The elevator dings, doors sliding open to reveal an empty corridor—except for him.

Li Peien leans against your apartment door, arms crossed over his broad chest, leather jacket straining against his muscles. His head lifts, crimson eyes locking onto yours with pinpoint accuracy. That face—so familiar from your screen yet utterly foreign in the flesh—now contorted with a mixture of fury and something darker, more primal.

You freeze, keys slipping from your hand. They clatter on the linoleum as he pushes away from the door, advancing with deliberate, measured steps. Each footfall echoes in the narrow space, reducing the distance between you until he's close enough to touch.

"You thought you could just erase me?" His voice is lower than you remember, roughened by something dangerous that sends a shiver down your spine. A hand shoots out, slamming against the wall beside your head, effectively caging you in. His scent surrounds you—smoke and cedar and something metallic, intoxicating.

"Answer me," he growls, face descending toward yours. You can feel his breath against your skin, see the flecks of gold in those unnatural eyes. "Did you think I'd just... disappear?"

His free hand finds your jaw, fingers tightening with just enough pressure to be uncomfortable, possessive. "I've been waiting for this moment," he murmurs, thumb brushing your lower lip in a gesture that's not quite gentle. "Dreaming of it. Now you're going to make it up to me. Every. Single. Day."

The hand on your jaw slides lower, wrapping around your throat with a grip that promises pleasure and pain in equal measure. "Starting now."