Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“Doesn’t mean I’m going to give them anything.” Antonio glowers.
“Nothing of consequence, but we should always remember to throw the dogs some table scraps.” I think through the small list of Larone holdings. “Toss them the coke connection to South America through the Orlavs.”
Antonio’s face brightens a bit at that. “The operation you suspect has an FBI informant in it?”
I nod. “We’ll wash our hands of it entirely. Let the Corlettis deal with the Feds.”
“I hate giving them anything except a bullet,” Butcher says.
“This is worse than a bullet. The Feds will bleed them slowly.”
That makes Butcher smile. Of course it does.
“All right. Enough business.” Antonio waves us away. “I promised Angelica a nice dinner in the city this evening. I need to get ready.”
Butcher’s already moving to the door, as if he was simply waiting for the all clear so he could return to Bianca in their wing of the house. The love bug has bitten the Palermo family hard. First Antonio and now Butcher–two men who I never imagined would fall in love. But now they’re ruled by it, and I have to say I’m rather liking the change.
They hurry away to their respective wives as I glance toward the foyer. I should walk down the hall and out the front door. Maybe take a drive to the city or occupy myself with more work, balancing accounts, checking for any bullshit in the Larone books.
Instead, my feet carry me toward the back of the house. It’s dusk, the sun coating the trees and landscaping in a warm golden glow.
It coats her, too.
I stop, my breathing suddenly faster, my palms going sweaty, my cock getting achingly hard. She’s right where I knew she would be.
Why do I do this to myself? It’s fucking torture. That’s Butcher’s forte, not mine. But here I am, watching her through the window as she naps, her lithe body on display in a white bikini that leaves very little to the imagination. Not that I need it. I know every curve and dip of Carina’s body, every inch of her committed to memory. The way her pouty lips purse after she’s said something particularly sassy, the way she sways her hips when she walks, the scar on her left ankle from a bike accident when she was six, and a million other details that don’t escape my notice.
She shifts, her legs spreading the slightest bit, giving me a perfect view of the triangle of white fabric between her thighs. I move closer to the window, my eyes straining against the falling night. The outline of her pussy lips presses against the fabric, giving me a tantalizing view of her most intimate parts. Parts I want to worship with my tongue, my fingers, my cock. Parts I want to coat with my cum so everyone knows who she belongs to.
My heart hammers, my cock pressing against my pants as the reasonable, intelligent parts of my brain shut down. All I can see is her. All I want is her. How many times have I imagined taking her? Holding her down as she pants my name, giving her every inch of me until she shudders and gasps, pleasure overcoming even her sharp tongue. Fuck, I want it so badly that sometimes I wonder if I might lose my goddamn mind.
I should’ve left when I first realized I had feelings for her. That would’ve been the right thing to do. I should’ve told Antonio I was going out on my own, even if I wasn’t. I should’ve tried to be a good man and walk away from the one temptation that I have to fight every day to resist. But I didn’t. I’m committed to this family. More than that, I’m committed to Carina. If I walked away and something happened to her, I’d never forgive myself. I can’t have her, but I can’t leave her. I’m trapped, and maybe I want to be, if that’s what keeps me close to her.
You see, the love bug may have only recently bitten Antonio and Butcher, but it’s had its fangs in my heart from the first moment Carina Palermo returned from school.
She’s Antonio’s sister.
She’s only eighteen.
And she’s completely off limits.
2
CARINA
For the longest time, all I ever wanted was Gilly’s attention. Since I was a young girl, before my brother thought it was best to send me off to boarding school for not only my safety but to get the best education, I’d stare at the man like he’d strategically placed all the stars in the sky for me alone.
That was the thing about Gilly that always drew me to him. Most men can be a bit hot-tempered. But not him. He’s always so calm, cool, and collected. I found that calmness fascinating as a young girl.
Then I went away to school, and when I came back, my feelings for him started to change. Of course I’ve always thought him to be handsome, but that word doesn’t even do him justice now. The man is downright sexy. I guess something has changed for him too, because he does almost anything he can to avoid me when I’m home. I know I can be a bit much at times, but jeez, I’m a freaking Palermo. What does he expect?