Page 259 of By His Vow

Setting Griz aside, she rips into it.

The second she opens the box, her brow furrows in confusion before the most incredible transformation happens.

Happiness washes through her expression before her lips curl up and a loud laugh erupts.

“Oh my god,” she cries, tears filling her eyes.

“What? What is it?”

“I-it’s…for you,” she stutters, barely able to contain herself enough to speak.

“Me?” I ask, moving closer and taking the box when she holds it out, now wiping tears from her cheeks.

Ripping my eyes from her, I peer in the box.

“What the actual fuck?” I bark, staring down at a…at a strap-on penis?

“Don’t you remember?” Tatum roars, now clutching her stomach as she laughs. “You like it dry.”

The memory of the night in the Italian restaurant slams into me, although I remember less detail about what happened in the actual restaurant and more of what happened in the bathroom.

“You’re not using that,” I state, keeping my cool.

“We’ll see. You know, they say that it’s good for the soul to give up control every now and then. Great stress relief.”

“I’m sure they do,” I say, throwing the box to the pile of other shit that needs to leave my apartment and stalking into the kitchen for a drink. A strong fucking drink.

65

TATUM

“I’ll go,” I say when the buzzer rings through the apartment.

The place looks almost unrecognizable. It’s as if a tornado has blown through it. There is wrapping paper, boxes, cards, and the random assortment of gifts we’ve received littering every single surface.

It’s only been like this a few hours and already, I swear I can see Kingston’s eye twitching in irritation.

It’s all the more reason to put off cleaning up.

It’s wrong, but I can’t help but love seeing this side of him.

The takes-no-shit businessman that everyone else sees is long gone right now. It makes me feel special that I’m getting to discover the real man inside the suit.

My stomach growls as I get closer to the door. I am more than ready to dive into the takeout I managed to convince Kingston to order.

Mr Health-Freak wasn’t really for it. But it’s Saturday night, and the past week has been hell. He deserves to kick back and relax just as much as everyone else. Hell, possibly more so. And anyway, one night of takeout isn’t going to ruin anything.

Eagerly, I pull the door open, more than ready to pull the bag of Chinese into my arms and inhale the tempting scent.

It takes a second for the image to clear enough in my head to discover that the man standing before me isn’t delivering our delicious dinner.

Instead, it’s my new brother-in-law.

“Good evening,” Kian says with a wicked grin that I’m sure gets more than a few women in trouble. “How’s the hangover?”

With a glare, I pull the door wider to invite him in.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” I mutter.