't know what to expect or whether he was doing this consciously or unconsciously. Either way, it felt so fucking teasing in a good way especially when he dug his fingers into the flesh of my inner thigh and moved them up and down slowly in a torturous manner.