MAIL ORDER BRIDE: Bought By The Cowboy,

by Brittany Dreams

  He smiled. “I didn’t want to get shot and die.”

  She covered her mouth and started to laugh. “Makes perfect sense!” she said between giggles. “If you don’t want to get shot, then you better become a doctor.” She laughed some more and shook her head.

  He sat back and watched her. The moment was perfect to give her a compliment. “You have a beautiful laugh.” Her laugh slowly came to a halt. “I just wanted you to know.”

  “Thank you,” she quietly said. “I’m personally thankful you chose to go the doctor route. After all, I wouldn’t have a job if you hadn’t.”

  “I have the utmost confidence you would’ve gotten a job somewhere else, but then we might never have met. I couldn’t imagine that.”

  Again, she bit her lower lip and he smiled at her reaction. “You’re smooth…so smooth.”

  “As long as it doesn’t come across as corny.”

  She gave him some relief by shaking her head. “It isn’t corny at all. I’m a little surprised.”

  “Surprised by what?” he asked.

  “Well…” she ran her spoon around her empty bowl. Confusion was set on her face. “Several compliments were thrown out there, but what does it mean?”

  He never found it difficult to talk to another woman before. He didn’t know why Grace was so different. “What do you want it to mean?”

  She groaned and fell back against her seat. “This whole back and forth of what do you think…no, what do you think…blah blah blah, annoys me.”

  He was interested by the fact that she suddenly was so passionate about something. He leaned closer to the table and reached for her hand. She quickly pulled away from him. “Grace…give me your hand.” When she still didn’t comply, he continued, “Please.” She relaxed and finally allowed him to touch her hand. He ran his finger along hers, one by one massaging each digit. “I don’t want you to question anything. I want you to understand where I’m coming from. This weekend isn’t only about the doctor’s conference.”

  He continued to move his finger along hers. “It isn’t?” she asked. Her words were barely above a whisper.

  He shook his head. “I want you to enjoy the weekend and it doesn’t all have to be business. If something was to happen between us…I wouldn’t shy away from it.” He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. “Would you?”

  He waited patiently, stroking her fingers and then suddenly stopping but keeping his hand on hers. “I wouldn’t,” she said with some confidence.

  He smiled at her answer. Without saying a word he leaned across the table to kiss her. “Damian?” His lips had just brushed over hers, when he heard his name.

  He reluctantly pulled away from her and looked up to find, Cameron Baker. “Cameron?” He stood up and shook his friend’s hand.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” Cameron looked between Grace and Damian and then back to Grace. He saw the way Cameron’s eyes flowed over Grace’s body and it made him feel weird about it.

  Damian ignored Cameron’s statement. “Grace, this is Cameron Baker. We were in medical school together. Cameron this is Grace Murphy, my…” he considered lying and saying she was his girlfriend, but he didn’t want to shock Grace and throw her off guard. “This is Grace. She’s the nurse that works with me.”

  Cameron’s face lit up. “Grace…it’s very nice to meet you. My secretary is waiting for me at the door.”

  Damian turned to look where Cameron was pointing. A short redhead was standing at the door. She was cute, but didn’t have the same essence about her. “Cool,” Damian said, turning back to Cameron.

  “I’d like to catch up before the weekend’s over,” Cameron said.

  “That would be great.” Damian had to agree that it would be nice to talk to Cameron. He was about to continue, when he noticed Grace standing up from the booth.

  “I’m going to give you two a minute while I go to the ladies’ room. Cameron it was very nice to meet you.”

  “You too, Grace,” Cameron said as Grace walked away. Cameron turned around and watched Grace leave.

  “That isn’t obvious,” Damian muttered.

  “What was that?” Cameron asked, turning to face Damian.

  Damian smiled. “Nothing. So, how’ve you been?”

  “Not bad, but it appears you’re doing better than me. You’re banging your nurse? Clearly there’s more going on in your office than what goes on in mine. I don’t blame you, because she is mighty fine, but─”

  “Don’t say another thing. It isn’t like that,” Damian said, despite what Cameron walked in on.

  Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s a shame. You truly are missing out, my friend.” A smile crossed his face. “Do you remember Jenni?”

  Damian looked past Cameron to make sure Grace was nowhere in sight. He hadn’t thought about Jenni since he graduated med school and he didn’t expect her name to be brought up that night. “Of course I remember her. Why?”

  “Remember that night…or should I say, that week?”

  Damian looked away from Cameron’s inquiring stare. Thoughts of Jenni and the drunken week the three of them spent in the Bahamas entered his mind. “What’s your point?” Damian asked, irritated.

  “I was thinking that maybe Grace would go for something like that. What do you think?” Damian stared at Cameron. He couldn’t imagine even considering that an option. He looked up and saw Grace coming back to the table. “I’m in room 425. Think about it,” Cameron said, then walked away right before Grace reached them.

  “Did you have a nice talk?” she asked.

  He looked at her and smiled. “We did. Are you ready to head to the meeting?” He put some money down on the table and then linked his arm between hers. It would never happen. There was no point in considering it.

