By His Vow: Chapter 52

I sit with Kian and Miles, watching as Kieran entertains his harem.

If I thought I attracted females when I stepped foot outside my penthouse, then I really need to reconsider, because our little brother is on another level.

Jersey chasers.

They are persistent and very focused on their end goal: snagging a hot night and the chance of more with one of their beloved players.

This is why I wanted to stay up in the suite. It would have ensured we got to spend some time together without being hit on every five seconds.

“He’s way too ugly to attract that level of attention,” Kian mutters beside me before swallowing down what’s left in his glass.

“Those girls don’t care what he looks like,” Miles points out. “They just want a night with an NFL god.”

“Jesus, don’t call him that to his face. His head is already big enough,” I tease.

“Because you’re so modest,” Miles pipes up.

“Nah, he’s just pissed that his days of hooking up on a night out are over,” Kian points out.

“Says who?” I ask, aware that a comment like that will earn me a death glare from Miles.

“His wife’s older brother, that’s fucking who.”

“From what I heard, there was no stipulation about KC being faithful, and it’s not like you want him tapping Tate, so…”

Miles scrubs his hand down his face. If it weren’t so loud in the hotel bar then I’m sure we’d hear him groaning.

He’s struggling with this. I get it, I do. But he knows as well as I do that Tate doesn’t really have any other option.

Yes, he’d ensure she’s taken care of if she were to walk away, but he also knows that she’s too stubborn for that.

“I won’t be unfaithful to Tatum,” I assure him, needing him to know that he can trust me—up to a point—with his little sister.

“I’m not sure if that makes me feel better about all of this or not,” Miles confesses.

“I’m not going into this intending to hurt her, man. If I have my way, we’ll make it through the next twelve months happily before embarking on the next stages of our lives.”

Kian studies me closely. My stomach knots as I wait for him to say whatever is on his mind. We’ve already had way more to drink tonight than I intended, meaning his tongue will be looser than usual.

“Is that really what you want, though?” he asks.

“Of course. We want Callahan and Warner to finally be joined. That’s the end goal here. Together we can take over the fucking world.” Slight exaggeration.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Kian says, happily accepting another round of scotch from our server.

“That is what this is about. It’s a business deal,” I state, reaching for a fresh drink.

“Is that why you look at her with those sappy eyes? Because she’s a business deal?”

“Jesus Christ,” Miles complains, downing his drink, and then Kieran’s—he’s way too busy to even notice it’s here.

“She is,” I argue, although from the way Kian’s eyes narrow, I’m not sure he believes me.

“I’ll put a thousand dollars on you two not getting divorced in twelve months.”

“Don’t be an asshole,” Miles spits.

“What? Do you really think Kingston isn’t going to fall in love with Tate? She’s beautiful, funny, intelligent. If KC had a type other than desperate, she’d be it and you know it.”

“That’s not my type.” I scoff.

“Oh, come off it. As long as she’s willing, you’ll tap it,” Kian argues.

“Because you’re so different.”

“I’m more than happy to share the love. But this isn’t about me, and that’s not the point. You are going to fall in love with her, and there is no way you’ll let her go and allow someone else to have her after all this.”

I tried to argue with him, I really did. My mouth opened and closed several times, but I couldn’t find the words.

I’ve had two weeks with Tatum so far, and we’re on the eve of our union that kickstarts the timer on our relationship. Already, she’s turned my life upside down, made me feel things that I’m not sure I have before, and I don’t just mean impossibly high levels of irritation at her constant defiance.

What’s it going to be like a year from now?

Will I be able to consider a life without her in it, or will she have become such a huge part of my days that it’ll be impossible?

Predictably, Kieran disappeared with a jersey chaser on each arm a while ago. And despite his teasing about our little brother’s antics, Kian just walked out of the bar to do exactly the same, although there was only one woman on his arm.

I let out a sigh, pushing my empty glass back.

“No one catching your eye tonight?” I ask Miles as he scans the bar.

Shaking his head, he turns his eyes back on me. “Got bigger things to worry about than getting my dick wet.” He scoffs.

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend? I remember a time not so long ago when that was the only thing to worry about.”

“Yeah, well. That was before I took on a company on the brink of bankruptcy and was having to hand my little sister over to the big bad wolf.”

“Aw, you love me.”

He does, I know he does. But this is pushing our friendship right to the max.

If it’s possible, his expression hardens further.

“Did you mean it?” he asks, making me frown.

“Mean what?”

“That you don’t have any intention of hurting her?”

I slump back, keeping my eyes on my best friend.

“I know I’m a bit of an asshole, but I don’t go out intentionally to hurt people. Women.”

“Shit, I know. I just—” He scrubs his hand down his face.

He’s stressed; I can see it in the darkness of his eyes and the fresh lines around them. I hate it, but there is only so much I can do.

