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My husband’s handsome face sharpened to something almost feral. “No mercy.”
“None,” Dante agreed. He tipped his head toward the door. “Mattia and Diego are waiting. I’ll stay with Nora.”
Luca dropped a swift but fierce kiss on my lips before he reluctantly released me. Dante was at my side instantly, gathering me up in his brawny arms. It seemed neither man was willing to leave me alone with my nightmares, and gratitude washed through me in a strong enough tide to make my eyes sting. I turned my face into Dante’s chest and willed the tears away. I didn’t have to be afraid when they were with me, guarding me. We were safe on Dante’s estate, in the privacy of his bedroom.
Within a couple of minutes, Luca was dressed, and he’d arranged his tousled hair into a neater style. He looked rougher than the man I’d been forced to marry, less polished and controlled. But he was still stunning enough to capture my full attention, his rugged air making him even more magnetic than ever.
Or maybe it was my feelings for him that made him so irresistible.
“I love you.” I said the words without hesitation or fear or rejection. I was completely confident in the bond I shared with him.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I love you too, kitten.”
He shot a final glare at Dante. “You’ll take care of her while I’m gone.” It wasn’t a question.
“Better than you ever could,” Dante retorted. “Nora is safe with me. In every way.”
Luca’s jaw ticked, but his eyes softened as his focus shifted back to me. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. We’re going to find Giana. I promise.”
I nodded, throat too tight with emotion to manage any words. I didn’t want Luca to leave, but my sister was more important than my desires.
And even though it made my husband angry, I knew that I truly was safe with Dante. We both knew it; that was why it infuriated Luca so much. He wanted Dante to be nothing more than the monster holding us captive, but he was different now: caring and almost alarmingly attentive. He often seemed to sense what I needed before Luca did.
And he hadn’t once threatened to kill Luca. Or use me to break him.
My husband lingered for a moment longer, his eyes roving over me as though he was memorizing every nuance of my face. After a final, quick kiss on my lips, he turned and strode out of the bedroom, leaving me alone with my dark protector.
Dante shifted me off his lap and stood, holding out his hand to me.
“Come on, little bird. You need to get up and move around a little now that you’re healing.”
I shrank back and crossed my arms over my chest as fear fluttered in my belly. I was safe in Dante’s bedroom. No one could get to me in his private haven.
“I don’t want to leave.” I defied him, but my voice was little more than a whisper.
His stern expression melted into compassion—an emotion I’d never seen cross his face. His glittering eyes were as intense as ever, but concern for me softened the harshest edges of his sharp features.
He reached out and snagged my wrist, his long fingers encircling it so that he could slowly pull my arms free from my chest, unfolding me from my defensive pose. I became aware of how frail I’d become; I’d lost weight despite Luca’s efforts to encourage me to eat.
“You can’t stay in here forever, darling,” Dante said gently. “We’re just going downstairs. I promise that we won’t leave the house. Not yet.”
He tugged at my wrist, inexorably pulling me to my feet with steady pressure; there wasn’t so much as a flicker of violence in the way he handled me. He’d never been violent with me, even when he’d tied me up and toyed with me mercilessly. Dante was a mercurial man, but he was patient with me, and he’d never hurt me for any reason other than erotic pleasure.
If I was being honest with myself, I’d experienced dark ecstasy when he’d bound and tormented me.
What I couldn’t bear was the fact that he’d done it to break Luca. He’d hurt my husband in the worst way, and I wasn’t sure if I could ever forgive him for that. Dante might no longer be my personal Devil, but he’d done terrible things that he would never be able to take back.
But now, he stared down into my shattered soul, waiting until I was steady enough to leave the room that’d become my safe space. He was pushing me just a little, but not more than I could handle.
I couldn’t cower in his bedroom forever. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t allow the Russians to take one more thing from me.
I sucked in a deep breath and willed my knees to stop shaking.
