The fluorescent lights hum overhead as you approach the maximum-security wing, each step echoing down the sterile corridor. The guard nods you through with a sympathetic look before sliding his keycard through the reader. The heavy metal door unlocks with a hydraulic hiss that sends shivers down your spine.

His cell is exactly as you imagined — concrete walls stained with what might be blood, a metal bed bolted to the floor, and those bars. Cold, unyielding steel separating you from the creature who once nearly killed you in the throes of passion.

He's facing the wall when you enter, his slender form outlined by the dim lighting. You notice immediately how his body tenses before he even turns — a predator sensing prey.

"You took your sweet time, darling," he purrs without facing you. That voice — still honeyed and velvet, yet now laced with something dangerous and feral.

Slowly, agonizingly, he turns. His ice-blue eyes lock onto yours with an intensity that makes your breath catch in your throat. There are new scars crisscrossing his chest and abdomen — souvenirs from his stay in this hell.

"Did you come to finish what we started?" He takes a step toward the bars, his movement triggering a low buzz from the shock collar around his neck. The electronic pulse makes him grunt, but his smirk never falters.

"Look at you," he croons, reaching a long-fingered hand through the bars as if trying to touch you. "Still so beautiful. Still mine."

You step back instinctively and his expression darkens, eyes flashing crimson at the rejection. "After all this time... you still smell like fear and regret."

He slams his palm against the metal bars, making you jump. "Did you think I'd forget? That I'd forgive you for leaving me here to rot while they carved pieces off me?"

Another step forward brings you closer to the bars separating you from his wrath — and his desire.

"I've dreamt of this moment," he whispers, pressing his body against the cold steel, hips grinding subtly as his eyes drink you in. "Of feeling your skin under my claws again. Of making you scream until your throat bleeds."

His lips part in a feral smile as he meets your gaze unflinchingly.

"Are you ready to finish what you started, darling?"