Chapter 1
Dante
Nora’s delicate body shook in my arms, so I pulled her closer to my chest. A sour tang coated my tongue, but I swallowed it down.
“Don’t worry, little bird,” I murmured. “Remember what I told you in the woods? I promised that if I break you, I’ll always put you back together again.” No matter how deviant my games with her became, I would protect her.
She simply shuddered in silent response.
I firmed my resolve.
She would learn to love serving my darker needs. She would be happy with me.
“You don’t understand yet, but you will,” I said firmly. “You can trust me. I’ll prove it to you.”
We would be a family, and our children would have a safe, stable home. As the Boss of our organization, I could give them everything they could possibly desire. I wouldn’t settle for anything less in life. I’d earned this position of power and security with pain and blood. I’d spill a lot more if it meant getting what I wanted.
My victory wasn’t quite complete. Many of Luca’s allies had escaped from my estate, retreating from the firefight when he’d come to take Nora from me. I’d let most of them go; I would need their allegiance. The Russians were circling like sharks, and I intended to rally all the men I could command to defend our territory.
I just had to break Luca first, and then they would all be mine. He would order them to pledge their loyalty to me by the time I was finished with him.
Then my wife, my future family, would be safe, protected. The power to provide that mattered to me more than anything money could buy.
Nora was the key to his undoing. He cared for her. I’d seen the anguish in his eyes when he’d watched me touch my pretty wife. He’d torn his wrists bloody in his futile attempts to break his chains and save her from me.
But she didn’t need saving. She was safe with me, safer than she’d ever been with him. He was too weak to protect her. He’d never been worthy of controlling our organization. He’d never been worthy of pretending to be her husband.
My arms flexed around her. She pressed her hands tighter against her face, as though she could hide her pretty tears from me. I didn’t like the violent shudder that wracked her willowy frame. Ever since I’d known her—ever since the day I’d noticed that she’d matured into a stunning woman hiding in her father’s shadow—Nora had possessed a quiet strength and elegant poise. Now, she quivered and sobbed even though I held her with tender care.
I firmed my jaw and ignored the slight twist in the pit of my stomach. I’d given her my word: I would put her back together again. I always kept my promises, especially the vows I’d made to my wife.
I carried her away from Luca, back to our bedroom. I would make her forget all about him, flood her with so much pleasure that she had no room in her mind for thoughts of him.
Or fear of me.
She was still crying into her hands when I laid her gently on our bed. I stroked her tear-wet hair back from her cheek, and her teeth chattered. My gut twisted, and I pulled away with a frown.
I’d have to find a way to calm my wife. I wouldn’t leave her shivering and sobbing in our bedroom, even if I did have pressing matters to attend to.
“Stay here, darling.” I dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head and reluctantly pulled away.
I wanted to keep holding her, but I had other plans to soothe her. My base desires didn’t rule me, especially not when I had her wellbeing in mind.
Even now, lust was a low simmer in my veins: residual arousal from our powerplay in my dungeon. Nora was breathtaking when she surrendered to pleasure, and the high of humiliating my worst enemy was intoxicating in a way I’d never known before.
If I were a beast like Luca, I’d drive into her tight heat and take advantage of her for my own release.
But that wasn’t the way my marriage would work. She would welcome me into her body the first time I truly claimed her. There were so many other wicked ways to ensure my wife was pleasured. She would surrender fully soon enough. I could be patient.
Taking in a breath to tamp down my lust, I turned from the alluring sight of her naked body and went into our bathroom. The bathtub was enormous—big enough for both of us. Her skin was oddly chilled, so I would warm her back up.
I tested the water’s warmth and began to fill the bath with soothing lavender bubbles—a scent I hoped would please her. She always smelled delicately sweet and slightly floral, a delicious perfume. The lavender should suit her.
When I was satisfied with the bath, I quickly stripped out of my own clothes and walked back into the bedroom.
She must’ve heard me approaching, because she parted her fingers to peek at me from behind the mask of her hands. Her knees drew up tight to her chest in an unmistakable protective pose.
My jaw tightened. She was afraid of me, afraid that I intended to force myself on her.
“Don’t worry, little bird,” I soothed as I scooped her up in my arms. “I promised I wouldn’t fuck you until you beg me to. I’ll always keep my promises to you.”
“I will never beg you for anything,” she hissed, her hands finally falling from her face. Her hazel eyes shone with tears, but they sparked with defiance.
Some of my tension eased, and my lips curved in a small smile, satisfied to see her fire again.
My smile seemed to unnerve her, because she quickly dropped her lovely gaze. I didn’t like the distance that put between us, but I allowed it. She was still upset, and she needed a tender touch rather than sharp commands.
I carefully eased her into the warm water, and she made a soft gasp when she settled down on her bottom—she would be sore from the flogging. The bath would help soothe her physically as well as emotionally.
She stiffened when I got in with her, sitting behind her and pulling her toward me so that her back pressed against my chest. My desire for her pulsed through me, an involuntary response to having her naked body cradled by mine.
She squirmed and tried to pull away, but my arm was an iron band around her stomach, pinning her in place. I brushed a kiss over her shoulder.
“Calm,” I urged, a cajoling order. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She went still as a statue, each of her lithe limbs tense. “And why should I believe you when you’ve already caused me so much pain? You hurt me, and you liked it.”
“I did.” I wouldn’t lie to my wife, not ever. Especially not about the things that brought me pleasure, no matter how perverse they might be. “But I’m not going to hurt you now. I’ll always take care of you.”
She released a soft huff but otherwise didn’t respond.
I began gently rubbing her shoulders. “Relax,” I murmured.
She didn’t. She remained so still that she might’ve been carved from marble.
Undeterred, I began to massage her, working out the tension from her neck and upper back. Slowly, she softened in my hands.
I decided to reward her for her good behavior. I would teach my wife how to please me, and when she surrendered, she would experience bliss.
I began to explore her body, finding each tender spot that made her sigh and unwind ever so slightly. After a while, she leaned back against my chest, her tired muscles relaxing despite her efforts to resist the allure of my touch.