Chapter 163

• To my dismay, his arms only tightened around me, nearly squeezing the breath out of me as he adamantly shook his head in refusal.
• As I struggled to get out of his grip, I froze when I heard the front door slam open, and a familiar bubbly voice echoed through all four floors of our house.
• Trying to snap him out of it, I tried to bargain, "I won't make you let go. I'll even give you a kiss or anything else you may want if you can just come downstairs with me to meet your mother."