Baker's Bargain (Culpepper Cowboys Book 5)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Oh, anything but beautiful!” Honor protested, a grin on her face. “You made a stunning bride, Grace.”

  Marcus took Grace’s hand and led her into the fellowship hall, where she met a few people from the church. “Oh, and this is Dr. Ross,” he told her. “You have an appointment with her on Monday afternoon.”

  Grace nodded. “All right. I can do that.”

  “I’ll give you directions sometime before then.”

  One of Grace’s favorite things about the reception was to be able to watch Marcus’s housekeeper, Ethel, with his grandmother. They were obviously very close.

  Marcus followed her gaze and whispered to her, “Ethel is going to spend a week with my grandmother. She’ll come over while you’re working to clean and fix meals, but she doesn’t think anyone should stay in the house with us while we’re still newlyweds.”

  Grace nodded. “That makes sense to me.” She knew she’d be a lot less embarrassed about the things they’d be doing if there was no one else in the house with them.

  “Let’s cut the cake and get out of here. She said she left dinner in the oven.”

  She nodded, her hand shaking. She was more nervous than she thought she’d be. “We’ll have to coordinate getting my stuff from the back of Honor’s car.”

  He nodded to let her know he’d heard her as they cut the cake together. “Sounds good. Should only take a minute.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think it’s a big deal, I just wanted you to know that we needed to do it. I need clothes for the weekend.”

  “Don’t fuss on my account,” he said, a wicked smile on his face.

  She contemplated smooshing the wedding cake on his face, just to get rid of that smile, but she’d always thought it was rude and a waste of her delicious cake. Instead, she fed him a small bite with her fingers, feeling him lick the cake off her thumb.

  The touch of his tongue on her skin had a shiver running through her. “Stop!” she said, blushing.

  He lowered his head, so his lips were against her ear. “I can’t. You like it too much.”

  “I do? Are you sure?”

  He nodded. “I’ll show you later.”

  She didn’t answer, turning away to talk to her sister, Chastity, who pressed a gift into her hands. “Do you want me to open it now?”

  Chastity shook her head. “I think you’ll be much happier with yourself if you wait and open it later.”

  “Then that’s what I’ll do,” Grace said, trying to keep the relief from her voice. She could only imagine what Chastity thought was an appropriate wedding gift.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were transferring her things from the back of Honor’s car to the backseat of Marcus’s truck. “There. Ready?”

  Grace hugged Honor one last time. “It’s going to seem weird not living under the same roof. I know we’ve barely seen each other in the past week, but I knew I could go to your room and talk to you whenever I wanted.”

  “Well, I’m getting married on Tuesday anyway, so we still wouldn’t have lived together.”

  “Wait. What? You’re getting married Tuesday?”

  “Angus. I’ll introduce you. He came with me.”

  “Wait, was he the guy running around in a kilt and looking at you like he wanted to eat you for lunch?”

  Honor shrugged. “Might have been.”

  “There was only one man in a kilt. That was him?”

  “Yeah, that was him.”

  “I want to meet him very soon!”

  “If we get a chance to go by the bakery, you can.” Honor raised a hand in farewell before slipping behind the wheel of the car and driving off.

  “I worry about her sometimes,” Grace said to Marcus.

  “Why?”

  “Because she’s so determined to be different from me, that I think she’s almost afraid to be herself.”

  Marcus nodded. “I can understand that.”

  Grace walked around to the other side of his truck and climbed in, tucking her long dress around her legs. She was ready to get back to his place. It had been a long day, and she was getting tired. She may not know much about sex, but even she knew he’d be offended if she fell asleep while they were making love.

  Marcus drove them toward the ranch. “You look so tired. What time have you been getting up?”

  “I try to be at the bakery by five each morning, so I’ve been waking up about four to get ready. I just grab food there.”

  He frowned. “And I’ve been keeping you out until at least nine. We’re going to have to start going to bed earlier. You need more sleep than that.”

  “Or I can catch a quick nap when I get home every day. That would work too.”

  “I guess it would.” He frowned over at her. “Are you excited to meet Valerie and Jesse tomorrow?” They’d watched the first half of the first season of her show, and he’d finally seen the couple kiss for the first time. He didn’t get the appeal until he saw the raw chemistry between them as soon as they’d touched. He was interested to see if it would be the same in real life.

  “There’s dinner in the oven for us,” he said, before carrying her suitcases upstairs to his room.

