Page 214 of By His Vow

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.