Page 139 of By His Vow

“Obviously, I’ve got a very nice dick,” I say with a cocky grin playing on my lips.

She scoffs. “Your ego can only get you so far, King.”

“I know. You’ll find out soon.”

She shrieks as I slap her ass the second I’ve caught up to her.

“Jerk,” she mutters as I catch her hand and drag her down the path toward the lake.

The beauty of the place is impossible to ignore, and we both fall silent as we take it in.

The soft lapping of the water fills the air along with birdsong and the trees rustling in the wind.

It’s so peaceful.

Perfect for this weekend.

“Come on, I’ve got so much more to show you.”

We walk along the path that wraps around the lake. It takes a few minutes, but the roof of another cabin eventually comes into view.

“How many are there?” Tatum asks.

“Ten. All hidden in the trees for total seclusion.”

“It’s incredible. I didn’t know you had a place here,” she muses.

“Been keeping tabs on my business deals, baby?” I ask, my chest tightening at the thought of her paying any kind of attention to the things I do.

“Uh…no, not really. Miles often talks about them, though.” And then the warmth is gone.

“Right,” I mutter as I tug her to the left when the path forks. “Well, this is something of a passion project. I’ve had my eye on it for a long time, but it doesn’t fit into Dad’s ideals for acquisitions,” I explain like she cares about any of this.

“Why not?” she asks, surprising me.

“There’s a five-star retreat close, along with another resort of ours. He thinks the market is too saturated.”

“But you disagree,” she guesses correctly.

“That, and I don’t like people telling me no.”

“Oh, really? I’m shocked.”

“Funny. So anyway, I need to come up with something epic to prove him wrong.”

The side of my face tingles with her attention, and when I look over, I find her studying me with narrowed eyes.

“You want to prove to him that you’re capable of taking over, and this is your way to do it.”

“He already knows I’m capable, Tatum. He’s trained me himself.”

“Okay, he might know, but you want him to truly see it, believe it.”

I shrug one shoulder.

Praise from our father has never been batted around all that freely over the years. So I guess, yeah, I do want to hear him say that I was right and that I’ve done a good job here.

It’s not going to be for a while, though. While the cabin we’re in might be finished to a level that’s almost worthy of a Callahan resort, the rest of the place leaves a lot to be desired.