Page 35 of The Cost of Corruption

“The hell she is,” Gabriel exploded, bringing his fist down hard on the marble top of the kitchen island to punctuate his point.

Anyone else in the world would have shit their pants to have Gabriel D’Angelo scream at them like that. With very few exceptions, making the boss of New York’s most dangerous crime family was a death sentence.

Lucky for me, I fell into that category ofvery few exceptions.

But even so, it was jarring to see my brother so angry with me. I couldn’t remember the last time either one of us had lost our temper with the other. No matter what, when push came to shove, he always stood by me. Just like I always stood by him.

And it wasn’t just a twin thing.

Though Gabriel might have been my mirror image, we shared the same close bond with our adopted brother, Dorian. Even though he didn’t have a drop of D’Angelo blood in his veins, he was one of us.

And in this family, we had each other’s backs.

Unless you brought home a Costa, I thought wryly.

“She can’t go back to Brooklyn,” I stated calmly as I poured myself a glass of OJ. There was no use joining his shouting match. Gabriel’s foul moods never lasted too long. I knewbecause it was my job to make him see reason and keep him from lashing out in violence when his temper grew short.

Of course, I usually wasn’t the one caught in the crosshairs of that temper.

“You can’t expect me to believe Michael Costa tossed his only daughter out on the street,” Gabriel said.

I shook my head. No one would believe that. The man was the definition of an over-protective father.

“No, but he threatened her in front of me.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly. If there was one thing neither of us could stand, it was someone who abused women. “With violence?”

“Among other things.” I picked up one of the pastries piled high in the basket between us and took a bite. “If you’d been there, you would have done the same thing.”

Okay, maybe not theexactsame thing.

Not only was my brother newly married, but he was also absolutely devoted to his wife. Since the night the two had met, I hadn’t seen Gabriel so much as look at another woman.

But the idea that Gabriel would simply stand by while an innocent woman was threatened and shamed was ridiculous. Even if that person just so happened to be a member of the Costa family.

“Fine,” he conceded unhappily. “I’m sure Costa lost his temper and said some things he regrets. But I’m bet he’s calmed down by now. There’s a chance if you send her home now before anything happens, we might be able to avoid an all-out war between the families.”

I drew a deep breath and looked my brother dead in the eye. “It’s too late for that.”

“Goddamn it, Matteo!” Gabriel cursed. “Don’t tell me you fucked a nun.”

“She’s not a nun yet,” I answered with a shrug. “Just a postulant. She won’t take her final vows for another two weeks.”

“Fucking hell!”

Clearly, that wasn’t the part he was worried about.

“More importantly, I technically haven’t fucked her.” Not yet, at least.

But damn if I wasn’t dying to.

I’d only managed to doze for a couple of hours by her side. The entire time, my body ached for her. All I could do was toss and turn as erotic dreams floated through my head. Images of plunging myself deep inside Chastity’s core, of feeling her heat surround me as she called my name, taunted me. It was enough to rouse me out of sleep only a few minutes after I’d drifted off.

By the time the clock on my bedside table read nine o’clock, I was ready to give up on sleep.

The day awaited, and my schedule was packed. Life didn’t care about my sexual frustrations.

But my poor balls did. Throbbing with frustration as I stepped into the shower, they demanded release.

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