Chapter 7
Nora
Luca spent the night in his cell, and once again, I slept in the monster’s arms. Dante had Luca brought up to the dining room to witness my humiliation as he fed me breakfast and dinner.
In the hours between, I’d tried to lose myself in my favorite romance novel.
But the fictional world couldn’t hold my attention, and mostly, my mind drifted.
I’d been expressly forbidden to go down and visit Luca again while Dante was away taking care of business. I hadn’t dared defy him. Not so soon after that awful punishment. The belt had left bruises on my bottom, but otherwise, my body was unharmed.
But my soul… I wasn’t sure how much more I could take without shattering again.
I expected Dante to return Luca to his cell after dinner, but my stomach dropped when he led us both into his perverted dungeon instead.
My feet stalled out at the threshold, and Luca bumped into my back. I leaned into his strong body, seeking the comfort of his embrace.
Dante turned to me with a frown and tightened his grip on my hand, tugging me toward him instead.
“Didn’t you hurt me enough yesterday?” I challenged, straightening my spine and allowing my gaze to clash with his.
His frown melted away, and he caressed my cheek. “Nothing I do to you today will cause you pain,” he said with the weight of an oath. “We’re going to test Luca’s obedience.”
Luca growled behind me, and his body heat kissed my back as he inched closer, as though he wanted to rip me away from Dante.
“You don’t have to do this,” I begged, desperate to spare my husband from further humiliation. “Leave him alone. Please.”
Dante’s beautiful features firmed into something fierce, but his hand remained gentle on my cheek.
“He killed my brother,” Dante seethed. “He’ll suffer a lot more before I’m finished with him.”
“Francesco was my friend,” Luca snapped. “You don’t know—”
“Keep my brother’s name out of your mouth,” Dante barked. His eyes narrowed on my husband. “I didn’t give you permission to speak. Say his name again, and Lorenzo dies.”
Luca fell silent, but his stubble-shaded jaw ticked as he chewed on words that he wasn’t allowed to utter.
The monster’s rapt attention fixed on me once again, his expression hard with disapproval. “That’s enough arguing. I’ll have to tame your tongue too.”
I swallowed hard and edged back toward Luca, but Dante kept his firm grip on my hand. He dragged me forward, into his dungeon.
It was just as awful as I remembered. I took in the chains where he’d whipped me, the flogger that he’d used to beat me, and the enormous bed where he’d coerced me into humiliating Luca for the first time.
I shuddered, but he pulled me inexorably into the terrifying space, leading me to a slightly raised, padded platform covered in black leather.
His hands bracketed my waist, and he urged me to step up onto it before guiding me down onto my knees.
The padding cushioned me so that the position wasn’t uncomfortable, even if I hated being forced to kneel before him.
The platform was only a few feet above the floor, so he still towered over me.
He stroked my hair and smiled down at me like I was his favorite pet.
“You look so beautiful on your knees,” he rumbled.
He glanced back at Luca, almost an afterthought. “Stand there and watch,” he commanded lazily.
Luca grunted, but he made no move to defy Dante. Not when his friends’ lives were on the line.
The monster had promised not to hurt me today. I could only hope that he would keep his word.
He leaned down and brushed a quick kiss over my lips. “Stay here, darling.”
When he stepped away, I could see Luca again. His eyes burned into me, his nostrils flaring like an enraged beast. His fists were clenched at his sides, and his muscles flexed with the need to attack our tormentor.
I subtly shook my head at him. I could handle whatever was coming. His friends wouldn’t be killed because of me, no matter how desperately I wanted to escape with Luca.
Dante filled my vision again, looming over me. I saw the coils of rope in his hand, and I shrank back.
The last time he’d bound me, he’d chased me through the woods and tied me up so that I couldn’t run from him. The bindings had hurt, digging into my flesh.
His eyes glittered with pleasure at my small show of fear, but he tenderly stroked my hair again, soothing.
“This won’t hurt,” he promised. “I will never lie to you, Nora.”
He’d called me by my name. Not one of the diminutive, mocking endearments he favored. The sound of it issuing from his lips was jarring and deeply personal. It made me feel seen, vulnerable. Especially when I was on my knees before him, and he held all the power.
“Take off your robe.” It was a gentle order, but an order, nonetheless.
My hands shook as I tugged at the silken tie that was the only thing preserving even a scrap of my modesty.
