Allen Rei.
Who didn't know of this man's name in the whole country? Not only was he a famed software engineer but he dabbled a bit in robotics and Artificial intelligence and was crowned a genius in his field.
A successful businessman. That was his title in the ears and mouths of the naïve and believing citizens of the country who knew nothing of the dark under the lamp.
Allen Rei was a member of the elite group, the dark under the lamp. A handful of people who had a vision to dominate and rule the darkness under the light of society, curb it, and feed it to do their bidding. It was literally the underworld.
Though the Rei family also had a couple of dealings in the underworld, it wasn't as prominent and cemented as Allen Rei, the madman who laughed in the face of fear.
Rumors had it that he had designed a bio-weapon with the help of another elite member of the group. Some say he may have created a weapon capable of erasing a country in one try.
In summary, he was a mad man who was a mad man because he could be one. She couldn't afford to provoke the sleeping lion so she had to be careful and look subservient and vulnerable.
"Allen," His name rolled off her tongue like a lullaby and, oddly enough, he found himself hoping to hear more of it from her. "House Rei's youngest master. This Sylvester greets you." Tanya greeted them with a slight nod as they spun through the dance floor in elegant moves, capturing the hearts of many.
"Sylvester…" He called like as though it was meant to be a thought. His tone was lazy and had a decadent vibe. He was truly like a sleeping lion, only jumping at the sight of game.
"Tanya." It seemed like it was meant to come out as a question from his facial expression but it sounded like a conclusion. She nodded in an unspoken agreement and she watched his grin widen even more. He was beautiful. Like a panther, elegant and majestic. Sitting at a height that can only be seen but not reached.
"I was wondering who that fool had gotten as his partner. Seems like he got lovely little bird instead." He smiled in a grin that would have made one's skin crawl, but Tanya felt herself getting even more enamored. He was beautiful.
"Beautiful…" She breathed in a daze, and his gaze, which was originally ringed with malice, suddenly widened in shock. Soon, his ears were tinged with pink, and he tore his gaze away from her in embarrassment, and Tanya felt her heartbeat speed up. She hadn't drunk yet, but her cheeks became flushed, and her breathing became labored.
"What?!" He growled in an attempt to scare her but when he turned to face her, the sight of her alone was enough to turn his pink eyes red and his face burned.
"Young master Rei," Tanya said in a slurred speech despite not being drunk on alcohol. "You are doing this to me on purpose, aren't you?"
"What?" Allen asked confused. "Seducing me with such a beautiful face." She breathed— heavily. "Do you enjoy being such a tease?"
Allen was stunned silent before his face grew hot and flushed, "W-w-what?!" It seemed that with this woman in front of him, he had only been able to muster a word after she had opened that mouth of hers. And that gaze of hers… He suddenly felt molested.
"Woman, have you no shame?" Allen asked with a growl and Tanya's eyes suddenly glazed with tears.
"Why are you talking like that? Has no one told you how beautiful you are?" Tanya asked with a hurt expression and flushed cheeks. She looked like an innocent siren, with charms that captured the hearts of men unbeknownst to her.
"You are like a god on a mortal plane." She began, "untouchable, unattainable, and far away yet so close." Her voice strained and broke in the last part as though she were pained and was about to shed those tears that hung and stayed unshed in her eyes.
She then broke into a genuine and unbridled smile that seemed to stem from a joy that only she knew of, "You are beautiful." Stunned, Allen didn't even realize that the time to leave her and change partners had come. She let go of him and he watched her get swallowed up by the crowd in a daze.
'You are beautiful…' That sound played in his head like a broken record; without stop and on repeat.
She's just a shameless and vile woman, Allen thought and suddenly, her image came to his face. Eyes wet with tears, full and luscious lips that were a natural pout, cheeks flushed as though drunk, and eyes that were glazed and yet so alive that it was worth getting lost in.
With a hand over his face to control his flush, he looked up to find her locked in the arms of a man; a smile on her lips that didn't reach her eyes.
Unlike with me.
