By His Vow: A Billionaire Arranged Marriage Romance

I stare down at him in disbelief.

I knew it was coming. Maybe not tonight or like this.

Alone

But seeing him down there isn’t anything like I expected.

I thought it would feel like a joke. An act.

I don’t know what it is, but this feels real.

His nerves are palpable. The way my heart races and my hands tremble are very real.

Too real.

He stares up at me, his dark green eyes boring into mine.

The air between us is charged, but it’s more than just the chemistry I’m becoming accustomed to when we’re together.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Tatum?” he whispers, pointing out that I haven’t said anything in a really long time.

A small frown creases his brow as his eyes bounce between mine.

Waiting.

Lifting my hand, I pinch the pendant of my necklace between my fingers, fidgeting it as I try to find some kind of equilibrium.

His frown deepens and concern darkens his eyes.

Is he honestly worried that I’m going to say no?

Can I even say no?

I signed the paperwork. I agreed to this. I thought that the proposal was going to be some elaborate public show.

This…this is intimate. Romantic.

This isn’t telling the world and trying to convince them that our fake union is real.

It’s…

“Tate, you really need to say something right about now,” he mutters, still down on one knee before me, his hand trembling as he holds out the ring.

“I-I know, I’m sorry. I just⁠—”

He jumps to his feet the second I apologize, and disappointment flashes across his face. He tries to cover it, and he probably thinks he does, but his poker face isn’t good enough.

“Wait,” I say, reaching out and wrapping my hand around the side of his neck.

His pulse flutters rapidly against my palm, giving away everything he’s trying to play off.

I hold his eyes firmly and continue. “I’m sorry. I just got a little lost in the shock of it all. Can you please get back down?” I ask, my voice quiet, nervous.

“B-back down?” he parrots.

I nod, biting on my bottom lip as the weight of what I’m asking him begins to press down on me.

Slowly, so fucking slowly, he sinks back to one knee before me and holds the ring out.

“Go on,” I whisper.

He sighs, a smirk threatening as he understands what I’m asking.

“Tatum,” he starts, “will you do me the honor of making the next year of my life probably the most insufferable, and annoying, and impossible one I’ve experienced yet?”

I can’t help but laugh.

I make a show of considering it, but I’m going to need more than that.

“Everything I have, you’re welcome to borrow, and I promise to give you more thrills than anyone else is capable of, leaving you wondering how you’re going to continue life without me.”

“Idiot,” I mutter, my smile wide and honest.

“So, will you?” he nudges.

“Will I?”

He shakes his head, losing patience with me.

Start as we mean to go on, right? What did he say about me being insufferable?

“Tatum,” he warns, causing tingles to erupt between my thighs. “Will you be my wife?”

I suck in a breath, allowing myself one more second to consider just how fucking insane this is before I give my answer.

His eyes widen in impatience and his jaw ticks, but I don’t make him suffer any longer.

“Yes, Kingston. I’ll marry you.”

I tell myself the words spill from my mouth as I think about that little cottage and its cute garden. But the truth is, anything outside of this moment, this man, is far from my mind.

In a rush, he flips open the ring box. I hadn’t even realized that he didn’t show me what was hiding inside before.

“Oh my god,” I gasp as the stunning yet simple round solitaire ring sparkles under the soft glow of the fairy lights strung up around us.

It’s huge. At least five carats.

It’s…too much.

Plucking it from its velvet cushion, he holds it out for me.

“Kingston, that’s…massive.”

He smirks, and I roll my eyes, knowing exactly what’s coming next.

“That’s what they all say. But it’s yours now, baby. Enjoy it.” He winks, and a laugh tumbles from my mouth.

“Such an idiot.”

He shrugs as he slides the stunning ring onto my finger. It’s cool and heavy, and…so beautiful.

My chest tightens as I stare down at it. The meaning behind it, even if it is fake, still feels too real.

A lump crawls up my throat and tears burn the backs of my eyes.

I’m engaged.

One of the moments every girl dreams of, just happened to me.

I knew it was coming. It’s fake.

But still, it feels magical. It feels⁠—

My thoughts vanish in a heartbeat as Kingston surges to his feet. His huge hands cup my jaw as he steps up to me, the heat of our bodies melding together before he drops his lips to mine.

Everything stops.

His fingers twitch. It’s the first sign that he’s not going to pull away this time.

The second is the delicious sweep of his tongue across the seam of my lips, silently begging for entry.

My knees give out and I stumble backward. But he’s right there, pulling me back into his body with one strong arm locked across my back.

“Don’t fight me, baby,” he whispers against my lips. “I can’t hold back any longer. I need you.”

All the air rushes from my lungs and he makes the most of my parted lips.

His tongue plunges into my mouth, searching out mine.

The second they collide, all bets are off.

My fingers sink into his hair, his hands drop to my ass, and we lose ourselves in each other.

