Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Watching him touch her hadn’t made me want her any less. What the Russians had done to her would never dull my need for her, either. If anything, my desire was keener than ever, lodged in my heart like a dagger piercing me with sweet pain.
I love you. I made the silent vow with my tongue against hers, claiming her deeply. I couldn’t say it aloud, not until I earned the right. And I had so much to atone for before I could declare my feelings. Once the Russians and Dante were dead, I could finally stake my claim over her heart. Only then would I stand a chance at deserving her.
I couldn’t confess the depth of my feelings, but I pulled back so that my heated promise could whisper over her lips. “I will always want you, Nora. No one will ever take you away from me. You’re mine.”
“Yours,” she agreed on a shuddering exhalation, a sound of relief and release. The last of the tension melted from her slender frame, and she leaned into me. “I love you.”
I sealed her lips with mine once again, showing her my love in the only way I could.
We stayed locked in each other’s arms for long minutes, and I scarcely allowed her space to breathe as I kissed her with the full passion of my feelings for her. I couldn’t handle her in the rougher way I liked, but I could steal her breath and make her forget about the terrible, dark things that’d happened to her.
My hold on her shifted, my hand sliding through her hair so that I could tangle the silken strands around my fingers.
She whimpered into my mouth and stiffened when I touched a tender spot on her scalp.
I instantly eased my grip and gently broke our kiss.
“You need to take your meds,” I murmured against her lips, regret lacing my tone. I didn’t like the idea of giving her more painkillers, but I could at least decrease the dosage as she healed. Dante had said that I could be in charge of dispensing her medication, and I would be careful with how much I allowed her to take. I’d never let her suffer needlessly, but my wife would not become addicted.
“I don’t want to sleep anymore,” she protested, her fingers curling into my shirt. “I want to stay with you.”
“I’ll be right by your side the whole time,” I promised. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I retrieved a pill from the bottle on the nightstand and ordered her to take it. She hesitated for a second, but a stern look from me made her swallow the medicine.
“Good girl.” I carefully trailed my fingers over her silken hair and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.
She rested her head on my shoulder, and I stroked her until she fell back asleep, mercifully free from nightmares. I’d protect her from all the dark things that haunted her, especially Dante Torrio.
Chapter 7
Nora
“Did you save Giana from my father?” I asked as soon as Dante stepped into the bedroom, my heart leaping into my throat.
I turned my face away from the final bite of mashed potatoes that Luca offered me. I hadn’t objected to him helping me eat my dinner, but now that Dante had returned, my stomach knotted too tightly to take another bite.
His beautiful features pinched in a scowl, and his dark curls tumbled over his brow as he shook his head. “Your father’s home in the city is deserted. He must’ve decided to go into hiding when he realized I survived the assault on the Russians to rescue you.”
The mention of the Bratva made each of the bruises on my body flare with pain, and for an awful moment, their sick laughter echoed through my aching head.
Luca’s arms were warm and strong around me. “You’re safe,” he promised. “I’ve got you, Nora. Stay here with me.”
I blinked hard, willing the stinging tears to clear from my vision before their leering faces could coalesce before me in an echo of the nightmare. Between the drugs and Luca’s steady presence, I’d been able to keep the worst of the traumatic memories at bay. Now they threatened to overwhelm me, but I gritted my teeth and shoved them back. Giana’s life was on the line, and I didn’t have time to linger in my own remembered agony.
Dante’s scowl swam back into focus. His shockingly green eyes glittered as he watched Luca’s hands rove over my body, imbuing me with his warmth.
“Do you know where your father might have taken Giana?” he asked through gritted teeth. Something like pain tightened his jaw, as though he was fighting against some unseen strain.
I wracked my brain. “Did you raid Giuseppe’s beach house?”
Even as I asked it, I knew my father would never go somewhere so obvious. He would know that Dante had me once again, and he wouldn’t hide out somewhere I might be familiar with.