Chapter 40

Emiliana

I examined my face in the mirror. The scarlet handprint was no longer visible, but the ghost sensation that it was still there tingled under my touch. I stroked my hand down my neck, the bruises stung under my fingertips matching the foolishness that coursed through my body. 

An almost perfect hand shape marked my skin, purple circles where Luciano’s fingers dug and squeezed the air from my throat and cut off my connection to oxygen.

The memory came flooding back at full force. While it had only been less than twelve hours, I was still a shaky mess and only Giovanni had managed to be my anchor.

Fear and embarrassment were at the full front of the wrath, attacking me as it went to war with my sensibility. I should have listened to Giova