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Not like him.
My stomach twisted, but I would have to eat something. I had to keep my strength up, and already it’d been more than a day since my last meal.
I looked down at my place setting and found that I hadn’t been provided with a knife and fork.
It seemed Dante was sparing me from temptation.
So, I’d have to eat with my hands like some kind of beast, yet another humiliation on top of everything he’d already done to me.
As I watched him feed Nora, regret gnawed at my insides, making me feel sicker than ever. The food I forced down tasted like ashes.
It was too late to go back. I couldn’t undo the unforgivable way I’d treated Nora when I’d forced her to marry me. I couldn’t try to ensure her wellbeing simply because I genuinely cared about her happiness more than my own.
As long as he had my friends as his hostages, there was nothing I could do against him. Nothing I could do to save Nora from him.
We were Dante’s playthings now.
Chapter7
Nora
Luca spent the night in his cell, and once again, I slept in the monster’s arms. Dante had Luca brought up to the dining room to witness my humiliation as he fed me breakfast and dinner. In the hours between, I’d tried to lose myself in my favorite romance novel. But the fictional world couldn’t hold my attention, and mostly, my mind drifted.
I’d been expressly forbidden to go down and visit Luca again while Dante was away taking care of business. I hadn’t dared defy him. Not so soon after that awful punishment. The belt had left bruises on my bottom, but otherwise, my body was unharmed.
But my soul… I wasn’t sure how much more I could take without shattering again.
I expected Dante to return Luca to his cell after dinner, but my stomach dropped when he led us both into his perverted dungeon instead.
My feet stalled out at the threshold, and Luca bumped into my back. I leaned into his strong body, seeking the comfort of his embrace.
Dante turned to me with a frown and tightened his grip on my hand, tugging me toward him instead.
“Didn’t you hurt me enough yesterday?” I challenged, straightening my spine and allowing my gaze to clash with his.
His frown melted away, and he caressed my cheek. “Nothing I do to you today will cause you pain,” he said with the weight of an oath. “We’re going to test Luca’s obedience.”
Luca growled behind me, and his body heat kissed my back as he inched closer, as though he wanted to rip me away from Dante.
“You don’t have to do this,” I begged, desperate to spare my husband from further humiliation. “Leave him alone. Please.”
Dante’s beautiful features firmed into something fierce, but his hand remained gentle on my cheek.
“He killed my brother,” Dante seethed. “He’ll suffer a lot more before I’m finished with him.”
“Francesco was my friend,” Luca snapped. “You don’t know—”
“Keep my brother’s name out of your mouth,” Dante barked. His eyes narrowed on my husband. “I didn’t give you permission to speak. Say his name again, and Lorenzo dies.”
Luca fell silent, but his stubble-shaded jaw ticked as he chewed on words that he wasn’t allowed to utter.
The monster’s rapt attention fixed on me once again, his expression hard with disapproval. “That’s enough arguing. I’ll have to tame your tongue, too.”
I swallowed hard and edged back toward Luca, but Dante kept his firm grip on my hand. He dragged me forward, into his dungeon.
It was just as awful as I remembered. I took in the chains where he’d whipped me, the flogger that he’d used to beat me, and the enormous bed where he’d coerced me into humiliating Luca for the first time.
I shuddered, but he pulled me inexorably into the terrifying space, leading me to a slightly raised, padded platform covered in black leather. His hands bracketed my waist, and he urged me to step up onto it before guiding me down onto my knees. The padding cushioned me so that the position wasn’t uncomfortable, even if I hated being forced to kneel before him. The platform was only a few feet above the floor, so he still towered over me.
