ANGEL

I've always gotten what I wanted. When my eyes feasted on something I had to have, I made sure I did everything in my power to get it. From the time I was nothing but a child, I've succeeded at gaining my every desire. I never dared to worry who it would hurt in the process. As long as I got what I wanted in the end, nothing else mattered.

I stared at the woman with the darkest blue eyes that almost seemed purple. She was a rare woman with hair so red that she looked grand.

My lip curled in distaste when I focused in on the arm wrapped around her waist. It just had to be Riccardo who had chosen a striking woman to be his future wife. My luck was never as good, never as pristine in finding a woman like her. It was tradition for every capo to choose his wife before taking over the organization, I hadn't found mine, but Riccardo obviously found his.

I traced her every curve with my eyes, glad to know she was untouched. Not only was the tradition to find a wife, but it was essential for her to be a virgin so the bloody sheets could be on display after marriage.

Riccardo began to walk over to me with the beauty in his arms. It was challenging, but I finally broke my gaze and peered over at the man I despised with every fiber in my body.

"Ángel," Riccardo smiled before holding his hand out for me to shake. I glanced over at my father behind clenched teeth to see a look of honor in his eyes. As much as I didn't want to, I placed my hand into his before standing up from my seat. Easily, I towered over Riccardo, leaving me to crane my neck down to look at him.

"This is my gorgeous fiancé, Madeline. Madeline, this is Ángel Siciliano," Riccardo introduced. I looked over at the woman only for my dick to almost twitch in my pants. She looked even better up close. Her name perfectly matched her beauty and it stuck to me like glue.

"Nice to meet you, Madeline," I smirked before grasping her small hand that felt so delicate in the hands of mine. Slowly, I guided her hand up to my lips before pecking her soft skin. She smelled like cherries and it was a scent I was already beginning to need all over my bed.

"Likewise," she whispered. I looked into her purple-like eyes before settling on the blush that coated her cheeks.

"If you'll excuse us, my wife and I were just about to dance," Riccardo stated.

"I am not your wife," Madeline said distastefully. She held an attitude that would make anyone want to bend her over just to grasp her curvy ass before smacking it as her punishment. I could just imagine all the things I would do her in so many ways. Far more ways than Riccardo ever can.

Riccardo plastered on a fake smile before grasping Madeline's arm and tucking it under his. Together, they walked towards the dance floor. My smirk only managed to grow as she spared me a second glance. Riccardo seemed to pick up on it because he tugged her even harder.

"What are you doing, son?" My father asked from behind me. I sat down in my seat at the table before bringing my drink to my lips.

"I want her," I answered truthfully.

As I looked at my father, I could see how quickly my time was running out to take over his position. He was paling at the skin and his hair was falling out from all of the chemotherapy. It took all of him just to make it to this event. Now, it's taking even more of him to pretend like he's the most healthy he's ever been.

"Just because she is with Riccar-"

"No. I wanted her before I even saw her with him," I admitted. My father and I watched the copper-haired woman. She looked frightened of Riccardo, to say the least. If only she knew that Riccardo was a punk of a man who spends his time trying to beat out his older brother to claim the throne of capo. I'm sure that is why he found the most beautiful woman to exist and insisted on marriage as soon as possible. He was a rascal of a people pleaser, and it was obvious.

"She is beautiful, but she is also engaged. They marry in two weeks. You do know that it's punishable without retaliation if you go after her once they're married, Ángel," My father scolded. I narrowed my eyes at him, wanting to say so much, but chose to say so little. He was dying and at any point - one sentence could end up being the last he'd ever hear.

"I know, but we have been needing to have a discussion with the Mariani's for a while now, haven't we?" I asked with a raised brow. My gaze tore away from my father and over to the fiancé of my enemy. I could feel my blood boiling at the sight of Riccardo's finger disgusting trailing down her spine as they danced. I couldn't wait to have her in my arms. She was going to be mine and I didn't care who got in the way of it.

"We have. Riccardo, his father, and his brother owe us a lot of money," my father tsked. The copper beauty turned to look at me as I drank more of the liquor from my glass. Our eyes locked onto each other's while her idiot fiancé didn't have a clue.

