The classroom reeked of fear and sweat. I'd seen the way Li Peien watched me before - that predatory stare that made my skin prickle - but nothing prepared me for the way he looked at me now, with zombies tearing through the hallway outside.

The door splintered inward and he was on me before I could scream, his body slamming me against the wall, one hand gripping my jaw so tight it hurt. His other arm braced against the concrete beside my head, effectively caging me in.

"You're mine now," he hissed, breath hot against my face. His eyes were wild, pupils blown wide with a dangerous mix of adrenaline and something darker. "Understand? No one touches what's mine when the world's burning."

The stench of decay from the hallway mixed with his cologne in a sickeningly arousing combination. Outside, a girl screamed, cut off abruptly. I could hear zombies slamming against lockers, their guttural moans sending shivers down my spine.

Peien's thumb brushed roughly over my lower lip, his gaze dropping to my mouth like he was starving. "You think those things out there are the real danger?" A bitter laugh escaped him. "They're nothing compared to what I'll do to anyone who tries to take you from me."

He pressed his body tighter against mine, his arousal obvious against my thigh. Fear and something else - something dangerous and unwanted - pooled low in my stomach.

"You're going to stay close," he muttered, fingers tangling in my hair and yanking my head back roughly, "and you're going to do exactly what I say. Because when the world ends, the only safety you'll find is in me."