Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
“Now everyone will know that you’re mine,” he declared, voice warm with triumph and masculine satisfaction.
His lips brushed mine again, and I retreated deeper into the blankness of my quiet mind. I didn’t want to think. I couldn’t contemplate the fact that he’d essentially locked a collar around my neck like I truly was his pet, his property.
Dante thought that I was his. He thought that he was my master.
I couldn’t let it be true.
Chapter 6
Luca
The heart shaped padlock glittered at the hollow of her throat, the pretty trinket a nauseating sight. My stomach churned in the aftermath of the harrowing scene. If I’d eaten anything today, I would’ve vomited.
Her screams had knifed through me, carving furrows deep in my soul. I’d never forget the horror of watching helplessly as the bastard tormented my wife.
And I’d done nothing. I’d said nothing.
Even now, my hands were fused to the wall at my back, trapped in place by Dante’s cruel order, his threat to torture my friends if I defied him. All I could do was watch while he kissed my wife as though he had every right.
She was quiet in his arms, her eyes closed as her mouth shaped to his.
Was she thinking about me instead?
I gnashed my teeth at the thought.
Selfish.
The truth of Dante’s characterization of me was a dagger to my heart. I’d always been selfish when it came to my relationship with Nora. Everything I’d done with her—even trying to make her happy—had been for my own benefit, my own pleasure.
She’d just been punished in the most sadistic way because of me. Why would she think of me in the aftermath?
Yes, I’d been selfish to let her treat my wounds. To claim a kiss from her lush lips. I’d warned her to leave me, but I hadn’t tried very hard to make her obey. I’d been too desperate for her touch, for the distraction of her soft submission. Dominating her made me feel powerful, and I’d indulged in that rather than facing the truth of my captivity and shame.
She’d suffered because I was too weak to turn her away.
The weight of my self-loathing crushed my chest, shoving all the air from my lungs. Even if I could rail at Dante for being a fucked-up bastard without risking my friends, I didn’t have the breath to shout. My throat was already raw from bellowing my helpless rage as he’d hurt Nora, and I’d been forbidden from saying a word in protest. I would’ve begged on my knees by the end if it meant she would be spared.
As it was, my knees remained locked, and my hands were still pressed against the wall. My chest heaved as I sucked in oxygen, willing the sick, dizzy feeling to abate.
Dante’s watch beeped, and he ended his kiss with Nora to check it. His lips brushed her forehead.
“Time for dinner, darling. You haven’t eaten today, have you?”
She stiffened and blinked, a glimmer of awareness returning to her lovely eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off before she could say anything.
“Don’t lie to me. I don’t want to punish you again so soon.”
She pressed her lips together, and her throat worked as she swallowed hard.
He stood and helped her to her feet. She swayed, legs unsteady in the aftermath of the devastating things he’d done to her. He wrapped a supporting arm around her waist and guided her toward the door to my cell.
His glittering green eyes met mine, his satisfied smile sharp enough to cut. “You’re coming with us,” he announced. “You’re going to see how I take care of my wife.”
“Haven’t you hurt her enough?” My demand was hoarse from my raw throat.
He shook his head at me, his grin maniacal. “I didn’t say you could speak. Nora took one punishment for your friends’ sake, but that won’t happen again. Not when she’s blameless for your next actions.”
I wanted to snap at him that she hadn’t done anything to deserve the torment he’d just inflicted, but in his mind, she was partially responsible for our kiss. When it was all my fault. I’d been the one to grab her hair and tug her toward me so that I could claim her mouth.
And now if I dared to speak again, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Gabriele and Lorenzo.
“Don’t try anything stupid,” he warned. “Remember what will happen if you try to fight me.”
As though I needed reminding. He’d already crushed my will. How much more humiliation could I bear?
I gritted my teeth and straightened my shoulders. For my friends’ sake—and for Nora’s—I could bear it. I didn’t have a choice.
He retrieved a key from his pocket and unlocked my cell. I stood rooted to the spot, pressing my hands tighter to the wall to prevent them from wrapping around his throat.