Chapter 106: Chapter 106

When she returned to her desk, Lora realized that the reason she left was no longer an issue. Her fame would be irrelevant if she was busy lusting after the one man she shouldn't. The redhead felt her knees weak; the fallen angel's touch was as vivid on her skin as her cells.

Drake rose to pull out the chair for her, elegantly and gracefully. For strangers, thinking of them as a pair was automatic.

- "I said you would be my key ring at events, but I think the key ring is me" he commented as he sat down with his friend, who held back a laugh.

They both focused on stage as the musicians finished a classical melody, giving space to the master of ceremonies.

- "Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you are having a pleasant evening. The starters will be served now, then we will have a greeting from the host" and, after an elegant gesture, the music reverberated through the environment, along with the murmur of voices in conversation private.

- "You're a little flushed, but you don't seem to be freaking out. Are you okay with the news?" Drake turned to Lora with a worried expression.

"I don't want to think about it right now," she said, but the truth was that the woman was unable to think about anything other than a pair of blue-green eyes.

- "I don't want to see you badly again"

During their friendship, Lora had experienced severe declines in her mental health. Her troubled childhood, issues with abandonment and disappointments and all her failures weighed on her from time to time. He never seemed to be well, he just lived intervals of happiness. Only the memory of the bad times was capable of destroying the good times, so Lora had promised herself that she would do everything before she let herself fall into depression again.

- "It won't happen again" she met Drake's eyes to assure him of that.

The woman prepared to say something else, seeing doubt creep across Drake's face, but was interrupted by a husky voice behind her.

- "Mr. Lins"

Jean immediately looked at the man behind her daughter. That tone, calm as the sea, hid a devastating storm. Simple words sounded like a command in Evans' tone.

- "Mr. Banks, it's an honor to be here" Lins stood up and extended his hand to Banks, who accepted with a firm grip.

- "It's an honor to have you here"

At that moment, a supposed truth fell on Lora. Evans was the host of the evening, and had approached her calling her the "lady in red". That was how she looked the first time she'd seen him, as a unique possessor of scarlet. It was likely that this had all been set up so that he would see her again. It would be understandable, for someone of Banks' magnitude, to move heaven and earth to get what he wanted.

Despite feeling a lump in her throat at the imposing presence, Lora struggled to turn around and look at the man in the black suit. She thought for a minute before saying anything, as she knew she could easily stutter. Evans was that kind of man, with that kind of effect on people.

- "It's an excellent place" she murmured.

The redhead was just playing cards. The course of that conversation could be a useful lead in Spencer's investigation.

- "I'm thinking about some reforms, but I like it too" that affirmative sentence showed a portion of Evans' purchasing power. After taking over the family business, he had become one of the richest men in the country.

- "Keeping things as they are is sometimes the best thing to do"

Lora looked into the man's eyes, still trying to choose between green and blue. It was intimidating, but she was willing to put up with the butterflies in her stomach to spend a few more seconds looking at him. Meanwhile, Evans kept his gaze on the woman's red lips, trying to get over the sight of her silhouette walking away from him.

Both kept memories that left them lit, mainly because they knew that someone would necessarily have to submit. The desire was undeniable, but the means for doing so were questionable.

- "I prefer to stimulate the structures, but you must know that" he opened a polite smile, then excused himself to the others and headed for the stage when he was called.

When Evans took the microphone, the noises around the room died down. People wanted to hear him, and they worked hard to do so. His voice thundered, making Lora catch her breath and remember moments before, when that tone was used to say he wanted her. He began to speak easily, as if he had spent his whole life doing this.

The man's words on the stage ended in a few minutes. He didn't need to be wordy to express everything he wanted. The economy of gestures and actions was part of the mysterious fog that enveloped him. And when the classical music resumed, the main course was served by waiters throughout the hall. Nothing less than outstanding.

- "Let's talk to some acquaintances. Would you accompany us, Jean? These people are fans of your work" the woman, Ms. Clark, invited.

- "Of course, it would be a pleasure" Jean stood up and looked at her daughter. He looked for some clue that she wanted him there, but he couldn't find it.

