Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
A few seconds later, we were startled by a noise heard through the open window by my back door. It was immediately followed by a gunshot and a searing pain in my leg. The woman had fucking shot me. Despite the pain and blood, I’d raced to my back door, pointing back at her and growling, “Don’t move.” Grabbing a backup piece from a drawer in the kitchen, I’d taken the safety off and was about to open the door when I heard a voice shout my name. Glancing back, I saw Enzo, one of Nic’s hitters—yet another cousin because we are Italian, after all—rushing in.
“It was that little shit, Darby,” he snarled.
Shit. Carly’s brother was a little weasel and he would surely run right back to Daddy and tell him he’d seen Carly with me. Most likely, he saw me kiss her. Enzo didn’t know about Carly’s actions as our “inside woman,” and I knew I’d have to come up with a damn good explanation. I’d turned to face Carly, only to find she’d cleared out.
“Motherfucker!” I was going to wring her pretty little neck. I would have run after her, but Enzo swore and shouted at the guy with him to come inside.
“You’ve been fucking shot, Bran. Why didn’t you say anything?”
The truth was, in the adrenaline high, I’d forgotten all about it. They took me to a place where our family doctor could patch me up, then I took off after her. The injury had created just enough of a window for Carly to get completely off my radar. I still didn’t know how she’d done it. She was good, but I was better.
I sighed and settled onto the bed. It hardly mattered now. Her face was turned toward me, soft and sweet in sleep. It was an expression I’d never seen there before. When she looked at me, she was usually scowling. Rolling onto my side, I propped up on an elbow and leaned over. I brushed her hair off of her cheek and softly kissed her pale skin. I continued with my kisses all over her face before ending at her lips. I brushed my mouth over hers and paused when she sighed and shifted. I leaned back and waited for her to wake up, but she seemed to fall back into her dreams. This time, when I kissed her lips, she moaned. Moaned my motherfucking name.
If that wasn’t an invitation, I didn’t know what was.
Chapter Two
CARLY
Imight have physically gotten away from Brandon, but I couldn’t seem to get him out of my head. He’d been seared into my brain from the moment his lips crashed down on mine. Or more likely, from when I saw him for the first time. Brandon DeLuca was a man most women would find impossible to forget. At six-foot-three with an athletic, muscular frame, he made me feel downright tiny next to him. His dark, tousled hair made my fingers twitch with the need to touch. The thick, long lashes, surrounding brown eyes so dark they almost looked black, evoked a ridiculous amount of envy.
I’d mentally undressed every inch of his swarthy skin more times than I could count. But I hadn’t taken it any further. It was the worst possible timing for me to be attracted to anyone, let alone a DeLuca. Even though I’d caught a hint of attraction in his eyes, he hadn’t acted on it either. Not until the night my already precarious position was blown to smithereens, and I’d had to run.
I tried pushing him out of my mind, but he haunted my dreams every single night. There was no escape from him, probably because part of me wanted him near instead of hundreds of miles away. A very particular part of me, if the pulsing sensation in my pussy was any indication.
“Brandon,” I moaned.
My hand slid across the rumpled sheets and slipped into my pink panties to ease the need my dream had caused, yet again. Only this time, I didn’t even make it to my clit before fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist and stopped my progress. The tiny bite of pain made my eyes pop open, and I found myself staring straight into the chocolate brown orbs I’d just been dreaming about.
“Fuck!” I gasped, pushing up with my free hand until I was on my knees.
“Sounds like an excellent suggestion to me,” Brandon drawled.
To me, too, but I wasn’t about to admit to it. “How in the hell did you get in here?” I asked, yanking on my hand in an attempt to get him to release it.
He didn’t let go, his hold tightening until I stopped. My chest heaved, drawing his attention to my tits. My nipples beaded under his gaze, poking against the thin shirt I’d worn to bed. Brandon froze, staring with such intensity. I gripped the sheet in my free hand and pulled it up to my chest.