No, Dante didn’t want to see Nora dead. I knew that now. His insane affection for her seemed genuine, and from what I’d seen, it bordered on obsession. He reveled in tormenting her; he didn’t want to lose that by killing her.
He still held her cradled to his chest when he led me into a cavernous dining room and settled in a chair at the head of the table. Two place settings waited for us. I assumed one was for Nora and one for him, but he kept her in his lap, his arm an iron band around her naked body.
He tipped his head at the chair opposite him. “Sit.”
I sat stiffly, and all my muscles locked up tight. I was on high alert, completely thrown by what was happening. Dante’s actions made no sense. Why free me from my cell and offer me dinner like I was his guest?
Other than to rub it in my face that I didn’t have to be confined for him to keep me subdued.
Nora sat stiffly, too. Her cheeks were pink, a dark shade of embarrassment.
“Please don’t do this,” she whispered, begging Dante to grant her reprieve from something I didn’t understand.
He kissed her cheek. “I’m going to take care of you, pet. Let me.”
Suddenly, she lunged for the sharp knife to the right of his plate. He snagged her wrist mere inches from the blade, dragging her hand back into her lap as his other arm clamped around her more tightly.
“I know you’re angry with me, darling, but there’s no need for that. Don’t make me punish you again.”
Her entire body vibrated with unspent aggression. “Fuck you.”
Keeping her trapped against him with one arm, he lifted his other hand to grip her jaw. He lifted her face to his and locked her in a forbidding stare.
“I admire your fire, but we have to learn to get along,” he said, as though he was the reasonable one. “You asked for a punishment, and you got one. I understand if you lose your temper with me sometimes, but I won’t allow you to hurt me.”
“And you’re allowed to hurt me?” she shot back, venom lacing the words.
“Yes,” he replied simply. “And I’ll make sure you enjoy it. Did I not make you come hard enough in the end?”
His dark brows rose in challenge, and she bared her teeth at him.
“I don’t want you to make me come. I don’t want you to touch me. I hate you.”
He sighed, exasperated. “It doesn’t have to be this way between us, little bird. You’ll come to understand me in time.” He released her face from his firm hold and pulled the domed silver lid from his plate. “Now, it’s time for you to eat something.”
“You make me sick,” she hissed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not hungry.”
“Yes, you are,” he said dismissively. “You just don’t want to eat. But you don’t get to make that choice.”
His sharp green eyes suddenly pierced my chest. “She’s been starving herself, and you didn’t even notice.” He sneered. “You were never worthy of pretending to be her husband. You’re too self-absorbed to see what’s right in front of you.” He stroked a hand down her back. “I’ll always take care of my wife.”
My eyes raked down her slim body, noting how slender and fragile she was. I’d assumed she had a dancer’s form, and I’d never questioned how thin she was. She had generous enough feminine curves to distract me from the slight shadows around her lower ribs.
How had I never noticed?
“Is it true?” I demanded of her before I could hold the words in. My own face firmed into forbidding lines. “You’ve been?—”
“Don’t talk to my wife!” Dante thundered, cutting me off before I could demand answers from her.
She cringed at his outburst, and he stroked her spine again, soothing.
“I’m not angry with you,” he promised her. “Luca needs to learn to mind his tongue, or Gabriele will lose his.”
My fists flexed beneath the table, and I clamped my mouth shut.
Dante cut into his steak and picked up a bite sized piece, lifting it to Nora’s mouth.
“Open up, pet,” he cajoled.
