Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Chapter 16
Nora
Six Months Later
“I have something for you, darling.”
I tipped my head back and beamed up at my sadistic husband. “You spoil me too much. I don’t need any more gifts.”
His sharply delighted grin made my belly flip, a thrilling, primal warning at a predator’s approach.
“I’ll spoil you as much as I want,” he admonished me. “And this gift is just as much for me as it is for you. And for Luca.”
“Luca’s home?” I practically bounced with the force of my happiness.
Both of my men were back on the estate with me after a week of taking turns watching over me. They’d been dealing with some bloody business pertaining to the Bratva, and I hadn’t asked for details. I didn’t like to think about the Russians at all; it was enough to know that my husbands were avenging me whenever they saw an opportunity to eliminate some of the men responsible for my suffering, no matter how tenuous their connection to my tormentors.
Most days, I was in Luca’s arms more often than Dante’s, but that arrangement didn’t seem to upset him. He was perfectly content to share me with the man who was once his most hated enemy. He was reassured to know that Luca was protecting me when he couldn’t be at home with me.
My dark protector skewered me with that sharp, slightly maniacal smile, but his hand was gentle around mine as he led me through the house.
My feet stalled out when I realized our destination.
“Don’t be afraid, little bird,” he coaxed. “Luca’s waiting for us.”
“In there?” I squeaked.
We hadn’t returned to Dante’s kinky dungeon since the day he’d set Luca free. I’d avoided the space, worried it would be haunted by dark memories that were best left in the past. We were all in a relationship as equals now, and I didn’t like to reflect on those harrowing first days of our fraught time together.
“I won’t force you, Nora,” he swore. “But I think we need to face it.”
“But I forgive you,” I said quickly.
I’d fully forgiven Dante for his cruel actions a long time ago, but that didn’t mean I liked to linger over them.
As dark as those days were, I wouldn’t undo them if I could. I never would’ve found love with my dangerous, fiercely possessive men if we hadn’t endured those horrors together. We’d all been broken when we’d come together in a rush of pain and mutual suffering. We picked up each other’s broken pieces and put them back together as best we could. We supported each other: a true family, even if the men shared more of a respectful friendship than the intense love that I felt for both of them.
Dante brushed a kiss over my knuckles. “And I’ll always be grateful for your forgiveness, even if I can’t fully understand it.”
I traced the hard line of his jaw. “You’ll believe you deserve it one day. I’ll keep telling you until you do.”
He pressed a swift, hard kiss to my lips. “I love you so much, Nora. You don’t know what you do to me.”
I offered him a lopsided smile of my own. “I have a general idea.”
Even after six months of our secret marriage, Dante made my knees weak every time he walked into a room. He was just as magnetic and terrifying as ever, but he was my monster now. My beautiful, cruel fallen angel.
I took a breath and put my trust in him.
“I’m ready,” I assured him. “I want to see Luca.”
Dante led me the short distance to the space that’d been the scene of some of my worst nightmares, and my breaths quickened as we approached.
“Say the word, and we’ll leave immediately,” he promised.
I nodded, and the door swung open to reveal my other husband: the ruggedly handsome man I’d secretly wanted for years before he’d stolen me away and made me his wife.
He held out his arms for me, and I was instantly caught up in his warm, reassuring embrace. Nothing bad could touch me when he held me with fierce possessiveness. He wouldn’t allow it.
“Are you all right?” he asked, leaning back slightly to study my face. “Dante wanted us to meet here. I agreed, but—”
“But we’ll leave if Nora is at all uncomfortable,” Dante finished for him. “I already promised her.”
And he always kept his promises.
I reached for him, drawing him closer to Luca and me, so that their strength surrounded me in a protective cage. Even my darker memories couldn’t get to me when I was in their arms.
“I’m okay,” I promised, studying the erotic space with fresh eyes.
The whips that’d once terrified me no piqued my curiosity. And the coils of rope that hung neatly on the far wall sent an echo of remembered pleasure shuddering through me. I loved when Dante bound me and toyed with me for hours on end, taking my mind to the transcendent, peaceful place I could only find with him.