Page 47 of The DeLuca Crime Family: Vol. 1

The Mob Princess’s Enemy

An Italian mafia enforcer falls for the Irish mob princess.

Brandon DeLuca’s relentless pursuitof Carly O’Reilly after she fled New York wasn’t really due to the orders of his mafia boss cousin. Being part of rival families wasn’t enough to stop the passion between him and the feisty redhead.

Carly was his, and Brandon was done trying to pretend otherwise. Now that he had admitted the truth to himself, Brandon just needed to convince Carly to put her life in his hands—and her body in his bed.

Prologue

BRANDON

Isat in my car and stared at the quiet, unassuming house across the little residential street. It was dark, the inhabitants out for the night or already in bed. I happened to know it was the latter. After a couple of months of searching, I’d finally caught up to my target and I wasn’t about to let her get away again.

Still, I continued to sit there and watch, taking no action. I told myself I was simply being cautious; I didn’t need any more trouble. But Nic had asked me to keep her safe. I was obligated. It was my job. It was complete and utter bullshit, that’s what it was.

The phone I was holding up to my ear began ringing, and I waited until the recipient picked up.

“Brandon?” Nic answered, his question implied.

“I found her.”

“Great. I’ll send?—”

“No!” I snapped, cutting him off and shocking the fuck out of myself. “She’s mine.”

Chapter One

BRANDON

My best friend and cousin Nic, who also happened to be the new head of The DeLuca Crime Family, was silent for a moment. Just the thought that he might disagree with me had possessive fury bubbling to the surface.

“Your call,” he said with an odd inflection in his voice. Relief flowed through me until I realized ... he sounded weird because he was trying not to laugh.

“What the fuck, Nic?” I growled.

The laughter burst free, and I heard a female voice admonishing him.Thank you, Anna,I thought, figuring it was his new bride. He said something back, but it was muffled, his hand clearly over the receiver. She yelped and he laughed harder. I mentally banged my head against the steering wheel.I didn’t want to know.

“Gianna says it’s rude for me to say ‘I told you so,’ so I’ll just say, good luck, man.”

I hung up to the sound of more laughter.Jackass.Nic had seen the sparks flying between me and Carly early on. She’d been our inside source in the New York City Irish mob and when things got dicey, Nic asked me to make sure she stayedsafe. The moment I saw her tall, lithe body, her long, lush red hair, emerald eyes, and creamy skin, I was doomed to walk around with a constant erection. It was impossible to deny; she was fucking gorgeous. She was also a major pain in the ass. Her stubborn streak was a mile wide, almost rivaling my own. Following orders wasn’t a talent of hers, and I tried to convince myself the package wasn’t worth the trouble. Yeah, I was in complete denial.

The night stretched out before me, dark and silent, but my mind and body were having a shouting match. Then my heart decided to join the game and with two against one, my mind never stood a chance.

Not wanting to alert her, I kept my car parked where it was and climbed out, shutting the door soundlessly behind me. She’d been raised in the mob and had learned a lot of useful skills; some by design through training, and some through necessity. She clearly knew how to run. Even so, the fact that she’d been able to stay one step ahead of me, someone known for their tracking skills, was a hit to my ego. Until I cut off communication with everyone and went dark. No one knew my moves, which meant there was no way for anyone to alert her.

I went through every trick in my arsenal to unbury where she was hiding. Within a week, it paid off and there I was, circling the house where I knew she was holed up, looking for a weak entrance point. It was locked up tight.Good girl.Only, there has never been a lock I’ve come across that I couldn’t pick. I chose the back door since it only had one deadbolt and while it was under a motion-activated alarm; the door itself wasn’t connected to the security system.

I’d cased the house. I knew the alarm system and was well aware of its blind spots, allowing me to sidle up to the door and go to work. It only took me fifteen minutes before I was slowly cracking the door open. I only had three to four inches of roomto slide my arm in and shut off the alarm panel. Any wider and it would set off the motion sensors. Carefully, I reached in and set a special little gadget on the security panel. Thirty seconds later, it shorted out and the whole system powered down.

I slipped inside and shut the door, making sure to reengage the deadbolt. It was only a one-bedroom house, so I didn’t have to search very hard. Finding the bedroom door open, I stood there, taking in the scene before me. Carly was on her stomach, sprawled out on the bed with the covers kicked away, showing off her spectacular ass in tiny, pink panties. The T-shirt she was wearing had ridden up and revealed the smooth skin and toned muscle of her back.

I’d finally admitted to myself that she was mine, so I took my time, like I had never allowed myself before, and admired her beautiful body. Her long red hair was splayed over the pillow, begging for my hands to run through it. My cock was hard and aching, ready for me to claim my woman. I gave in to what it wanted, since the caveman inside me demanded the same thing.

After removing my shoes, I silently approached the bed, stripping as I went. Since it was Carly, and I knew better, I removed the gun from under her pillow, putting it in my bag. She was bound to be pissed when she realized she’d slept through my breaking and entering, removing her gun, and getting into bed with her.

I debated whether to leave my boxers on but decided against it, knowing there was no way I could get into bed with Carly and not seduce her. Lying down next to her, I winced at a slight twinge of pain in my leg when I lifted it off the floor. It reminded me that she’d earned herself a spanking.

The night she ran, she’d come to warn me about her father’s nefarious plans. I could admit, in my desperate bid to fight my attraction to her, I may have said something that could have been construed as me accusing her of not being loyal to theDeLucas. Seeing her outraged and riled up was hot as fuck, and I wasn’t able to control myself anymore. I’d kissed the ever-loving fuck out of her. It was such a sudden action that she didn’t have time to react and her body melted into mine. Unfortunately, rational thought caught up with her and she shoved out of my arms. I’d let her go, giving her some space to process what had just happened, and preparing myself to apologize. Until I realized she’d taken my gun from the back waistband of my pants. I knew it was stupid to wear it there, but I’d wanted it hidden, yet easily accessible when I answered my door.

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