By His Vow: A Billionaire Arranged Marriage Romance

With my hands holding her face, I brush my lips against hers.

Keeping this a secret from her has fucking killed me. But I knew that she’d never accept it if I didn’t deliver it right.

It had to be in person, and it had to be after I confessed everything else I’ve been bottling up inside.

The second her lips part, I lick deep into her mouth, trying to tell her with actions exactly how I feel about her.

Having her with me, her body pressed up against mine, suddenly everything is right again.

It just confirms everything I realized the moment I discovered she’d gone.

Tatum Callahan isn’t just my wife. She’s my everything.

Our kiss quickly turns heated, too heated for being out in public in this quaint little village.

It pains me to do so, but I manage to pull my lips from hers, breaking our kiss.

Resting my forehead against hers, I hold her eyes as her increased breaths rush over my face.

“Fancy showing me around your new place, baby?”

Her eyes bounce between mine and I smirk, able to read her thoughts.

She wants to refuse, to tell me where to go. But she won’t, because she wants this place too much.

“I can’t believe you’ve done this,” she whispers.

“This place was always meant to be yours, Tate. Now it is. Your name is on the deed. It’s yours to do whatever you want with.”

“And if I want to live here?” she asks.

“Then we’d need to discuss how that works in reality.”

She frowns, her brow rippling against mine.

“You’d consider it?” she asks as if the concept is impossible to believe.

“I want to be with you, Tatum. And if this is where you need to be, then…” I take in a deep breath. “Then we’d figure something out. I’m not losing you to another country. It’s not going to happen.”

Reaching for her hand, I place her hand against my chest, letting her feel just how fast my heart is racing.

“You’re in here, Tatum. And I need you—” Wrapping my other arm around her back, I pin her against my body. “Right fucking here.”

“King,” she gasps.

“I don’t care if you want to move to Antarctica. We’ll find a way to make it work. Now,” I say. “I’m dying to look around this place that makes you so happy.”

She bounces on her toes in excitement.

“Come on then,” she says twisting our fingers together and tugging me toward the front door.

She’s like a little kid who’s just been given the keys to a candy shop. I can’t help but smile, my heart melting as I watch her open the door and skip inside.

I’ve barely crossed the threshold when she pauses and just breathes in.

“You okay?” I ask, noticing that her eyes are closed.

“Yeah,” she whispers, her lips pulling up to a smile. “Just…taking it all in. It still smells faintly as I remember.”

I nod, letting her have her moment, and look around.

My eyes widen at the sight of the old fashion decoration. The walls are covered in red and gold swirls that make my head spin even while sober. The furniture and woodwork are mahogany and straight out of the seventies, and all the fittings are tarnished gold. It’s…a time warp.

“Wow, this is⁠—”

“Exactly as I remember it,” Tatum says fondly as she takes off again, dragging me with her.

Every room she takes me into is the same. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

It’s not until we get to the drawing room that something other than the decoration captures my attention.

Releasing Tatum’s hand, I walk toward the fireplace with my eyes locked on a photograph of two kids.

Picking it up, I stare at my girl. She’s probably ten. She’s got her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, her eyes are alight with happiness, and she’s wearing a pair of denim dungarees. Both her and Miles look out of breath, like they’ve done a million laps of the pretty yard behind them.

“I remember that summer,” the girl in question says, stepping up beside me and turning the frame so she can see the image. “I never wanted it to end.”

“You really love it here, huh?”

I expect her to agree instantly, but she hesitates, making me turn toward her.

“Tatum?” I ask when I find her chewing on her bottom lip. “What’s wrong?”

“I do. I do love it here.”

“But?” I ask, sensing that there is so much more that she wants to say.

“But…and I never thought I’d say this…but I miss Chicago. I miss Miles, and Lori, and Griz.” I wince at the mention of the cat. Can’t say that I’ve had the same feelings about the little furball.

“And me?” I hedge.

She laughs. “Yeah, King. I missed you too.”

I smirk. It’s cocky as hell; I can’t help it.

“So, what are you saying?”

“I will always love this place. And I’m so incredibly grateful for whatever you’ve done to secure this for me but…I don’t think I’m ready for this life yet.”

Thank fuck.

“So…” I prompt, refusing to voice my relief that I don’t have to figure out a way to live a life that’s split over two continents just so we can be together.

“I think I need to come back to Chicago. For now, it’s my home. It’s…our home,” she says hesitantly.

“Tatum,” I say, stepping closer to her and wrapping my arms around her body. “I realized something in the past two weeks.” She stares up at me with her big blue eyes that always suck me right in. “My home is wherever you are.”

Her eyes fill with tears and her bottom lip trembles.

“Please don’t cry. It’s meant to be a good thing.”

“It is a good thing,” she agrees, her voice cracked with emotion. “I just never thought⁠—”

“You didn’t think I’d come for you? You thought I’d sign those divorce papers and forget about you? You thought you didn’t change every single thing in my life?” I offer up. “Baby, you’re it for me. Our marriage might have started out as a commitment to secure us other assets, but fuck all that. The only thing I want now is you.”

