Chapter 11
Nora
“Nora!” My sister’s arms closed around me, and the fear that’d plagued me since Luca had left my side melted away.
“I’ve missed you,” I confessed, allowing some of my vulnerability to spill out now that I was safely with Giana. I would be strong for her—I didn’t want her to worry about me—but I couldn’t help returning her hug with a fierce embrace.
She stepped back so that she could study my face. “How are you, really? I can’t believe Father wouldn’t let me come to your reception. I’ve been dying to see you.”
I squeezed her hands in both of mine. “Me too.” At least Luca had provided me with my own phone, so I’d been able to talk to Giana every day since I’d been forced into this marriage. Still, nothing compared to being in her presence, to see that she was safe and whole.
Giana’s chocolate brown eyes were wide on mine. “I heard Luca talking to Father before he left. Did Dante really send men after you yesterday? Are you hurt at all?”
I tensed. I hadn’t intended to tell my sister about the kidnapping attempt that’d taken place in our own home.
It was why Luca had brought me here, to my father’s house.
While my husband was out consolidating power and reaffirming alliances against Dante, he wanted me to be somewhere nearby but well-guarded.
His estate had been breached, so he didn’t want to leave me there while he was in the city.
My family home was the closest option, and Luca had secured my father’s loyalty through our marriage.
“I’m okay,” I promised Giana before she could spiral deeper into anxiety. “Luca protected me.”
Giana kept one of my hands in hers as she sank down onto the couch in our sitting room, and I settled in beside her.
We didn’t break contact; I needed to feel her comforting presence as much as she needed to reassure herself that I was safe and whole.
My kidnapping by Luca had been traumatic for her, and worry for my wellbeing had been consuming her.
Her fingernails were too short beneath my soothing touch; they were ragged from where she’d been biting them, a nervous habit she’d kicked years ago.
“Giana,” I sighed her name, hating that I was the cause of her distress. “I really am okay.”
“But that brute kidnapped you. He forced you to marry him. He’s a monster, Nora.”
I pressed my lips together, considering. Yes, I’d called Luca a monster when he’d first taken me. I’d hated him for ripping away my future and—even worse—for humiliating me with dark pleasure.
I thought of how he’d handled me so roughly in the dance studio yesterday, after he’d killed the men who’d threatened me.
My body was still sore from the savage encounter, but my blood heated to think about it.
My new husband was fierce and possessive, but he’d protected me.
I’d witnessed shocking violence before, but it was the first time someone had held me afterward.
He’d bled for me; he’d been grazed by a bullet while fighting our enemies.
He’d saved me from Alberto’s sick lust, too. And when he’d held me after our reception, he’d told me about his mother’s tragic death. He’d made himself vulnerable with me, just for a few minutes.
“He says he wants me to be happy,” I admitted.
Giana’s brows drew together. “He’s essentially holding you hostage to ensure Father’s support. How can he possibly expect you to be happy when he’s using you like a pawn?”
I shook my head. “I think he means it. Not because he truly cares about me,” I explained, “but because he doesn’t want to live his life in a miserable marriage.”
I wasn’t foolish enough to think that Luca cared about my happiness in an altruistic sense. But that didn’t mean his tenderness and consideration hadn’t softened something in me. I didn’t want to be miserable either.
“He built a dance studio for me,” I said, my heart lifting at the memory. I’d been so nervous when he’d blindfolded me, but he’d made the entire experience thrilling and special.
“Really?” Giana’s jaw dropped, and she quickly snapped it closed. “He asked me to send over your dance outfits, but he didn’t say anything else. Well, he didn’t exactly ask. He commanded me to send them.” She frowned. “He’s not good enough for you, Nora.”
I gave her a wry smile. “You would say that about anyone who wanted to marry me.”
Her eyes tightened. “I’m serious. I hate this. You shouldn’t be in this position. Dante was supposed to marry me. You aren’t supposed to be the one who’s forced into a marriage with your kidnapper.”
I straightened my spine and fixed her with a steady stare.
“That was my choice, Giana. I offered myself to Dante, and I declared myself to Luca when he came to claim his enemy’s fiancée.
It’s too late to take it all back. And besides,” I reasoned, “Luca doesn’t treat me badly.
He says Dante is a sadist. You saw what Dante did to Giorgio when Father arranged the engagement.
He’s erratic and violent. He scares me far more than Luca does.
I didn’t want to marry either of them, but Luca saved me from that fate.
And he’s determined to protect me from Dante now. ”
No one had ever protected me before, not even my own mother when she’d been alive. She’d loved me, but she hadn’t said a word when my father ordered his men to dole out punishments; she’d been utterly devoted to my father and believed that it was his right to discipline his children as he saw fit.
I met Giana’s gaze squarely. “I think Luca might be a good match for me,” I admitted, hearing the truth in the words.
I wasn’t simply placating my sister with a pretty lie.
