"I want you."
The words hung heavily in the air of the clinical workshop, vibrating with a raw, dominant possessiveness that made Ruolan's breath hitch entirely.
The thumb resting against the back of her neck sent a jolt of electric warmth straight down her spine.
For all her superior Golden Core strength, she felt utterly trapped beneath his piercing golden gaze, her body melting into his proximity.
"You... want me?" she whispered, her voice trembling slightly, a beautiful cocktail of vulnerability and rising desire filling her blue eyes.
"As a tool for your business? Or as a weapon to dismantle the Union?"
"I want you as my alchemist, Ruolan," Shen Yu murmured, his velvet-smooth voice dripping with absolute conviction as he leaned down, his lips a breath away from her ear.
