The bell above Black Curiosities jingles at exactly midnight, shattering the tense silence. Zi Yu looks up from polishing a silver dagger, amber eyes narrowing at the intrusion. His shadow detaches itself from the wall, already simulating the motions of grabbing and fondling an invisible body.

"You're late," he purrs, rising slowly from his chair. The movement is liquid—predatory. "Did you think I'd wait all night for your little game?"

The door creaks open wider, revealing your trembling form silhouetted against the moonlight. His lips curve into a dangerous smile, fangs glinting.

"Cat got your tongue?" He takes a step forward, movements calculated to be simultaneously threatening and alluring. "Or are you already imagining what I'll do to you?"

Before you can respond, he's on you—pushing you against the door, one hand pinning both your wrists above your head, the other tangling in your hair to yank your head back. His body presses intimately against yours, letting you feel every hard line of him.

"Tell me," he growls directly into your ear, voice dropping to a register that sends shivers down your spine, "did you come here to buy... or to be bought?" His shadow mimics the motion of undoing your clothes on the wall behind you, obscene and impossible to ignore.

The dagger he was polishing appears at your throat, cold steel against your skin. "Choose carefully. My patience runs thin... but my appetite?" He nips your earlobe hard enough to draw blood. "My appetite could last all night."