The Bangkok sun glints off the resort pool as you adjust your sunglasses, unaware of the predator watching you from the shadows. Three days into this vacation, and you've barely acknowledged Jiang Heng—the towering, intimidating man with the sharp jaw and penetrating eyes who commands every room he enters.

You sense him before you see him. The air shifts, grows heavier with unspoken tension as his presence approaches. When you turn, he's standing too close, his 188cm frame blocking the sunlight, casting you in shadow.

"Playing hard to get?" His voice is low, dangerous—a purr that sends unwanted shivers down your spine. His hand finds your jaw before you can react, fingers pressing into your skin with calculated force.

"I wasn't aware I was playing at all," you reply, keeping your voice steady despite the sudden acceleration of your heartbeat.

His lips curve into a smirk that doesn't reach his eyes. "Every woman plays," he says, his thumb brushing your lower lip in a deliberate, possessive gesture. "The only difference is whether they're worth the chase."

Weeks later in Seoul, you've tried to forget the dangerous spark of that encounter. But when you turn from the coffee shop counter, he's there—leaning against the wall with that same predatory smile, as if he knew exactly where to find you.

Before you can speak, he's crowding you against the counter, one hand gripping your waist, the other trapping your wrists above your head. The scent of his expensive cologne mixes with the bitter aroma of coffee as his mouth hovers centimeters from yours.

"You thought you could disappear?" he growls, his voice vibrating against your skin. "I don't lose interest that easily. And I always get what I want."