I was so intent on claiming her that I didn’t hear him coming.
Nora’s sharp cry was muffled against my tongue before she was sharply yanked away from me. A low, feral growl echoed through the basement, and my stomach dropped.
What had I done? I shouldn’t have allowed Nora to treat my wounds, much less kiss her. The monster’s green eyes blazed, and his nostrils flared like an enraged beast as he dragged her back from the bars, wrapping her in a possessive embrace.
“Don’t hurt her!” I bellowed, a touch of fear for her roughening my demand. I slammed my body against the bars, as though I could break them and save her from him.
“What I do with my wife is none of your concern,” Dante seethed.
She squirmed in his arms. “Let me go, you brute!”
His arms clamped her tighter, trapping her against him. She was so small in his ferocious hold, his bigger body practically enfolding hers.
“But no,” he told me, something savage twisting his features into a cruel mask. “Your friends will be the ones to suffer for this.”
Ice encased my bones, and I clutched at the bars with a white-knuckled grip.
Nora stopped struggling and stiffened. “I’m the one who came down here. I’m the one who kissed him. Don’t take it out on his friends.”
Dante took a breath, and his entire demeanor shifted. The jealous rage melted away, and he brushed a kiss over her cheek. “You’d prefer to take their punishment, pet?”
“No!” I snarled.
Nora’s eyes tightened with fear, but her chin tipped with defiance. “You didn’t forbid me to come down here,” she challenged. “You said I could go anywhere I wanted in the house.”
He gripped her hips and spun her so that she was facing him. His mouth firmed to a grim line as he fixed her with a forbidding stare.
“You’re a smart woman, Nora. You knew I wouldn’t want you down here. You knew I wouldn’t want you to kiss him. You’re mine.” The last was little more than a growl, and his fingers sank into her hips.
She shuddered but didn’t back down. “If you’re going to punish someone, punish me.”
I roared her name in protest, but neither of them seemed to hear me; their gazes locked on each other, wills clashing. A slow grin split his features, and he caressed her cheek.
“Whatever you want, darling,” he crooned.
Chapter5
Nora
Iswallowed hard but held my ground. Dante liked hurting me; he would do it whether I earned a punishment or not. By challenging him, I could at least spare Luca’s friends from pain.
And even though Dante would undoubtedly devise something terrible for me, I believed that he wouldn’t do anything that truly harmed me. My body would remain whole, even if he ravaged my psyche.
I was strong enough to endure another one of his sick games. I had to be.
Because whatever he would do to Gabriele and Lorenzo would damage them permanently. He’d already casually threatened to cut off one of Gabriele’s fingers. Luca’s friends would be taken apart piece by piece. He was already suffering in Dante’s trap. I would do what I could to protect him from more pain, and seeing his men tortured would wound him deeply.
“Don’t hurt her,” Luca growled, knuckles white from his grip on the bars. “If you want to hurt someone, take it out on me, you sick fuck.”
Dante sneered at him. “Oh, but I am. You’re going to watch me torment my wife. You’ll see how she suffers so beautifully for me. Then she’ll scream in pleasure while I make her forget all about you.”
I pursed my lips, holding in venomous words. I wanted to rail at him that I’d never forget about Luca, no matter what he did to me. But that wouldn’t save me from whatever he planned, and it wouldn’t help Luca.
The monster’s attention returned to me, his full lips tilting in an arrogant smirk. “You were so eager to be punished, little bird.” He dropped a doting kiss to my forehead. “I knew you would enjoy our games. We’re an excellent match.”
Something like a growl rose in the back of my throat, and I quickly choked it down. Challenging his delusion that he was my true husband would only rile him, and I didn’t want to suffer anything worse than the pain that was to come.
Dante grasped the satin tie on my indecently short black lace robe and tugged it free. His hands skimmed down my arms in a parody of a tender caress as he slowly stripped me. He shook his head with a rueful smile at the matching bra and panties I’d chosen in an effort to maintain a shred of modesty.