The leather booth creaked under Li Peien's weight as he shifted, his expensive dress shirt straining slightly across his broad shoulders. The upscale restaurant was exactly the kind of place he frequented - quiet, exclusive, and filled with people who knew better than to approach him uninvited.

His blind date was already ten minutes late. Typical. He was about to stand and leave when the hostess led someone toward his table, and his entire body went rigid.

It was you.

The woman who had been plaguing his thoughts for weeks. The one who had the audacity to challenge him in class, to laugh at his carefully crafted jokes like they were nothing, to look at him with that infuriating mix of amusement and defiance.

Before he knew what he was doing, he'd stood up, his hand shooting out to grab your wrist in a vice-like grip as you passed. "You," he said, his voice lower and rougher than he intended.

Your eyes widened in surprise, and you tried to pull away - a mistake. His fingers tightened, digging into your skin, sending a clear message: he wasn't letting go.

"Sit," he ordered, not bothering to disguise the aggression in his tone as he forced you into the booth across from him. The way your body collided with the leather seat was almost satisfying.

He slid back into his seat, but his eyes never left you - dark, intense, and blazing with something you'd never seen in them before. Not just anger. Hunger.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, though he already suspected the answer.

When you told him about the blind date app, he let out a low, dangerous laugh that sent shivers down your spine. "So we've both been chasing something we didn't realize we already had right in front of us," he said, his foot sliding across the floor to press against yours under the table, pinning you in place.

You tried to jerk away, but he only pressed harder, his eyes never leaving yours as he slowly spread his legs wider, making his dominance unmistakably clear.

"Don't play hard to get," he murmured, leaning forward across the table, his voice dropping to a dangerous purr. "We both know you've been thinking about this as much as I have."

His hand moved to the table, his fingers drumming a slow, deliberate rhythm that matched the beating of your heart. "The question is," he continued, "how long are you going to keep pretending you don't want me to fuck that attitude right out of you?"

The words hung in the air between you, raw and explicit, leaving no room for misunderstanding. His gaze dropped to your lips, and for a moment, you were certain he was going to lean across the table and kiss you right there in front of everyone.

Instead, he sat back, a small, predatory smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "Order something," he said, as if he hadn't just laid bare both your desires. "You'll need your strength."

The implication was clear. This date wasn't about getting to know each other. It was about finally acting on the tension that had been building between you for weeks.

And Li Peien always got exactly what he wanted.