Page 141 of By His Vow

Well…turns out I am not.

Jesus.

Resting my palms on my knees, I look ahead to see how much farther the summit is.

Summit. What a joke.

I might keep calling it a mountain, but honestly, it’s barely even a hill.

What the hell is wrong with me?

“We’re nearly there,” Kingston says with a smirk playing on his lips.

I’m pretty sure it’s been a permanent feature on his face since the moment I took off in the wrong direction.

“Go on ahead,” I say, waving both him and his stupid cocky smirk away.

“Aw, baby. I wouldn’t dare complete this once-in-a-lifetime experience without you.”

“I hate you,” I seethe, finally standing up straight.

My head spins and I take a step back to steady myself.

“Shit.” He gasps, rushing forward to catch me.

Totally unnecessary, but I appreciate the gesture all the same.

When it’s just the two of us like this, it’s almost possible to forget who he is and what a massive asshole he can be.

Since the moment we left the cabin, he’s been sweet, and honest, and maybe even a little vulnerable as he talked about his vision for the vast resort behind us.

I could see it. The way he laid it all out for me in such detail. I could see every one of his clients sitting there sipping on his special green juice as they took some time out from reality to relax and rejuvenate.

Fucking green juice.

I bet I wouldn’t be having this issue right now if I were able to have my standard three coffees before leaving the house this morning.

“It’s the air,” I explain. “There is like, no oxygen up here.”

He tries to hide his amusement, he really does. But the second I look at him through my lashes, he bursts out laughing.

“Baby, your old apartment has a higher altitude than this hill.”

I shrug, unwilling to comment on what is so obviously a fact.

“Come on,” he says turning his back on me.

“What?” I ask, not believing what I’m seeing.

“Jump on. We’ll do it together.”

“King, you can’t carry me. I weight a to?—”

“It’s either on my back or I throw you over my shoulder,” he warns, shooting me a wicked look.

I consider my options for a moment. Piggyback and look at the stunning view, or over his shoulder and stare at his ass. I mean, I’ve had worse decisions to make in my life, that’s for sure.

But he soon makes it for me and lowers down.