Page 44 of Gambler's Fallacy

“It’s okay, beautiful,” Vortex says, and he brushes his lips against mine. “We’ll keep you thoroughly distracted. Will that be all right?”

No, I think.

I nod anyway.

There’s another long pause, and Caleb finally says, “I’ll watch from the chair.” He pulls the armchair slightly closer to the bed, then sits down on it.

I swallow hard. I don’t want him to stay if he doesn’t want to, but I’msoselfish, and I can’t stand the idea of him leaving.

Havoc scoffs loudly. “Don’t act like it’s a hardship. We all know how much you get off on watching.”

Caleb’s lips curl into the slightest smile. “I like watching Seven, yes.”

“Watching Seven with other men means you have to have other men to watch, too,” Vortex says dryly. He leans down to kiss me again, running his hands down my arms. “You okay?” he asks against my mouth.

I nod again even though it’s a lie. “You’re taking too long,” I say, pretending my voice isn’t wobbly. “Both of you. And you’re wearing too much.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Havoc grumbles. He kisses me, then lets go so he can pull his jacket and shirtoff.

I stifle a gasp when I see the bruising underneath his clothes. There are dark spots all over, from his thigh to his chest and stomach. His arms have bruises too, never mind his bloodied knuckles.

He’d only started to recover from when he’d punched the wall, too.

“What—” I start to ask, but I remember the voice in my mind and instantly shut up again. It’s not my business what happened, and asking is only going to upset everyone.

“It’s fine,” Vortex says, and he takes his own shirt off, setting it down on the bed next to me. “We’re both fine.”

He doesn’t look okay either. They both look like they’d been pummeled.

“You didn’t… with each other?” I ask, unable to keep the words back.

Vortex laughs. “No. We’re notthatbad, Seven.”

“I only look like this because Vortex wasn’t pulling his weight,” Havoc snarks. “I bet even Caleb would have done better.”

Vortex sneers at him. “It wouldn’t have even been violent if you hadn’t fucking punched—” He looks at me, cutting himself off before gently caressing my face. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.

I shudder, shrinking back, and Vortex frowns at me.

I shake my head before he can ask questions. “Still too many clothes,” I remind him. I sound breathless, and I hope they think it’s from desire and not from the very real fear that’s bubbling up within me.

“Seven,” Caleb interrupts, and I startle.

I straighten my back and look at him, my mouth dry. “Yes, Master?”

The glasses obscure Caleb’s eyes. I brace myself for a reprimand, but in the end, all he says is, “Do you want me to help tend to their wounds?”

I nibble on my bottom lip. “Yes, please.”

“Uh, no, I’d rather do it myself than have your hands on me,” Havoc protests.

“Don’t be such a big baby,” Vortex says, derision dripping from his voice. “It’s not like he’s touching your dick.”

I nudge Vortex to the side so I can get to one of the jars of ointment. “It’s fine. I’ll get Havoc. Caleb can help Vortex.”

Caleb smiles, and the expression eases my earlier discomfort. He gets up and takes the second jar of ointment, then moves to get behind Vortex. “I’ll do your back, but you can handle the rest, right?”

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