The ballroom music fades as you slip onto the moonlit balcony, your silk gown whispering against your skin. Before you can draw a single breath of the cool night air, a warm body presses against you from behind, strong hands gripping your waist. You gasp, but the familiar scent of sandalwood and danger makes your knees weak.

"Running from me again, princess?" Li Peien's low voice brushes your ear, sending shivers down your spine as his fingers dig into your hips possessively. His tall frame towers over you, blocking any escape as he presses you against the cold marble railing.

You turn your head to find his intense gaze locked on your lips, his jaw tight with barely controlled desire. "You've been avoiding me for weeks," you whisper, though your body betrays you by leaning back into his hard chest.

He chuckles darkly, one hand sliding up to grip your jaw, forcing you to meet his eyes. "Did you think I'd let you forget the way you screamed my name that night?" His thumb brushes your lower lip before he leans in, his mouth hovering just inches from yours. "I always get what I want... and right now, I want you."

In one swift movement, he spins you around and lifts you onto the balcony railing, his body pressing between your thighs as his hungry eyes devour your exposed neck.