Page 40 of Unholy Union
But my scream is the first of several as he scoops me up into his arms.
Panic erupts inside me. I start to really squirm, trying to slip free by any means necessary. I wiggle halfway to freedom before Cato’s clenching grip bears down and entraps me all over again.
It becomes a moment of nasty scuffling. Me thrashing and flailing for freedom. Cato wrenching me down with him as he takes us to the bed. He handles me so easily, like it’s no problem at all for him to flip me around and pin me into the mattress.
But I still refuse to go down without a fight. My leg juts out and catches him in the stomach. A beat of satisfaction pulses through me as he grunts then grabs me by the ankle to wrestle my strappy heels off.
“You have so much fight in you,” he says. “That’s okay, principessa. It makes it more fun taming you—and Iwilltame you.”
My heels slide off my feet. Before I can roll over and kick at him some more, he’s moved onto my arms. He locks themtogether using only one of his hands. His other tugs his necktie free with an air of nonchalance, like this is any other night at the Valente residence.
He’s home after a long day at work. Now he’s undressing. All while his wife squirms and screams into the mattress.
“How many times do I have to tell you, you asshole?!” I snap, hair in my eyes. Heat flushes my skin. My dress has ridden up, exposing my thighs and panties.
I don’t give a damn.
I’m more preoccupied with the fact that my husband dragged me out of a nightclub like a child and has brought me home to our bedroom as if I’m on timeout.
Cato holds my wrists together as he takes his tie and binds me in the scratchy strip of wool fabric. He works so quickly and efficiently it’s difficult to keep up.
He loops the rough fabric into a tight knot that keeps my wrists pinned behind my back.
“It seems tonight’s all about limits,” he says, tugging on the knot. He pulls it as tight as it can possibly go, making the wool dig into my delicate skin. I wince against its scratchy feel. “You wanted to test mine tonight at Nocturna? Fine, you tested my limits, principessa. Now let’s test yours. Starting with this ass you wanted to grind on another man.”
“Cato…” I gulp for air, so stunned by his threat I’ve temporarily abandoned my stubbornness.
But it’s too late; he’s too pissed, too set on what’s coming next.
He stands back and admires his handiwork—me face down on our bed with my cheek pressed into the duvet, my dark curls a tangled mess. My hips and ass pushed back at a ninety-degree angle. The dress I’m wearing has slid up my thighs and pooled around my waist, showing off the baby blue thong I put on for the night.
A crooked grin slashes across Cato’s face, his hands in his pockets. “My beautiful little wife, you’ve never looked better. But it’s only the beginning—let’s just say I love you in red.”
“You are deranged!” I snarl at him, wiggling my body to turn over.
His hand presses down on my back and lowers me again.
“You think I’m kidding, principessa? I’m being serious; I saw you on that dance floor tonight,” he explains calmly. “The way you moved your body. The little dress you put on and how you played with those curls of yours. You knew what you were doing, didn’t you?”
I can hardly concentrate long enough to answer.
I’m more distracted by the fact that Cato’s voice competes with a clang of metal. I glance over my shoulder for a look at him.
His hands are on his belt, undoing the buckle and sliding the leather strip from the loopholes of his pants in one swift, sharp motion.
It’s how fluid and deft he is about it that makes my heart pound faster. The stern manner in which he folds the belt in half, pulling it taut, that has me forgetting to take my next breath.
I hate my husband with every fiber of my being. But in this moment, it’s the sight of him standing over the bed that awakens a dark and toxic sense of thrill inside me, that sends a shockwave of it tremoring through me.
Cato’s standing over the bed with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his thick, veiny forearms on display as he peers down at me. His eyes have gone dark, his expression set to match.
Yet I can’t look away. I’m almost mesmerized by him and the raw, commanding masculinity he exudes. It sucks up all the air in the room and clouds my thoughts until I remember I’msupposedto be fighting back.
It’s clear what this is about—he intends to break me, but I refuse to be tamed.
No matter what happens, I’ll always hate Cato Valente and the rest of his family for what they’ve done to mine.
“It’s time to make sure you understand that the rules are to be followed,” Cato explains, “and what happens when you break one of those rules. There will be consequences for it.”
