By His Vow: Chapter 40

I wake burning hot and pinned to the mattress—and not just by the massive diamond that’s weighing down my hand.

It takes a second for everything that happened last night to fully come back to me, and the moment it does, my temperature rises that little bit more.

Fuck.

Kingston was like a man possessed.

Talk about going from zero to sixty. Jeez.

It was worth the wait, though.

My core clenches as I think back, and the ache that comes from the move is enough to let me know I’m going to be feeling the side effects for a while.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a night like it.

No. I know I’ve never had a night like it.

It wasn’t just the insanely good sex, either. Yeah, that was mind-blowing in all the right ways, but it was so much more. The reverent way he touched me, the emotion in his eyes as he stared down at me. It was…all-consuming.

But as much as I want to revel in the way he holds me close in his sleep, my need for the bathroom means I have no choice but to slip from under the dead weight of his arm.

He moans and shifts as I climb from the bed, but he doesn’t wake.

I watch him for a few seconds, unable to keep the soft smile from my lips.

He looks so much…nicer in his sleep.

The hard expression, the impenetrable eyes are long gone. Although, if I’m being honest, I haven’t seen either of them since I woke up here.

He’s…he’s been an entirely different person. A person, I hate to admit, that I quite like. He’s sweet and thoughtful, funny and vulnerable. All the things he isn’t in Chicago. All the things I didn’t think he could be.

Moving before he catches me being a creeper, I scan the room. It’s the first time I’ve seen him surrounded by chaos. And by chaos, I mean our discarded clothes.

Reaching down, I swipe his shirt from the floor and shamelessly lift it to my nose. Breathing in, I revel in his manly scent as it floods my senses. All the hairs on my body lift as goosebumps race over my skin.

His scent alone shouldn’t have such a visceral effect on me, but I can’t help it. One sniff and everything from last night begins playing out in my mind like a high-definition movie.

And fuck, it was hot.

Pulling his shirt over my head, I let the soft fabric float around me as his scent fills the air.

With my heart beating wildly in my chest and every muscle in my body aching, I rip my eyes from the sleeping man before me and pad through to the bathroom.

I do my thing before stepping up to the sink and reaching for my toothbrush.

Looking up, I find that my eyes are alight with happiness—or it might just be the post-orgasm glow I haven’t experienced in a while, I’m not sure. My hair is a wild mess. Honestly, I look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backward. My lips are still swollen from all the kisses, and my neck and chest look a little like I’ve been mauled by a dog.

My heart continues to race as I lose myself in memories, the giant diamond on my finger glittering under the bright spotlights above me.

I’m so lost in my own head that I don’t notice someone else walk into the room, so when a large pair of hands land on my hips and lips brush the side of my neck, I shriek around my toothbrush.

My eyes find his in the mirror, and even without seeing his mouth, I know he’s smiling.

“Good morning, baby,” he muses, his voice raspy with sleep.

“Hey,” I mumble around my toothbrush before it’s pulled from my mouth. “Hey,” I repeat, only for an entirely different reason this time. “Oh my god,” I gasp in horror. “You did not just do that?”

My stomach turns over as I spin around and reach for my toothbrush that is now inside his mouth.

He moves before I can make contact with his hand, and I find my arm pulled behind my back before he pins me against the counter with his hips. His naked hips.

Oh god.

My stomach rolls again, but this time it’s not in disgust but desire.

“Baby,” he mumbles, “this is nothing after what we shared last night.”

His eyes search mine so intently, I can’t help but wonder if he’s trying to work out if I’m thinking about it or not.

“That’s not the point,” I argue. “That is gross. Last night was…” I trail off, unable to find the right word. A word that won’t increase the already massive ego he has.

“Was?” he asks after throwing my toothbrush into the sink.

“Not gross?” I reply intelligently.

His eyebrows lift in amusement. “Not gross. I guess it could be worse.”

Wrapping his hands around my waist, he lifts me until I have no choice but to sit on the cold granite counter.

He steps between my thighs, wrapping my legs around his waist.

His hard dick brushes against my pussy and I shudder, desire rolling through me.

Twisting his fingers in my hair, he drags my head back, positioning me exactly where he wants me.

His warm, minty breath rushes over my face as he studies me.

“King?” I whisper.

“Fuck. I love it when you moan my name.”

“I didn’t—” My words are cut off as his lips brush over mine.

At first, it’s innocent, but then he pulls my hair, sending a shot of pain down my neck. I gasp in shock, and he makes the most of my parted lips by plunging his tongue past them.

He kisses me as if I’m the most important person in the world.

The only girl in the world…

My hands slide up his arms and over his shoulders before my fingers thread into the short hair at the nape of his neck.

He groans into our kiss, his hips rolling against my pussy.

Despite the soreness, I ache to feel him inside me again.

Reaching between us, I grab his dick and put it into position.

“Aren’t you sore?” he whispers, kissing along my jaw.

“I don’t care.” It’s true.

His eyes open, holding mine captive.