  Chapter 3

  Grace tried her best not to yawn, but after five hours of a meeting about policies and procedures of being a doctor and everything in between, she thought she was going to lose her mind. She covered her mouth as another yawn escaped. She took a few more notes and then leaned back in her chair.

  “We thank you for coming today and if you have any other questions feel free to stay after and I will answer anything I can. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.” The crowd applauded the speaker and she joined in. She slid the pen into the wire binding of the notebook.

  She turned to Damian and he smiled. “I’m sorry if that was absolutely unbearable.” He stood up and reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet.

  She laughed. “It had its moments, but I survived.”

  “Good. I’m glad.” He held onto her hand while they walked through the chairs to the back of the room. Before they reached the door, they saw Cameron coming toward them.

  “Damian…Grace…how’d you both enjoy the meeting.”

  Grace looked at Damian and Damian just shrugged. “Well…it wasn’t quite the meeting I was expecting. It had some interesting points. If you’ll excuse us…” Damian held onto her hand and pulled her through the door. It was strange considering she expected him to be excited to see his friend. Suddenly everything seemed so uptight.

  “Remember what I said, Damian. The offer isn’t going anywhere.”

  Damian stopped and turned to Cameron. “We’re not interested. Come on, Grace.”

  He nearly yanked her arm, hurrying her out of the conference room. He didn’t stop walking until they reached the hotel elevator. “What was that about?” Grace asked.

  “Nothing,” he mumbled.

  She turned to him as he pushed the button to go up. “I don’t buy that. You seem on edge and clearly you’re bothered by something.”

  The elevator opened and he stepped on. “Are you coming?” he asked, a look of disgust struck his face.

  She folded her arms and stared at him. “Tell me what’s going on and I’ll get on the elevator…don’t and I won’t.”

  “It isn’t any of your concern,” he said. His foot went out so he blocked the elevator
from closing.

  “Are you sure about that?’ she asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes…why?”

  “You said we’re not interested as in two people.” She hadn’t been mistaken. That’s exactly what Damian said.

  His face went white. “I did?”

  She nodded. “Yep, so unless you have a mouse in your pocket I’m thinking you were talking about me as the second person. I have every right to know what I’m not interested in.” She couldn’t fathom what Cameron and Damian were referring to, but she wanted to have some inkling of why Damian suddenly had a sour attitude. “Are you going to tell me?”

  “It’s embarrassing,” he confessed.

  Embarrassing? That intrigued her even more. “Now I know I’m not going to let you get out of telling me. Damian if we’re going to have a strong working relationship, we’re going to have to confide in the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can tell me.”

  “You don’t understand.” He stared at her, but she wasn’t about to give up.

  “I’d like to,” she said. “Give me a chance.” He looked down at her hand and suddenly grabbed it, pulling her through the hotel elevator door and letting the door close. He quietly pushed the button to the fifth floor. She waited and in the silence she thought she heard his heart beating. “What…”

  “Not here,” he abruptly said. She watched him as he nervously stared at the elevator door. Finally they reached their floor and once again he was grabbing her hand and hurrying them out of the contraption. She wondered which room they were going to, but didn’t have to wonder for too long as they stood outside of his door. He quickly unlocked the door and they entered the room.

  He slammed the door closed and turned to face her. “So, what’s going…” her words were cut off when she lips went to hers. He pressed her against the wall, holding her tight against his embrace. A soft whimper released from between her lips as his tongue dove in and overtook hers. His hands trailed up her blouse, holding onto the clasp of her bra and for a split second all thoughts of why they were even there disappeared. Just as she could easily have forgotten the purpose, the kiss ended. “Oh God…” she sighed, breathlessly holding onto the wall and weak in the knees.

  “I had to do that, because after I explain what’s going on you’ll never want to look at me again…let alone allow me to kiss you.”

  “Um…” she cleared her throat, desperately trying to catch her breath. “I…I…” Breathe, Grace, breathe. “You’ve gotten my attention,” she said with a snicker. “What’s going on?”

  “Three years ago when I was in med school I met Cameron. We instantly became friends and did everything together. A group of us decided to go on a cruise to the Bahamas over the summer. We were stupid and foolish and at the beginning of the cruise we got smashed. This girl Jenni, Cameron, and myself went to the all night bar on the ship and we drank, danced, drank some more, danced, drank some more, until…”

  She watched him intently. His eyes shifted around his room. “Until what?” she asked cautiously.

  His eyes went back to hers. We went back to Cameron’s and my room and…” he looked down at the floor. “I really can’t believe I’m about to tell you this.”

  “Damian? What did you do?” Sinister thoughts went through her mind, such as a murder that Cameron and Damian were trying to hide.

  It seemed like forever, but he finally looked back up. “Cameron and I had sex with Jenni.”

  She stared at him, until slowly the understanding hit her. She was at a loss for words. She couldn’t believe he told her, either. “You…you mean you had a threesome?”

  He nodded. He didn’t look proud about it. Instead, he looked sick to his stomach. Grace was astounded that this would be something that would completely affect Damian in that way. “Wow…thanks for confiding in me. I really appreciate that, but I’m not really following why this would concern me in any way. Things happen and you grow from them.”

  “Grace, when Cameron met you he was attracted to you.”

