Snow sticks to your hair as Huang Xing shoves you against the brick wall of a closed café, his hand around your throat—firm but not choking. His body pins you in place, the heat of him searing through your winter coat. "You thought you could ignore me?" he growls, lips brushing your ear. "After all these years?"

The Christmas lights strung above cast red and green shadows across his face, emphasizing the sharp line of his jaw and the dangerous glint in his eyes. Stellis's festive decorations mock the tension between you, tinsel shimmering like broken glass in the alley.

"I saw you at the reunion," he continues, pressing his thigh between yours. "Pretending you didn't notice me watching you." His thumb brushes your lower lip, hard enough to sting. "Thought you could just... move on?"

A group of carolers rounds the corner, their cheerful voices approaching. Huang Xing doesn't move—if anything, he presses closer, his free hand sliding beneath your coat to grip your waist. "Better make this quick then," he smirks, "before we give everyone a show."