"What's wrong with proving my loyalty to you?" Evan asks. "Are you afraid?"

His face looks chilly. He leans in threateningly and stares deep into her eyes. She stares back at him, too nervous to even blink.

"Answer me, are you afraid?" he demands.

"Yes, I am," Avery says.

She's not afraid of cheating on him—she knows there's no one else she wants. But she is afraid of dying. I find it hard to believe that the story about the poison tattoo is true—it sounds like an ancient legend to me, she thinks. But Evan is superstitious, and he believes these things. I'm probably going to die in six months. If he has the tattoo, he'll never be able to make love to another woman. He won't be able to remarry or have more kids—he'll be alone for the rest of his life.

"Afraid it'll be impossible to stay faithful to me?" he asks. Then he lowers his voice and asks, "Is it really so hard for you to imagine a happy future with me?"

Avery shakes her head, wondering how she can explain herself. It's impossible to tell him the truth, but she doesn't want to lie either. She shrugs her shoulders and looks away from him.

"I just find the whole story unbelievable," she says. "It seems sort of barbaric to me."

Evan seems to believe her. He looks down at the bidding device and chews his lip. His long fingers hover over the keypad. According to the screen, the value is between one hundred and three hundred million dollars. The actual price could be anything in between those numbers, and the closer Evan's offer is to the value, the more likely it is he'll win.

"How much do you think it's worth?" he asks Avery.

"Well, the turquoise stones are damaged, so they're not worth much," Avery says. "But the story behind the rings—that's really meaningful. The king had them made to prove his devotion to his lover, but his love couldn't be measured in money. It was his willingness to pay the ultimate price and give up his life that was meaningful."

Evan drops the bidding device and stares at her. His eyes are pure fire, and he grabs her around the waist and pulls her onto his lap. Avery can feel his erection through his pants—he's as hard as an iron rod. He nips her neck and kisses his way up to her ears. He sucks the sensitive earlobe and traces the delicate shell of her ear with his tongue.

"Evan," she whispers. "What are you doing? We can't!"

"Just let me hold you for a bit," he whispers, his voice rough and low. "I've been waiting for so long, and I need you, Avery."

Avery leans away from him and says, "The bidding is going to end soon. Don't you want to bid?"

"No, I just want to make love to you," he says.

"Okay, don't bid then," Avery says. "That suits me just fine."

"If I don't bid, will you fuck me?" Evan asks. "It's been three months, and it's safe for us again."

"It's not time yet," Avery says.

She pushes his head away and tries to get off his lap, but her dress is too tight for her to move her legs. She pulls the material up around her thigh. Evan groans low in his throat and runs his fingers along the exposed skin. His hands are hot, but his touch makes her shiver. He pulls her closer, thrusting his hips upward with urgent need.

"Evan," Avery whispers breathlessly. "Evan, please."

Evan groans and eases his grip on her thighs. She climbs off his lap, trying not to tear her tight red dress. He picks up the bidding device and starts to type a number. Avery stops him, covering his hand with her own.

"Do you really have to bid on it?" she asks.

"Yes, and I have every intention to win it," he says.

Avery watches him enter the number: 290 million. Of course, he'd enter a number at the top of the range, she thinks. It's how he and his family do business—they spend whatever it takes to get what they want. Thank God this auction depends on luck. Hopefully, the rings are worth less than 290 million; hopefully, someone else wins them.

The auctioneer announces that the time to bid has ended. He pauses dramatically and then announces the real value of the rings: 109 million dollars. Avery exhales with relief. There's no way Evan could have won the rings, she thinks. His bid was more than 180 million dollars too high.

Evan pages Robert and says, "Find out who won the rings and tell them I'll give them triple."

"Triple?" Avery asks loudly. "The rings aren't worth nearly that much."

"I don't care how much they cost," Evan says. "I want them."

Robert runs back into the room a few minutes later, looking uncomfortable. He looks down at his shoes as he speaks.

"Mr. Howel, the rings went to Mr. Oliver," he says.

"Let me guess—he refuses to sell them to me," Evan says.

Avery hides her smile behind her hand. Most other bidders would probably be willing to make such a nice profit on the rings, but Jackson will probably refuse to sell them to Evan. He doesn't need the money, and there's no way he'll want to help Evan. Especially not after Evan sent him the seahorse liquor.

"Mr. Oliver said it wouldn't be necessary to buy it from him," Robert says. "He's willing to give it to you as a present, but he also gave you another gift."

Robert gestures to a bodyguard, and the man steps forward. He opens a small velvet box and shows it to Evan. At first glance, it looks like a plain green jade inside. The stone is round and semi-transparent, and it looks expensive. But then Avery notices some bumps on the top. She gestures for the bodyguard to bring it closer, and then she gasps. The word "cuckold" has been etched into the top of the stone.

Avery rolls her eyes and glances sideways at Evan. Evan and Jackson have technically called off their war against each other, but it seems like they're still fighting. Instead of using guns and bombs, they're using gifts and clever insults. Evan grabs the jade and throws it at the wall, and it shatters into thousands of small green pieces.

"Sir, I also have the official ownership documents for the ring," Robert says. "Do you want them now, or would you like them delivered with the ring?"

"You can put them with the ring," Evan says. "I'm going to have some more of the turquoise made into powder for a tattoo."

"Of course," Robert says. "I'll ask the auction staff to prepare it as you want."

Avery looks down at the stage. The auctioneer is showing off a necklace with dozens of huge diamonds. The diamonds are all different colors, and they sparkle brightly in the light. It's very showy—the kind of thing a man might give to his mistress but never to his wife.

"I want to buy that necklace and send it to Jackson," Evan says to Robert. "Make it happen."

Avery rolls her eyes at Evan's pettiness and asks, "Why do you want him to have that necklace?"

Evan smiles and says, "You'll see."

As the auction ends, Evan takes Avery's hand and pulls her to her feet. Together they walk to Jackson's private room and knock at the door. Jackson opens the door with a woman who's wearing a dancing mask. The woman seems familiar, but Avery can't figure out why.

"Hello, Jackson," Evan says, cooly with a glance at the woman. "I got you this necklace as a thank you gift. Maybe you can use it to persuade a woman to sleep with you finally."

Jackson laughs, his eyes crinkling with amusement. He takes the necklace and tosses it carelessly to the woman in the mask. The woman catches it but quickly puts it down on the table. Avery rolls her eyes and tugs Evan's arm, hoping he'll leave before a real fight starts.

Evan nods briefly at Jackson and leads Avery out of the room. In the hall, the auctioneer is waiting for them. The man holds his hand out to shake Evan's, but Evan ignores him.

"Sir, congratulations on getting the rings," the auctioneer says. "I just received word that you want to have the stones ground. Before I asked my people to do it, I just wanted to confirm that you're serious about it. You know they will lose a lot of their value if you grind the stone down, right?"

"Do it," Evan says.

The auctioneer nods and rushes away. Avery takes both of Evan's hands in hers and looks up into his eyes.

"Are you sure about this?" she asks.