  She could feel herself turning red. “I’m flattered,” she simply said.

  Damian shook his head. “I don’t think you’re quite getting it. He was sexually attracted to you and he inquired as to whether we’d be interested in having him come to one of our hotel rooms and…” he paused. She saw the pale cheeks with a hint of red in them.

  “Oh my God!” She covered her mouth getting the gist of their conversation. “Are you saying that Cameron wants us to have a threesome?”

  Slowly Damian nodded. She sunk down onto his bed, because it was the nearest place she could sit and she felt like she was going to faint. In her wildest imagination she would’ve never thought that was in their mindset. Now she didn’t know how to respond.

  ***

  Damian couldn’t believe he did it. He couldn’t believe he actually told Grace what was on Cameron’s mind. He should’ve lied and by the look on her face she was sick as he felt. “I’m sorry. I should’ve never said thing. It was stupid.” She didn’t respond to his statements. “I’ll walk you back to your room,” he said quietly. He moved to the door and reached for the handle. He was supposed to be a confident doctor and he now felt like a fool. It was as if he was a student back in his med school days.

  “Damian, wait…” she said, not moving from the bed. He turned around and stared at her. His eyes went to hers. “You took me by surprise. I needed a minute to think,” she said. She stood up from the bed.

  “I’m sure I did take you by surprise. That was never my intention.” He stopped speaking for a moment and glanced around the room before his attention went back to Grace. “If I’m being completely honest I’ll admit that deep down I wanted you back in my room tonight.”

  “You did?” she softly asked. He nodded. A smile crossed her face. “If I’m being completely honest…I wanted that, too.”

  A rush of relief fell over him. “Do you want to forget I mentioned anything and go back to both of our original desires?” She smiled moving closer to him. When he felt the moment was right, he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. “I don’t want to mess this up,” he whispered, dipping his head down and latching onto her lips. The kiss deepened and he relished the thought of her in his bed. That’s when the kiss slowly ended and he worried that it would all come to an end. She pulled away from him and turned her back to him. “I’ve already ruined it…haven’t I? I’ve given you too much to think about and you figure it isn’t worth it.”

  Her back was still facing him and he waited for her to go on. However, it was a laugh he heard instead. She turned around and looked at him. “Are you speaking for me now?” she asked.

  “Well, you pulled away and I just figured that you were letting me down graciously.”

  She snickered. “You figured wrong. Yes I pulled away, but not because I was trying to let you down graciously. I was trying to figure out how I could broach this subject.”

  “You can talk to me about anything. Obviously, we’ve already reached personal conversations.” He chuckled nervously. She smiled, but there was something hidden in her expression.

  “I’ve spent most of my life pitying myself for my losses and letting myself go. I came to believe that I wasn’t good enough.” He silently listened to her story. “I don’t have the perfect body and I’ve pushed anyone away that wanted to get close.” He was glad she was letting him in, but he didn’t like hearing her doubt herself.

  “I’m sorry that you’ve felt that way. You are good enough. You couldn’t be any better.”

  She smiled. “I don’t want your pity and I appreciate everything you’ve said. The point of bringing this up is you are the one guy I’ve been able to open up to and I enjoy being around you, but I do have a confession to make.” Here it is…she’s going to shoot me down and I deserve it. He waited for her confession. “I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to the idea.”

  The minute she said that his jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

  She
shrugged and a tiny smile graced her lips. “What can I say? Every woman has a secret fantasy and this just so happens to be mine. It’s up to you, Damian. What do you want to do?”

  Chapter 4

  “Are you sure?” Damian asked her again, at least for the fourth time since he called up Cameron. “I can call him and cancel it out.”

  She sat with her hands in her lap and nervously wringing them. She wasn’t sure about anything, but if he didn’t stop asking her she would lose her nerve. That was for certain. “Don’t cancel,” she quickly said. “It will be fine.”

  He eyed her like he didn’t believe it any more than she did. There was a knock at the door and their eyes met. It was too late. He was on the other side and seconds from entering Damian’s hotel room. Before going to the door, Damian walked over to her. He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. “The moment you want to stop…we will.” He moved in even closer and kissed her passionately. A sigh escaped from her, showing him that she was ready.

  He parted from the kiss and walked to the door. Her knees shook as they waited for Cameron to come into the room. It’d been awhile since she’d been with one guy and now she was about to have two and at the same time. It was too much to take in and making the weekend better instantly. She heard Cameron and Damian talking at the door and then they appeared before her. Cameron was handsome, but not nearly to the caliber of Damian. His black shirt, he wore earlier for the meeting, hung open revealing his chest. Is this happening? She bit back a groan and held back. Intensity and desire was welling up inside of her, but she didn’t want to appear too obvious.

  “Hello, Grace,” he said. His thick southern accent took over. She hadn’t noticed it before.

  “H…hello,” she nervously answered back. He moved closer to her and she tensed up. This was it. Cameron was going to make the first move.

  He leaned in and kissed her cheek. She stood still. It was just a light peck, but she welcomed it. “Damian told me how nervous you are. You don’t have to worry. We’ll be gentle and go as slow as you want. Okay?”