It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been dancing around this for days now, and it’s just as electric as I thought it would be.

I gasp when he lifts me, sweeping my feet right off the ground as if I weigh nothing more than a feather.

He moves, but I don’t pull away from his kiss to look where we’re going. With any luck, it’s the bedroom.

My ass presses against something and he releases his grip on me, his hands skimming up my waist, making my back arch for more of his touch.

His lips move from mine, kissing a wet trail along my jaw and then down my neck.

My eyes flicker open, and I absently notice that I’m on the railing. But despite knowing I could fall back and probably break my back any second, I don’t release Kingston and hold on.

Instead, I make the possibly stupid decision to trust him. After all, it doesn’t feel like he’s going to let go anytime soon.

“Fuck, Tatum,” he groans, his hands pressing against the small of my back, ensuring we’re pinned together tight enough that I can feel him hard and ready against me.

Wrapping my legs tighter, I press my heels into his ass, silently letting him know that I feel it.

“Please,” I whimper, my head falling back when he sucks on the sensitive patch of skin beneath my ear. “Kingston.”

“Fuck, I’m already addicted to hearing my name roll off your lips,” he confesses as I tug at the fabric of his shirt, pulling it from his pants and lifting it up his body.

He flinches the second my fingers touch his warm, smooth skin.

“More,” I beg. “I need more.”

“No stopping,” he murmurs, dragging his lips across my cheek and back to mine. “Never again.”

His lips claim my mine his grip on my body stopping me from pulling his shirt from his body.

Abandoning the fabric, I go for the buttons instead.

My hands tremble and I fumble with each one as our kiss gets wilder and more frantic.

My body burns red hot, my heart racing, my skin on fire.

I’ve never felt like this before. Sure, there have been plenty of guys I’ve wanted. But never as fiercely as this. It’s never been this…this powerful. This all-consuming.

The second I have the final button open, I run my hands up the expanse of his chest, indulging in his hard muscles, warm skin, and the tickle of the smattering of dark hair.

His entire chest vibrates with a moan when my hands sink over his stomach. His abs bounce beneath my touch as his grip on my hips turns painful.

It’s not enough.

My fingers find his belt and I quickly unbuckle it and pull it free from the loops.

“Take me inside,” I beg into our kiss.

He stills, our lips still pressed together, our heaving breaths mingling.

“Tatum,” he whispers, moving his head so his brow touches mine a beat before his eyes open.

My breath catches at the unfiltered desire staring back at me.

I undo his pants and slip my fingers beneath them and his boxers, but a second before I make contact with him, I’m moving.

“Kingston,” I cry as he suddenly throws me over his shoulder and spanks my ass.

“Dirty, dirty girl,” he muses as he marches into the cabin and kicks the door closed behind him.

Reaching out, I grab his ass and squeeze as hard as I can.

He rewards me by spanking me again, but long before the sting of his hit has faded, I’m placed back on my feet in front of him.

He shrugs off his shirt, letting it flutter to the floor before he toes off his shoes and pushes his pants from his hips, leaving him standing in only his black boxer briefs that do very little to hide what’s going on beneath.

My mouth waters as I stare down at the head of his dick poking above the waistband.

“Keep looking at me like that and you’ll spend the night on your knees, Tatum.”

My breath catches and my eyes roll up his incredible body. It’s not news to me that he puts as much effort into his body as he does at work. But knowing it and seeing it—feeling it—are two different things.

I sweep my tongue across my bottom lip, looking up at him through my lashes.

He smirks, shaking his head slowly.

“One day, baby. I’m going to take you up on that offer,” he rasps. “But tonight isn’t about me.”

Placing his hands on my shoulders, he spins me around.

I shudder when his fingers softly brush against my neck as he pushes my hair over one shoulder.

His lips connect with my skin next, peppering kisses down my spine until he meets his fingers that have the zipper firmly in his grasp.

“Kingston,” I breathe as he pulls it down slowly until the fabric pools around my feet, leaving me standing in only my lace panties.

His knuckles bounce down my spine and my entire body pricks with goosebumps. My breasts are heavy and my core aches.

As much as I love this tender side of him, what I need right now is for him to throw me on the bed and take me hard and fast.

Gentle can come later. Everything can come later.

But right now, I need⁠—

“Turn around,” he demands.

Without question, I do as I’m told, and I find him gloriously naked with his thick, hard dick jutting out from between his thighs.

My mouth runs dry as I stare at him.

He’s a god. And something tells me that every single rumor I’ve ever heard about his skills is true.

For long, agonizing seconds, he does nothing but stare at me with his chest heaving and his cock bobbing with excitement.

And then, just as I think he’s going to go back on his words from outside, he leans forward, grips the back of my thighs, and flips me onto the middle of the bed.

I land with a gentle bounce and look down to see him pressing his knees to the end of the bed, the look in his eyes predatory.

It’s everything.

And then some.