  She was clutching the gift Chastity had given her, and she opened it while he was out of the room. It was a teal nightgown with lace that came to mid-calf. It was beautiful and matched her eyes perfectly. Only that morning had she realized she had no sexy lingerie to wear for her wedding night, so she was thrilled with the gift. She was surprised at her sister’s taste, having expected something trashier.

  She carefully stuffed it back into the box while she plated a couple of meals for her and Marcus. She was just setting tea on the table for each of them to drink when he came back down the stairs. He’d changed into a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, and she felt distinctly out of place in her wedding gown.

  “I should change.”

  He shook his head. “I like looking at you in that. Unless you’re too uncomfortable, of course.”

  She shrugged. “No, I’m fine. I just figured I should change because you did.”

  “No need.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m so glad we’re married.”

  Grace bit her lip nervously. “I’m glad too. I think.”

  He grinned, stroking the hand his still held with his thumb. “You will be. I’ll make sure of it.”

  They ate slowly, talking about the wedding, and the details she remembered. It had all seemed to happen so quickly that she remembered little of it later. When she finished, she stood to carry her plate to the sink, but he stopped her with a hand on his arm.

  “I’ll put everything in the sink. You go get ready for bed.”

  She started to protest that they should watch an episode of the show first, but she was too tired, and she knew it. She couldn’t put off her wedding night for another minute. Not if she didn’t want to fall asleep in the middle of their lovemaking.

  She hurried up the stairs with the box from Chastity under one arm, disappearing into the master bathroom and taking her hair down from its perfect coiffure. She stripped off the gown, glad there was a zipper that was relatively easy to access running down her back.

  Once she’d stripped, she pulled the nightgown over her head and looked at herself in the mirror. It fit perfectly, and the gown matched her eyes to perfection. She wondered idly if Chastity had taken Honor with her to buy the gown so she could match their eyes so well.

  When she’d brushed her teeth, she walked into the bedroom to find Marcus sitting at the foot of the bed, waiting for her to come out. She walked over and sat beside him, linking their fingers. “I’m really nervous, but I’m determined not to act like an idiot,” she announced softly.

  He laughed, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it. “I’m glad to hear you’re not going to act like an idiot. I would rather not have a crying bride on my wedding night.” He turned to her, looking into her eyes. “Did you have a chance to talk to Joy?”

  She shook her head. “
I was too busy this week. Starting a new business is hard work.”

  “I’m aware,” he said with a grin. “Do you want to ask me anything before we start then?” He almost felt like he was teaching her a new game, but he didn’t want to scare her in any way. She was too precious to him for that.

  “Tell me the rules. Is anything wrong?” She needed clear boundaries. They always made her feel better.

  “As far as I’m concerned if we both like it, and it’s just between us, nothing is wrong.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “But if you want to do something, and I don’t, I can tell you that? I don’t have to just let you do it because you’re my husband?”

  “That’s right.” He turned to her fully, looking at her in the nightgown. “You look even more beautiful than you did in your wedding dress.”

  She smiled. “This is what Chastity gave me.”

  “It matches your eyes perfectly.”

  “I thought the same thing. She must have taken Honor with her when she shopped for this.”

  “She’s a good sister.” He took one finger and trailed it over the spaghetti strap of her gown, down over her chest, and followed the seam to the center of her breast, finding her nipple through the silky fabric.

  Grace sucked in a breath at having him touch her so intimately. She put her hands on his shoulders, which were still covered by the fabric of the T-shirt he’d thrown on once they’d gotten home.

  Instead of saying anything to her, he pulled away, yanking the shirt over his head and throwing it to the floor. “There. Now you can touch me however you want.”

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Mind? I’d beg if you needed me to.” He winked at her, leaning down to press his lips to hers while she explored his chest with her fingertips.

  She felt strange touching him that way, even though she knew she was allowed, and he liked it. It still felt slightly wicked to her.

  His hands moved down her shoulders and over her arms to her elbows and back up again. She shivered in his arms, loving the feel of his hands on her.

  After a moment, he stood up, pulling her to her feet. “We’re going to be more comfortable lying down.” And naked, he wanted to add, but he was afraid of scaring her. It was going to take all the self-control he had to make it through the wedding night.

  Leading her to the head of the bed, he pushed one strap of her nightgown off her shoulder and kissed the skin he’d bared, feeling her shudder. “Are you cold?”

