Promises Keep (The Promise Series)

by Sarah McCarty

  * * * * *

  He gave her a half hour while he cooled his heels in the parlor. Every splash of water, every soft, pleasured sigh had his cock aching, and impatience creeping over his good intentions. When the gentle splashes and soft murmurs dissolved to silence, and did not resume for ten minutes, he quietly opened the door.

  Mara was lying against the back of the tub, eyes closed. Her skin was flushed a soft pink from the heat of the water that lapped at her shoulders. Her knees peeked up through the water at the middle. She had the prettiest knees.

  He removed his shirt and stepped up behind her. He slid his hands over the slick flesh of her shoulders. Their rounded tops cupped neatly in his rougher palms. She jumped and her head whipped around. He held her in place with his hands as he knelt behind her.

  “Enjoying your bath?” His chin brushed her head as he slid his hands down her arms and then back up. Her skin was soft and slick.

  The flush flooded her chest and then spread up to her cheeks. He had to admire her gumption when she held her ground and retorted, “I was.”

  “Good.” He reached over her shoulder and took the cloth and soap from the metal shelf. Keeping her bracketed in his arms, he worked a thick lather into the cloth.

  “Scoot up.”

  “I already cleaned myself.”

  “And now it’s my turn.”

  He put the soap back on the shelf and waited. She took three deep breaths. The last she held and then slowly released it as she inched her body upwards. She stopped with the tips of her breasts still covered.

  “A little more.” He really wanted to see those breasts.

  “That’s all there is.”

  It took him a second to realize she meant she was sitting as straight as she could. The chuckle surged out of the wave of lust beating at his control. “I keep forgetting you’re just a little bit of a thing.”

  “Not everyone can be a giant.”

  “I can work around it.”

  She didn’t seem comforted by the thought. She folded her arms across her chest under the water. “Lucky me.”

  He smiled and started rubbing the cloth across her shoulder, following it with his free hand down the curve of her arm until he got to her bent elbow. With insistent pressure, he worked her arm free and stretched it out above the water. Her arm felt so fragile in his hand, but beneath the supple skin he could feel the muscles were stiff with tension. She was scared stiff but trying not to show it. He slipped his fingers between hers, clenching and unclenching his hand, working at the tension in hers, easing the muscles, trying to relax her.

  “You remember I told you I wouldn’t hurt you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I meant it.” He placed her hand on the side of the tub.

  “I know.”

  He paused with his hand on her opposite shoulder. “You do?”

  “Everyone says you are a man of your word.”

  He ran his hands and the cloth over her left arm, raising it out of the water, sliding his fingers through hers, massaging and then placing her hand on the opposite side of the tub. Her hands clenched the side of the tub as a lifeline, betraying her tension. He leaned forward, sighing internally as the soft skin of her shoulders snuggled into the hard muscles of his chest. Her tremor was almost imperceptible. He slid his work-roughened hands over the backs of hers, sliding his fingers back and forth over hers, letting her get used to the feel of him. The scent of her skin and the soap rose with the steam from the water. The rim of the tub pressed into his chest as he ran his lips over the curve of her ear.

  “You married me based on other people’s say-so?”

  “Yes,” she stammered.

  He slid his fingers up the underside of her arms. Her flesh was delicate and smooth beneath his. Damp and silky. Feminine and dainty. He retraced his path, drawing his fingers along the sensitive flesh until he reached the point where her arms met her chest. In the wake of his fingers, a trail of goose bumps popped up. “Risky.”

  He tickled the crease between her breast and her arm, and smiled as she jerked against him. He easily absorbed her start, his heavier frame providing her with a cushion against harm. Her nipples beaded tight and the goose bumps doubled in numbers.

  Through the water, he could just make out her nipples as they thrust out. Using the backs of his nails, he trailed a path down her ribs until he got to her waist. She jerked as his chest hair rasped against her smooth skin, and tried to sink under the water.

