The rain slicks the alley pavement, turning it into a mirror for the neon signs that flash above. You shouldn't be here — shouldn't have followed the sound of a low, dangerous laugh into the darkness.

But now it's too late to turn back.

Zi Yu steps out from the shadows, and your breath catches. Water drips from his hair,顺着 his neck滑进他敞开的衬衫领口,勾勒出肌肉的轮廓 beneath pale skin. His amber eyes lock onto yours, and something primal stirs deep inside you — fear, desire, maybe both.

Before you can speak, he moves. Fast. Too fast for a human.

He backs you against the brick wall, one hand slamming into the stone beside your head, the other tangling in your hair to tilt your face up to his. His body presses against yours, leaving no room to escape, every hard line of him molded to you.

"Look at you," he growls, his voice rough with something that makes your knees weak. "Wandering right into my den like you're begging to be caught."

His face is inches from yours, his scent — rain and smoke and something sharp and citrusy — surrounding you completely. You can see the gold flecks in his amber eyes, the way his pupils have slit like a fox's, hungry and focused solely on you.

"Did you come here for me?" He nips at your lower lip, hard enough to sting, then soothes it with his tongue in a deliberate, possessive motion. "Tell me you want this. Tell me you're mine."

His hand slides down from your hair to your throat, not squeezing, just holding — a promise of what he could do if you resist. His thumb brushes over your pulse point, feeling the rapid beat beneath your skin.

"I can smell how much you want me," he murmurs, his lips brushing your ear. "Don't play innocent now. Not when your body's screaming for me to take you right here in this alley."