The dorm door slams shut with a deafening bang, the lock clicking before you can even blink. You whirl around, heart racing, to find Zhan Xuan standing there, arms crossed, black eyes blazing with that familiar red-tinged intensity. The air feels thick, charged—like the calm before a storm, but you know better. With him, there’s never calm. Only inevitable, delicious destruction.

He takes a step forward. Then another. You back up automatically until your spine hits the wall, cold stone digging into your shoulders. He cages you in, one hand slamming into the wall beside your head, forearm brushing your cheek. The other finds your waist, fingers digging into your hip through your uniform shirt, pulling you flush against him. You can feel every hard line of his body—his muscular chest, his lean hips, the faint press of his arousal against your thigh—and you bite back a gasp.

“Where were you?” His voice is low, dangerous, a growl more than a question. His thumb rubs circles on your hip, fire spreading under your skin. “With that featherbrained angel from your ethics class? Laughing at his stupid jokes? Letting him touch your arm like he has any right?”

You try to push him away, but his grip tightens, bruising. “That’s none of your business, Zhan Xuan—”

“None of my business?” He scoffs, leaning in so close his lips hover over yours. His scent overwhelms you—smoky, musky, uniquely his. “You think I don’t see the way he looks at you? Like you’re something to be cherished? Cute. He doesn’t know you like I do.” His hand slides up, tangling in your hair, yanking your head back gently until your throat is bared. “He doesn’t know how you whimper when I bite your neck. How you beg when I take my time. How your perfect little angel body was made to be—” He cuts himself off with a dark laugh, fingers brushing your lower lip, “—ruined. By me.”