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His sharp grin was dazzling, and my stomach flipped with terror. “I thought you might be more difficult this time.”
He moved faster than I could comprehend. He’d strolled toward me with such slow, casual confidence that I wasn’t remotely prepared when he struck. His long fingers ensnared my wrist, and he pulled me toward him. Before I could claw at his eyes with my free hand, he twisted my arm behind my back and applied upward pressure. My shoulder screamed in protest, and I dropped to my knees with a ragged cry to alleviate the ache. Something sharp pricked the side of my neck, and warmth oozed into my bloodstream.
Giana’s horror-stricken face wavered above me. “Leave her alone!”
“No one harms Giana, either.” Dante’s voice seemed farther away now, but the cold command in his tone still chilled my insides.
I tried to push to my feet, but my limbs were so heavy, and he hadn’t let up the immobilizing pressure on my arm. It didn’t cause me any pain as long as I didn’t struggle. Dante wasn’t truly hurting me, but he had me pinned down on my knees.
“Luca will kill you for this.” My warning was slow and slurred, my tongue too thick in my mouth.
Drugged.Dante had injected me with something insidious. I couldn’t even try to fight him off when he shifted his hold on me. He lifted me up in his arms, and I floated on a warm cloud.
“No,” Dante responded smoothly, his voice a low rumble through the haze that blanketed my mind. “Luca won’t kill me. But I welcome him to try.”
There was no way I’d be able to fight off the man who held me so easily against his powerful body. Stubborn to the core, I tried anyway. I thrashed in his arms, but my limbs barely twitched. My eyelids were so heavy, and I couldn’t gather my thoughts to rail at him properly.
“Go to sleep now, little bird. When you wake up, we’ll be home.”
Home.He wasn’t talking about my father’s house or the estate where I’d spent my first week of married life with Luca. Dante was taking me home with him, where I would be completely at his mercy. He would lock me in a cage and use me to lure Luca to him.
Fear followed me down into darkness, lingering long after my eyes drifted closed against my will.
Chapter 12
Dante
Ilooked down at my lovely prize, content to wait for her to wake up. She’d slept the whole journey to my fortified estate in Upstate New York, so she should come around soon. Then, I could fully revel in my triumph over Luca, the bastard.
My revenge was so close that I ached for it, a sharp pang in the pit of my stomach. I’d waited fifteen years for this, and with her help, I’d finally make Luca pay.
The fact that Nora Ricci would be the key to his undoing only sweetened my vengeance. I’d watched the delicate beauty for years, craving her when I knew that her father would never allow me to have her. Thanks to the black mark on my bloodline, he wouldn’t have accepted me into his family. Until his fear of Luca forced his hand, and he chose to trust in me.
Now, she was mine, completely in my power.
She looked so fragile when she was sleeping, innocent and serene.
A copper tang coated my tongue, and I swallowed down the sour moment. Luca had taken her innocence, not me. He would scream for that.
But he’d only had her in his bed for a week, and I was certain that noble Luca Vitale wouldn’t have corrupted his pretty brideso quickly. Not in the ways I would defile her, and she would learn to love suffering for me.
She stirred with a groan, and a sharp, anticipatory grin stretched my lips. I sat up straighter on the edge of the bed, watching as her long lashes fluttered. Her hazel eyes were glassy at first, her brow furrowed. She was still disoriented from the drugs.
I saw the moment that my face came into focus for her; her eyes flew wide on a gasp, and she scrambled away from me.
“Hello, little bird,” I crooned, relishing the tremor that raced over her willowy body. “Welcome home.”
She looked around wildly, taking in our bedroom: the rich shades of blue edged with bronze gilding. She was sprawled on our massive bed, her back pressed against the imposing mahogany headboard.
She took in three deep breaths, forcing the air into her lungs. Then she turned a fierce, defiant glare on me. “This isn’t my home. Let me go.”
The imperious tilt of her delicate chin was delicious. I grinned at her, and she barely wavered at my disconcerting expression. Men had pissed themselves when I turned this cruelly pleased smile on them.
I’d chosen well with Nora. I’d always wanted her, but I’d been prepared to marry her sister when her father approached me with the proposed alliance. But when Nora had defended Giana and defied Giuseppe, I’d known that I couldn’t accept another. Giana was shy and timid. Nora possessed a quiet strength and fierce will. I needed a spirited woman who could handle the darker things I wanted to do to her without breaking completely. I had no desire to be married to an empty, mindless shell of a woman.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I informed her. “This is your home now, with me. Luca took you from me, but he’ll live to regret that.”
She swallowed hard, but she kept her defiant posture and stared me down. “My husband will kill you if you touch me.”
