"Huh?" Avery asks.

"I'm honored he considers me a worthy opponent," Charles laughs.

Evan looks down on almost everyone. The fact that he considers Charles a threat means he sees the other man as almost an equal.

Avery doesn't know what to say to Charles. It makes her uncomfortable when Charles talks like that.

"I'm not expecting anything in return you know," he said sensing her discomfort, "I'm helping you because we're friends."

He knows how hard she resists Evan, and he's afraid that she'd refuse his help if she knew the true extent of his feelings for her. The toxin in her blood has somehow turned her into a very unyielding and determined woman.

"It's probably the toxin that's made Evan so crazy about her," Charles thinks wryly, "Now that she's so mysterious and elusive she poses a challenge for him."

Avery feels a relief course through her and immediately changes the topic, "Did you get in touch with Bryan? He's flaky and often changes his phone number. I don't know what he was thinking to disappear like that."

"What are you thinking?" an unmistakable voice asks, directly behind her.

Avery almost drops the phone in shock. A hand wraps around her waist and pulls her back against a warm chest. She immediately ends the call.

"Who are you talking to with so much fascination?" Evan asks, "Charles?"

Her silence signals her guilt, and Evan flies into a rage, "I called you more than a dozen times. You rejected my call because you were too busy talking to him?"

Avery purses her lips and cranes her head to look at him through the white mist.

"You sound a bit jealous," she says archly.

"Jealous?" Evan growls, "I think you forget who your husband is."

"Well thanks for reminding me," she says acerbically.

She presses her palm against his firm chest to keep him from getting closer.

"What will you do to thank me?" he asks.

Avery glares at him and tries to get out of the hot spring, but Evan grabs her wrist and pulls her back to him. The clear water reflects her snowy skin and he finds himself temporarily distracted by her beauty.

"I'll ask again: why did you reject my calls?" he whispers.

Avery knows he's jealous, but he's never cared so much about talking to her before.

"Did I hurt his pride by ignoring him?" she wonders.

Avery looks at him carelessly. She doesn't have the energy to contend with him, and she certainly doesn't want to create more problems for herself.

"I had to deal with the issues at the hotel, and I have no time to answer your call," she said wearily.

"I'll ask Robert to deal with the hotel," Evan says, "In the future, I expect you to answer my calls as soon as the phone rings."

"We'll see, what I do depends on my mood," Avery says carelessly.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you're always in the mood to talk to me."

The innuendo isn't lost on Avery. She curls her lip with distaste and refuses to respond. Evan wraps his arms around her waist and inhales her unique fragrance.

The moment he saw her pale skin half-submerged in the spring, he felt himself begin to lose control. She affects him like an aphrodisiac, making him unable to contain his emotions and his lust—except even a borrachero can't affect him so powerfully. He's felt unhinged since their first time together.

Sensing the wildness of his breath, Avery presses her hands against his chest as a warning. Evan covers her hands with his, and feels a hard bump on her finger—the ring!

Evan takes her hand and inspects the ring with a squint, "A green diamond?"

Avery wants to withdraw her hand, but he's holding it so firmly she almost feels bruises forming.

"I've heard that the Meyer family has a ring called Love for Life," he said coolly, "It's inlaid with a green diamond, and it's quite similar to the one on your finger."

"And?" Avery asks.

"If it's the same one, the gun placed to Dean Charles's head will fire next time," Evan threatens.

His deathly serious expression makes her shudder. Avery knows he doesn't make idle threats. She draws her hand away from him.

"They're just similar," she says, "A coincidence."

Afraid that Evan will see the fear and panic on her face, she turns her back to him. She refused the ring when Charles first offered it to her. She only accepted it because he said it could detect the toxin. She never thought Evan would notice the ring, let alone become so obsessed with it.

If he knew that Charles gave her the ring, his jealousy would become uncontrollable. No explanation would satisfy him. His abnormal possessiveness would put Charles in a very dangerous situation.

Avery tries to force herself to calm down. His muscled chest pressed against her bareback and his hot breath blew on her ear. She can feel him hardening through the thin cloth of their swimsuits.

"Why would you wear such a valuable ring in a hot spring?" Evan asks, his lips brushing her ear.

"I thought I told you already," Avery answers, "My mother gave it to me to guard against bad men. As long as you're around, I can't take it off."

Evan wraps his hands more tightly around her waist.

"A bad man?" Evan asks, lowers his lips to her white shoulders, "Am I the bad guy?"

Avery trembles slightly. His voice is tempting, but she's infuriated by the way he shamelessly flirts with her regardless of the fact that he was yelling at her moments ago.

"You are completely bad," she snaps.

He snickers and stands up, pulling her with him, "Women always fall in love with bad guys."

"What are you going to do now?" Avery asks.

"I'm going to prove how bad I am," he whispers.

Avery sniffs. Although she's reluctant to see what he means, she's unable to defend herself. He wraps a bathrobe around and runs his hands up and down her waist and hips as he ties the belt for her. Her cheeks are flushed red from the heat of the bath, and he fights the irrational urge the bright one like an apple.

He throws on a robe and shields her with his body. He doesn't want any other men to see her partially undressed.

He calls for Robert, "Is everything ready?"

"Yes. The journalists are waiting outside, and so is Miss Summers."

"Leonie?" Avery asks with confusion.

She looks to the gate and sees hoards of journalists marching toward the hot spring. They are walking in an orderly fashion, unlike the massive turmoil at the hospital. Bodyguards are ushering the way and helping them carry their photo equipment. With respectful silence, they gather around the springs and begin to set up their cameras and tripods.

"Miss Summers has gone to change her clothes, but she will be here at once," Robert announces.

Heads swivel toward the entry and Leonie appears in a white bathrobe. She walks quickly toward Evan, keeping her head lowered.

"Evan, please," she protests pathetically.

"Take off your clothes," Evan orders coldly.

Leonie looks uneasily at the journalists standing around the hot spring and shakes her head, "Evan, I told them that the hospital made a mistake. It turns out I was allergic to something in my makeup."

With an unreadable face, Evan says in a merciless tone, "Take them off!"