“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you,” he pledged, rich brown eyes earnest on mine. “I’ll take care of you, Nora.”

I nodded mutely, unsure what to say. That I was grateful to him for saving me? That I hated him for forcing me into this marriage?

I just wanted to sink into sleep and then wake up from this nightmare.

Mercifully, he left me alone and went to fill the tub. Within a few minutes, soft floral scents wafted through the bedroom. He was drawing a bubble bath for me. The tenderness of the act was bizarre and completely incongruous with the man who’d humiliated me with dark pleasure when all I wanted was to hate him with every fiber of my being.

I shuddered and sank deeper into the duvet, but it didn’t chase the chill from my bones. Luca was only in the next room, but I’d never felt more alone.

8. Nora

Chapter 8

Nora

Luca’s strong arms were around me again, carrying me as though I was incapable of walking the short distance from the bedroom to the bathroom. I considered arguing with him about the arrangement, but exhaustion sapped my mind, and my tongue felt too heavy to snap at him. He’d removed me from the cocoon of the duvet, and the persistent chill had frosted over my skin.

I eyed the bath with longing, breathing in the floral scented steam rising from the hot water. Luca carefully set me down on my feet, his hands on my waist to steady me. He peered down into my eyes, assessing. Whatever he saw there, it made him frown.

His fingers trailed over the goosebumps that pebbled on my arms. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

He reached behind me, finding the zipper at the back of my dress. All my muscles locked up tight. “What are you doing?”

He shushed me gently. “I just want to help you. Let me.”

The command wrapped around my ravaged soul, and I was too tired to defy him. All the fight drained out of me, and I started to go numb. My husband was stripping me. He would get me naked and touch me in ways that made me blush.

I would endure this. I had to.

“Look at me.”

Another command. My eyes snapped to his.

He cupped my cheek in his hand, thumb skimming over the heated skin that still prickled slightly from where Alberto had slapped me. I stared up at him blankly, retreating further into myself.

Lines of strain deepened around his eyes. “I’m not like him.” A hint of the feral growl returned to his voice, but otherwise, he remained calm and handled me with aching care. “I will never hurt you like that.”

I said nothing. He claimed that he wouldn’t violate me, but he was taking off my dress. There was only one thing he could possibly want from me.