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)
I approached the bars of Luca’s cage, getting close enough that he could reach out and strangle me. His knuckles went white around the bars, and he made no move to lunge for me.
His loyalty to his friends, my prisoners, kept him from murdering me.
I would test his obedience and show him just how powerless he was against me.
I rested my hand on the hilt of the hunting knife that I had holstered to my belt. “If I give you a blade, you won’t cut me with it, will you?” I taunted.
A growl slipped between his bared teeth, but he still didn’t make a move to grab me. Or the knife.
“I’m in a good mood,” I mused. “I’ll let you be the one to torture Alberto.”
His hand would be my own, guided by my will. Even with a weapon, Luca was no threat to me. I’d thoroughly crushed his pride, and this new game with him was nearly as delicious as watching him wrestle for self-control while I toyed with Nora. He wanted to kill me more desperately than he wanted his next breath, but he wouldn’t make a single move against me. Not as long as Gabriele’s and Lorenzo’s lives were on the line.
Luca swallowed hard. “Give me the knife,” he rasped, “and Alberto will be the only one screaming today.”
I smirked at his choice of words. He still had hope that one day he would best me. Pathetic. I’d crush that soon enough, too.
I unlocked his cell and stepped back, inviting him to exit with a wave of my hand. He moved stiffly as he walked past the confines of the bars, coming to a stop when he was at the edge of my personal space. His body practically vibrated with the need to attack me.
But he didn’t.
He wouldn’t.
My lips stretched into a delighted smile, and he scowled.
I freed the knife from its sheath and handed it to him hilt first, careful not to cut him. I didn’t have to make him bleed to cause him agony. His thunderous expression told me that he knew it too, and it shredded him.
He exploded into violence, grabbing the knife from my hand and lunging forward with a roar. For less than the space of a heartbeat, alarm flickered through me.
But he wasn’t coming for me.
He sidestepped me and slammed the blade deep into Alberto’s gut. Our prisoner released a ragged shout, the shock of pain rousing him back to consciousness. Luca ripped the knife free and drove it back into his enemy’s flesh, tearing into him as though he was a rabid beast with claws rather than a blade.
I grasped his shoulder to steady him, and he rounded on me, eyes wild. He raised the knife, swinging it in a downward arc. Another rush of adrenaline pulsed through me, making me high on the violence and bloodshed. I grabbed his wrist, throwing all my strength into halting the momentum of his attack.
He froze on an animal snarl, his entire body coiled tight with the need to end me.
I smiled at him. “You’re making it too quick,” I informed him coolly. “Make sure he suffers. For her.”
He shouted in wordless rage and frustration, but he stepped back from me, spinning to face Alberto again. This time, his cuts were precise and brutal, eviscerating his enemy. Luca knew how to torture a man, no matter how noble he pretended to be around Nora.
And judging by the feverish light in his eyes as he became absorbed in his work, he was enjoying inflicting agony nearly as much as I did.
“He tried to rape her,” I reminded Luca. “What are you going to do about it?”
Alberto babbled when the knife scraped down his bloody abdomen, nearing his cock. He was beyond coherent pleading, his wounds already severe enough to ensure his eventual death. Luca and I wouldn’t spare him an ounce of pain. He’d hurt Nora. He’d violated her.
My laugh mingled with Alberto’s scream.
Luca was doing the vengeful work, but he was thoroughly under my control. The power over the proud former heir, my most hated enemy, went straight to my head. He was taking out all his aggression and frustration toward me on Alberto. I redirected his murderous impulses, and each bloody gash he carved into our prisoner’s flesh was dictated by my will. Even with a lethal weapon in his hand, he was powerless against me.
Luca was mine.
Bloodlust rode me hard, taking my mind to a purely primal state. Alberto was going quiet, nearing his end. I craved to get back to Nora, to show her that I’d eliminated her enemy. Then I would stake my claim over her.
“That’s enough,” I barked, and Luca froze, immediately compliant despite his frustrated growl. “Hand me the knife.”
His muscles bulged and flexed, but he managed to turn stiffly and offer me the blade.