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)
To my surprise, Luca gave him a sharp nod of agreement. I’d expected him to bristle, but he simply turned his attention to the bottle of painkillers on the nightstand. He pressed a single pill into my hand.
“It’ll just take the edge off,” he promised. “You won’t fall asleep again until you’re ready.”
I heard the bath running in the next room as I obediently took the pill. Despite the fact that I was barely drugged, everything seemed slightly surreal. Dante and Luca were putting aside their feud to care for me. For so long, they’d fought over me like I was their favorite toy. Or worse, their property.
But now, they were suppressing their mutual loathing to see to my comfort and safety. After everything my husband had suffered at the Devil’s hands, he was swallowing his pride for my sake. He was no longer trying to fight Dante or vowing to kill him. Instead, they both seemed completely focused on me.
Even Dante seemed more intent on saving my sister than subjugating Luca and taking control of the organization.
“Come here,” Dante commanded, his deep voice echoing slightly in the bathroom.
I expected Luca to tense at being ordered around by our captor, but he simply gathered me up in his arms and carried me to where Dante waited for us beside the massive tub.
Dante’s eyes glinted as he issued another command to Luca. “Get undressed. You’re going to hold her.”
A low growl rumbled from my husband. He chafed at the imbalance of power, the reminder that he had to do as Dante said, or his friends would suffer.
But Luca didn’t hesitate to carefully set me on my feet so that he could strip. It seemed he cared more about seeing to my needs than he did about the wound to his pride.
“I love you,” I told him, imbuing the words with the depth of my gratitude for all that he was sacrificing for me.
Dante’s big hands bracketed my waist, supporting me as he pressed his chest against my back.
Luca stepped out of his sweatpants and returned to me, caressing my cheek. He didn’t try to rip me away from Dante. Instead, he handled me as though I was made of glass. His nakedness didn’t frighten me, despite what I’d endured. He was my husband, the man I loved, and I could never fear him.
Even Dante’s steady heat at my back was comforting. Their strength surrounded me, shielding me. No one could get to me while I was in their arms, under their protection.
Luca stared down into my eyes, peering straight into my soul. “I love you too.”
I released a shuddering sigh, the last of the tension easing from my muscles.
My husband loved me, and I was safe.
“Take off her robe.” It sounded as though Dante issued the order through gritted teeth, but I couldn’t look away from Luca’s intense gaze to study his face.
“You can leave,” Luca told him without taking his eyes off mine, tone hostile. “We don’t need you in here.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dante hissed. “My wife needs me.”
“She’s not your wife! Nora is mine.” His blazing gaze snapped to his enemy, fixing him with a glower. I gasped at the loss of connection, but the men were too caught up in their argument to notice.
“You are only here for her sake,” Dante warned. “You will remain here for her sake. What I do to your friends is another matter entirely.”
His threats made my blood run cold. Dante had used Gabriele and Lorenzo to subjugate Luca ever since he’d been captured. Seeing my strong husband controlled by a madman turned my stomach.
I placed my hand over his heart to call his attention to me.
It’s okay, I tried to say, but the words stuck in my constricted throat.
“She doesn’t need your hands on her,” Luca seethed. “Not after everything she’s been through.”
Yes, I’d suffered so much. The Russians…
I swallowed hard, and cold sank into my flesh. Dark memories churned, rising up to drown me in terror and agony.
“My wife needs me more than ever,” Dante snapped back.
Dark laughter suffused the air around me, making it heavy enough to suffocate me. Masculine hands groped me, leaving trails of grime on my skin.
“Please…” I begged to be spared, to be saved.
But no one would save me. Dante wasn’t coming, and Luca couldn’t come.
“Nora.” Dante’s voice, rough with strain.
I leaned back into his steady heat, his strong body. “You came.” I whispered.
“I will always come for you,” he swore. “I’ll prove it to you every day. You’re safe with me.”
Luca’s thick fingers trailed over my cheeks, wiping away tears.
“Stay here with me.” My husband’s voice was deep and steady, a gentle command.
I drew in a deep breath and focused on the two men who had saved me. Both of them, surrounding me, protecting me.