Thomas's Vow

by Liliana Hart

  “Fuck,” he rasped. He buried himself slowly, savoring every inch of her wet heat until he could go no further. Quiet whimpers escaped her lips and her head thrashed back and forth. And then he reached his hand beneath her and pressed against her clit and she went wild in his arms.

  The muscles of her pussy clamped and undulated around him and he fucked her with a driving intensity that bordered on desperation. He’d die if he didn’t take her, if he didn’t fill her with every part of himself. Every stroke rocked the back of the limo and pressed her into the seat.

  Her hands released the straps, too weak to hold on, but they grasped for purchase wherever they could find until her nails dug into the leather of the seat. He grasped her hips and slammed into her one last time, the come shooting down his cock before it filled her.

  He collapsed over her, struggling to breathe, and he realized she was having a similar problem. Her hair hung damp in her face and her skin was coated with sweat.

  “Thanks for my anniversary gift,” she slurred, her lips barely moving.

  He somehow managed a laugh and rolled to his back so he was sprawled onto the seat next to her.

  “I can’t wait until next year.” He closed his eyes and hoped the driver was taking the really, really long way to the hotel.

  Epilogue

  Six Weeks Later…

  “Your wife is waiting for you in your office,” Janeen said without looking up from her computer screen. “You only have one appointment this afternoon, so the rest of your schedule is clear unless there’s an emergency.”

  “Thank God for that,” Thomas murmured. “For a place with such a small population, it’s always amazed me how many sick people there are.”

  Janeen cackled. “They just like to ogle you and your brothers. You’d think the women in this town would pay attention to the fact that you’re all happily married, but they don’t care a lick.”

  “Nah, they might look now and again, but they’re all too afraid of our wives. We married some dangerous women.”

  “You also married women with common sense, which is a blessing for all the children you boys have managed to sire. You were a bunch of troublemakers growing up. Can’t believe none of you ended up in jail.”

  Thomas grinned and went to flip the Closed sign on the door before he locked it. “And now we’re all respectable citizens. Whoever would’ve thought?”

  “Not anyone who knows you, that’s for damned sure.”

  “Go home early, Janeen. People can call the answering service or my home line if they need to. No need to stay and answer the phones.”

  “I was going to leave anyway, but thanks for the suggestion.”

  He was laughing as he made his way back to his office, but the laughter stopped the moment he stepped into his office. Cat sat in the chair behind his desk with her stiletto heels propped on the corner and a Cheshire cat smile on her lips.

  She wore a black skin suit almost identical to the one she’d been wearing the first time they’d met. It hugged every curve he could see and the need to peel her out of it became a priority. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and her lips were slicked with red.

  “Well, well,” he said, locking the door behind him with a decisive click. “It looks like I’m being robbed.”

  Her laugh slid across his skin and heated his blood. “I’m not sure you have anything I want.” Her gaze drifted down to the bulge behind his zipper and she arched a brow. “Maybe you’d better let me see the merchandise.”

  Thomas smirked and went to the other door that connected to the main part of the house and then locked it. He didn’t want any interruptions. “Maybe we can work out a deal. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

  Her feet dropped to the floor and she stood, her fingers trailing the edge of the desk as she walked toward him. No—walked was the wrong word. Her hips moved with a sensual sway that was almost mesmerizing, and he felt his knees go weak the closer she came.

  “What do you have in mind?” she purred.

  “I was thinking about bending you over that chair and fucking your brains out, but if we’re not on the same page, I have a chess set in the top shelf of my closet.”

  Her laugh bubbled out and her fingers toyed with his belt before tracing the outline of his erection. “I guess we’d better go with option number one. Chess takes too long, and I’ve got a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”

  “It just so happens I’m a doctor.” His hands moved to her waist and he pulled her closer, molding her curves and memorizing the shape of her. His fingers found the zipper at her back and he pulled it down slowly, holding his breath as the fabric loosened and slipped from her shoulders.

  “That’s convenient for both of us then. I don’t suppose you make house calls.” She moaned as the flat of his hands stroked her back and peeled away the material.

  “House calls are my specialty.” His voice was husky with need and he placed kisses where her skin was exposed.

  She wore nothing beneath the suit and his lips clamped over a nipple and suckled as he pushed it past her hips. His erection was painful and he stopped undressing her to unbutton his jeans, but he never let go of the tiny bud of her nipple. Her hands moved to his head and she pressed her breast against his mouth while her head dropped back in surrender.

  He kissed his way down her stomach and kneeled in front of her, helping her to step out of the suit.

  “God, look at you. So wet for me.” The soft curls at the juncture of her thighs glistened with need and he inhaled her scent. His tongue flicked out and she widened her stance so he could reach the hidden bud between her folds.

  “Ahh,” she moaned as he kissed the very heat of her, suckling and tonguing her clitoris until he felt the tremors of a building release in her legs.

  “Is this what you normally get from your doctor’s appointments?” he asked, pulling away to tease her.

  Her breathing was labored and a fine sheen of perspiration covered her quivering skin. “Sometimes. And sometimes he gives me a little something extra.”