"Consider it paid once they give me the girl," I told my father without ever looking at him. It didn't matter if I wanted to look away or not because I couldn't. Her unique eyes were trapping me with their sharp sexiness that still managed to cling to innocence. The woman didn't even know what she was doing to me.

"We will set up a meeting," My father stated. I nodded my head slowly. Anticipation was tingling my fingers. I wanted to be the one that showed her off at events like this. I wanted to be the one dancing with her and fucking her. I wanted to be the one marrying her.

"Are you sure this is something that you want? She isn't going to be tied to your bed for you to ravish all day. She will have a duty to you as your wife and you will have a duty to her as her husband. You have to protect her and respect her, and you especially have to be careful once you get her from the Mariani's," my father told me simply. I finally tore my gaze from Madeline only to glare at my father.

"I am not an idiot. I'm thirty-two years old and I'm not getting any younger. I know how to treat a woman," I glanced over at the redhead, "and I don't care what you say about it. I want her."

It wasn't just her sophistication that made her stand out. It was the rareness of her beauty. I knew that having her by my side was a prize. No one in the world was like her and the thought made me smile.

"Then, I will work down to my very last breath to make sure you get her," my father offered me a weak smile. It was almost enough to make my hard look gain a soft touch.

After the loss of my mother, my father found a certain comfort in being alone. Her death struck a huge nerve because he didn't leave his bar for months. My nanny had to take care of me at a young age. She helped me see her as a parent figure. I could still remember the day when I called her mom and my father lashed out. He fired her in the blink of an eye and made sure I never forgot who my mother was and who was responsible for her death.

Suddenly, my father erupted in a coughing fit. My jaw instinctively clenched before I tossed my head off to the side in search of Dante, my soon-to-be underboss. The moment we made eye contact he walked over to us.

"Dante, I need you to get my father home immediately," I ordered him. He only responded with a curt nod before assisting my father out of his chair.

I stood up from my seat and dusted off the imaginary dirt from my suit. As I smoothed out my tie, I could feel eyes on me. Glancing up, a grin took over my face. The person caught staring at me was no one other than the woman who captured my attention from the very moment I saw her. Madeline.

She was outside on the balcony. The moonlight grazed her angelic features and cast a glow on her red hair. The wind was slipping through her strands as it pried at her dress. I was a man who grew a sudden jealousy toward the wind. Everything the wind was doing, I wanted to test out as well.

As I walked over to the delectable woman with no care in the world where her fiancé was, I had to fight my lust. Riccardo was a brainless man, I was aware of that, but he had to be extremely foolish to leave a woman like Madeline all alone. The closer I got to her, the more shy she became. She ripped her eyes away from mine only to look up at the moon.

"Where's your husband?" I asked softly in her ear when I reached her. She shook her head, her teeth pushing down on her bottom lip. My eyes were anchored on her movements. It took a lot to push myself away from her.

"R-Riccardo isn't my husband," she stated softly. Her voice was soft and timid. It fit her perfectly.

"No?" I questioned with a raised brow. My jaw clenched at the sight of the ring on her left finger. I had a sudden urge to rip it off and not care if her finger had gone away with it.

She must've noticed where my attention was because she pulled her hand behind her back. "Yet. We aren't married yet."

"I see," I stated. Taking a step towards her, I allowed my hand to graze her arm gently. "How did you two meet?"

I already knew the answer by the look in their eyes. They weren't together by chance or fate. They were together by agreement.

"I'm not allowed to say," she whispered. There was a teary look in the woman's eyes. As she opened her mouth, ready to say more, she stopped.

"Madeline!" Riccardo exclaimed coming out of nowhere. Terror quickly filled her sights from the instant she heard him. He stormed up to the woman and pulled her into his chest by her arm. I don't think he noticed me standing only a few feet away from her.

"Don't you ever run away from me again. I can't wait until I marry you and fuck the disobedience out of you!" He shouted in her face. I watched as she pushed at his arm but he wouldn't budge.

"Riccardo, you should be more kind to your fiancé. You know, while you have her and all," I smiled.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, huh, Angel?"

"It means exactly what I said, idiota." Without another word, I walked away with a promise on my mind. It was a promise that I will be back. I will be back for his wife.