Chapter 101

Ellie

Heat pooled in my stomach and then it spread through my body. His eyes, his words, and even his simple request were affecting me deeply, whether I wanted to admit it or not.

" What?" I whispered.

"Kiss me, and I'll let you go," he promised.

"You can't make me kiss you," I retorted, my attempt at firmness betraying my inner turmoil.

He shrugged. "I am not making you. I am requesting you to pay up."

I was torn, my thoughts in a frenzy. Something inside me was curious about this man, and for some reason, I was having a hard time refusing him outright.

Giovanni took a lock of my hair and twisted it around his finger. "It's a simple kiss, Ellie. Nothing more, nothing less."

His nearness was a sensory overload, clouding my thoughts. I could sense his breath on my skin, and the heat radiating from his body was a gravitational force. I was torn between the urge to run and an unexplainable compulsion to bridge the gap between us.