“He seems to genuinely like my company, and I believe him when he says he wants to make me happy. I can’t ask for more than that. ”
And he wrung more pleasure from my body than I’d known was possible. My cheeks heated, and I pushed away thoughts of his powerful hands pinning me down, utterly dominating me as he forced me to experience dark ecstasy.
Giana didn’t have to know about that part of my marriage. Despite my secret enjoyment of what he did to me, it was still shameful.
There were worse things than a lifetime of pleasure and safety. Luca offered me both. In fact, he insisted upon it. He was relentless in his seduction, and he’d killed to protect me.
“You deserve to be loved,” Giana declared.
I shook my head. “That’s not realistic, and you know it. I’m trying to make the best of my situation. I don’t have to be miserable forever, and Luca has been good to me. I’m choosing to give him a chance.”
My sister let out a low hum, thinking it over. “Building you a dance studio is thoughtful and romantic.”
I shook my head with a rueful smile. “There’s nothing romantic about my relationship with Luca.
” In fact, I was certain that the studio was a manipulation to persuade me to be less thorny with him.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t a kind gesture and a grand one at that.
“But I think he’ll treat me well. We can build a happy home together. ”
Our children would be safe and loved, and Luca would provide for us. In my world, I couldn’t dare to hope for anything more than that.
“I’m sorry to hear that, little bird.”
I jolted at Dante’s deep, mocking voice, and I was on my feet before he fully stepped into the room. I positioned myself between the monster and my sister, shielding her with my body on instinct.
My stomach dropped to the floor when I took him in, his beautiful features twisted with arrogant amusement. Father was behind him, ushering him into the sitting room. I knew he didn’t love me, but his betrayal was a dagger in my heart.
“How could you?” I demanded, voice shaking with rage. My fists clenched at my sides, violence tensing my muscles.
Father’s eyes narrowed. “Watch your tone, Elenora.”
Giana was on her feet, her fingers digging into my forearm as she tried to edge her body around mine. “Stay away from my sister!” Her demand was high and thin, but she tried to come to my defense as Dante prowled toward us.
I kept my eyes on the monster, but I addressed my father. “You pledged your loyalty to Luca. No one will respect you if you betray him now.”
“I was never loyal to that little shit,” he seethed, lines of spite drawing deep around his mouth. “He humiliated me. He thought he could back me into a corner and force me to obey him. But Tommaso is dead now, and I won’t allow Luca to take control, only so he can push me out of power.”
Power. That’s all my father had ever cared about. It certainly mattered to him more than his own daughter.
Dante came to a stop before me, barely an inch beyond my personal space.
He towered over me, and I lifted my chin to clash my defiant gaze with his.
Vibrant green eyes glittered with amusement, taking in every nuance of my expression as though he was savoring the sight.
He held out his hand, an elegant gesture, like a gentleman offering assistance.
“Come with me, Nora.” The command lilted with mockery, needling my pride. He already knew my response, and he would relish conquering me.
But there was only one reply I could give him. I would not simply walk out of here with my husband’s mortal enemy. Dante would use me to get to Luca. And he might hurt me for his own entertainment in the meantime.
I straightened my shoulders and pushed Giana farther behind me. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
His sharp grin was dazzling, and my stomach flipped with terror. “I thought you might be more difficult this time.”
He moved faster than I could comprehend.
He’d strolled toward me with such slow, casual confidence that I wasn’t remotely prepared when he struck.
His long fingers ensnared my wrist, and he pulled me toward him.
Before I could claw at his eyes with my free hand, he twisted my arm behind my back and applied upward pressure.
My shoulder screamed in protest, and I dropped to my knees with a ragged cry to alleviate the ache.
Something sharp pricked the side of my neck, and warmth oozed into my bloodstream.
Giana’s horror-stricken face wavered above me. “Leave her alone!”
“No one harms Giana, either.” Dante’s voice seemed farther away now, but the cold command in his tone still chilled my insides.
I tried to push to my feet, but my limbs were so heavy, and he hadn’t let up the immobilizing pressure on my arm. It didn’t cause me any pain as long as I didn’t struggle. Dante wasn’t truly hurting me, but he had me pinned down on my knees.
“Luca will kill you for this.” My warning was slow and slurred, my tongue too thick in my mouth.
Drugged. Dante had injected me with something insidious. I couldn’t even try to fight him off when he shifted his hold on me. He lifted me up in his arms, and I floated on a warm cloud.
“No,” Dante responded smoothly, his voice a low rumble through the haze that blanketed my mind. “Luca won’t kill me. But I welcome him to try.”
There was no way I’d be able to fight off the man who held me so easily against his powerful body. Stubborn to the core, I tried anyway. I thrashed in his arms, but my limbs barely twitched. My eyelids were so heavy, and I couldn’t gather my thoughts to rail at him properly.
“Go to sleep now, little bird. When you wake up, we’ll be home.”
Home. He wasn’t talking about my father’s house or the estate where I’d spent my first week of married life with Luca. Dante was taking me home with him, where I would be completely at his mercy. He would lock me in a cage and use me to lure Luca to him.
Fear followed me down into darkness, lingering long after my eyes drifted closed against my will.