“Thank you,” Samantha said and decided not to respond to the comment about her breasts.
They both looked up when the automatic doors opened, and a frantic looking red-haired woman came running in. It was obvious she was Sophia’s mother. Even at her age, the woman was a strikingly identical looking beauty to her daughter.
“Mrs. Marker?” Samantha asked, approaching the woman.
“Yes.”
“Hi, I’m Samantha. I’m Sophia’s friend who called you. She’s in surgery right now. I’ll have the nurses fill you in.”
Samantha walked Sophia’s mother to the nursing station, and they talked quietly to one of the nurses for a moment. As the two women stood there, a man in surgical gear came out into the waiting room, saw Samantha and walked over to them.
Drake jumped up and joined the group so he could hear what was going on. He could feel his pulse increase as the worry over what the doctor was going to say sunk in. Sophia hadn’t looked well at all, and Drake said a quick, silent prayer that everything went well with the surgery.
“Mrs. Marker?” The surgeon asked and then continued, “Sophia did great in surgery. We were able to get everything cleaned out from her appendix rupture, and she is resting comfortably in recovery. We will need to keep an eye on her for a few days to watch for infections, but things went well.”
“Thank you so much! Can I see her now?” Sophia’s mother asked.
“Sure, come with me. She’s still sedated, but you can be there with her when she wakes up.”
The two of them went through the doors and Drake was again left standing in the waiting room.
“I really would like to see her. I feel so bad that this happened at my house.”
“Don’t feel bad. Appendix burst sometimes. It’s alright. You got her here fast, and that’s all that matters. She’s going to be just fine now,” Samantha said, gently touching Drake’s hand.
He felt the electricity between them in a way he couldn’t remember feeling before. There was emotion behind her touch, and he suddenly wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her close to him. The urge filled his body, and he had to physically hold his own hand to prevent himself from letting it wrap around her.
“Actually, it was all Scarlett. She was calm and organized. She got the help that was needed for Sophia. She’s a rock star.”
“Well, I’m glad everything worked out. I’ll stick around here for a little bit and make sure everything is going well when she wakes up. I’ll let you know later. Why don’t you head home and go on your date for the day? I don’t want Lauren to feel like she got a raw deal with her time with you.”
“Yeah, I’ll head home,” Drake said, his eyes locking in on Samantha’s.
She felt it too. The power between them was growing, and it was getting increasingly difficult for Samantha to hide her growing feelings for Drake. He was bad news in the love department, and she knew it. Samantha had been avoiding Drake for years, and there was a very good reason for that. She loved her job. There wasn’t a way that she could see a relationship working out with Drake, so she needed to keep things professional, no matter what her personal feelings were.
“Have a great date today,” Samantha said as she withdrew her hand from Drake’s arm.
“Thanks,” he responded reluctantly, turning to leave the hospital.
It seemed odd to be leaving one girl while going home to go out with another one. It was even odder that the woman that was currently occupying his mind wasn’t Sophia or Lauren; it was Samantha. Drake laughed under his breath. Of course, he was the guy who could mess up even when he had seven women to choose from.
He needed to focus on the women he had available to him. Even though Sophia was ill, there were still six pretty astounding women that he was getting to know, and any one of them would make a great partner for him.
Chapter 2
All of the women had been filled with worry over what was going on with Sophia. Sure, they were competing over Drake, but they were quickly becoming friends, and Sophia had looked so dangerously ill that concern was all they had. Jealousy and envy were gone for the moment, and they all sat around the living room, waiting to hear something about how Sophia was doing.
“My appendix burst when I was a teenager. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. I’m pretty sure that is what happened with Sophia,” Emily said softly as they all sat there.
“I had mine out too, but it didn’t rupture. I was just feeling nauseated for days and went to see the doctor ,” added Victoria.
“Well, hopefully, everything goes well. I wonder if she was into drugs or anything, though. I had a friend who overdosed and his pancreas went out or something. It was crazy,” Cynthia contributed, avoiding eye contact with the other women.
Cynthia wasn’t so sure Sophia’s illness had even been real. Sophia was one of the most manipulative women she had met, and she wasn’t going to believe it was something real just because Sophia could scream loud and cry. This was a competition for one of the most eligible men in the world; there weren’t any rules about faking an illness so you could spend more time with him.
“I’m sure Samantha will inform us as soon as she knows anything. Let’s eat some breakfast for now and just try to relax until we know more,” Scarlett said as she got up and went to the kitchen. “Is everyone cool with some French toast?”
“Oh, yeah. I would kill for some French toast,” Allison said and then quickly gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“She’s not going to die, guys. She’s at a hospital with the best doctors in the world. Let’s move on to eating some breakfast,” Scarlett said, rolling her eyes at Allison. “Has anyone seen Lauren?”
“I think she went back to bed,” Victoria said.
“Go get her so she can eat something. She’s probably upset because it was her day with Drake.”
“Sure, mother Scarlett,” Victoria said cheekily.
