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 traced the line of her pursed lips with his thumb. “You are so beautiful when you’re angry,” he rumbled.
The change in him was shocking. Perverse. The man truly was insane.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt him,” she snapped, unmoved by his gentleness.
“That was before he started talking about taking you away from me,” he replied calmly. “But you’re right. I lost my temper. I should’ve cut off one of Gabriele’s fingers instead.”
She paled. “Don’t.”
“I won’t. He’s already been punished.” He kissed her forehead. “Now be a good girl and stay here.”
He turned away from her and grabbed my arm, hauling me upright. The world spun around me, so he braced my shoulder to steady me.
“Let’s go,” he commanded, striding toward the corridor.
I stumbled after him, too dizzy to physically resist.
If anything, the injury made it more bearable. Because even if I had been able to walk on my own, I would’ve docilely followed where he led. I couldn’t risk my friends.
Loathing burned the inside of my chest, but it was directed at myself every bit as much as it was directed at Dante. He’d rendered me powerless, and he hadn’t needed to beat me to do it.
I’d vowed to kill him and free Nora. I would keep my promise. Somehow.
Chapter 3
Nora
A soft rustling sound woke me. My breathing stuttered as I came to awareness, but I kept my eyes closed. Dante was in the room with me. I could hear him getting dressed.
It was a small mercy to no longer be trapped in his strong arms—he’d cuddled me close when he’d returned from taking Luca to his “new accommodations”. I had no idea where Luca was, but I couldn’t do anything to save him. Not as long as I was trapped in the arms of our insane captor.
Somehow, I’d fallen asleep while the monster held me. His tender caresses were dangerously alluring, lulling my body into relaxation after yesterday’s horrific events. I’d been too exhausted to resist him, and I’d shamefully succumbed to his manipulative touch. He hadn’t tried to force pleasure from my unwilling body, but the effect of his masterful hands was still unnerving.
“Sorry, darling,” he said softly, his voice a low rumble. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He must’ve noticed a shift in my breathing to realize I was awake. His fixation was beyond disconcerting.
There was no point pretending; I opened my eyes.
The beautiful monster stood beside the open closet, his chest bare and terrifying physique on display. He was so powerful with all those muscles, and I was so weak.
But even Luca’s physical strength had been nothing in the face of Dante’s sadistic mental games. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Dante had allowed him to escape in the first place, just to tease him with a glimmer of hope before crushing it.
The madman shrugged on a white collared shirt, quickly securing the buttons before reaching for a black tie.
“I have to go into the city for business,” he told me, as though this was a normal domestic situation. “The house is yours to explore while I’m gone. Eventually, I’ll introduce you to the staff and you can run the estate, but I’m afraid I don’t have time until everything settles down.”
That was a mild way to say that he’d started a war within our own organization.
I hoped Luca still had men fighting for him. I hoped they were regrouping and making plans to rescue us.
The alternative—that we were utterly alone in this fight for our sanity—was too unbearable to contemplate.
“All I ask is that you remain inside,” he continued. “You can go for a swim in the indoor pool, or you can read if you want. I had your books brought over from your father’s house. They’re in our library, but you’re welcome to read anything of mine if it interests you. There’s a piano if you want to play. I’d love for you to fill this house with music again.”
My head was spinning by the time he stopped talking. It was all too much. He spoke as though he was offering me everything I could possibly want, but the implications were sickening. He seemed to know most of my hobbies. Who had told him? And my books. He’d put his hands on my beloved books and placed them in his own library. Thinking about it felt like yet another violation.
He cocked his head at me, and a dark curl tumbled over his brow. “You look pale. You should eat something.”
“I’m not hungry.” The ache in my stomach was nausea, not hunger.
He fixed me with a forbidding frown, and I shrank into the pillows. His doting behavior was unnerving, but his stern disapproval made my gut twist. The last time he’d looked at me with that dark expression, he’d bent me over the dining table and spanked me with his newspaper before feeding me from his hand like some sort of scolded pet.