His Promise (Married in Montana Book 1) (7 page)

“I’m not understanding the problem, Kim.” He sighed, sounding frustrated.

“I’m not in your league.”

Now he appeared downright furious as he yanked off his scrub cap and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. His hair was such a mess. She wanted to run her fingers through it and straighten it out or play with it or something. She loved lying beside him for hours, talking and running her fingers through those silky locks. Or so she had all those years ago.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? League? Are you kidding me, Kim?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer as he put his cup down and set both hands on her shoulders, holding her still. “You listen to me. Do you remember our plan? Do you remember my promise, our promise to each other?”

Of course she did. It was a promise that had haunted her for years. She slowly nodded.

“You were waiting for me to be a doctor and come back. We were getting married and having a family. I was going to take care of you. You were going to raise our children.”

“But it didn’t happen, and I feel so cheated. All I wanted was to be your wife, mother to your children. I didn’t get that, and now it’s…” She rested her hand on his arm. “You’re so much more than you set out to be.”

“Kim, dammit, stop making this so difficult. I’m tired, and I have no idea when I’m going to get out of here, and I don’t have the patience for this right now.”

A nurse poked her head through the doorway. “Dr. Siegel, the mother’s awake, asking for the baby.”

Bruce nodded. “Okay, I’ll be right there.” He dropped his hands and picked up the mug to drink more coffee. Then he reached for another muffin and stepped closer to Kim, watching her in his heavy-lidded way. He leaned down and tenderly kissed her on the cheek and then the lips.

She reached up with both hands and grabbed his cheeks to hold him to her, but he pulled away, gazing at her for another second.

“I gotta go. Thanks for the muffins, coffee, and coming by.”

She didn’t say anything as he hurried out the door and left her standing there alone. She glanced down at the Tupperware container and the uneaten muffins in there. She put the lid on the container and left it on the table, packing up the coffee and leaving, now even more confused than she’d ever been in her life.

***

Chapter Eleven

Three days had passed since she’d seen Bruce, felt his hands on her. She’d wondered whether he’d phone when he was finished or just go home and sleep, but then, she hadn’t known whether he was at the office or the hospital, and each time she reached for the phone to call him, she made herself hang it up. She couldn’t be the needy wannabe girlfriend, because the fact was she didn’t have a clue what she was to him. Yes, he still had feelings. Yes, they’d almost made love, but here she was, still alone. What exactly did that make them?

She’d just come inside the house, all sweaty and dusty from moving the last of the hay bales to the shed in back. Her arms ached and her back hurt, and she hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in days. She climbed out of her grimy T-shirt and worn blue jeans, dumping them in the dirty clothes hamper along with the thick socks she wore in her work boots. She turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up, then climbed in under the spray. She poured shampoo on her hair and scrubbed her scalp, leaning back, her head under the water.

“There you are.” The shower curtain ripped open.

She shrieked, covering herself as she stared at Bruce, who appeared as if he hadn’t shaved in days. He pulled off his clothes, slipped his glasses onto the counter, and climbed into the shower. The water was running down her face, and he moved her and ducked his head under the spray.

“What are you doing here?”

Maybe she was in shock after not hearing from him, but here he was in the shower with her, now running soap over his body, under his arms, and rinsing off.

He handed her the soap bar. “Wash my back,” he said, and he turned around and she stared at him. She couldn’t believe his nerve, his demand, but that didn’t stop her from lathering the soap and then running her hands over his back. She could feel how tight he was, and now she felt bad.

“Were you at the hospital this entire time?”

“Yeah. I grabbed a nap in one of the rooms. I needed to be there. It got complicated. Had to take the baby into surgery again. It happens.”

She pushed into his muscles and kneaded his shoulders.

“Oh, that feels so good.” He actually braced his hand against the wall. “The water’s getting cold. Hand me the shampoo.”

She handed the bottle to him, and he squeezed some into his palms, scrubbed his head, and then ducked under the spray. At least she’d already rinsed the shampoo from her hair.

Kim jumped out as Bruce turned the water off. He was behind her as she reached for a towel and handed it to him. He took it and dried her off, patting the moisture from her hair. He did it with such tenderness that it made her heart squeeze. Then he ran the towel over his chest, drying himself off. He dumped it on the floor and stalked to her, lifting her in front of him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

His mouth was on her, kissing her as he carried her to the bedroom and laid her across the bed. The man was ready for her. Evidently, he didn’t want to talk, and that was fine with her. She wanted to run her hands all over him, to touch him, but he was having none of that as he kissed her deeply. With her legs still around his waist, he traced one hand up her thigh, pressing her open wider, and he slid inside before she could catch her breath. He stopped there, holding himself still, watching her.

“I want you with me,” he said. “Any questions? Are you still confused about whether I want you?”

She couldn’t get her tongue to move, so she nodded, and he moved again. “I want children, Bruce. I want a lifetime with you,” she said as he moved inside her harder, pushing her into the bed.

“And you’re going to have them. We’re going to have them.” He leaned down and ran his tongue over her nipple, sucking it as he moved harder and faster.

She’d never in her life felt something so magical, with such love. She’d never had this connection with Craig. She ran her hand over his cheek, and he turned his head and nipped her palm with his teeth. He rode her hard until she felt herself coming apart. She screamed out his name as he watched her, smiling at her as she lost control under him, and he kept moving harder, faster. Then he shouted her name roughly before she felt the warmth spill into her.