  “Steady,” he soothed, opening his hands and catching her by the hips to pull her back up.

  Under his palms, her hips flared enticingly. Against his chest, wet strands of her hair tangled with the darker, straighter strands of his. Her nervous breaths came at twice the rate of his, echoing in the quiet room.

  He opened his hands all the way, letting his fingers meet across her hipbones. His thumbs touched just above the crease of her buttocks. Temptation surrounded him. He needed to be closer. Leaning forward, he eased his right arm down the inside of her thigh. She froze as his hand slid round the slight curve of her inner thigh until he got to what he sought and pulled the stopper from the tub. The plumbing gurgled as the water drained.

  He held himself there, his forearm pressed against her pussy, his chest against her back, and his hand on her hip keeping her still. He watched as her nipples came into view. As the water dipped and the cooler air struck her flesh, they pebbled and lengthened. They were still the most incredible sight. His cock strained against his pants. She was such a delicious armful. He forced himself to wait until the water level reached her waist. He replaced the stopper.

  “Stay put,” he ordered, getting to his feet.

  She neither looked at him nor moved. He liked her instinctive obedience. It fit in nicely with his need to take charge. It also excited him, wondering how far she would go with it.

  He reluctantly moved his hand away from her skin. He stood and released the hot water from the holding tank, then he opened the hot water spigot. The tub was a lot slower to fill than it had been to empty. He removed his moccasins and buckskins as he waited.

  “Scoot forward,” he ordered when he was naked.

  She risked a quick glance over her shoulder. Since she was eye level to his groin, and his cock was hard and aching for her, she reacted predictably. She gasped and scooted as close to the front of the tub as she could without burning herself.

  He stepped in behind her. The water was cool but the disturbance he caused getting in sent more hot water mingling with the cool.

  He put his hands on Mara’s shoulders and pulled upward gently.

  “Stand up.” He steadied her as she shakily obeyed. This close, she was unable to prevent his cock from sliding along her slick skin as she did. He groaned as sparks of fire leapt from his cock to his balls. She flinched. He stopped her when she would have leaned away.

  “No. That wasn’t our agreement.”

  “But…” Her voice was a shaky thread of sound.

  “My touch, Angel, anyway I want it.”

  Her head bowed slightly, exposing the vulnerable nape where her hair parted. She took a shuddering breath and leaned back until the tip of his cock nestled into the hollow of her back.

  He pressed a kiss onto her nape. “Good girl,” he whispered. He bent his knees, dragging his cock down the line of her spine, over the swell of her buttocks, slowing his descent as the crease of her ass cuddled his length. His breath hissed out of his lungs as he struggled against the need to press his shaft between those sweet curves. He soothed her distressed whimper at his hesitation with a murmured, “Nothing to worry about, Mara. I’m in control.”

  He dropped the rest of the way to his knees.

  The view from here was almost as big a threat to his control as her flesh. Her buttocks shaped a perfect heart. He dipped his thumbs into the little dimples above each surprisingly plump cheek. He fought back the urge to nip the left one. This time, he was the one who took a shuddering breath.

 
He sat, bringing his knees high and wide, and then pulled her down. “Sit back now.”

  There was a long hesitation while she faltered, but then she gingerly knelt in the front of the tub.

  “Put your hands on my knees and sit back.”

  He could feel the quiver in her hands as she obeyed. Little by little, she brought her body against his. As his cock touched the small of her back, she froze.

  “Steady.” He slid his hands over her shoulders and eased her back. Water sloshed as he brought his hands around her arms and tucked her in.

  She shuddered and then held perfectly still. With his foot, he turned off the spigot.

  “Your ribs hurting?”

  He actually felt her weigh the lie, and then discard it for the truth. “No.”

  “Good.”

