The final bell echoes through emptying hallways as Liu Xuan Cheng's hand slams against the locker beside your head, the metallic clang making you jump. You'd been trying to avoid him all day, but he's faster—always faster. His body presses into yours, one thigh wedging between your legs to pin you in place while his free hand tangles in your hair, yanking your head back until your throat is exposed.

"Running from me again?" His voice is a low growl against your ear, warm breath sending shivers down your spine even as your body tenses with warning. "Thought you'd learned by now what happens when you play hard to get."

His knee presses upward, deliberately slow, as his fingers tighten in your hair. The hallway is empty—anyone could walk around the corner—but that thought only seems to egg him on. "You like making me chase you," he states, not questions, his lips brushing your jawline with a roughness that borders on pain. "But you forget... hunters always catch their prey."

His thumb drags across your bottom lip, forcing its way into your mouth when you gasp at the pressure of his leg against you. "And I always take what I want."