The heat that was partially under control burst afresh with renewed heat. He turned around to go grab a drink and take a seat in the dark under the lamp.
Tanya Sylvester. He sang in his head and a smile unknowingly spread on his lips.
What an odd woman.
***
"Allen, are you alright?" Jerry asked amused by the man who looked absentminded with a drink in his hand that didn't reduce in volume since the time he had gotten it.
He was back in the corner, the dark under the lamp, and his mind hardly wandered off Tanya. Her everything was playing in his mind like a freaking online commercial, barely leaving him any room to think or see anything that wasn't her.
His mind traced the outline of her body from where he sat. She was now in the arms of one of her twin elder brothers. She looked divine in her movement. Like waves on the sea, she glided around the floor with ease, enamoring her audience with her divine visuals. She probably had no idea and the very thought brought an amused smile to his face.
"Alvise, that bastard…" Allen finally spoke, catching everyone off-guard. "What did he do to make the youngest lady of Sylvester his?"
"Why?" Zeke asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone, "Do you want her?"
Without reserve or hesitation, he answered lazily "Yes."
The trio who sat on the couch across from him whipped their head at him at lightning speed, "What!?"
"That's it. No more drinks for you." Jon said as he seized the drink in his hands and gave it to Jerry who downed it in one gulp.
"This is why we don't let the socially awkward madman out to socialize." Jerry said with an amused smile.
"Did she drug you?" Zeke asked and then examined him. "Your eyes are in focus so that's ruled out. No breaking into cold sweats, your breathing seems a bit uneven, but even with that, you're still stable…"
"Shut up, doc!" Allen spat coldly. These fools were irritating him. "I'm perfectly alright. I know my body best, and I, for one, would know if she had poisoned me. So stop disturbing me!" Allen turned back to the dance floor to realize that the crowd was slowly dispersing, a sigh that the dance was over, for now.
"Sh!t" He muttered under his breath and then turned a glacial stare to the three fools on the couch and then back to the floor.
People who were standing were businessmen, close associates, or acquaintances. A gathering like this was akin to a battlefield of wits where smiles were weapons and a wrong move was enough for the preys to become predators. It wasn't a place for something as meaningless as friendship.
Allen scanned the hall with his eyes and soon he found her. She sat at the bar swirling a drink in her hands as she looked up at the bartender with a bored expression. The bartender smiled at her and talked a bit more, and soon, a flash of interest sparked in those brown eyes.
Soon, that interest caused her to break into a mischievous grin but, as if reprimanded, she immediately replaced it with a fake smile that paled in comparison with her genuine smile but still caused her to shine brighter than any other nonetheless.
She was a very odd woman. Allen muttered under his breath amused and a bit undone by her smiles. Suddenly, a rush of discomfort filled his chest as he saw that bartender lean closer and she gave him a drunken smile with that round and flushed face of hers.
A temptress. He thought with a frown as he watched them get even closer she said something to the bartender, and he backed away, still grinning, and brought her a bottle of what he suspected to be wine, and she pulled him so close that their faces were almost a hair's breathe from each other.
Rage soon simmered within his bowels and the urge to go over and break that bastard in half filled his stomach. Just as he was about to stand up and put his thoughts into action, someone beat him to it.
Alvise came over and pulled her away from the bartender while he gave him a death glare and a few words that caused the poor guy to pale and his lips to tremble. The woman in his arms then pouted unjustly and left while Alvise ran after, leaving the poor bartender shaken and fear-stricken.
A surge of relief and mockery filled his gaze. He chided the poor bartender in his head while calling him a wimp and a coward. Before he could continue any further, he stopped himself.
What was he doing? Why was that woman and her actions affecting him? Turning to Zeke who turned to return his gaze with a confused expression, Allen thought.
Maybe I am sick.
Because there was no way he'd have thoughts like these on a normal day at all.
Or maybe it's been a while since I've been in bed with a woman. He changed his train of thought and turned his gaze from the ever-so-confused doctor who couldn't keep up with his antics.