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I grasped my skirt and wrenched it free from the tangle of thorns that’d caught it. Some of the gossamer material remained strewn over the grasping vines, but I didn’t have time to cover my tracks; I’d already given away my location when I’d cried out, and Dante was too close.
I clambered to my feet and started running again, forced to move more slowly as the trees grew thicker. More brambles clung to the traitorous skirt, leaving a shredded white trail for him to follow. For an insane moment, I considered ripping off the dress and running naked through the woods.
But the fear beating at the base of my skull wouldn’t allow me to stop long enough to strip. My feet kept moving, altering direction every time he called out my name, trying to keep as much distance between us as possible.
I burst into a small clearing, and damp grass sprung beneath my feet, such a different sensation than the slick leaves that’d slipped and slid beneath me as I’d tried to run through the woods. A large wooden shed dominated the center of the grassy space; this must be where the groundskeepers kept their equipment.
My heart sank. I probably wasn’t very far from the house if I’d stumbled upon this place. I had no concept of how long Dante had been chasing me, but night had fallen, and the full moon illuminated the clearing.
He called my name again, and my blood ran cold. No, Dante hadn’t been chasing me. He’d been herding me.
He’d let me run myself to exhaustion, but he’d simply edged me back toward the mansion as he made me aware of his pursuit; each time he’d called out for me, I’d run in the opposite direction.
I cursed myself for a fool and raced behind the back of the shed, tucking my bright white dress behind it just as Dante entered the clearing. He didn’t say a word, but I heard his even footfalls pound the earth as he neared the shed. His sing-song whistle pierced the air, shooting toward me like an arrow to shred a hole through my lungs. I couldn’t breathe. He was so close…
The door to the shed slid open. My heart leapt. He was going inside to look for me. He must’ve expected me to hide in the dry, relatively warm space.
I darted across the clearing, back toward the dark woods. My white dress was a beacon in the moonlight, and desperation to hide in the shadows clawed at my insides. If I could only evade him, I might stand a chance of saving myself. Escaping this estate was unlikely, but I could hide until Luca got here. I knew he would come for me, and if Dante didn’t have me as a hostage, Luca would be able to attack him at full force. I wouldn’t be the reason my husband was murdered. I wouldn’t be the reason that Dante killed him and took everything that was rightfully his. I wouldn’t let him—
Strong arms closed around me, tackling me to the ground mere feet from the edge of the woods. His low laugh clashed with my scream, and panic spiked through my heart.
Something looped around my right wrist, and rough fibers scratched my skin as it drew taut. Before I had a moment to register what was happening, Dante pulled my arm close to my chest, grabbing my other forearm so he could pin it against my opposite shoulder. Moving with the swiftness of a striking snake, he tugged on the rope that ensnared my right wrist, whipping it around my body so that both of my arms were bound tightly against my breasts. I shrieked and thrashed, but my legs kicked out at nothing. He was behind me, his powerful arms caging meas he wound more rope around my torso, thoroughly trapping my arms so that my hands were useless to fight him off.
My stomach sank, even as I thrashed. He hadn’t gone into the shed to look for me; he’d gone in to retrieve the rope that now cruelly immobilized me, rendering me helpless to resist him. He’d pushed me to this clearing by design. He’d planned this sick scene from the moment he’d told me to run.
I threw back my head and howled out my fury. The bastard kissed my cheek and released a happy hum that rolled over my skin in a toxic wave. He was enjoying my terror, my impotent rage.
I writhed, somehow managing to contort my body so that I fell onto my side. I twisted my hips and kicked at his angelic face, wanting nothing more than to break his nose and make him bleed.
He easily snagged my ankle and wrapped more rope around my calf, weaving it in a tight, diamond pattern faster than my fear-addled brain could follow. My free leg whipped toward him, and he pressed his weight against me to pin my knee to my bound chest, trapping my foot between our bodies. He continued his swift work on my other leg, lashing rope around my thigh and drawing it tight enough to edge my panic with pain.
When three of my limbs were effectively immobilized, he slowed his progress, savoring my struggles as he bound my free leg. His eyes were bright with delight, his lush lips drawn in a feral grin, as though the chase had unleashed something primal and predatory in his soul. Any civilized veneer he’d ever possessed had slid away, leaving nothing but the maddened beast that was Dante Torrio: the truth at his core.
He fisted the ropes around my torso and dragged me upright, forcing me onto my knees. The bindings around my calves and thighs shifted, the taut rope digging into my flesh with bruisingforce. A ragged cry tore from my chest, and I tossed my head: the only part of my body I was capable of moving freely.
My ruined white dress pooled in the grass around me, making me gleam like a virgin sacrifice under the full moon.
Calloused fingertips trailed along my throat, making my nerves jump and dance beneath the gentle caress. It was shockingly tender in contrast to the painful bindings that held me fast. My screams choked off into something like a humiliating whimper, and my entire body vibrated with terror.
“Poor little bird,” he crooned. “Don’t you like having your wings clipped? You didn’t really want to fly away, remember?”
A curse was on the tip of my tongue, but it came out as little more than a garbled plea as my teeth chattered. I was so cold down to my bones. I shuddered in the ropes, fear gripping my psyche like sharp black claws.
“Don’t be afraid, pet,” he soothed, caressing my chilled cheek. “You’ll learn to love being caged.”
“Please…” I managed to force out the single, desperate word, but he shushed me gently, like I truly was nothing more than a spooked animal.
Fear had reduced me to a primal state, and he’d ripped away my ability for fight or flight. I was thoroughly trapped and powerless, snared by Dante. He was even more terrible than I’d allowed myself to imagine, just as sadistic as Luca had claimed.
Luca.I longed for my husband, for him to save me like he had when Dante had sent men to our home to threaten us. I wanted Luca to make Dante bleed and scream for what he was doing to me.
But Luca wasn’t here. I was utterly alone with the beautiful madman who seemed to want nothing more than to unravel me completely, to reduce me to a fear-ridden, sobbing mess.
He reached around me as though to gather me up in an embrace, and he tugged at the knot that held the binding firm onmy chest. As the coils of rope loosened, he pressed down on my shoulder, forcing me lower on my knees. The diamond patterned bindings on my legs bit deeper into my flesh, a throbbing ache that made me cry out.
The pain distracted me, ensnaring my attention as Dante swiftly unwound the rope from my torso. For a few clumsy, desperate seconds, my arms were free. All my poise and composure had been ripped away long ago, and my wild attempts to fight him were fumbling and laughably uncoordinated.
He dodged my flying fist and grabbed my wrists, drawing both arms behind my back and securing them there with a lashing of rope. To my horror, he gripped the bodice of my strapless gown and yanked it downward, baring my breasts to the chilly air. My body was on fire as the cold breeze rippled over the surface of my skin. Icy fear still encased my bones, but somehow, my flesh was burning in contrast to the frigid air.
