The party was in full swing, but my eyes were fixated on a redhead that was too busy talking to the bartender to notice anything else.
My eyes dragged along the curve of her hips and the slight dip of her dress around her waist as she laughed at something the man behind the bar said. Her hair was long and lustrous but the tattoo on her back caught my attention.
A serpent with a crown on its head.
It looked majestic. I was tempted to trace my finger along it but I knew better than to touch her. She was, after all, the daughter of the enemy.
When my father came forward with the idea of me marrying Garner Vito's only daughter, I was ballistic with rage. The thought of having to live with a Vito was a disgrace in itself. Especially after what they had done to us.
To me.
My hands bawled into fists as flashbacks of Mona's lifeless face flashed in front of my eyes. Her bloodied and bruised body was sent as a gift. A reminder of who was leading the mafia.
I narrowed my eyes as she sat on the stool. Her back was still to me; all I could see was the expanse of her skin and the tattoo that taunted me from afar.
My feet worked on their own accord and I found myself standing behind her. My nerves bundled up as a crease graced my face.
Why the fuck was I so worried?
I was supposed to marry her. I had the right to stand next to her. I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention. Her head turned towards me and suddenly everything else blurred.
There were many things a man could be prepared for. So many things I could have ultimately done to prepare me for what I was seeing, yet there was nothing good enough to not take my breath away.
Her face was perfect. There was no other way to describe it. Big doe eyes and pouty kissable lips parted slightly. My eyes traveled down to her perky breasts pressed tightly against her dress. Suddenly vivid images of her under me, entangled in my sheets while I fucked her senselessly flashed through my mind.
"You're Zavier Morelli," her voice was assertive but soft. It was enough to bring a man down to his knees.
"I am,"
"I'm Amelia Lakosh," she extended a perfectly manicured hand out and I brought it close to my lips. Her wide eyes were my answer and I had the same effect on her too.
"You're a Vito, not Lakosh," she rolled her eyes at me. It was suddenly too hot in the room. I was tempted to
"That's my father's surname," she shot back.
"That makes it yours too,"
"I'd rather die than take after his name," she hissed and I could see the wave of hatred flash in her grey eyes.
"Look, let's be clear on one thing. This-," she motions her hands between the both of us "-is not something that can ever work out. I despise your kind with passion,"
Looks like Garner Vito had quite the spitfire on his hands.
"I can agree with you on that. I have done my research on you, a big fancy lawyer, fighting to put criminals away. You're basically the black sheep of your family,"
She scoffed in my direction. I can't help the way my cock jerked up at the sound. "I hope you rot in Hell,"
"I might since you're the choice of my father," I cock my eyebrow at her.
"Don't worry, you weren't the piece of cake I was dying to have either," she turned around but I wasn't done with her.
Yet.
I pulled her back and the glower in her eyes was enough for me to know I had pissed her off. Good. She should know how I felt too. I pushed her off her stool and pulled her to the middle of the dance floor.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed and I couldn't help but take a whiff of her citrusy perfume. It was addictive. I pulled her close until she was firmly pressed against my chest. Her breath hitched as I pressed my hands against her back.
A wave of delicious pleasure rolled in my stomach as we swayed. "I'm dancing with my fiancé,"
"I'm not your fucking fiancé," I twirled her and brought her close again. I could see Don Vito and my father standing in the crowd. Their eyes fixated on us.
"Our fathers seem to think you are,"
"This is never going to work out," she sighed as I twirled her around. "I can't do this,"
"I'm not dying to marry you either, Tesoro,"
"No, but you have the choice to say no. I'm just forced into this," she replied. "If you back off right now, we both can go our separate ways."
I let out a bitter laugh and pulled her closer. Her chest rose slightly up and down by the impact, my hand brushed against her spine and I tucked a rouge curl behind her ear. "As much as I would want to back away, I'm equally forced into this,"
If it was up to me, I would burn her whole family down. But something deep inside me told me that maybe she wasn't very enthusiastic about them either.
It didn't mean I didn't find her attractive. She was probably the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her almost crimson hair curled to perfection while she wore a dress that would have men on their knees.
While she dipped slightly, I could get a clear view of her soft and perky breasts. I wanted to wrap my lips around them and suck on her nipples until they were tender to the touch. She was making me feel things I haven't for a long time. I wanted her long creamy legs warped around me while I fucked her senselessly until she couldn't walk for days.
But then came her eyes. Grey and stormy. Sensual but guarded. Staring at me with a certain longing yet her hatred was evident. She hated me to my guts but I loved every second of that. Like a hit, I had never experienced.
"Stop looking at me like that." She drawled out.
"Like what?"
"Like you want to devour me,"
"Maybe I do," I spun her around until her back pressed against my chest. My hands traveled along the curve of her waist, leaving a fire in my chest as I moved along the rhythm of our moves.
"Ha. In your dreams Morelli. I don't like you,"
"What does like have to do with pleasure?" my nose pressed against her neck and I inhaled her divine scent again. It made me dizzy with lust.
What the fuck was happening to me?
I dipped my head along the curve of her neck and placed a soft kiss against it. Her shallow breaths were like heaven to my ears. "I could fuck you but never love you, Tesoro. I could whisper sweet nothings in your ear while you ride my cock all night and I wouldn't mean a single word," I whispered in her ear and she pushed me away.
"Fuck you, Morelli," she shot back and walked away while I stood there staring at her retrieving back.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Tudor walking towards me. "Looks like you were enjoying that dance,"
"She's crazy," I rolled my eyes. Our rendezvous still playing fresh in my mind.
"Well, you're marrying into a family of psychos. What else do you expect?" he snorted. He wasn't wrong.
I looked over to my father who sat next to Senior Don Vitto, the man who single-handily built his business out of nothing. His relentless efforts were what got him into one of the most respectable families in our society.
Being as famous as he was, he never mentioned his daughter, let alone how beautiful she was. Hiding the true gem from the world.
But why?
Why hide her and why let her have a different life?
It didn't make sense but I knew I could find it out and then use her to unleash my wrath on them and avenge all the wrongs they did to our family.