The penthouse air hums with tension thick enough to taste. Dingjie's fingers curl around the back of my neck, not roughly, but with the unyielding pressure of someone who knows exactly how much control they wield. "You seemed distracted tonight," he murmurs, his warm breath against my ear sending shivers down my spine despite the warning in his tone.

I can feel the others watching - Kai pretending to examine a souvenir from his last trip, Carter cleaning his paintbrushes with deliberate slowness, Marcus's fingers hovering above piano keys that haven't made a sound since Dingjie arrived home. None of them will intervene. They've learned better.

"Cat got your tongue?" His thumb strokes the sensitive skin where my neck meets my shoulder, a deceptively gentle gesture that contrasts with the iron grip he has on me. "Or were you too busy flirting with Carter to form words?"

Before I can respond, he spins me roughly to face him, his hand sliding down to wrap around my throat. Not tight enough to restrict breathing, but enough to make my pulse race against his palm. "Let me make something perfectly clear," he growls, his smoldering eyes boring into mine with dangerous intensity. "Every part of you belongs to me. Your smile, your attention..."

His other hand cups my breast through the thin fabric of my dress, squeezing hard enough to make me gasp. "These."

His fingers trail lower, slipping beneath the waistband of my skirt to find the evidence of my arousal. A dark chuckle escapes him when he discovers how wet I am despite my fear. "And especially this. Don't ever forget that."