- "Lora, Drake" and with a nod, he walked away from the table along with the couple.

Drake turned to his friend, finally getting a minute alone with his partner. He watched her relax, visibly happy that her father was away. Drake didn't have much against Jean, but he knew about her past and knew the sins she hid.

- "I'm glad I'm not interested in you, babe, because I'd be losing badly to Banks" he decided to lighten the mood with his comment.

- "There's nothing to lose. He's a problem that psychiatrists couldn't get out of my mind"

- "Good to know" he muttered, and Lora smiled nervously.

She thought about how many therapy sessions it would take to get over someone like Evans, and came to the conclusion that she wasn't interested in the answer.

- "I need to go to the toilet. I didn't want to leave you with them, but now everything is fine, right?" the man beside her asked, and in that little sentence she noticed Drake's protective care. He, unlike anyone else in Lora Lins' world, didn't have the ability to let her down.

- "Right" she agreed, then blew him a kiss.

As she watched her elegant friend walk to the salon's toilet, Lora felt her body shudder at the proximity of Evans. She refused to accept the energy pulsing through her blood when he was around, but she was unable to ignore it. It was impossible not to think about how impossible that connection would be when their bodies touched. The redhead blamed herself for being able to identify his presence before she even saw him.

- "Angel" he called her name with some authority, already knowing her reactions.

Donovanera was good at reading people, and focusing his attention on a figure like Lora was a pleasurable endeavor. He studied the woman as she rose. Even nervous, she knew how to exude sensuality.

- " Chris" she turned to him, also using his second name as a reference.

A few nights earlier, when Lora had met with Jack to sift through what few details about Evans they had access to, she'd discovered his middle name. He also discovered the ideal type of woman for him, based on the photos of his companions; tall, thin, blonde.

- "So you researched me" Evans pondered. He wasn't surprised, just a little curious.

- "I do what needs to be done" the velvety voice composing those words was the beginning of sin.

- "We know what needs to be done" Evans approached when sentencing, capturing for himself all the attention and oxygen of the woman. All she felt was him. In all senses. Everywhere.

- "It won't happen while you're seeing me as a victim" she opened a slight smile. With that tight red dress, the fatal heels and the words of a woman with conviction, Lora was ready to bring the devil to his knees.

Evans approached slowly. He knew he needed to steal her senses little by little, so she would never realize what was being done. So that there would be no escape.

- "Don't forget that those are the words of a woman who threw herself at me, hoping to be my next meal" her deep voice completely compromised the woman's hearing, leaving her body stunned and making her pupils dilate.

Since meeting in the elevator, the man had thought about Lora more than he should have. He would have gotten over the attraction between them if she hadn't moved on. From the moment he felt the goose bumps on his skin and the excitement gleam in his eyes, he knew he had a mission; get Lora Lins out of your system. Evans had the resources to put the game in his favor, but that didn't matter much when he looked at her lips.

- "That wasn't kind" she pointed out.

- "You would love to be a victim right now" his thoughts turned to the moment when his long fingers were around the woman's throat, pressing hard enough to make her sigh.

He wasn't sure what was making Lora hesitate. It was all too simple for him to take control and wait for the other party to surrender. However, Evans had one certainty in life; he would not accept a refusal.

Seeing the redhead's frightened and affected expression, the man decided he would need a surefire approach. She wasn't going to give in in public, not easily. They would need a private environment, where the connection screamed loudly and drowned out the other questions.

- "This is not my rhythm" finally, was what Lora managed to say.

Evans could sense a certain danger in this woman. Not the overwhelming, immediate danger kind, but the slow, fatal kind. It would be like a snake; he would deceive with a hug, and he would end up strangling the bones.

- "It is in this rhythm that I will put you, principessa" Donovande rolled out the last word in his perfect Italian.

- "Good luck with the attempt"

Evans nodded, showing acceptance of the challenge with great pleasure. Proving to Lora that she was a victim by choice would be the man's life mission from that moment forward.

When Donovana walked away, sure the woman would miss his presence, he was right. Her body faltered, as if her life force had been withdrawn.

They didn't know it, but from that moment on, they had entered a game they couldn't win. What's more, they couldn't leave.