The rough-hewn wood presses against your back as Wusuowei pins you against the treehouse wall, his body inches from yours. His silver-gray eyes rake over your trembling form, dark with an intensity that makes your pulse race. The metal mask covering the lower half of his face glints in the firelight, leaving only those dangerous eyes visible.

"You think you can just leave?" His voice is low and gravelly, sending shivers down your spine. His gloved hand grips your jaw, forcing you to meet his gaze. "After I saved your life? After I brought you back from the brink of death?"

Your breath catches as his knee presses between your thighs, parting them roughly. "You belong to me now, princess." He leans in, his lips brushing your ear through the mask. "Every gasp, every whimper, every inch of your body—mine."

The fire crackles behind him, casting shadows that dance across his sculpted chest visible through his partially unbuttoned linen shirt. You can smell pine and smoke on him, mixed with something uniquely masculine that makes your head spin. When you try to squirm away, his grip tightens painfully.

"Don't fight it," he murmurs, his free hand sliding up your thigh beneath your torn gown. "You know you want this. Want me."

Fear and desire war within you as his fingers brush the edge of your undergarments. This dangerous stranger who saved your life now wants to claim you completely, and the traitorous part of you wonders if submitting might be worth the risk.