The silence after my non-answer stretched between us like a taut wire. Dante watched me for a long moment, his dark eyes searching my face as I lay there naked on the bed, body still trembling from the slow torture of his hands applying the ointment. The silver rabbit pendant rested cool against my collarbone, a constant, intimate reminder.
Finally, he capped the jar and set it aside.
“Tonight is different, little bunny,” he said quietly. “You’ve been cooped up in this room long enough. I’m going to let you leave the bedroom for dinner. Properly. At the dining table, like a civilized person.”
My heart stuttered. Freedom — even limited — sounded almost too good to be true. But the way his gaze lingered on my bare breasts and the way my thighs were still pressed tightly together made me