  “Hmm.” Thomas picked her up and took her to the floor so she was flat on her back, moving between her thighs and pushing into her so swiftly her cry of surprise turned into a long, satisfied moan.

  “How about now? I always try to satisfy my patients.”

  Her legs twined around his waist and she brought her hips up to meet his as he began to pump in and out of her.

  “That’s a little better.”

  Her muscles tightened around him like a fist and his vision started to dim as he felt the come boiling in his balls and the orgasm gather at the base of his spine. He rocked higher into her and her nails bit into his shoulders as she began to shudder and shake around him.

  “A lot—better,” she managed to say just before she cried out his name with her release.

  “Thank God,” he said, allowing himself to follow after her.

  Thomas managed to keep himself from collapsing on top of her, and he rolled them to their sides, so her leg was hitched over his, their bodies still joined. Their breathing slowed and their bodies cooled. They’d come a long way in working on their marriage, and if things got any hotter between them he might not survive it.

  “I’ve got one more patient and then the afternoon is ours,” he said, kissing her lips softly, then her chin and the top of her shoulder. “What do you say we spend it in bed?”

  “I told you I have a doctor’s appointment.”

  He pulled back in surprise. “I thought that was part of the game. Are you sick? Do you want me to drive you into the city?”

  “I’m your afternoon appointment, Doctor MacKenzie. It turns out those birth control pills you prescribed me were defective.”

  He felt the blood drain from his face. “I beg your pardon?”

  Her laughter dislodged him from the warmth of her body. “Wow, if you could see the look on your face right now. Are you okay? Do you need some water or something?”

  “
Wait a minute. Are you telling me you’re pregnant?”

  “So it would seem. And it’s all your fault. Those MacKenzie sperm are strong.” Her smile was contagious and he felt the happiness bubbling in his chest.

  “Jesus, Cat. That’s four.” He couldn’t seem to stop grinning.

  “I know. Are you upset? I know we didn’t plan for it.”

  “Of course I’m not upset. How could I ever be when each one was made from the love between us? And maybe this one will be a girl.”

  A tear gathered at the corner of her eye and she dashed it away. “Stupid hormones make me emotional.”

  He rolled her back over and kissed her softly, fitting himself between her legs as he hardened once more. He kissed her nipple and watched it pucker beneath the touch, and then he stared deep into her eyes as he slid inside of her again. This time was more about the connection than the physical release. He just wanted to be part of her—joined with her in every way possible.

  “How far along?”

  Her hands touched his face and down his back, as if she needed the connection as much as he did. “Since Valentine’s Day.”

  He moved slowly in long, easy strokes. “I should’ve known. There must be something magic in the city.”

  “At least in the back of that limo. Maybe our driver was playing Cupid.”

  “Then he really deserved the tip I gave him.”

  They soon forgot about everything but each other, and their happiness and love turned to sighs of pleasure.

  Here’s a sneak peek of Riley’s Sanctuary, available at retailers everywhere.

  Riley MacKenzie wrapped his scarf around his neck, slipped on thick leather gloves, shrugged on his heavy wool coat and pulled his fleece-lined toboggan down low over his ears. He grabbed his worn leather satchel—ignoring the stack of books that slid off the chair and onto the floor—and didn’t spare a second glance at his overly cramped, disorganized office. In fact, he slammed the door behind him and locked it with what might be misconstrued as glee.

  School was out for winter break. Finals had been taken. Grades had been given. And he was a free man until January. Well, almost free. He still had one thing to do before he could go home to Surrender, Montana and spend the holidays with his family.

  He had no idea why he’d agreed to meet Margaret Lawrence, other than the fact he was simply curious. Not about the woman. She’d told him in her email she was the director for the Library of Antiquities in Washington, which in his opinion meant she was nothing more than a highly-paid babysitter to dusty relics.

  He figured by the terse and direct tone of her email that she was probably a relic herself. Deep lines would be carved into her face from the perpetual scowl she probably used to chase away those who lingered in her hallowed halls too long. But old Mags didn’t concern him in the least. What she had in her possession did.

  She’d been very withholding of information in her emails other than to tell him her colleague, Dr. Jonathon Scott, had recommended Riley to her. Since Riley was considered an expert in Egyptian Artifacts and he was friends with Jon Scott, he could only assume she wanted him to identify something for her.

  Her email had said it was urgent, and the tingles of excitement that ran up and down his spine told him she had something he was going to be very interested in. It was the same feeling he got just before he unearthed a priceless treasure while on a dig.

  The cold Montana wind slapped against his face as he left the Archaeology Building at Declan College and headed to the faculty parking lot. The smell of snow was heavy in the air, and he hoped he could satisfy Ms. Lawrence’s curiosity and get home before it started. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped in a blizzard.

  It was already as black as pitch outside, though it was barely six o’clock in the evening. No stars blinked in the sky and the moon was just a hazy glow behind the thick snow clouds. Riley unlocked his dusty 4x4 and slid in, tossing his bag to the back. The engine coughed and sputtered as it warmed up, and he turned the stereo up to teeth shaking volume in hopes it would get his mind off the cold.