  He brought his hands up to cup her breasts. Like the rest of her, they were delicately made. He gentled his touch further as he traced the small pink areolas just beneath the water level. Warmed by the bath, they were flattened out. He applied a bit more pressure to his caress. Stimulated by his fingers, they pulled taut again. Where the rest of her was so small, and he always felt he was overwhelming her, her nipples were more than large enough to take his touch. He grasped first one and then the other between his finger and thumb. He slowly slid his calluses along their length, drawing them out before letting them spring back. He did it again. And again. Against his thighs, he felt her hips flex. On the fourth pass, her breath caught in her throat. Her nipples were very sensitive. He smiled. Lucky him.

  The next time he drew them out, he held tight to the tip, keeping them distended for a heartbeat. On the second beat, he did a quick pinch and release.

  Her “oh” was a whispered revelation.

  “Let’s try that again.” She didn’t argue when he did. She didn’t gasp either, but her hips wiggled against his cock and her back arched. He immediately let go of one nipple to steady her.

  “Careful.” He pressed his hand against her abdomen until her back was straight. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

  The breast in his hand colored a bright red at the realization of what she’d done. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.” She didn’t have anything to say to that.

  Her head bent forward and a heavy swathe of wet hair fell across his hands. He pressed a kiss against her exposed nape. She shivered. He set his teeth on the cord joining her neck to her shoulder as he caught both her nipples again, pinching them lightly as he ran his teeth along the tautly stretched tendon. She stopped breathing altogether when he set his teeth into the curve of her shoulder. The slight pain had her nipples hardening under his fingers until he could roll them like plump little pillows.

  “Lift up.” He used his grip on her nipples to show her what he wanted. She did. He angled his hips until his cock nestled under the hot crack of her ass.

  “Now slide down easy.”

  After a barely perceptible hesitation, she did, and his cock shot forward between her cheeks and toward her pussy. There was no resistance thanks to the bath water, only the slick caress of moist flesh. He dropped his head back as he glided between her labia.

  He didn’t bother to hide his groan. “Damn, that’s good.”

  He let her get used to his feel and size. He pulled her nipples again, drawing them out from her body, watching as the flesh around them paled while the nipples darkened. He jiggled them lightly. His reward was another gasp and a shifting of her hips. He held her there on the edge of anticipation and bent his head until he could whisper in her ear, “Reach between your legs and spread your pussy lips around me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Her gasp betrayed the lie, but he had no doubt he could get her past her hesitation.

  He added a bit more pressure to her imprisoned nipples and jiggled them again, smiling as her fingers tightened to white-knuckled on the edge of the tub and her breathing broke to an uneven rhythm.

  “I’m waiting.”

  Her hands dipped beneath the water. Her fingers were shy in spreading her labia, touching him as little as possible. He slid his hand under the water until he found her right hand. Once again he slipped his fingers between hers, soothing her tension with a brief massage. He brought her hand to his mouth. He kissed her palm before bringing that hand to her breast.

  “Show me what you like,” he ordered, before he left her to pleasure herself while he took over stroking his cock. He was so hard, he thought he’d burst, but he wasn’t rushing this moment for anything. He spread his thighs a little wider so he could cup his cock in his hand. He stroked it from base to tip, letting the edge of his fingers brush her distended lips as he did so. She jerked her hips reflexively, sinking that incredible ass a little tighter to his groin.

  He closed his eyes as fire shot through him. Tamping back the urgency, he glanced down. Her hand was quiet on her breast.

  “Play with your nipples, Mara.” He wanted to see those slender fingers working her nipples, giving herself pleasure.

  The flush was back. “I’m not sure this is appropriate.”

  “This is what I want. Play with your nipples.”

  He inched his fingers between his cock and her cunt. He probed the entrance to her vagina. She was wet, not just with bath water but with her own slick cream, easing his passage as he explored her sweet folds. Little by little, he extended the reach of his exploration until he touched the hard extension of her clit. It was distended, and like her nipples, a pleasant handle for his thumb and forefinger. Very gently, he circled it with his fingertip. Her head fell back against his shoulder.

  “Oh God.”

