“I don’t want to be in pain,” I whispered back, my throat too tight to speak more assertively. “Please, Dante, I—”

“Master,” he corrected. “I’m your master, pet. Your husband. When we’re together like this, you’ll address me with the proper respect.”

Despite my terror, I bristled. “You’re not my husband. Luca is.”

He clicked his tongue at me, chiding. “That was a foolish thing to say, darling. You are my wife. You will learn to love being mine. Before we’re finished here, you’ll admit that you belong to me. You’ll know that I’m your true master.”

“No one is my master,” I hissed. “I don’t belong to anyone but myself.”

I’d said the same thing to Luca on our wedding day, when he’d kidnapped me and forced me into marriage.

I hadn’t won against him.

Looking into Dante’s beautiful eyes, I feared that my loss this time would be far more devastating. I was naked and chained, completely helpless to prevent him from whipping me. He would do whatever he wanted to me, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

He shook his head, dark curls tumbling around his perfect face. “I admire your spirit, but you will learn when to yield to me, Nora.”

He stepped away, and I sucked in a ragged breath. I released it on a scream when the first strike landed, the leather falls kissing my bottom with a loud slap.

He made a low sound of disappointment. “I barely tapped you. You’ll take a lot more by the time I’m finished with you.”

Terror flooded my mind, seizing control of every inch of my body. I didn’t want this. I had to get away.

I twisted and yanked against the restraints. The metal cuffs dug into my wrists with bruising force, and my eyes burned. I blinked rapidly, barely maintaining the willpower to prevent the tears from falling in thick, desperate streams.

The whip touched my spine, just at the base of my skull. The heavy falls dangled down my back, brushing over my hypersensitive skin. A strangled cry of animal fear tore up my throat. More pain than I’d ever known was coming, and he would enjoy inflicting it.

His hand spanned my stomach, stilling my frantic struggles. He traced the line of my spine with the whip, a gentle caress.

“Hush now, pet. Calm. You’ll hurt yourself.”

“You’re the one who’s hurting me,” I accused through chattering teeth. I stopped yanking against the cuffs, but my entire body shook.

“Yes, and you’ll take the pain for me,” he replied calmly, as though I was the one being irrational. “But I don’t want you to cause yourself harm. You’ll damage your wrists if you keep pulling against the chain like that.”