Page 105 of By His Vow

The door crashes back against the wall behind me and I lurch forward in shock.

I should have seen it coming, but I thought Lori would be the one to come and check on me when I didn’t return after a couple of minutes.

Who am I kidding; she’s probably still laughing.

“You think you’re funny?” Kingston growls, stalking toward me like a lion going after its prey.

I shrug. It’s a move that I know all too well will piss him off, but I can’t stop myself.

He closes the space between us with only a handful of wide strides. I back up, but there is only so far to go before I bump into the wall.

I suck in a sharp breath, but he’s so close that the only thing I smell is his aftershave.

And hell, it’s mouthwatering.

“You’re trying to control my life,” I state, my voice high-pitched and irritating. I’m mad, damn it. I can’t help it.

“You agreed to this,” he counters, his voice calm and unaffected by my outburst, although the pulsating muscle just beneath his jaw tells a very different story.

“I agreed to put up with you for a year. I didn’t realize that included you stalking me, inviting yourself to dinner with my friend, and stopping me from having fucking coffee.”

I gasp as his hand darts out and he collars me around my throat.

I stare up at him with wide eyes as my pulse pounds against his fingers.

“Just getting to know Lorelei better, baby,” he says softly, totally at odds with the dangerously possessive way he holds me. His thumb moves, grazing over my pulse point.

A shiver races down my spine and I can’t help but arch against the wall, my body desperate to feel his up against me.

“She’s important to you, so she’s important to me.”

I narrow my eyes.

“Cut the shit, King. This isn’t a fucking game. It’s my life.”

“A life you’re trying to make very hard,” he warns.

“What the fuck is up with you tonight?” I snap.

“I’ve had a stressful day. I’m hungry,” he adds. “And yet my steak is sitting out there while I’m in here taking care of you.”

“I don’t need taking care of, Kingston. I can look after myself.”

He dips his head, letting his nose brush along the line of my jaw until his lips are at my ear.

“It sure seems like you have enough toys to do so,” he muses.

“Fuck you. What I do with my body is absolutely none of your business.”

He leans forward, pressing his length against me, pinning me against the unforgiving wall.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he rasps in my ear a beat before his fingers brush my thigh.

“King.” I gasp as they move higher. “No, you can’t.”

I try pushing his arm away, but he’s having none of it.

“Fight all you like, Tatum. It only makes it sweeter.”