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My knees went weak, and I sagged against the bookshelf. I didn’t wish for any of this. I wanted to curl into a ball and sob too.
But I couldn’t let them see me cry. Cruel men reveled in my fear, my tears. It only incited them to further violence.
I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat and forced my shaking legs to support me. My torn dress slipped when I righted myself, so I clutched the ruined lace to cover my breasts.
Luca was on his feet and in my personal space in a heartbeat. I cringed away from his brutal hands. His arms dropped to his sides, and he stopped a few inches away from me, giving me space to breathe.
“Are you alright?” he rumbled.
I pressed my lips together and forced a short nod. I was as far from alright as I’d ever been in my entire life, but I wouldn’t tell him that. He couldn’t know how close I was to a complete breakdown. In the last twenty-four hours, I’d been kidnapped, forced into marriage against my will, lost my virginity to a monster, and been attacked by my own cousin.
I willed my chin to stop quivering and straightened my shoulders. Luca lifted his hand to my stinging face, and I flinched.
A frown twisted his mouth, and he pulled away again. “I’m not going to hurt you, Nora.”
I choked down a maddened laugh that threatened to bubble from my chest. Of course he would hurt me. Or worse, he’d make me experience pleasure again when all I wanted to feel was revulsion. That was far more devastating than a slap to the face.
Luca opened his mouth to say something else, but Alberto stirred with a groan. Luca rounded on him and delivered a vicious kick to his gut.
“Stay down,” my husband growled. “You’re lucky to be alive. Tell anyone about what happened here, and you won’t be. You’ll never see Nora again.”
Alberto spluttered, unable to rise even if he’d wanted to.
Satisfied that the threat was thoroughly dealt with, Luca turned back to me.
“I’m taking you upstairs,” he told me, the hard planes of his handsome face firm with resolve. “You’re hurt. I’m going to carry you.”
I didn’t want him to touch me. I wanted to crawl out of my own filthy skin.
But I didn’t try to fight him when he gathered me up in his strong arms and cradled me against his chest as though I weighed nothing. I closed my eyes against the shame that rolled over me in a searing wave and clutched my torn dress together at the bodice.
“What’s going on?” A stranger’s voice asked. I peeked through lowered lashes and recognized Gabriele, my guard from earlier today and one of the witnesses at our sham wedding.
“Alberto Ricci is in the library,” Luca said, cold and controlled. So unlike the heated, half feral way he’d snarled at my cousin. “Make sure he finds his way onto the street. He’s not welcome in my home.”
Gabriele glanced at me, taking in my torn dress and stinging cheeks, which must be red from where Alberto had slapped me. He seemed to understand the basics of what had happened in the library solely by looking at my disheveled state.
“I’ll take care of it,” he confirmed to Luca.
“Ask Lorenzo to make our excuses to our guests. My bride is unwell.”
Gabriele nodded, and Luca resumed our progress toward the stairs, carrying me up to our bedroom in tense silence. His muscles rippled around me with barely suppressed violence, but he handled me as carefully as though I was made of glass.
We entered the bedroom, and he softly pushed the door shut behind us, like he knew that I would jolt if he made any sudden noises. He crossed the room to the enormous leather armchair in the corner and sat down with me in his arms. He settled me over his lap, keeping a gentle hold on me. I realized that my skin was frigid, and I shivered against his warm body. His big hands ran up and down my arms, soothing away the goosebumps.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again,” he swore, tone low and dark. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there in time to stop him.”
I blinked up at him and found his ochre gaze focused on something I couldn’t see, something far off in the distance. Anger simmered in the depths of his eyes, was apparent in the granite set of his jaw. And there was something like pain in the harsh slash of his mouth.
“You stopped him,” I murmured, unsure why I was drawn to absolve my monstrous husband.
His dark gaze focused on me, roving over my stinging cheeks before dipping down to my ruined dress. “Not soon enough.” A touch of the growl returned to his voice. He took a breath and briefly closed his eyes, as though mastering his most feral emotions. When he opened them again, he appeared calmly controlled, more like the man who had pledged his eternity to me with solemn determination.
“Has Alberto ever done that to you before?” His teeth flashed on my cousin’s name, but otherwise, he remained composed.
I shook my head, distracted from my distress by the puzzle of my mercurial husband. “He’s never taken things that far.”
Luca’s brows drew together. “He’s hurt you before.” It wasn’t a question.