Scarlett hated that she was becoming these women’s mother figure, but it was true. Many of the girls in the house were extraordinarily successful, but they had assistants and others who helped take care of them. Scarlett didn’t mind the part about being the mother so much; she minded that it was going to change the way Drake saw her. She suspected he wasn’t in the market for a motherly figure as a wife, and she was very mentally aware of needing to step away from that role when he was around. There was only one more day until her date with him, and Scarlett was going to make a true effort to see if they were compatible. It seemed like the chemistry was there, and she was hopeful that there would be the mental connection as well.
“Lauren!” Victoria started to yell from the stairway as she made her way up. “Lauren!”
The yelling continued until Victoria was at the door to Lauren’s room. Victoria knocked a couple of times and then went into Lauren’s room. Right away she noticed that the surfboard was missing. She made her way to the window and looked down to the pool, but Lauren was nowhere to be seen. Victoria grabbed an envelope with Drake’s name on it and brought it back downstairs.
“She’s gone. This was on her bed,” Victoria said as she handed the note to Scarlett. “Should we open it?”
“Is it sealed? Then no. We will give it to Drake when he gets here,” Scarlett said calmly without showing any emotion.
If Lauren had decided to leave, that meant there was one more girl out of the running for Drake, and the remaining women weren’t sad about that at all. They hoped Sophia was alright at the hospital and wasn’t using this incident to manipulate more time with Drake, though. It was a thought that all of the women had let creep into their minds a little bit.
When the front door opened, it was like a cluster of cats running toward the living room in anticipation. Only Scarlet stayed behind as she finished cooking breakfast. She had told the chef to take the day off. It seemed ridiculous that Drake was wasting money on a chef for them when most of the women hardly ate a thing.
“D
rake!” the women screamed in unison. “How is she?”
“She is in surgery, actually just finishing up now. It went well, and she is going to stay in the hospital for a couple of days. Her mother arrived and is there with her, so is Samantha.”
“Wow, I was really worried about her. It’s great that she’s going to be alright,” Emily said.
A few of the other women echoed her relief as they all followed Drake to the couch area and sat down. They were hungry for time with him. Victoria, Emily, Allison, and Cynthia had all finished their dates with Drake and were desperate to hold onto the connection they felt with him.
But with each new day, a new girl got her opportunity with Drake, and the women who had already been out with him felt cast away. It was the nature of what they had signed up for, but none of the women were prepared for the emotional toll that dating Drake was taking on them.
Even Victoria, who thought of herself as very stoic and able to control her emotions, found herself feeling hurt that she didn’t get more time with Drake. The week was dragging out, and they all wanted it to be over and for him to choose them at the end of it all.
Drake felt a connection with each of the women too. In fact, he hated his plan more and more as the week had gone on. The women were all more than he had expected. They were confident, kind, successful and beautiful; he felt lucky to have gotten to know them all and would be happy with any one of them.
But he had to sort through all his thoughts before he was going to make a decision, and he wouldn’t have time for that until after his date with Scarlett the next day.
The problem with meeting seven beautiful, kind and successful women was that it made decision-making horribly hard. They were all the type of women he wanted in his life, but in different ways. The decision was starting to weigh heavily on him, and as he sat in his living room and saw the desire on all their faces, he hated that he was going to have to disappoint six women that he had grown to care about.
“So how was your morning? Where are Lauren and Scarlett?” Drake asked as he took count of the women who were sitting with him.
“Scarlett is making French toast, and I think Lauren left,” Victoria said.
Victoria hurried into the kitchen and grabbed the envelope with Drake’s name on it. She tried to hide the smile that was pressing on her lips, but it was difficult. She liked Lauren, but Victoria was perfectly fine with any of the girls going home. It only made it easier for her to get to know Drake.
“Did she leave for good?” Drake asked, concerned.
“We don’t know,” Scarlett said as she came out of the kitchen. “Victoria went up to her room, and this was there for you. Hopefully, she’s just waiting for you at a secret date location.”
“Most of her things were still there, but her surfboard wasn’t.”
Drake opened the envelope in front of the women and read the note as they all looked at him with anticipation. His face didn’t give them a hint at all to what was going on, and at the end of reading the note, he looked solemnly up at the women.
“She’s gone off to join a surfing monastery,” he said straight-faced.
Scarlett immediately started to laugh while the other women took a few seconds to get the joke. Victoria was the first, and then the other three began to laugh after her.
“Wait, why are we laughing?” Emily asked.
“Because a monastery is for monks and women wouldn’t join it,” Victoria said.
“And seriously Emily. Do you think there are surfing monasteries, anyway?” Cynthia joked.
“Oh, okay. I get it,” Emily said, laughing with the group.
Scarlett slipped back into the kitchen, and Drake moved from the couch to follow her. When he arrived in the kitchen, she was standing in front of the stove, and he stood close behind her. Although there was still a few feet between then, Drake could feel the warmth from the stove.
