Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
She bit her lip, and her cheeks flushed, but she reached for the button at the top of her modest, pale pink blouse. Her fingers trembled slightly as she undid it, then reached for the next.
“Slowly,” I ordered, a bite to the command.
Her eyes snapped to mine, wide with surprise at my harsher shift in demeanor. I nodded at her, encouraging her to continue in the way I’d instructed.
Her lashes lowered, shy as she complied with shaking hands. I allowed her to avert her gaze from mine until she was stripped down to her underwear, and she reached for her white tights.
“Look at me. Watch me while you put them on.”
She swallowed, but her hazel eyes remained locked on mine as she eased the tights over her long, slender legs. As she slowly complied, my cock stiffened. I kept my hands on the arms of the chair, denying myself. I was in control here; I had an iron grip on my own body as well as on her will.
When she was finished, her limbs were practically liquid as she flowed into her next movement. She stepped into her leotard and pulled the straps over her shoulders, then stood as though a string tugged at the top of her head, lifting her entire frame in an elegant pose.
I picked up the remote from the small table beside my chair and pressed the play button. Music swelled throughout the studio, the first lilting notes of her favorite number from Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty surrounding us.
Her features softened. “How did you know?”
“Giana told me it’s your favorite.”
“I…” She blinked rapidly. “Thank you, Luca.”
My gut tightened when she said my name with reverence, lust punching through me.
“Now the shoes.” A slight growl roughened my voice as I suppressed my most primal desires to grab her and fuck her hard.
She reached for them just as the studio door burst open with a bang. She yelped and lifted her hands to her heart, startled. I was instantly on my feet, positioning my body in front of hers.
Two of my guards stood in the doorway, guns drawn.
One of them spoke, and my blood ran cold. “Your father is dead. You’re to come with us. Dante wants to see you.”
Chapter 10
Luca
“Idon’t answer to Dante and neither do you.” My words were cold and precise, and I clung to my control by a thread. I couldn’t fly into a rage. One wrong move could send bullets flying, and Nora might get hit.
Fear like I’d never known before gripped my lungs with sharp claws, digging deep and robbing my breath. Because I wasn’t the only one in danger. My heart hammered against my ribcage at the prospect of my fragile wife being hurt. It was my job to protect her, and now I had two traitors in my home, guns threatening her.
The man who’d spoken first, Andrea, swallowed hard but firmed his grip on his weapon. “Dante paid us well. He’s the boss now. You’re coming with us. Quietly, or we won’t hesitate to shoot.”
“Don’t point that at my wife.” I couldn’t quite keep the growl from my voice.
Both weapons trained on my heart. The second man, Federico, said, “Dante wants her alive. She won’t be harmed. He wants to see you both, but we have orders to shoot you if you try to resist.”
My mind churned. Dante wanted both of us. Probably to make an example of me. And Nora…
My teeth flashed in a snarl. I knew exactly what that sadistic bastard wanted from my pretty wife.
“You’re both dead men,” I informed them, struggling to maintain my cold demeanor. “You’ll pay for betraying me.”
Andrea paled, and his gun swung in Nora’s direction. “Come quietly, or I’ll hurt her.”
Federico swore. “We can’t. Dante said—”
“Dante will get over it,” Andrea snapped, sweat beading on his brow. “We’re getting the fuck out of here. Right now.”
He was right to be nervous. They weren’t the only men guarding my estate. If I gave even the smallest signal to any of my people as we exited the mansion, Andrea and Federico would die instantly. They were counting on the threat of their guns to subdue me. But Andrea could see the truth in my eyes: I wouldn’t willingly go to Dante under any circumstances, even if it meant risking my own life.
But Nora’s life…
No, I couldn’t risk her.
I couldn’t let Dante have her, either. I couldn’t even let myself begin to contemplate what the sick motherfucker would do to her if he got his filthy hands on my wife.
“Alright,” I bit out. “I’ll come with you. Just keep your aim on me, not her.”
I took a slow step forward, and Andrea’s gun jerked back to target my heart.
My teeth cut the inside of my cheek when Federico insisted, “She’s coming too.”
I held out my hand behind me, never taking my eyes off the threat. I couldn’t focus on Nora’s terror. I couldn’t take my attention off the traitors for so much as a heartbeat.