And I’ve a feeling you’ll enjoy every moment of it.”
I ground my teeth so I wouldn’t cry out as he pawed at me. So I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
My mind spun. Every instinct inside screamed for me to fight back. To lift my knee and nail him in the balls. It might make him let go for a second, but even if I could get away, it was so dark I couldn’t even see the door. And I’d heard the lock click when he’d dragged me in here. If I fought back, I knew there was no way he’d let me live.
Plus, my rational mind told me, he’d said, “I can,” not “I will.”
He wasn’t here to hurt me as he wanted me to think. Just to frighten me. But if I fought back, he’d have an excuse. And he was waiting for that. For a reason to break his precious House rules.
I had to stay docile. I couldn’t antagonize him. It was the only chance I had. It was my only chance to keep Luc safe.
Tears rushed to my eyes, and I fought the hysteria that threatened to drag me under. Luc would never survive if something happened to me. I knew that with absolute certainty.
“Mm.” Gio’s fingers slipped over my nipple, and he twisted hard, making me gasp. “So responsive. You’ll make a very satisfying kitten. Don’t you agree, David?”
“Oh, I absolutely agree. It’ll be fun training her.”
My eyes shot open at the voice I heard somewhere behind Gio. Another familiar voice. One I’d heard at a fashion party in Rome.
David Bonello.
A new sense of terror clawed up my chest when I remembered what Luc had told me about the man, after he’d ordered me never to go anywhere near Bonello again.
He was a friend of Giovanni’s. He was as sick and twisted as Giovanni. And they often shared the same depraved tastes and the same women.
Oh God...oh fuck... Terror seized my chest.
I was wrong. These two together didn’t care about any rules. Even sacred House rules. I was about to be raped by both of them.
I shifted my back against the wall, ready to fight to the death if I had to. Then Gio suddenly released my nipple and tugged his hand from my sweater.
“My brother is healed from his wounds,” he hissed near my ear. “Your time is up. You have three days to get him back to Italy, or this will only be a sampling of what we’ll do to you. You made a deal with House Salvatici, and if you don’t fulfill your end of the deal, they’re ready to hand you over to us.”
Bonello moved up on my other side, his cloistering heat swirling in the air, sending bile straight up my throat.
“I, for one, hope you fail, bella,” he whispered in my other ear. “Because I can’t wait to unleash the inner slut inside you. We all know it’s there.” He skimmed his knuckles down my cheek. “And it’ll be even more fun to let her out while your husband watches.”
Gio chuckled.
His hand released me. Both men stepped back. Then a click sounded, followed by their footsteps fading until there was nothing but darkness around me.
I gasped. My legs gave out. Dropping to the floor, I fell forward, gagging in the dark. But a voice was pushing me, screaming for me to go, to run before they changed their minds and came back.
I clawed my way to my feet and fumbled in the darkness until I found the door. My hand shook as I scrambled to pull it open. Fresh air whooshed around me, followed by the familiar sounds of cars and people rushing past in a big city.
The streetlights blurred in my eyes. I stumbled down the sidewalk, using the buildings to guide me. But a wretched sickness was rising inside me. Threatening to consume me. And before I could stop it, I bent forward and vomited all over the sidewalk, unable to hold it in.
I wasn’t sure how I made it back to the old church, but the second I stepped inside the café, a kind woman took one look at me and steered me toward the restroom. “In here. Oh, you look like you’ve had quite a day.”
I cleaned up as best as I could, glad there were no other women in the bathroom with me. Luckily, I’d managed not to get sick all over my clothes, which was the only blessing I could see in this whole