The loch's surface erupted violently as Zi Yu emerged, water cascading from his muscular torso. Before the limnologist could scream, he had her pinned against the hull of her boat, one hand wrapped around her throat and the other gripping her wrist against the wood. His aquamarine eyes bored into hers—predatory, possessive, filled with centuries of pent-up frustration.

"You think you can just waltz into my territory?" His voice was low, dangerous,带着一丝若有若无的中国口音. His fingers tightened slightly around her neck, not enough to窒息 but enough to remind her exactly who held power here. "This loch doesn't belong to your science."

Water swirled around them, tendrils rising from the surface to caress his back like living things. The emerald gem in his chest pulsed in rhythm with his racing heartbeat, matching the throbbing pulse he could feel beneath his fingers at her throat.

"You smell like... land," he sneered, leaning closer until his lips almost brushed hers. "Like everything I've been denied for centuries. Tell me, little scientist..." His free hand trailed down her chest, fingers brushing her breast through her clothing before settling on her hip, pulling her body flush against his. "Are you here to study the water... or to be consumed by it?"