He was still thick and long and buried inside her when he rolled to the side, taking her with him. She waited until she regained her senses, her breath, and until her heartbeat slowed from the frenzy Bruce had just taken her on. She licked her lips, tasting him on her. It was a taste she wanted every moment of every day.

“I’m so glad you came over.” She ran her hand over his back and lower, over his magnificent ass. She loved feeling that rounded perfection.

He didn’t say anything as she leaned against him. He was still buried inside of her, and then he started snoring. She looked up into his beautiful face and realized he’d fallen asleep.

***

Chapter Twelve

A kiss on her cheek brought her awake. She blinked, looking up at Bruce, realizing he was dressed and holding a coffee, smiling down at her. Well, not really dressed. His shirt was unbuttoned, showing off his amazing chest, and he was wearing his jeans minus a belt.

“Hey there, sleepy head,” he said.

She realized it was completely dark. “What time is it?”

“Almost midnight.”

She started to panic, as she’d left her horse on the pasture, which wasn’t a good idea this time of year when it was just her. “I need to bring Chloe in. She never stays out on the pasture all night.” She threw back the covers and remembered she was naked.

Bruce stopped her with his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, I already got her. Heard her out there and didn’t want to wake you.”

She didn’t know what to say. He was no longer a country boy, now a big-city doctor who still lived in town. Maybe it was the way she frowned that had him leaning down and kissing her again.

“Don’t look so worried. I do remember what happens on a farm, and I also know you’re particular about your horse. I suppose I’m going to have to get used to her.” He moved her legs aside and sat down beside her, setting his coffee mug on the night stand. He leaned over her, resting his arm over her legs. “Listen, we missed a lot of years. Let me ask you something, Kim: Do you still want me?”

She couldn’t help herself from reaching up, touching his sleep-tousled hair, looking at the face she hoped to see for a lifetime of mornings, afternoons, days, and middle of the nights. Whatever crazy schedule he had, she wanted it all. “Of course I do. I want forever with you. I want to be selfish and have everything with you. If I could have back all those missing years, I’d want them, too.”

His expression turned solemn. “Can’t have that, Kim, but what I can give you is tomorrow and every day after that.”

A lump jammed her throat, because she hoped he was asking her for forever. It was all she’d ever wanted. She nodded again. “I would like that very much, and I don’t want to spend another day without you.”

“Kim, would you marry me, be my wife and my friend and the mother to my children?”

A tear slipped down her cheek as she looked at the only man she’d ever loved—the only man she could ever love. “You are the love of my life,” she said. “I knew it the first moment you kissed me, and it can’t disappear, and there could never be anyone else. I was meant for you. Yes, I’ll be your wife.”

He leaned in and angled his head so slowly, watching her with lazy eyes that allowed her to feel what he had planned for the rest of the night. And then he kissed her.

The End

I hope you enjoyed reading
His Promise
, a short novella about Kim and Bruce two characters who were introduced in
The Deadline
.

If you didn’t have a chance to read The Deadline, you can download it
here from Amazon
.

His Promise starts a brand new series Married in Montana. There will be a brand new full length coming out in the fall for Kim and Bruce when they start a family.

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What’s coming up next is, ONE NIGHT, the first of a brand new series: Kate and Walker, Deadly Dangerous and Desired Series.

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Lorhainne Eckhart
brings you ONE NIGHT, A high-stakes suspense & sizzling, red hot romance!

A blind date goes deadly on a night she’ll never forget!

Available from Amazon

Excerpt from
ONE NIGHT
:

“So no missus here?” she asked, because it would have been just her luck.

The look he gave her answered that question. “Seriously, Kate?”

“Okay, just checking. With my track record, it wouldn’t surprise me if you had some Big Love thing going on with a couple of sister wives.” Now she was being ridiculous, she knew that, and she wondered what it was about Walker that made her say things she’d never say to anyone else.

“Do I look like the type of guy who has women stashed away? Good God, one woman is a handful. Now you think I have a harem.”

“Sorry, my experience with men is somewhat jaded.”

He grunted and allowed his gaze to linger on her breasts before meeting her eyes. “I’ll show you the bathroom upstairs if you want to shower.” He was already on the stairs, going up. If she didn’t follow, she was pretty sure he was going to just leave her there, so she trotted after him, up the stairs, until she was right behind him. He didn’t look back, though. “I’ll get you a T-shirt to sleep in, and you can take my bed.” He was giving orders suddenly, so cold, changing from a man who’d stopped her with one of the most breathtakingly hot kisses she had ever had to a man who was all business, who couldn’t get away from her fast enough. What had she done now?

The stairs squeaked. She figured the house had to be sixty years old, give or take a decade or two. It had dark wood and white walls. Even the floorboards creaked when she walked. The bathroom was dated but surprisingly clean, for a guy.

“There’re extra towels in the cupboard in the bathroom.” He pointed at the door as if giving a tour and kept walking.

She followed on his heels, past one of the two bedrooms upstairs. The first door was open and had boxes on the desk and other junk piled in it.

“And this is my bedroom,” he said. It was small and had a four-poster bed, neatly made, covered in a dark blue quilt, with one pillow. He opened a chest of drawers and pulled out a white shirt. She didn’t miss how neatly folded his shirts were—a far cry from hers. Most things were jammed in her drawers, and she could barely close them.

“Wow, it’s surprisingly clean. I would have expected something not so neat.”

He gave her an odd look, the expression on his face almost unreadable. “Really, you mean like the trail you left at your place? First your red dress—which, by the way, is a work of art on you—then your lacy black bra and underwear. What did you do, step out of everything and drop them as you walked to your bedroom?”