For a moment, Zyren said nothing, and Aria was too worried to speak before he did. The silence between them stretched thin, pulsing with a tension she couldn't name.
Her neck still throbbed where he had bitten her, the sting of the wound lingering like a cruel reminder.
But it wasn't just pain that unsettled her—there was something else, something crawling beneath her skin, something hot and unnatural that she couldn't shake off. A strange sensation that had no business being there. One she would rather bury deep and pretend didn't exist.
More than anything, she wanted to be anywhere but here—perched on his lap, wearing clothes so thin they barely passed as covering. Each breath she took felt like it exposed more of her, and the weight of his gaze made her skin crawl.
