“But you won’t let me love you, will you, Analise?” Suddenly, he ripped at her blouse. The silk tore, revealing the plain black bra beneath. Desire twisted inside him and he clamped his hand onto one covered breast. “You’re a tease, aren’t you? You make me want you, but you won’t let me love you.” He bent down to the creamy flesh. Clumsy fingers fumbled with her pants. “Let me love you,” he moaned, grinding his mouth to hers.

“No!” She surged beneath him, desperate to escape. “You promised you wouldn’t do this!” After the last time, when he’d tried to take her and failed, he’d broken her arm. “Please, Nathan, don’t.”

The fist into her stomach stopped her screams. “Don’t tell me no! Don’t ever tell me no!” He could smell her terror and it excited him. She was his, and tonight, he would have all of her. If he had to beat her to take her, so much the better.

She scratched at the hands that tugged at her jeans, jerked at the head that bit her breasts. The cologne filled the air around her and she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. Blindly, wildly, she kicked out and connected. Nathan’s wail of pain echoed through the room and he collapsed to the floor. She scrambled off the couch and hurried to her bedroom. Barricading the door, she sat against it, bruised and aching. His punishment would be brutal, unless she stayed hidden until he left for Milan. She sat motionless against the door, unable to muster a single tear. His question wrapped itself inside her head. Who loved her?

No one, she thought hopelessly. They sent me here because they didn’t love me. They left me with him. How could anyone have loved her and left her with him?

THE JEEP CLIMBED a steep rise, unexpected in an area known for sinking below sea level. With her face pressed against the window, her eyes fluttered open and she saw that they’d driven up a plank of wood. Curiosity died before she could see that the plank led into a garage. They’d stopped, she noted listlessly. She didn’t move, unable to decide what to do next or to care.

Had Nathan told her to stay or go?

Gabriel made the decision for her. He opened the door and bundled her unresisting form into his arms. He bumped the door closed, not bothering with the locks. The aged ramp creaked gingerly beneath his feet, but the concrete stays beneath the treated wood guaranteed their stability.