Her lashes lowered, shy as she complied with shaking hands. I allowed her to avert her gaze from mine until she was stripped down to her underwear, and she reached for her white tights.

“Look at me. Watch me while you put them on.”

She swallowed, but her hazel eyes remained locked on mine as she eased the tights over her long, slender legs. As she slowly complied, my cock stiffened. I kept my hands on the arms of the chair, denying myself. I was in control here; I had an iron grip on my own body as well as on her will.

When she was finished, her limbs were practically liquid as she flowed into her next movement. She stepped into her leotard and pulled the straps over her shoulders, then stood as though a string tugged at the top of her head, lifting her entire frame in an elegant pose.

I picked up the remote from the small table beside my chair and pressed the play button. Music swelled throughout the studio, the first lilting notes of her favorite number from Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty surrounding us.

Her features softened. “How did you know?”

“Giana told me it’s your favorite.”

“I…” She blinked rapidly. “Thank you, Luca.”

My gut tightened when she said my name with reverence, lust punching through me.

“Now the shoes.” A slight growl roughened my voice as I suppressed my most primal desires to grab her and fuck her hard.

She reached for them just as the studio door burst open with a bang. She yelped and lifted her hands to her heart, startled. I was instantly on my feet, positioning my body in front of hers.

Two of my guards stood in the doorway, guns drawn.

One of them spoke, and my blood ran cold. “Your father is dead. You’re to come with us. Dante wants to see you.”

10. Luca

Chapter 10

Luca

“Idon’t answer to Dante and neither do you.” My words were cold and precise, and I clung to my control by a thread. I couldn’t fly into a rage. One wrong move could send bullets flying, and Nora might get hit.

Fear like I’d never known before gripped my lungs with sharp claws, digging deep and robbing my breath. Because I wasn’t the only one in danger. My heart hammered against my ribcage at the prospect of my fragile wife being hurt. It was my job to protect her, and now I had two traitors in my home, guns threatening her.

The man who’d spoken first, Andrea, swallowed hard but firmed his grip on his weapon. “Dante paid us well. He’s the boss now. You’re coming with us. Quietly, or we won’t hesitate to shoot.”

“Don’t point that at my wife.” I couldn’t quite keep the growl from my voice.