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)
Nora stirred, and I kissed her forehead while maintaining eye contact with Dante. Even though I’d shared her with him, she was still mine. The harsh slash of his mouth told me that he knew it too.
Good. Nora might’ve begged for peace between us, but she would never be his. No matter how many times he made her come or how loudly he made her scream his name.
Something sharp pierced my gut: jealousy tinged with shame.
I’d enjoyed every deviant moment of what we’d done together, even while the bastard was touching my wife.
But in the cold light of day, regret began to creep over me.
“Nora, why don’t you go check on Giana,” Dante said. It wasn’t really a question. “Luca and I need to have a discussion.”
Her brow pinched, and her lush lips pursed in a frown. “You can say whatever it is in front of me.”
He took her hand in his and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. I suppressed the nearly overwhelming urge to rip him away from her.
“I promise I’ll explain everything later, darling. I expect that this will be a tense meeting, and I don’t want to put you at risk, no matter how remote it might be.”
Her small hand wrapped around his, tethering him to her. “If it’s dangerous, I don’t want you going. Either of you.”
“How dangerous it is will be up to Luca.”
“Just tell me what the fuck you’re planning,” I growled, irritated at his enigmatic demeanor.
He eyed me coldly. “Come with me, and you’ll find out. I want to control all the variables in this situation for as long as possible. I don’t intend to die today.”
“No one is dying,” Nora said firmly. “We discussed this already.”
Dante nodded, eyes shuttering to conceal all flickers of emotion. “I’ll come back to you. I promise.”
“Okay,” she agreed, placated. “I’ll go talk to Giana. Come and get me when you’re finished with your meeting. I want to know what’s going on.”
“Of course.” Dante was quick to give her what she wanted.
Whatever she desired.
My cheeks heated, and I shoved away the fresh memories of what I’d given her last night when she’d revealed her deepest, darkest desire. What I’d sacrificed for her.
And I would do it all again. Anything for Nora.
Even allowing her to fuck my worst enemy.
He’d come to us offering himself up for torment, but somehow, I was the one who’d been tested yet again. And by Nora’s will this time, not his.
An ugly emotion that felt too much like resentment tightened my chest. I took a quick breath to clear it away. I could never resent my wife. Not after everything she’d been through. She’d suffered horrific abuse because I’d failed to protect her so many times. I would do whatever I could to begin to atone for that.
If absolution was even possible after the magnitude of my failures.
I pressed a swift kiss to her lips before getting out of bed, ignoring the chill that frosted my skin in the absence of her gentle heat. In a matter of minutes, I was composed enough to accompany Dante to his mysterious meeting.
He lingered a few moments longer with Nora, promising her that she was safe in his home, even if he wasn’t by her side.
Their home.
I ground my teeth. She didn’t belong here. She didn’t belong with him.
I kept my anger locked inside my chest, trapping spiteful words that might upset her. We would have to talk more later about this messed up situation with Dante. I didn’t know what to think about her plea to be with both of us, but I didn’t dare to contemplate it too long. I’d drive myself mad if I allowed my budding fears to overtake my rational thoughts.
Later. We would talk everything out as soon as I was able to return to her.
So, I followed Dante down to his study, on edge and pissed off.
Then the door swung open, and my rage flared into an inferno.
Gabriele and Lorenzo waited in the center of the room, their expressions of loathing identical when their dark eyes fixed on Dante. Two other men I vaguely recognized kept them under guard, guns drawn to keep them in line.
I rounded on Dante. “Fucking liar. You promised Nora that your vendetta was over; she said that I would be free. But you’re still keeping my friends as your hostages to control me. Let them go, you sadistic bastard.”
His mouth twisted with distaste. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. I just need to make sure that they’re not going to go feral and tear this place apart as soon as they’re free. Nora needs us to be united if we’re going to end the threats against her. That means we need every man we can get. I won’t have our people at each other’s throats.”
I eyed him warily, every engrained instinct screaming at me that he was a master manipulator.