This new, intense connection with Dante was unnerving.
It was much easier to rail at him when he was hurting me.
He’d been perversely tender with me at times, but never when he was toying with me sexually; he’d always been cruel and unyielding when he touched me with erotic intent.
I had no idea what to expect from him, and that scared me more than the whips that hung on the wall.
My fingers were still trembling when I’d shrugged out of the robe, baring myself to him completely.
He trailed his fingers through my hair. “It’s all right, pet. You’ll enjoy this.”
“That’s what you always say.” My defiant words came out in a breathless whisper.
He lightly tapped the gold padlock at my throat, and the chain weighed heavier around my neck.
“I’ll take care of you. I left marks on you yesterday. You bear them so well, but I won’t harm you with another whipping.”
“How is bruising me taking care of me?” My voice was still too small. He was taking up all the oxygen in the room, and he towered over me. So much more powerful than I could ever be.
He blew out a sigh, but he didn’t rebuke me. “You don’t want to accept it yet, but you enjoy our games too. We’re a good match, Nora.”
He said my name again. I shivered as the sound of it rumbled over my skin.
He gently rubbed the rope over my lips. My sensitive nerve endings crackled beneath the slightly rough fibers.
“That’s enough arguing. I know you don’t trust me, but you will. I’ll prove to you that I mean what I say. I’m going to make you feel so good that you forget your own name.”
“I don’t want to forget my name.” Fear bubbled up in me once again, making me speak before I thought better of it.
His mouth firmed to a determined slash.
I’d argued with him again.
He would punish me.
I cringed as he swiftly uncoiled the rope and tossed the length of it away from him, so that it smacked onto the padded leather.
He kept one end in his hands, and he swiftly lifted it toward my face.
I tried to turn my head away, but he pressed the rope against my mouth.
It pinched my lips, and I parted them on a shocked gasp.
It eased between my teeth, drawing tight and pressing against my tongue.
He wound the rope around the back of my head, wrapping it so that two more lengths forced my mouth open wider.
I couldn’t lift my tongue to form another protest, and a garbled sound issued from my throat as he tied off his work, securing the gag in place.
He gripped my chin and stilled my shaking head, lifting my face so that I had no choice but to stare up into his eyes. They glowed with satisfaction and fascination that bordered on obsession. He traced the outline of my parted lips with his free hand, and my skin sparked beneath the tender touch.
“That’s better,” he approved. “Now you can relax.”
I didn’t want to relax. I didn’t want this thing in my mouth.
I reached up to try to rip it off, but he immediately snagged my wrists and guided my hands back onto my thighs.
“Stay,” he commanded, his demeanor turning stern and unyielding.
I dropped my eyes, breaking from his intense gaze. He stroked my hair again. The soothing sensation was jarring when I’d expected a punishment. My scalp tingled, sending a shiver racing through my body. I was tense, my senses on high alert as I anticipated pain.
But he simply continued to trail his fingers through my hair, massaging me. A humiliating whimper eased past the gag as my mind became muddled. Adrenaline coursed through my system, but there was nowhere to run, no hope of escape.
And the tender touch felt so good when I was sure he would hurt me instead.
He shushed me gently and picked up another coil of rope. I shrank away, but he clicked his tongue at me and grasped my shoulders, guiding me back into position.
He toed off his shoes and stepped up onto the platform with me. I turned my head to keep my wary gaze on him as he circled behind me. His fingers sank into my hair, directing me to face forward.
“I want Luca to watch us together,” he said silkily.
Now that Dante was no longer looming over me, I could see my husband clearly. His entire body seemed to have swelled with rage, his corded arms bulging. His teeth were pulled back from his lips in a silent snarl, but his ochre eyes blazed with something hotter than fury: shame.
It’s okay, I wanted to tell him. I’m not hurt.
The whispered words were nothing more than a soft exhale past the gag.
The padding beneath me shifted as Dante sank to his knees behind me, drawing rope around my chest, just below my breasts.
His arms enfolded me in a perversion of an embrace as he slowly dragged the length over my skin before pulling it taut at my back.
He passed it around my chest a second time, above my breasts.
His hands brushed my body as he worked at a leisurely pace, tugging the rope tight enough that I was hyperaware of the bindings, but I wasn’t in pain.
A complex pattern created a star over my chest, something that might’ve been pretty if it weren’t so perverted.