  “No,” he corrected. “Cougar.”

  He circled it again. Her teeth sank into her lip and her fingers clenched convulsively on her nipple. Harder than he would have anticipated. Hard enough to drive the blood out of the pink flesh. He made a note of her preference.

  “I’m going to teach you to pleasure me now,” he whispered in her ear.

  Another one of those freezes that could mean anything, followed by the slightest relaxation into acquiescence. She liked him telling her what to do.

  He took her left hand in his and brought it beneath the water to his cock. He wrapped her fingers around the head. Her hand felt hot compared to the cooling water. It was all he could do not to come right there. He held her hand in place with his as he bent and traced the edge of her ear with his tongue. She shivered and pulled away, but a heartbeat later leaned back.

  He circled her clit with the same deliberate care he used to retrace her ear. She shuddered and her grip on her nipple tightened. Hard enough it had to hurt, but she did not let go and did not back off. Instead, she twisted it the slightest bit, as if experimenting with her limits. She liked the edge of pain with her pleasure. His cock leapt with anticipation. He could definitely work with that.

  “Whenever I do anything you like, I want you to stroke me like this.” With his hand, he showed her how to pump his cock, paying particular attention to squeeze just behind the crown on the down stroke.

  “If you do that, I’ll know to do it again. Okay?” he breathed against her ear.

  She shuddered, and to his delight, made her first tentative move.

  “You’re going to have to do better than that.” He made sure to breathe each word into her ear. He punctuated the statement by kissing the side of her neck. She pumped him once hard, her small hand struggling to wrap around his width. When he didn’t move immediately, she did it again.

  This time he was the one who shivered and groaned.

  “That’s the way.”

  It had been a long, dry spell and her soft little hand sliding over the head of his cock while her hot pussy caressed and wept on the rest, had his balls pulling up tight.

  He brought his hand back up to her breast, and with the other resumed his assault on her clit. Little by little, he coaxed the tiny protuberance out from its hood, teasing it to its full length, milking it in time with his fingers on her brea
st.

  At first she froze, not moving at all, her entire being seemed to be focused on the sensation driving through her body. He forced his hands to follow the rules he’d laid out. To still.

  Almost on a sob, she began to pump his cock, slowly at first, and then harder and faster as he applied pressure to her sensitive little nubbin. When she was pulled up tight against him, her head tossing from side to side, her breath rasping in her throat, he caught her by the hips and drove his cock hard along her cleft. She lost her grip and grabbed his arm to steady herself. He moved her away and jerked her back, the hot enticement of her slick pussy almost more than he could resist. He wanted to be in her, to feel her close around him again in that incredibly tight grasp. Instead he imagined it, knowing to do more would scare her, fucking himself to a rapid climax against her, feeling her clit drag along his length over and over until she jerked against him, her body grasping at his as she climaxed over him. Her orgasm drove his, and with one last thrust, he exploded. His chest slammed into her back as his body jerked forward with the power of his release. Over and over his body pumped into the water while in his mind, he sprayed the tight walls of her cunt with his seed. On the last pulse, he dropped his head to her shoulder and sucked in a rasping breath. When he felt his legs would hold him, he stood.

  She knelt before him, shifting up onto her knees, her eyes big with confusion. He caught her cheek in his palm. Her gaze fell to his cock and her breath hitched in her chest. He held out his other hand and helped her to her feet. She stood in the soft light, water streaming off her firm body, her nipples drawn to stiff peaks, a post-orgasmic flush on her chest, and he decided he must be crazy to go through with this. Damn! He wanted to make her come again, to hear her scream her pleasure. He just knew she could be a screamer.

  He stepped out of the tub and snagged a towel. As he wrapped it around her, his knuckle brushed her nipple. Her torso jerked. Standing in the tub as she was, her head came to his shoulder. He caught her close, rubbing his hand against her breast, watching her pupils contract with the sensation.

  “I could come again, just watching you like this,” he told her.