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)
He seemed to be remembering the same thing, because he said, “I’ve ordered breakfast for you. You will eat every bite.”
I dropped my gaze, breaking from his glittering emerald stare.
He blew out a sigh. “I have to go, little bird. Behave while I’m gone.”
I pressed my lips together to hold in spiteful words. Hatred pulsed through my veins like poison, making me feel sick. There was no way I could eat breakfast. If he was leaving, he wouldn’t know if I simply disposed of the food rather than eating it.
That small, defiant thought calmed me slightly: a tiny kernel of familiar control.
I flinched when he dropped a kiss to my forehead, and he sighed again, as though I frustrated him.
“I know you don’t understand me yet,” he said, his voice rich and deep. Sincere. “But I’ll protect you and give you everything you want. I’ll give you more pleasure than you can imagine. I know what I’ve asked of you so far has been difficult, but you’re strong enough to bear it. That’s what I like about you. It’s why I chose you for my wife.”
He touched two fingers beneath my chin and tipped my head back.
“Look at me.”
I didn’t dare disobey. I could scarcely breathe when he was so close. He seemed to take up all the oxygen in the room when he was near me like this, touching me with aching tenderness. With those big hands that were capable of terrible, violent deeds.
His shockingly green eyes pierced my soul.
“I’ll show you that I will be a good husband,” he said with the weight of an oath. “I’ll prove it to you every day. I promise.”
I wanted to tell him that a good husband wouldn’t do the awful thing he’d done to Luca and me yesterday. I wanted to tell him that he wasn’t my real husband at all.
But I didn’t dare. All I wanted was for him to leave so that I could try to find Luca. He’d been bleeding when Dante had dragged him away from me last night. Had anyone seen to his injuries?
I wasn’t stupidly hopeful enough to think that I stood a chance of freeing us both on my own, but I could at least comfort him. I could make sure he was strong enough to fight Dante in any way he could manage.
Dante ghosted a kiss over my lips. Mine felt frigid beneath his.
“We’ll discuss this more later,” he promised, pulling away. “I’ll see you as soon as I can get back.”
I said nothing as he left. I didn’t even move for several long minutes. After a while, I finally drew in a full, deep breath. The monster was gone. For now.
I had to find Luca and do what I could to help him.
Chapter 4
Luca
Of course the bastard had prison cells in his basement. I had dank spaces beneath my own home where I could detain my enemies before I tortured them. I wasn’t surprised that Dante’s fortress was no different.
Only, he had that awful room where he’d debased me in the most depraved way. Despite the clothes that’d been provided for me—gray sweats and a basic white t-shirt—I shivered as though I was still stripped naked.
I gritted my teeth and shoved the dark memories away. It could’ve been worse. Surely, having my skin slowly peeled off would be more agonizing. It would be more difficult to recover from that kind of torment. It would be harder to find a way to free myself and Nora.
The wound Dante had carved into my pride could be ignored. I swallowed against the acid tang on my tongue and buried the humiliation down deep.
I rubbed at the abrasions on my wrists, focusing on the physical pain to distract me from my cyclical thoughts. In the darkness of my underground cell, I had no concept of time. Somehow, I’d managed to drift into a semblance of shallow sleep for a while on the stiff cot in the corner of the cramped cell. Otherwise, the silence tormented me. I’d never been isolated before, utterly alone with my thoughts.
And my shame.
For the thousandth time, I wondered where Nora was, what he was doing to her. My fragile wife.
Dante might hate me as his rival, but Nora had done nothing to deserve the horrors he’d put her through. She was completely innocent, drawn into this feud against her will.
A different flavor of shame burned my veins.
I’d kidnapped her and forced her to marry me. I’d made her a prize for Dante to steal, bait for him to use to lure me into a trap.
I tried to save her from him, I reasoned, but the twist at the pit of my stomach didn’t ease.
Yes, I’d tried to keep her from marrying the sadistic bastard in the first place, but that’d been for my own ends, not her benefit.