I whispered his name again and melted into him, leaning into his strength. My love for him flooded my heart, filling it until it ached with every beat.
“You have to eat, kitten,” he murmured.
The spoon lifted to my lips once again, and I didn’t fight him. Luca wasn’t trying to humiliate me; he was taking care of me.
“Good girl.”
The praise warmed my insides, sending a pulse of comfort through my bruised body. I ate everything he offered me, content to be held by the man I loved while my mind floated. As long as I remained in this strange haze, I wouldn’t have to remember. I wouldn’t have to face the agony of reality.
“She needs more painkillers.” Dante sounded angry, his voice tight.
I turned my face to find him, but pain sliced down my spine. I stilled on a moan, and Luca shushed me gently.
“Just a little more, Nora. You’ll get through this. I’ve got you.”
My husband’s promise was followed by a slight sting on my upper arm, and warm darkness enfolded me once again.
Chapter 5
Dante
I paced across my bedroom, not caring that Luca watched me like I was a particularly rabid predator.
Good. My enemy should fear me.
We’d established a truce for Nora’s sake, but I still loathed him for killing my brother. He would never be forgiven for that.
He had so many sins to pay for: he’d murdered Francesco; he’d allowed the Russians to capture Nora; and he’d fucking stabbed me.
I rolled my shoulder and smothered a wince. His knife had driven into the bullet wound I’d sustained during the Russian assault outside my estate. I’d be lucky if I made a full recovery. The bastard might’ve injured me for life.
But I couldn’t lift a finger against him.
Not as long as Nora loved him.
A sour tang coated my tongue. I’d have to find a way to change that, to prove to her that I was the better man, the better match.
If that meant swallowing my hatred for Luca in order to help her heal, I’d do it.
And I needed his men if I was going to take on the Bratva. Already, they’d splintered away from me, old rivalries resurfacing now that Nora had been rescued. If Luca didn’t order them to pledge their allegiance to me, I’d never be able to avenge my wife.
It didn’t help that I couldn’t reach Giuseppe. I could’ve used his men, but I hadn’t heard from him since the day Nora had been captured. Had the Russians managed to get to him too?
“You need to rally your men,” I told him, trying to look directly into his eyes in order to avoid seeing the tender way he held Nora’s sleeping form.
His gaze left her face, snapping to mine. “They will never answer to you. I might be your prisoner for now, but you will never take my birthright.”
“Entitled son of a bitch,” I spat. “We need our combined forces if we’re going to take on the Bratva. Or do you not give a fuck about avenging Nora?”
His jaw ticked, and he spoke through gritted teeth. “Let my friends go, and I’ll consider working with you again.”
My lips curled in a sneer. “You don’t deserve her. You would try to bargain with me instead of prioritizing her?”
One day soon, she’d come to her senses and see that he wasn’t worthy of her.
She whimpered softly in her sleep. He shushed her and pulled her closer, and she relaxed on a sigh.
My fault. The realization hit me like a blow to the chest. She clung to him because of me, because of what I’d done. Ever since I’d stolen her away from him, she’d painted me as the villain in their story, and my decision to use her to break him had only deepened that belief.
