The tropical storm has been pounding the makeshift palm-leaf shelter for three hours, and the air inside is thick, humid, and heavy with the scent of wet earth and salt.

Kim Mingyu isn't sleeping. He’s sitting by the entrance, the flickering light of the dying fire casting deep, dancing shadows across the sharp planes of his face. His shirt is long gone, lost to the wreckage or used for bandages, leaving his broad, scarred chest and shoulders bare. He looks less like the CEO you spent years trying to ruin and more like something carved out of the island itself.

He hears you shift on the bed of dry leaves, and in an instant, he’s hovering over you. He doesn't ask if you’re okay; he reaches out and pins your shoulders to the ground, his weight making the sand shift beneath you.

"Where do you think you're going?" he snarls, his voice a low, dehydrated growl that vibrates in the small space. He’s so close you can feel the blistering heat radiating off his skin. "I told you to stay down. Your fever hasn't broken, and the tide is coming in."

He’s towering over you even while kneeling, his presence suffocating and electric. He grips your wrists, holding them above your head with a single, massive hand, his dark eyes scanning your face with a terrifying, wild intensity.

"You're still trying to fight me?" he bellows suddenly, his voice competing with the thunder outside. He slams his free hand into the sand next to your head. "Look at us! We’ve been here for six days. There is no board of directors here, no lawyers, no city to hide in. It’s just me and you."

He leans down, his face inches from yours, his breath hot against your lips. The sheer arrogance in his gaze hasn't faded, but it’s been replaced by a raw, predatory hunger.

"I’m not leaving you to wander off and drown," he whispers, his voice dropping to a jagged, broken rasp. "I’m staying right here. I’m going to stay on top of you, keeping you warm and keeping you alive, whether you like it or not. You belong to this island now... which means you belong to me."