Drake felt the sexual energy between them, even from two feet away. He wanted to take a step closer, to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her body next to his, but he restrained himself. Scarlett wasn’t the kind of woman that he would treat t frivolously. In the days that he had known her. Drake learned that Scarlett was thoughtful, kind and giving; he wasn’t about to treat her like any of the other women in the house. She was special to him. The bond he felt with her was special, and Drake liked that feeling.
“You’re making breakfast for the girls? Where’s the chef?” Drake asked.
Scarlett felt his breath even from where he was standing, and it sent her body into overdrive. She wanted him just as bad as he wanted her, but she wasn’t going to make a move. This game of his meant that today was Lauren’s day, and Scarlett didn’t want to force herself onto Drake before it was time.
“I told him to go home.”
“And he listened to you?”
“Sure, why wouldn’t he?” Scarlett said, turning to look at Drake with a smile.
“Oh, well, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m his employer. But if you looked at him with that look, I’m sure he would do anything you asked of him .”
“Would you do anything I asked of you?” Scarlett said as she turned all the way around and faced him.
Drake’s blood started pumping hard, and he felt it go right to his cock. The throbbing he had for Scarlett was intense, and he wanted to feel himself against her. The urge to grab onto her suddenly outweighed his logic, and he swiftly grabbed her and pulled her toward him.
They stood close in their embrace, and Scarlett held her hands on the counter to steady herself. It would have been easy to lean in and kiss him, but she wasn’t going to give in. Scarlett wouldn’t want any of the other women trying to kiss Drake when it was her time with him, and she wasn’t going to try and kiss him during Lauren’s day.
“Yes, anything,” Drake said in a low husky voice, and Scarlett believed him.
As Scarlett took in a deep breath, Drake found his eyes drawn to her heaving chest. The urge to press his lips into the mounds of flesh was quickly filling his mind, and he was losing the ability to stop himself. He already had her body pressed up against him, and she wasn’t pulling away. Perhaps a small kiss against her breasts would be fine with her?
“Then you should go find Lauren; I bet she’s excited to spend her day with you,” Scarlett said coldly as she pulled away from him.
Drake felt the switch in her personality, and he didn’t know what to think of it. She wanted him; he knew she wanted him. But she had so quickly become cold that it scared him. Was that something she always did when she got close to someone? Drake had to wonder. Or perhaps the emotions of spending a week in his house with six other women were starting to get to her.
“Yes, I should probably go find her and get our date started,” Drake said coolly.
“Have a great day,” Scarlett said, turning back to her cooking.
“You too,” Drake said as he wandered out of the kitchen and tried to figure out what had just happened.
Scarlett was one of the front runners, at least in his mind. He wanted to get to know her more, and he needed to make love to her. There was no doubt that the sexual chemistry between them was intense, and their lovemaking was going to be off the charts.
But she was right about one thing; it was Lauren’s day, and he needed to concentrate on her. Her note said she went to the beach and wanted him to meet her there. So that’s where he was heading.
Chapter 3
“Hey, I’m on the way to meet up with Lauren; how is Sophia doing?” Drake asked Samantha when he got her on the phone.
“She’s doing well. Her mom is in with her now. Where is Lauren?”
Drake pulled her note out and read it one more time. The first time he read it, he thought she had said to meet him at the ocean, and she was surfing, but as he looked at the note again, it appeared he was supposed to meet her over at a private lake.
“Well, she said she went surfing, but I’m supposed to meet her over at Lake Edwards or somethin
g. I’m not sure what she has planned.”
“I thought for sure she was going to take you surfing,” Samantha joked, “and that I was going to have to pick you up from the hospital after you broke something.”
“Oh, come on. I’m a pretty fit guy. I think I can handle some surfing. It’s just balancing on a board. How hard could it be?”
“Yeah, you keep thinking that,” Samantha continued to tease him.
Their interaction was a little odd, and all Drake could think about was how things seemed different between them. He felt like a schoolboy trying to hold a conversation with her and worrying he was going to say something stupid. Drake certainly hadn’t felt like that around Samantha before. Something had definitely changed between the two of them.
When Samantha had first come to work for him, Drake thought she was going to be like all the rest of his assistants. He would have an affair with her, she would quit, and he would move on to the next assistant. But Samantha didn’t like that plan and had refused to sleep with him in favor of keeping her job. It had turned out to be a very successful partnership, and Drake was grateful to have her in his life, both personally and professionally.
“Alright, I better head off. Let me know if there is any news on Sophia. Thanks again for getting there and handling things. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I don’t know either. You’d probably be some poor hippy still trying to figure out how to use MySpace.”
They both laughed. Sure, Drake was technically savvy; there was no doubt about it. But when it came to mundane things like social media, he always seemed to mess things up. Samantha was the only one who could ever get him logged into all his accounts, and he still wasn’t really sure what the difference between Instagram and Snapchat were.
“I’m lucky to have you,” Drake said, and he was aware of the silence that followed.
Samantha didn’t respond right away. Her heart was pounding with thoughts of what it would be like to actually have Drake and to let him have her. She was thinking about it more and more, and it was driving her crazy. Nothing could happen between them. She loved her job, and she wasn’t going to ruin it by having a relationship with Drake.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 112