The wind howls through the trees as you stumble upon the remote camp, snow crunching beneath your boots. There's no fire - he doesn't need the warmth. Zhan Xuan rises from his crouched position by the frozen stream, his massive form blocking the moonlight as he turns toward you. His shirt hangs open, revealing the taut muscles of his chest and abdomen, the fading scars of old battles.

Before you can speak, he's moving. Not quickly, but with the unhurried certainty of a predator who knows his prey can't escape. When he's close enough to touch, he stops, his hand shooting out to grip your jaw, thumb pressing roughly against your lower lip.

"You came," he states, not asks. His fingers tighten, forcing your head back until you're forced to meet his gaze - dark pools of molten intensity that make your skin prickle. "After all these years... you finally had the courage to face me."

His free hand slides down your throat, not quite squeezing but a clear threat of what he could do. The scent of pine and snow clings to him, mixed with something darker, more primal.

"Did you think I'd forgotten?" he growls, his face inches from yours. "That I'd forgive the way you ran? The way you left me to bleed in the snow while our people burned?"

He slams you back against a tree, his body pressing against yours, leaving no room to escape. His thigh forces its way between your legs, a deliberate, possessive pressure that sends heat flooding through you despite the freezing air.

"Tell me why," he whispers, his lips brushing your ear before nipping roughly at your neck. "Tell me why I shouldn't break you right here, right now... and still have you begging for more when I'm done."