My ruined white dress pooled in the grass around me, making me gleam like a virgin sacrifice under the full moon.

Calloused fingertips trailed along my throat, making my nerves jump and dance beneath the gentle caress. It was shockingly tender in contrast to the painful bindings that held me fast. My screams choked off into something like a humiliating whimper, and my entire body vibrated with terror.

“Poor little bird,” he crooned. “Don’t you like having your wings clipped? You didn’t really want to fly away, remember?”

A curse was on the tip of my tongue, but it came out as little more than a garbled plea as my teeth chattered. I was so cold down to my bones. I shuddered in the ropes, fear gripping my psyche like sharp black claws.

“Don’t be afraid, pet,” he soothed, caressing my chilled cheek. “You’ll learn to love being caged.”

“Please…” I managed to force out the single, desperate word, but he shushed me gently, like I truly was nothing more than a spooked animal.

Fear had reduced me to a primal state, and he’d ripped away my ability for fight or flight. I was thoroughly trapped and powerless, snared by Dante. He was even more terrible than I’d allowed myself to imagine, just as sadistic as Luca had claimed.

Luca. I longed for my husband, for him to save me like he had when Dante had sent men to our home to threaten us. I wanted Luca to make Dante bleed and scream for what he was doing to me.

But Luca wasn’t here. I was utterly alone with the beautiful madman who seemed to want nothing more than to unravel me completely, to reduce me to a fear-ridden, sobbing mess.

He reached around me as though to gather me up in an embrace, and he tugged at the knot that held the binding firm on my chest. As the coils of rope loosened, he pressed down on my shoulder, forcing me lower on my knees. The diamond patterned bindings on my legs bit deeper into my flesh, a throbbing ache that made me cry out.

The pain distracted me, ensnaring my attention as Dante swiftly unwound the rope from my torso. For a few clumsy, desperate seconds, my arms were free. All my poise and composure had been ripped away long ago, and my wild attempts to fight him were fumbling and laughably uncoordinated.

He dodged my flying fist and grabbed my wrists, drawing both arms behind my back and securing them there with a lashing of rope. To my horror, he gripped the bodice of my strapless gown and yanked it downward, baring my breasts to the chilly air. My body was on fire as the cold breeze rippled over the surface of my skin. Icy fear still encased my bones, but somehow, my flesh was burning in contrast to the frigid air.