He was slowly freeing me from the rope, dragging it along my sensitized skin as he loosened the knots and uncoiled it from around my stiff limbs. I hissed in a pained breath when blood rushed back to the braided furrows the bindings had left in my flesh. He made soft, soothing noises and murmured more words of encouragement. I tuned it all out, studying the moon. Everything turned surreal, my body pulsing with aching pain and residual pleasure as my mind floated.

Dante loomed over me, his towering body blocking out the moon as he stripped off his white collared shirt that he’d worn for our wedding. He shrugged out of it, revealing powerful muscles that rippled in the moonlight. He was so much stronger than me. I’d been a fool to think I could fight him in even the smallest way. He’d cracked my composed mask and goaded out my defiance, only so he could shatter my will more thoroughly than any man had ever managed. A slap to the face would’ve been a mercy compared to what he’d just done to me.

The beautiful monster dropped to his knees beside me and tenderly wrapped the shirt around me, covering my naked breasts. He trailed his fingers through my hair before caressing my cheek. I felt a slight rasp beneath his thumb, and I registered that my face was dirty.

My entire body felt filthy, and not from the soil beneath us. I didn’t think I’d ever feel clean again. Dante had reached deep inside me and left a toxic smear on my heart.

When he lifted me up in his arms, I didn’t try to fight. He’d thoroughly subdued me, and I couldn’t face further horrors or humiliation.

“Let’s get you cleaned up and tucked into bed, pet,” he murmured, his tone warm and reassuring. “Don’t worry. If you break, I’ll put you back together again. You’re my wife. I’ll take care of you, Nora.”

I shuddered and closed my eyes, swallowing against the nausea that turned my stomach. Luca had promised to take care of me, too, but he wasn’t here to save me.

I was utterly alone, completely at the mercy of the most monstrous man I’d ever encountered. Luca would come for me, but I wasn’t sure how much of my soul would be intact by the time he came to my rescue.

14. Nora

Chapter 14

Nora