  Margaret had agreed to come to him. She’d seemed desperate behind her written attempt of vibrato, which would have made a normal person hesitate before going into the meeting, but his curiosity and excitement had overridden his internal warnings. Not that throwing caution to the wind was anything new for him. Of the four MacKenzie brothers, he was known as the most reckless.

  He headed in the opposite direction of Surrender, to a little coffee shop just down the road. Myrna Springs was a small college town, and Declan College was its main means of support. Riley loved teaching there—as much as he was able to love teaching. He’d much rather be on constant digs and delving into piles of research and writing academic papers that would get him noticed by colleagues all over the world. But something had to pay the bills.

  Declan College was a private school with a well-funded endowment, good pay and some of the best professors the country had to offer. He was close to home, his class schedule was full but manageable, he was dean of the archaeology department and he had plenty of time to work on his research papers and plan his next dig. So he wasn’t complaining.

  The parking lot in front of The Coffee House was mostly deserted except for a smattering of a few cars. No doubt everyone was at home getting ready for the storm. He pushed through the glass door and a warm rush of heat greeted him. He stuck his hat and gloves in his pockets and hung his coat and scarf up on the rack by the door.

  The interior was suited to the college crowd. Art deco posters framed with thick black wood hung on light colored walls. The lighting was dim and cozy. Overstuffed red chairs sat grouped around a coffee table in the corner, and a fireplace tiled with hunter green marble took up a good bit of the back wall. Riley found a booth closest to the fireplace, taking a moment to warm his hands in front of the fire.

  “Hey, Dr. MacKenzie,” Tyler Whidbey said from behind the counter. Tyler had been one of his intro archaeology students last spring. “I’ll have coffee out for you in just a second. Do you want food?”

  “You bet, Tyler. Thanks. I haven’t had a chance to eat today. Whatever you’ve got handy is fine.”

  “Good,” he said with obvious relief. “The manager closed the kitchen about an hour ago, so all we’ve got is stew on the stove and some bread.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  Riley looked at his watch and frowned as he saw Ms. Lawrence was late. If she wasn’t there by the time he finished his meal, she’d have to find another expert or come all the way to Surrender. Spending the holidays with his family was the one thing he never missed. It was important to all of them, and this was the first Christmas they’d be spending at the MacKenzie house since his brother Dane had left Surrender more than ten years before.

  While Dane had been under his self-imposed exile from Surrender, the brothers spent their Christmases at different locations, usually the beach, where they had the sun, sand and their pick of willing women. But this Christmas was going to be different. It was going to be special. Especially now that two of his brothers had their own families.

  Dane’s wife, Charlie, as well as their son Jayden would be there, and come spring they’d be adding another MacKenzie to the family. His other brother Thomas had been head over heels in love ever since he’d laid eyes on his girlfriend Cat. It had taken a lot of persuasion of Thomas’s part, but Cat had finally agreed to marry him on New Year’s Eve.

  Yes, things were good for the MacKenzies. Better than they had been in a long while. They’d all been a little lost after both their parents had died too young, but the brothers were still closer than most of the families he knew. Family was everything.

  Riley’s thoughts shifted as the door of the coffee shop opened with a cold rush of frigid air. His breath caught in his throat as the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen walked through the door. He was suddenly as warm as he’d ever been, and his black sweater suddenly seemed like one too many layers of clothing.


  He watched with fascination as she pulled her hat off and a long fall of white-blond hair cascaded down her back. She unwound her scarf slowly, and he felt his cock swell behind the zipper of his chinos. Layer after layer of her outerwear came off, giving him a torturous strip tease that had desire coiling in his gut.

  Every inch of the woman screamed class. She wore a black turtleneck, stretched taut over generous breasts and tucked into skin tight jeans. Expensive low heeled boots covered her feet and a gold watch flashed at her wrist. Riley wanted to get on his knees and whimper.

  The woman glanced around the coffee shop, passing over the few customers that sat scattered around. And then her gaze locked onto his, and he was lucky he was able to keep his tongue from rolling out of his mouth like a cartoon character.

  Geez, MacKenzie. Man up. It’s just been too long since you got laid. She’s as beautiful as any woman.

  His subconscious protested the lie, and he purposefully made his expression one of skepticism and disinterest. He’d had plenty of practice at not letting government officials of other countries read his thoughts. He’d negotiated countries into loaning their precious artifacts to the United States on several occasions. It was high stakes poker at its finest, and he was a champ.

  Riley raised a brow in question as she started towards him with purposeful strides.

  “Are you Dr. MacKenzie?”

  “Riley,” he said, holding out a hand. “I take it you’re Margaret Lawrence?”

  Dimples fluttered around a lush, amused mouth. “Call me Maggie. Do you care if I sit down?”

  Definitely not old, he thought. “Have a seat. Do you want some coffee?”

  “No, thanks. But hot tea would be lovely.”

  “I’ll have it right out,” Tyler called out, obviously eavesdropping.

  Riley kept silent as their drinks were served, waiting for her to get her thoughts together and say what she wanted. Despite her composed face, her hands were in constant motion, stirring her tea and crumpling the sugar packet between her fingers. She was obviously nervous, and every time headlights shone in the windows from the parking lot she turned her head to see who it was.