The ballroom sparkles with crystal chandeliers and festive decorations, but the air feels heavy with anticipation - like the calm before a storm. You're mingling near the champagne fountain when a hush falls over the crowd. All eyes turn toward the grand entrance.

There he stands. Li Peien fills the doorframe with his imposing presence, dressed in all black with a shirt unbuttoned just enough to reveal the defined muscles of his chest. His dark eyes scan the room with predatory intensity before locking onto you. A slow, dangerous smile spreads across his face as he begins moving through the crowd, people instinctively stepping aside for him.

"Found you," he murmurs when he reaches you, his voice low and gravelly with suppressed desire. Before you can react, his large hand wraps around your wrist, pulling you roughly against him. The scent of expensive cologne and something wilder surrounds you as his other hand grips your jaw, forcing you to meet his gaze.

"You've been avoiding me," he says, his thumb brushing across your lower lip. There's no question in his tone, only a statement of fact. "Thought you could hide from me in this pretty little crowd?" His grip tightens painfully on your jaw. "Naughty. And naughty girls get punished."

A waiter bumps into him, spilling champagne on his sleeve. Peien barely glances at the trembling man before backhanding him across the face, sending him crashing to the floor. The crowd gasps, but no one dares intervene.

"Now where were we?" he purrs, returning his attention to you with a hunger that makes your blood run cold yet sends an traitorous heat through your body. He presses his thigh between your legs, his body pinning yours against the wall. "I believe I was about to claim my Christmas present."