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It was almost too heartbreaking to contemplate. Dante had lost the only person in the world who loved him when he was little more than a child. His father had abused him, and his mother abandoned him. Francesco had been his anchor, and part of his humanity had died along with his brother. He’d become cold and sadistic, only finding peace when inflicting the pain that ravaged his heart.
That pain bound me to him, and in a perverse way, it’d formed a more intimate bond between us than sexual union. He’d released a fraction of his anguish in tormenting me, making me hurt like he hurt.
And my body had welcomed it, finding kinship in years of suffering and cathartic release. We’d both endured abuse and loss.
I couldn’t help responding to his dark games with arousal, but the visceral connection I felt toward him was so much more overwhelming than simple lust. It was no wonder that I completely lost myself in him when he unleashed his most deviant needs on me.
But Luca was the one holding me, not my dark protector. My husband was steady and solid—an anchor of my own. Our love had been forged in darkness, our defiant spirits bonding us with a common cause: to free ourselves from Dante’s cage.
And now, I’d finally set us free.
“Do you understand now?” I asked Luca quietly, my voice thick with tears that I shed for them both. “Can you see why Dante did those terrible things?”
He pulled back from me slightly, brows drawn forbiddingly over his eyes. “Dante’s misinterpretation of the situation will never undo what he put you through. He’s still a monster, Nora.”
I rested my hand over his heart, keeping him tethered to me. “He has no reason to hold you captive anymore. You saw him just now. He’s devastated by the truth. There’s no longer a need for him to exact revenge. He’ll set you free, and no one has to die.”
Luca’s features firmed to a forbidding mask. “I need his men to take down Giuseppe and the Russians, so I’ll spare him for now in order to protect you. But as soon as you’re safe, I’ll put him down.”
“But I don’t want—”
“He’s right.” Dante’s gravelly voice cut over me, and he stormed into the room, purpose in his sure strides. “Luca can’t kill me until you’re safe. But I have an alternative to death.” He came to an abrupt halt a few feet away from me and met Luca’s blazing glower, his expression cool and stoic. “Punish me the same way I punished you. Fuck Nora in front of me. Claim my wife while I watch, knowing she’ll never be mine.”
“No!” I exclaimed, a vehement denial of the disgusting sacrifice he was making.
Dante’s eyes glittered when they met mine, pain in each stunning green facet. They shined sharply enough to cut my heart.
“You should be with the man you love,” he said, strained but firm.
His agonized gaze swung back to Luca, and he squared his shoulders like he was facing a firing squad: proud, but ready to suffer the consequences of his actions.
“You can chain me down if you want. You can do anything to me, and I’ll take it, if only I can stay close to Nora and protect her.”
“Don’t do this,” I begged, voice breaking.
Dante always proved himself through actions, and he was throwing himself at Luca’s mercy now to demonstrate the depth of his regret. He was resolute in his decision to accept the worst punishment for his sins against my husband.
When Dante said nothing, I turned to Luca with my pleas. “Don’t do it. If you truly love me, you won’t degrade him like that. I don’t want any more suffering or cruelty. I can’t bear more torment, and I won’t be used as a weapon between you ever again.”
Luca’s mouth twisted in a frown, and he caressed my cheek. “He has to pay for what he did to you.”
“You should be with him,” Dante interjected, tone low and determined. “I don’t deserve you, Nora. I can see that now. Make love to Luca in front of me. Show me that you’re his, because you will never be mine.”
My spine stiffened, and anger surged up in a wave to drown my anguish.
“I won’t be used as a weapon, and I won’t be used as a tool for you to torture yourself. I don’t consent to any of this.”
“No,” Dante bit out. “You didn’t consent to anything I did to you. But you love Luca. You chose him, and I gave you no reason to choose me.”
My eyes burned with the ferocity of my rage and pain. “You never gave me a chance to choose. And you can’t make the choice for me now. Only I can do that.”
A single dark brow rose, challenging despite the tension around his full lips. “You aren’t going to forsake the man you love for the man who tortured you. You don’t want to cause me further pain? Then don’t pretend otherwise.”