I lean forward, mourning the loss of his lips, and he smiles.

“I care, Tatum. There might be many, many things I want to do to you, but I can assure you, hurting you isn’t one of them.”

My breath catches at the sincerity in his words.

“You good there for a minute?” he asks.

I want to cling to him, to stop him from leaving me, but I refrain. The less I look like a crazy, sex-starved fool, the better.

And that’s all it is. The lingering high of all the orgasms. It has nothing to do with how I feel for him. I don’t feel anything for him, so it’s a moot point.

I shake my head as he approaches the bathtub, wondering if I’m going to be able to lie to myself for an entire year, all the while calling myself Mrs. Callahan.

My ring catches my eye, but I don’t allow myself any time to focus on it—not while I have a naked man pouring bubbles into a tub.

Fuck. His ass is something else.

Hard. Round. Perfect.

I squint at the little red marks on his skin.

Did I⁠—

He turns around, and my beautiful view of his ass turns into something else entirely.

“Well, good morning, Mr. Callahan,” I muse, resting back on my palms while shamelessly staring at his hard dick.

I spent more than enough time worshipping it last night. He knows how I feel; there’s no point hiding it.

“See something you like?” he asks, his voice deep with desire as he reaches for himself, wrapping his fingers around his shaft.

Fuck.

My eyes jump to his.

“You shouldn’t look so good naked. It’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair right now is that you’re still wearing my shirt,” he counters.

He stalks over, gently stroking himself as he does before reaching out and dragging his shirt from my body.

I squirm on the countertop, desperate for him to touch me.

But he never does.

Instead, he just wraps his hands around my waist and lifts me.

“Take me back to bed,” I whisper in his ear, making him chuckle.

“Does your brother know you’re a sex maniac?”

“I sure hope not. And if you feel like telling him, that’s at your own risk. We already know he can overpower you in a fight.”

“Not true,” he states.

“Umm…” I trace the lingering darkness around his eye with my pointer finger. “If last week taught me anything, it’s that⁠—”

“I let him make those hits. I deserved them for what I was doing. Don’t think that just because I didn’t fight back, I can’t.”

I chuckle. “Sure.”

I groan when he lowers me into the bathtub, the hot water soothing my aching muscles.

“You’re a brat,” he points out as he releases me.

“You love it,” I taunt, watching the way his eyes widen and his chin drops.

“You drive me crazy.”

He stands tall, making no attempt to hide just how much he loves my sass.

“Oh yeah, you look so turned off right now.”

I reach for him, wrapping my fingers around his velvet shaft and stroking him. Once. Twice…

He groans loudly, his dick jerking happily in my hold before he grabs my wrist, stopping me.

“Brat,” he muses, making me pout when he removes my hand from my new favorite toy and takes a step back.

“You’re not getting in?” I ask, disappointed.

“Relax,” he says, continuing to back up toward the door.

“If you’re disappearing out there to jerk off, at least send me a video,” I shout once he’s slipped around the corner.

The only response I get is his loud laugh that echoes off the walls.

“Asshole,” I mutter, sinking into the hot bubbly water, sighing in contentment.

Noises come from the other side of the door, making me believe he hasn’t gone to jerk off, but he’s gone for long minutes. “Oh Mr. Callahan, a girl could get used to this.” I sigh, sinking lower.

“Is that so?”

I startle, sloshing water everywhere as I bolt upright.

He saunters in, still as naked as the day he was born, with a smirk playing on his lips and two mugs in his hands.

Two?

“What’s that?” I ask, already knowing from the scent that fills the air that at least one is coffee.

“Don’t get used to this,” he says before placing both mugs on the side.

The sight of thick, perfectly white foam greets me before I glance at his.

“Tea?” I blurt.

Okay, so I might not have been expecting him to have a double espresso or anything, but…I should have guessed.

“Green tea,” he explains before gesturing for me to slide forward so he can get in behind me.

His strong, thick thighs wrap around my body. His still-hard dick brushes against my back before his arm wraps around my waist, pulling me against him.

We slide lower, sinking into the bubbles together.

His lips drop to my ear, and I shudder as his warm breath races down my neck.

“I like this,” he whispers, his hands beginning to roam. “I like having you all wet for me.”

“Kingston,” I moan when he cups both my breasts, squeezing just so before flicking my nipples with his thumb.

“You moan my name so beautifully.”

“L-last night was…” I start, barely able to form words as he continues teasing me.

“Amazing? Incredible? Mind-blowing? Best night of your life?” he offers up as one of his hands descends my body.

Oh god.

“A one-off,” I whisper. But I already know I’m lying through my teeth. With the lack of conviction in those words, he knows I am too. I mentally kick myself for not being stronger.

He cups my pussy. His hold is possessive and weirdly erotic, considering he’s not really touching me. Not the good bits, anyway.

He chuckles darkly.

“This pussy is mine now, Tatum. You said yes. You gave yourself to me. There is nothing that is going to be a one-off with us. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it properly. And I have every intention of treating my wife the way she deserves.”