Her tears finally spill over and I catch them with my thumbs.

“I think…I think I need to show you the bedrooms now,” she says through her tears.

‘Oh yeah?” I ask.

She takes a step back, grabs my hand and leads the way once more.

Every single stair creaks on the way up, as well as the floorboards once we hit the top floor.

“Master,” she says, throwing a door open to reveal the ugliest bedroom I’ve ever seen in my life. The comforter alone gives me a headache. Thankfully, we move on fast, and I can only hope there’s a less trippy room that we can make the most of. I’m all for enjoying a high, but fuck me, that was a bit much.

Thankfully, the next one is a little tamer, the third is Miles’s room, and the fourth⁠—

“This is your room,” I say, releasing her hand and stepping farther into the pink room. It’s the girliest thing I’ve ever seen with pink fairy lights strung up everywhere, pillows covering the bed, and a heart-shaped rug on the floor.

It’s very different from the room I remember her living in at her parents’ house. This is a little girl’s room. That was…an adult’s room designed by adults.

“What gave it away?” she teases.

“Well, Miles was never really a pink kind of guy.” She moves closer and I rip my attention away from the room in favor of her. “Have you ever had a boy in your room, Tatum?”

She bites down on her bottom lip and shakes her head.

“Nope. I’m not that kind of girl, Mr. Callahan.”

I smirk. “Oh really? That isn’t what I’ve heard,” I mutter as I crowd her small body with mine.

“You shouldn’t believe rumors, Mr. Callahan,” she teases.

“Oh, these aren’t rumors, Mrs. Callahan. I think you’ll find I have first-hand experience.”

Sliding my hands up her body, I trace her sinful curves before pushing the hoodie from her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor at her feet.

A moan rips from her throat as I cup her braless breasts and squeeze.

“Kingston.”

“I think we need to christen your new house, baby. Let it know it’s got a new owner.”

Before she gets a chance to say a word, I drag her tank from her body, exposing her chest.

Ducking low, I suck one of her peaked nipples into my mouth as I work her leggings and panties from her legs.

“Naked,” she demands, tugging at my t-shirt and attempting to rid me of it.

Reaching behind my head, I pull it free as she goes for my jeans, popping the button and shoving them and my boxers down my thighs.

My hard dick springs free and she licks her lips before sinking to her knees and sucking me into her mouth.

“Fucking hell, Tatum,” I groan, my fingers sinking into her hair. “You are exactly that kind of girl.”

She stares up at me, her eyes wide with hunger.

The temptation to let her suck me dry is high, but just before I get to the point of no return, I pull her off me and throw her onto the bed.

Her chest is heaving and her lips are swollen as I crawl over her.

“You’re perfect,” I say before ducking to kiss her.

She wraps her legs around my waist, trying to encourage me to up the ante, but despite her desperate whimpers and the way her nails claw at my skin, I hold off, driving her crazy.

Eventually, I flip us and settle her on my waist.

“Your house, baby. That means you’re the boss.”

She sucks in a sharp breath before the most incredible smile spreads across her lips.

“Is that right?”

“Yep,” I say, tucking my hands behind my head, giving her full access to my body. “Do your worst, Mrs. Callahan.”

The way she smiles at me makes my heart skip a beat.

“Fuck. I love you.”

Her smile grows, but instead of responding with words, she reaches for my dick and then sinks down on me incredibly slowly.

Her eyes hold mine the whole time she rides my cock, taking what she needs, letting me see and feel every ounce of her emotions.

Moving my hands, I hold them out for her to grab and she immediately laces her fingers through mine and uses me for leverage.

Her pussy ripples around me, her body sucking mine impossibly deep.

“You’re incredible, you know that, right?”

Her body trembles as I say the words, her release approaching right alongside mine.

“King, fuck.” I thrust my hips up, unable to hand over every bit of control and send her flying off the edge. “Fuck. I love you, I love you, I love you,” she chants as she falls.

“Love you too,” I groan as my cock jerks, spilling myself inside her.

Her body goes limp and she flops onto my chest, her chest heaving as she fights to catch her breath.

“I’ll never get enough of that,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“Same,” she confesses breathlessly.

I laugh to myself, and she lifts her head to look up at me.

“What?”

“I thought you were going to fight me about this place.”

She studies me for a beat before laying her head back on my chest.

“I don’t want to fight anymore,” she says quietly.

“But it’s so fun,” I tease, tracing my fingers up and down her back, making goosebumps break out.

“Yeah, sometimes. But I can’t argue when you’ve given me everything I’ve ever wanted.”

My breath catches at the honesty in her words.

“Well, I do try my best,” I say cockily.

She falls quiet, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly and embracing the moment with her.

It’s a turning point, a massive one in both of our lives.

Although, I don’t realize quite how big until she speaks again a few minutes later.

“King?” she whispers.

“Yeah, baby?”

“I’m pregnant.”