Chapter 2
Nora
“This is insane,” I said before I could think better of it, the accusation breathless and a little too high-pitched. “You can’t just steal me away like I’m an object. I don’t want to marry you.”
Luca’s eyes darkened. “And you prefer Dante as your husband? The man is a sadist.”
I shuddered at the warning in his tone, but I couldn’t stop protesting. The shock of being kidnapped and told I would be forced into marriage was too terrifying to suppress my emotions like I usually did. “I don’t want to marry anyone!”
His square jaw firmed to a grim line. “I hadn’t planned on marriage today either, but sometimes we don’t get a choice. Dante can’t have you. I won’t let him take what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours!”
“I’m talking about my birthright,” he snapped. “But yes, Elenora. You’ll be mine within the hour. It’s done. Don’t be difficult.”
I stiffened. “And what are you going to do? Beat me if I don’t agree to walk down the aisle?”
He was suddenly in my personal space, looming over me.
The air in the car turned thick, too heavy to breathe.
There was only his menacing power pulsing over me, emanating from his huge frame to suffocate me.
His big arms caged me, one hand pressed against the seat and the other on the window beside my head.
“Listen to me, Elenora. I have no intention of abusing you. But you will be an obedient wife.”
Fear raced down my spine, but I tipped my chin back, defiant. “I won’t. I won’t marry you.”
Dark brows drew together. “Do you have any idea what Dante does to women? If you were his, he would hurt you, and he would enjoy it.”
I thought of Dante’s twisted snarl as he’d strangled Giorgio, the violence that’d rippled through his muscular body. I didn’t manage to suppress a shiver.
Luca’s lips twisted with distaste. “That’s your alternative. If you cooperate, you have nothing to fear from me.”
“Why do you even want to marry me?” I challenged, desperation bleeding through my anger. Luca had never paid any attention to me before, even though I’d harbored a crush on the ruggedly handsome man.
That crush seemed ludicrous now. All I wanted was to escape from his overbearing aura and insane demands.
Being sold into an arranged marriage had been terrifying enough; Luca had kidnapped me and was telling me that I’d be forced to marry him against my will. Dante scared me, but in this moment, Luca was the more terrifying monster.
He grimaced. “I won’t start a war within our own organization.
I don’t intend to tear the family apart before I even take control.
Your father has made an error in judgment.
Not all of his men agree with his scheme to choose Dante over me.
They came to me and told me about his plans.
I won’t kill your father because too many of our men respect him.
I might hate the old bastard, but I won’t spill his blood.
But the alliance with Dante won’t go forward.
I’ll have his daughter under my control, and your father will fall in line. ”
“So, I’m your hostage, then,” I said bitterly.
“You’ll be my wife,” he bit out. “It doesn’t have to be unpleasant for you. I take care of my own.”
“I’m not yours,” I insisted again. “I’ll never be yours. I don’t belong to anyone but myself.”
A shadow danced over his granite jaw. “You’re wrong, Elenora. You belong to me now. Whether you like it or not is your choice.”
With each damning statement, he leaned closer, his quick breaths hot on my cheeks.
I suppressed a shiver and gathered my courage. “I won’t marry you.”
His lips pressed to a grim line, holding in further words of rebuke. For a tense moment, I thought I might’ve held my ground. I thought he would let me go.
My heart leapt into my throat when his big hands bracketed my waist, dragging me toward him.
I released a harsh cry as he manhandled me, fear searing through my righteous fury.
I struggled, limbs swinging wildly. My fist glanced off his jaw, and he growled in warning.
His hands clamped my wrists, pulling my arms behind my back and pinning them there.
He used the leverage to shove me down, until I was draped over his lap.
I writhed, shrieking in animal panic and rage as the world swirled around me.
I couldn’t think; all that existed was deep, primal fear that coursed through my veins with every rapid beat of my heart.
One of his huge hands easily shackled my wrists, and the other gripped the hem of my skirt. He yanked the material up, and I choked on a shocked cry as he stripped away my modesty, leaving my white cotton underwear exposed. Leaving me exposed. I suddenly felt small and unbearably vulnerable.
