“With him.” Curiously, Gabriela doesn’t sound bitter, just resigned. “Yes, we see that now. He loves you. I never would’ve thought I’d say that, but he does. The way the two of you are together, the way he looks at you . . .” She lets out a shaky laugh. “Oh, honey, we’d give an arm and a leg for it to be someone else for you. A good man, a kind man, someone who’d hold down a normal job and buy you a house near us—”

“Julian did buy me a house near you,” Nora says, and her mother laughs again, sounding a little hysterical.

“That’s true,” she says when she calms down. “He did, didn’t he?”

Now the two women laugh together, and I let out a relieved breath. Maybe Nora doesn’t need my interference after all.

Another sound of a chair scraping across the floor, and then Tony says gruffly, “We’re here for you, honey. No matter what, we’re always here for you. If anything ever changes, if you ever want to leave him and come home—”

“I won’t, Dad.” The quiet confidence in Nora’s voice warms me, chasing away the remnants of my anger. I’m so pleased that I nearly miss it when she adds softly, “Not unless he wants me to.”

“Oh, he won’t,” Nora’s father says, and he does sound bitter. “That much is obvious. If that man had his way, you’d never be more than ten feet away from him.”

I only half-listen to his words, mulling over Nora’s strange statement instead. Not unless he wants me to. She sounded almost as if she’s afraid that’s the case. Or is it that she wants it to be the case? An ugly suspicion snakes through me. Is that why she’s been so distant in recent days—because she wants me to let her go? Because she no longer wants to be with me and hopes that I’ll let her leave as a way to atone for what happened?

My chest tightens with sudden pain even as a new kind of anger kindles within me. Is that what my pet expects? Some sort of grand gesture where I give her freedom? Where I beg her for forgiveness and feign regret for having taken her in the first place?

Fuck that.

I tear the headset out of my ear, dark fury rolling through me as I turn and take the stairs two steps at a time.

If Nora thinks I’m that far gone, she couldn’t be more mistaken.

She’s mine, and she’ll stay that way for the rest of our lives.

Chapter 41

Nora

Tired yet hyper after talking to my parents, I walk up the stairs toward our bedroom. Though a part of me still wishes I could’ve shielded my family from my new life, I’m relieved that they now know the truth.

That they know the woman I’ve become and still love me.

Reaching the bedroom, I open the door and step inside. No lights are on in the room, and as I close the door behind me, I wonder where Julian might be. While I’m glad I got the chance to clear the air with my parents, the fact that he left dinner without a good explanation worries me. Did something happen, or did he simply get tired of us?

Did he get tired of me?

Just as the devastating thought crosses my mind, I notice a dark shadow standing by the window.

My pulse jumps, my skin prickling with primitive terror as I fumble for the light switch.

“Leave it.” Julian’s voice comes out of the darkness, and my knees almost buckle with relief.

“Oh, thank God. For a second, I didn’t realize it was—” I begin, and then his harsh tone registers. “You,” I finish uncertainly.

“Who else would it be?” My husband turns and crosses the room, approaching me with the silent gait of a predator. “It’s our bedroom. Or have you forgotten that?” He places his hands on both sides of the wall behind me, caging me in.

I draw in a startled breath, pressing my palms against the cold wall. Julian is clearly in a mood, and I have no idea what set him off. “No, of course not,” I say slowly, staring at his shadowed features. There’s so little light that all I can make out is the faint glitter of his eyes. “What do you—”

He steps closer, molding his lower body to mine, and I gasp as I feel his hard cock against my belly. He’s naked and already aroused, his hot male scent surrounding me as he holds me trapped in place. Even through the separating layer of my dress, I can feel the lust pulsing within him—lust and something much, much darker.

My body awakens with a jolt, my pulse quickening on a surge of fear. This must be it: the punishment I’ve been expecting. With the doctors having deemed me healed earlier today, my reprieve is over.

“Julian?” His name comes out on a choked breath as he grips the nape of my neck, his long fingers nearly encircling my throat. His huge body is all muscle, hard and uncompromising around me. One squeeze of those steely fingers, and he’d crush my throat. The thought chills me, yet a hollow ache coils in my core, my nipples peaking with harsh arousal. The anger coming off him is palpable, and it calls to something savage inside me, fueling the dark fire simmering within.

If he’s decided to finally punish me, I’m going to make damn sure I get what I deserve.

He leans into me, his breath warm on my face, and at that moment, I make my move. My right hand forms a fist at my side, and I swing upward with all my strength, striking the underside of his chin. At the same time, I twist to the right, breaking his grip on my neck, and duck under his extended arm, whirling around to hit him in the back.

Except he’s no longer there.

In the half-second it took me to turn, Julian moved, as quick and deadly as any assassin. Instead of connecting with his back, the sharp edge of my palm slams into his elbow, and I cry out as the impact sends a shock of pain through my arm.