“This is all for your own protection,” I explained as calmly as I could manage, keeping my arms tight against my chest. “I need Luca’s men to hold off the threat of the Russian Bratva. He will break, and they will pledge their loyalty to me. I’m strong enough to provide a safe life for you, Nora. I swear I’ll always protect you.”
“You’re the one I need to be protected from,” she said bitterly.
My jaw tightened, and I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. “That’s not true. I’ll prove it to you in time.” I’d show her with my actions that I would defend her and provide for her. I could be patient until she came around.
She lifted her delicate chin, defiant. “If you want to prove that you’re not a monster, let Luca and me go.”
“Not happening,” I bit out. “For one, you are not my prisoner. You are my wife. And Luca isn’t going anywhere. He’s mine now.”
“The last time I tried to run away from you, you hunted me down and tied me up. Then you whipped me and locked me in a cage. And you say I’m not your prisoner?”
I huffed a frustrated sigh. She was being more difficult than I’d anticipated. While I liked her fire, I didn’t enjoy being needled.
“It’s not safe for you to leave. Like I said, the Russians are a threat. I won’t let you go anywhere outside of this fortified estate for now. I won’t let them to get to you.”
A small shiver raced over her delicate frame, the smallest sign of fear.
“Yes, they’re the ones you should be afraid of,” I approved. She needed to stop having notions about leaving me. “I’ll always protect you. And I’ll always ensure that you enjoy our games. You’ve liked them so far, haven’t you? Or did I not make you come hard enough?”
Her cheeks flamed, and her eyes glittered with pure malice.
She still hated me, but she knew the truth: I’d introduced her to more ecstasy than she’d known was possible.
I could work with that. My beautiful wife wouldn’t hate me forever. She would grow accustomed to my desires, and she would relish breaking Luca almost as much as I would.
My phone rang where I’d left it on the counter, distracting me. I surged out of the bath, grabbing a towel from the rack so I could answer the call.
“What?” I demanded, irritated at the interruption.
The guard gave me a panicked message, and anticipation coiled my muscles.
“Let him come,” I commanded with a sharp smile.
It was time to show Luca just how powerless he truly was.
Chapter2
Luca
My torn wrists stung in the iron shackles, and blood cooled on my forearms. But that pain was nothing compared to the impotent rage and humiliation that clawed at my insides. Dante had done something unspeakable to me. To Nora.
Fear for her tightened my chest, another layer of agony. He’d taken her from this terrible, perverted dungeon, leaving me bound to the bed.
Shame burned my cheeks at the memory of my helplessness to resist the arousal when her pouty lips had caressed my cock. It was the first time she’d taken me in her mouth—something I’d fantasized about since our wedding day. Under other circumstances, I would’ve guided her through the experience and ensured that she found pleasure in it.
But Dante had robbed me of that. He’d forced her to feel pleasure while she sucked my cock, but it’d been the worst perversion of the act. Even in my darkest nightmares, I never could’ve conceived of such a fucked-up torment.
Dante had threatened to flay me alive if Nora didn’t comply. I didn’t want to endure that agony, but at least I could’ve clung to some semblance of my pride and dignity in resisting physical torture.
The door swung open, and chains jangled as I tensed. Two men entered the room—men I vaguely recognized. They were foot soldiers recruited by Dante. They would be loyal to him, not my family name.
The Vitale crime family was meant to be mine. Dante thought he could break me and steal my birthright. I would fucking end him for this.
I just had to get free, and then I could hunt him down and kill him slowly. I could save Nora from him.
“Don’t try anything stupid,” one of the men warned me as they approached. “You’re coming with us.”
The other man held a gun, which he pressed directly to the center of my forehead. “One move, and I’ll blow your brains out,” he said coldly.