ILYA
A slow, vicious amusement coiled tightly around my ribs, pushing the digital warnings of AKELA to the background. I couldn't help it.
To Ryder's absolute chagrin, my rigid, polite reporter mask completely dissolved. A dark, mocking smirk pulled slowly at the corner of my mouth. My eyes narrowed, holding his frantic, bloodshot gaze with a heavy, predatory weight that made his breath catch in his throat. His fingers instinctively loosened on my lapels, his bravado stuttering against the sudden, freezing shift in my aura.
"Missing?" I repeated softly, the tone purely rhetorical, dripping with a terrifyingly calm malice. "That's a fascinating choice of words, Ryder."
I leaned down just an inch, invading his space until he was forced to tilt his head back to maintain eye contact.