Together, we will fix Warner Group. It might mean making some very tough decisions, but we will not let it go under.

“Fuck, KC. She’s my little sister, man. She deserves the fucking world and⁠—”

“I’ll give her it,” I promise before I have a chance to think about what I’m saying. “Whatever she wants for the next year of our lives, it’s hers.”

I hold his stare strong, letting him see just how truthful those words are.

“And what if Kian is right?” My heart begins pounding harder as his words repeat in my head.

“You are going to fall in love with her, and there is no way you’ll let her go and allow someone else to have her after all this.”

I scoff, trying to play it off. “I think you know me better than that, Miles.”

He doesn’t say anything, yet his silence says a thousand words.

“I’m gonna call it a night,” he finally says, pushing his chair back from the table. “Big day tomorrow.” He grips my shoulder and squeezes hard in another warning.

“She deserves to have the day she’s always dreamed about.”

“Bro, this is Tatum we’re talking about. She doesn’t dream about stuff like that.”

He narrows his eyes. “If you say so. I’ll see you in the morning, yeah?”

I nod once and he takes off, marching through the bar and stealing almost every female’s attention.

If he wanted to hook up tonight, he could.

It’s your fault he’s going to bed alone, a little voice pipes up.

My skin tingles with awareness as eyes turn on me now that I’m sitting alone.

Unwilling to talk to anyone, I push my chair out and follow Miles’s lead.

The ride in the elevator to the top floor of the hotel takes longer than it ever has before, I swear. And by the time I get to the top, my muscles are tight and my head is spinning with the events of the night.

Kian’s words still float around my head, along with Miles’s warning and my promises.

“Fuck,” I grunt, combing my fingers through my hair and dragging it back from my face.

As I make my way toward the best suite in this hotel, the suite that Tatum and I are going to share on our wedding night, I find that my focus is elsewhere. On another door that’s closer, more tempting than my own.

My footsteps slow as I approach, the key in my pocket burning with temptation.

I have no idea what the girls have done tonight other than spend time in the spa. I told myself that I’d give them the freedom to enjoy their time, no matter how much it would kill me not to spend the night watching Tatum on the security footage.

Fuck.

I’m fucked.

So fucking fucked.

Unable to talk myself out of it, I pull the key from my pocket and tap it on the panel beside the door.

It’s late; they should be asleep.

I’ll just slip in, check on her and then disappear as if I were never here.

Easy. Simple.

She’ll never even know.

I pause with the door open, listening for voices, and when I don’t hear any, I step inside, quietly closing the door behind me.

The second I step into the living room, my breath catches as I find my girl passed out on the couch with a bottle of water ominously dangling from her fingers, ready to drop.

I stalk over before plucking the bottle from her weak grip and placing it on the coffee table.

Dropping to my knees beside her, I reach out, tucking a lock of her messy hair behind her ear.

“King,” she whispers the second our skin makes contact, and fuck if it doesn’t make my dick instantly hard.

“Are you dreaming about me, baby?” I whisper so quietly, the words are almost non-existent.

Unable to stop myself, I carefully drag my knuckles down her cheek, desperate to feel the softness of her skin.

I fucked up after our weekend away. I knew it the second I hit send on those photographs, and I know it even more after ten days of being unable to indulge in this incredible woman.

She showed me heaven, only to snatch it away again.

Every single day, I’ve been hard and aching for her, but she’s proved just how strong her stubborn streak is by keeping herself at arm’s length.

I’m dying. Fucking dying without having a taste of her.

When I get to her chest, she moans again, rolling onto her back, letting the blanket she’d haphazardly pulled over herself float to the floor.

“Jesus Christ, baby,” I groan, running my eyes down her body and taking in the thin tank and tiny pair of panties she’s wearing. “You don’t play fair.”

The air turns thick with desire as I stare at her incredible body, listening to the sound of her shallow breaths in my ear.

Is she as desperate for me as I am for her?

“Kingston,” she moans, answering my question as if I asked it out loud.

I should push to my feet. I should walk out the door and resort to jerking off in the shower like I have all week.

“Please,” she whimpers, spreading her thighs wider, letting me see the damp patch on her panties.

“Fuck.”

My mouth waters and my fingers twitch.

Would she wake up if I were to pull the fabric aside and take what we both need?

With my eyes locked on her face, I tuck my fingers beneath the soft lace and slowly tug it away.

She moans and her hips lift from the couch, but her eyes don’t so much as flicker with awareness.

My heart pounds and my chest heaves, a potent rush of desire flooding through my veins.

Lorelei is here somewhere. She could walk out any minute and find me on my knees for my wife.

It should probably be enough to stop me, but it isn’t.

With my mouth watering, I lean forward and take what I desperately crave.