Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36109 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“I’m going to step outside,” I murmured to my best friend, Raffaele DeLuca. He was also my boss. To most everyone here, he was the boss since he was the underboss of the DeLuca Crime Family in charge of all the southern branches. But bodyguard duty wasn’t truly necessary when he was surrounded by so many people who would lay down their lives for him. “I need some air.”
He turned his head, and his dark eyes held laughter when he quipped, “Liar. You’re trying to get away before the mammas start in on the lectures about babies and marriage.”
I shrugged, letting him assume he was right. Because the real answer would likely result in a bullet in my skull. He’d killed men for less.
As I turned around, my gaze briefly scanned the room, but I wasn’t looking for danger—at least, not to Rafa. My heart…that was another matter.
A frown curled my lips down when I didn’t see her, but I knew she was near because her scent was lingering, driving me to distraction.
We’d gathered at Rafa’s house since it was a giant mansion on a massive estate. As his bodyguard and the head of his security, I insisted on living under the same roof, so he’d turned a space at the back of the house into an apartment—although it was nearly as big as a house. It would have been the servant’s quarters when his great-uncle Guiseppe DeLuca had built the Magnolia Crest estate in 1931.
However, I didn’t meander toward my apartment. Instead, I wandered down a hallway that ended at the door to a perfectly landscaped garden. May in Georgia was warmer than the states up north, but it was perfect in the evening. I stepped outside and inhaled slowly, trying to flush out the lingering traces of honeysuckle and jasmine.
My body slowly uncoiled, releasing the tension that had me constantly on edge. The horse stables were only a short walk away, and I lifted my chin in greeting when one of the stable hands waved. Unfortunately, she took that as an invitation and began crossing the space between us.
Tynzlee—I’d been positive the name was fake until I ran a background check on her—was a talented exercise rider, but she was also a giant pain in my ass. Her wide smile made me cringe inside, and I didn’t have the patience for her flirting and bullshit tonight. So I nodded and pivoted around to escape inside. I didn’t count that as being a coward since I was saving her from my shitty mood.
Apparently, my good deed didn’t earn me any favors with the saints because the scent that I loathed and coveted at the same time hit me square in the face.
My gaze locked with deep brown eyes that had flecks of gold in them…and tempted me to break all of my rules and betray the trust of my closest friend. My brother in every way except blood.
“Domenico,” she greeted me in a soft, breathy voice.
“Gabriella,” I grunted, trying not to wonder if that was what she would sound like when she was sated from a mind-blowing orgasm. Fuck!
The hallway suddenly felt very small, and the electricity that sparked between us sizzled all over my skin.
The oldest of Rafa’s younger sisters was a walking wet dream. Long, dark hair that begged to be wrapped around my fist while I pumped in and out of her tight pussy. A rounded face that made her eyes pop, a cute nose, and lips that would look perfect wrapped around my cock.
She was a little more than half a foot shorter than my six-foot four-inch height and had curves that made my mouth water. Next to my muscular build, she looked delicate, but I knew she wasn’t fragile. Gabriella was strong and feisty, full of fire, with a sharp tongue that made me laugh or want to strangle her.
She’d always been beautiful, but it wasn’t until she’d returned after being gone for a year that I noticed the incredible woman she’d grown into. My body had roared to life after being dormant for a very long time—before I’d even met her when I was in my early twenties. I’d soaked in the sight of all those luscious curves, and it had taken everything in me not to outwardly react.
I was known for my ruthless discipline, for keeping my emotions locked down. I was trusted by the head of the fucking Mafia, and people feared me because all they saw when they looked into my eyes was a cold-blooded killer.
My family saw another side of me, the person I was when I let my guard down and showed my affection for them. Even then, though, I was in control.
So I didn’t understand how the fuck this one woman could be my downfall. I wanted her—her laughter, her smiles, her screams of ecstasy. And I craved her. The feel of her body pressed to mine, the taste of honeysuckle and jasmine mixed with her sweet juices on my tongue, and the feel of her velvety walls squeezing my shaft as I slid inside her.