My scream died in my throat. “What are you doing?” I managed to force myself to form a coherent question, but it was little more than a breathless whisper. There wasn’t enough oxygen in the car.
“You will be my wife, Elenora.” His dark warning was followed by a sharp slap, and a rush of heat stung my bottom. Before I could draw in the air to cry out, he landed another blow. “You will obey me.” Another slap, another gasp for breath. “You will not fight me on this.”
“Stop!” I managed to beg. My soul was laid bare, my will stripped away even more ruthlessly than he’d yanked away my modesty.
“I’ll stop when you agree to behave.” His voice had deepened. He sounded calmer, sterner. There was no hint of a growl in his words this time. He’d fully subjugated me, and he had his more volatile emotions back under control.
I knew monsters like him: men who got off on holding power over weaker women.
“You’re a brute,” I hissed, hating him with every fiber of my being.
Three more stinging swats, and my bottom was on fire. I howled and kicked out, my heels banging against the car door. He didn’t relent. Heat flared beneath his calloused palm, thrumming deep into my flesh. It made something ache deep inside me, a strange throb that echoed each slap.
My cry morphed into a mortified gasp. Some part of my mind registered what that feeling was: arousal. My panties grew damp, and my cheeks burned more hotly than my skin beneath his punitive hand.
This couldn’t be happening. My stupid crush on Luca had clearly scrambled my brain, making me react to his touch. It hurt. And it felt good in the most forbidden, cruel way.
The hits stopped, and he rubbed his palm over my enflamed flesh.
A sound like a humiliating whimper eased from my throat, and I pressed my face into the seat as though I could hide from him.
The scent of leather flooded my senses, but it didn’t quite drown out the smell of my traitorous arousal in the tight space of the car.
Oh, god. We weren’t alone in here. There were two men in the front seats. They might not be looking at me, but they’d witnessed the mortifying scene; they’d heard Luca disciplining me like a child.
Thick fingers skimmed over my stinging skin, and the gentle sensation was almost unbearably decadent after the pain of the spanking. I bit my lip against a groan of relief and turned my cheek farther into the seat, wishing I could melt away into nothing.
“We could get along, Elenora.” This time, there was a deep rumble of satisfaction in Luca’s voice.
His fingers dipped between my legs, the barest brush against my wet underwear. I couldn’t help myself; I bucked against his hand, too shocked and confused to control my body. He’d taken control of my entire being, and I felt like I was spiraling into a black abyss. I clung on to sanity by a thread.
“Please,” I begged. “Stop.”
“Are you going to behave?” he asked, voice deep and dark with warning.
“Yes,” I squeaked, swallowing a sob. I wouldn’t cry. Not for him. If I stopped resisting, he couldn’t break me completely. I would comply with his insane demands. It was the only way I could survive this day with some of my dignity intact.
Drawing on years of practice, I shoved my emotions down deep, crushing my pain, humiliation, and fury into a tight little ball and burying it in the pit of my stomach. I drew in a deep breath and softened in his unyielding hold.
I would endure. I would not let a man break me. I would comply, but I wouldn’t allow him to reduce me to a shell of myself.
Luca’s touch was almost tender as he slowly tugged my skirt back down over my thighs, his fingertips trailing along my sensitized skin.
He released my wrists and grasped my waist, carefully guiding me to sit beside him.
Heated pain flared on my abused bottom, and I suppressed a grimace, struggling to keep my face calm and composed.
I wouldn’t let him see how thoroughly he’d rattled me.
He rested his hand on my knee, maintaining contact. Despite my desire to escape him entirely, the temptation to find comfort in that simple touch was nearly overwhelming. My eyes burned, and I blinked rapidly to clear the haze of tears before they could fall down my cheeks.
I stared out the car window, hiding my eyes from him so that he couldn’t see them shining. The world blurred past us, the result of my disorientation rather than the speed of the SUV. We’d slowed to follow normal traffic laws; Luca wouldn’t want to be pulled over and questioned about kidnapping me.
I straightened my spine. No matter what he said, I was his hostage now. In a few minutes, I would become his wife, but I would never be anything more than a captive to my new husband.