Lois exhaled softly, inhaling the scent of his cologne mixed with champagne.
"A little. Everything feels heavier lately. Like the walls are closing in."
He tilted her chin up, blue eyes locking onto hers with that familiar intensity.
"Then lean on me. I've carried worse for you. Remember last quarter when I saved that deal? Your father trusts me now. Soon he'll trust me with everything... including you."
A faint smile touched her lips.
She placed her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat quicken under her palm.
"You always know what to say. But sometimes I wonder if you see Ava or just Phelps Jewelry."
Sam's grip tightened, pulling her flush against him.
"I see the woman who makes me burn. The one I want in my bed and at my side when we run this empire."
His thumb brushed her bottom lip, sending a spark straight through her.
"Let me show you tonight. After the gala, my hands on your skin, no interruptions."
The promise hung heavy between them.
Lois felt the pull, the heat of his body promising safety and desire.
Yet something in his smile felt too sharp tonight.
Across the room, Steve Reynolds watched them with unblinking gray eyes.
The Reaper stood motionless in his tailored black suit, broad shoulders cutting an imposing figure. When Lois glanced his way, their gazes collided. A slow, dangerous smile curved his mouth.
Her pulse jumped.
Ava pulled away from Micheal with a murmured excuse and wove through the crowd, drawn by an invisible force toward the tall stranger.
Steve Reynolds didn't move as she approached. His icy stare tracked every sway of her hips.
"Most men look away when caught staring," she said, stopping close enough to feel the cool power radiating from him. "You don't seem like most men."
Steve's deep voice rolled over her like dark velvet.
"Looking away would be a crime, Miss Frazer. A woman like you demands to be seen."
He offered his hand.
When she took it, his long fingers closed around hers with firm warmth that traveled up her arm and settled low in her stomach.
"Steve Reynolds," he introduced, thumb stroking once across her knuckles.
"And you... you carry secrets in those eyes. Heavy ones."
Ava didn't pull away. "You speak boldly for someone who barely knows me. What secrets do you think I hide, Mr. Reynolds?"
He leaned in, breath brushing her ear.
"The kind that come with wearing a crown you never asked for. Your father's empire is cracking. Your fiancé smiles like a man counting his future millions. Yet here you are, glowing like something they'll never deserve."
Heat rose in her cheeks.
His free hand lightly touched her elbow, guiding her slightly aside from the crowd.
The contact felt electric against her bare skin.
"You're dangerous," she whispered.
"Only to those who deserve it." Steve's gray eyes darkened as they dropped to her mouth.
"Tell me, Ava. When he touches you, does your heart race like this?" His fingers slid up her arm in a feather-light caress.
Her breath hitched. The intimacy of his words, the deliberate slowness of his touch, stirred something deep and forbidden. She opened her mouth to answer when Micheal's sharp voice sliced through the moment.
"Ava. We need to talk. Now."
Micheal's hand clamped around Ava's wrist, pulling her into a shadowed alcove lined with velvet drapes.
His jaw clenched tight. "Flirting with Reynolds? In front of everyone? Have you lost your mind?"
Ava yanked her arm free, rubbing the tender skin.
"We were talking, Micheal. Unlike you, he actually listens.
You've been glued to my father's associates all evening like a dog waiting for scraps."
Micheal's expression shifted.
He stepped closer, cupping her face with sudden gentleness.
"I'm sorry, baby. This night is important. Your father plans to name me his successor soon. Us. Together. I'm doing this for our future."
His lips brushed hers softly, then deeper, tongue teasing until she softened against him.
She tasted the champagne on him, felt his strong hands slide down to grip her hips.
"You feel so good," he murmured against her mouth. "No one else gets to have this. Say you're mine."
"I'm here, aren't I?" Ava replied, voice breathy.
Yet even as his touch ignited familiar sparks, Steve's words echoed in her head.
Micheal smiled against her lips.
"Good girl. Now let's get you another drink. You need to relax before the announcement."
He flagged a waiter and pressed a fresh flute into her hand.
"To us conquering everything."
They clinked glasses. Ava drank, the bubbles sharp on her tongue.
For a moment everything felt right. Then she spotted Steve watching from the edge of the crowd, his expression stormy.
Micheal noticed too. "Stay away from him. He destroys lives for sport."
Ava nodded, but her skin still tingled from Steve's earlier touch. The room suddenly felt warmer. Too warm.
Ava slipped away again, pulse unsteady.
Steve waited near the tall windows overlooking the glittering New York skyline.
Moonlight sharpened the angles of his face.
"You keep running back to me," he said quietly as she approached. "Why?"
"Because you speak truth when everyone else feeds me pretty lies." She stopped inches from him.
"You touched my arm earlier. It felt... different."
Steve's hand rose slowly, giving her time to retreat.
His fingers traced her jawline with breathtaking gentleness. "Different how?" His voice dropped lower.
"Like your blood sings when I'm near?"
Lois shivered at the contact. "Yes. Like that."
She placed her palm on his chest, feeling the steady, powerful beat beneath expensive fabric.
"My life is planned out. Micheal. The company. Everything. But standing here with you makes me question all of it."
His hand covered hers, pressing it harder against his heart.
"Then question it. A woman with your fire shouldn't settle for a cage, no matter how golden." He tilted her face up.
Their lips hovered close, breaths mingling. The scent of his skin, the heat rolling off his body, made her head spin pleasantly.
"You're playing with fire," she whispered.
"I like the burn." Steve's thumb stroked her lower lip. Desire darkened his gray eyes.
"Tell me to walk away, Ava. Or admit you want more than his careful touches."
Her heart hammered wildly.
The words trembled on her tongue.
Suddenly the lights seemed too bright. Her vision wavered.
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