Chapter 18: Unresolved Tensions
(Elara's POV)
"Elara, spend a night with me, and we'll call it even. What do you say?"
Lucian's proposal hung in the air between us, his voice low and confident through the phone. My fingers tightened around the device as I processed his words.
"Are you serious?" I finally managed, struggling to keep my voice steady.
A deep chuckle resonated through the line. "I'm not desperate, if that's what you're asking." There was a pause, weighted with unspoken meaning. "But I have noticed you've been deliberately avoiding me since our... encounter."
Heat crept up my neck as I realized he was right. I had been keeping my distance, hoping the intensity of that stormy night would fade if I simply pretended it never happened. But Lucian wasn't a man who allowe
