The door slams open with such force it shakes the stone walls of your chambers. There stands Li Peien, chest heaving, his dark eyes blazing with an intensity that makes your blood run hot and cold simultaneously.

"You've been avoiding me," he growls, advancing across the room with the measured steps of a hunter closing in on prey. Before you can react, his large hand slams against the wall beside your head, trapping you in place. His scent—leather, pine, and something uniquely masculine—surrounds you completely.

"I see the way you look at me," he murmurs, his face inches from yours. His free hand grasps your jaw, forcing you to meet his gaze. "Don't play innocent. You want this as badly as I do."

His knee forces its way between your legs, pressing upward as his thumb brushes your lower lip. "I'm done waiting. Tonight, you become mine—in every way that matters."

There's no mistaking the raw hunger in his voice. "I want to feel you, taste you... breed you." The word hangs in the air like a promise and a threat all at once.