  “Not one bit. It just feels strange.”

  “Good strange or bad strange?” he asked.

  Her eyes met his. “Good strange. I think.”

  “You just think? It’s my job to make sure you know.” He stared down at the nightgown and decided to remove it as if he was ripping off a Band-Aid—quickly. He pushed down the other strap and then with a slight motion had the garment pooling on the floor at her feet

  Grace’s first instinct was to cover herself, but Marcus caught her hands, looking down at her. “You look so beautiful.”

  “But—”

  “But what?”

  “My mother said only a prostitute is ever naked with a man. That a woman of morals only uncovers enough so her man can get to her and do what he needs to do.” She wanted to hide from his gaze, but he obviously didn’t think there was anything wrong with seeing her this way.

  Marcus closed his eyes and counted to ten slowly. “I would like to strangle your mother,” he said, his voice calm.

  She grinned at that. “I guess you don’t agree with her assessment?”

  “Not at all. I’m about to get naked too, so if she told you anything about that, get ready to be freaked out.”

  She put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh at his words as he pushed his shorts and underwear down and off. She couldn’t believe he’d just announced his intention to take his clothes off. The man surprised her in so many ways.

  He sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled her between his legs, his hands cupping her face and bringing it down so he could kiss her. She was so tiny, they were almost on a level, even though he was sitting, and she was standing.

  Their kiss quickly turned heated, and his hands roamed over her body, cupping her breasts for just a moment, before flitting away to stroke her shoulders, and then returning to her breasts again a short while later. “Your skin is so soft,” he whispered as his lips kissed a trail to her shoulder.

  He pulled her onto the bed beside him. “Lie back.”

  She nodded, doing as he’d asked. She’d been trained to obey her husband, and no matter how nervous she was, she couldn’t disobey now.

  “I love touching you,” he said, pressing kisses from her shoulder down her arm and across to her stomach.

  She let out a gasp as his lips settled on her stomach, surprised he was kissing her there. Winding the fingers of one hand through his thick hair, she stroked her other down over his shoulder. “You’re making me tingle.”

  He grinned, looking up at her. “Is that a good thing?”

  “Well, I like it, but I’m sure it’s wrong.” She felt so awkward, wondering what she should do with her hands while he kissed her. Her mother would have said to clench her fists at her sides and send her mind away, but she couldn’t do that to Marcus. She knew it would hurt him.

  He sighed. “It’s supposed to feel good.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Can you really believe a loving God would give you something that feels good, but tell you that you’re not allowed to enjoy it? Does that make any kind of sense to you at all?”

  “Well, no, but—”

  He moved back up her body to cover her lips with his. “Stop second-guessing yourself.” His hands toyed with her body, while he trailed kisses across her face. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

  She smiled up at him, still feeling conflicted. “Thank you.”

  His hands grew more insistent as they traveled down her body, one of them stroking along her hip and over to her core. Her legs were tightly clenched together, so he kissed her again, knowing she would need to be distracted from what he was doing to her. “Relax.”

  She half-laughed. “I’m lying in a bed naked with a man, who is also naked. Relaxing really isn’t an option right now.” She wished she could hide from him how very nervous she was.

  He put his hand to her side and tickled her, and she immediately started laughing and writhing beside him. He used the opening to move his hand between her legs, stroking her soft folds.

  “Hey! That was sneaky!”

  “I’m a lawyer. I always find the easiest way to my objective.” He brushed his lips against hers again while his hand toyed with her most secret place.

  “Why do they bury lawyers under twenty feet of dirt?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! Now?”

  “Because deep down, they’re good people.” She grinned at him, stroking his face with her hand.

  “If you can think about lawyer jokes, I’m obviously not keeping you busy enough.” His mouth descended on hers again, this time more persistently. His hand moved more quickly between her legs, trying to bring her as much pleasure as he could. He knew she wouldn’t find much with this first experience, especially with her hang-ups, but it wouldn’t stop him from trying.

  A few minutes later, he realized she was as ready as she was going to be. He reached for the foil packet he had on the night stand and dealt with its contents before moving between her legs, cupping her face in his hands, and kissing her.

  Grace stared up at him with wide eyes. “I’m scared.”

  He groaned, burying his face in her neck. “I am too. I’m scared I’m going to disappoint you or hurt you.”

  His words, for some reason, gave her courage. She put her arms around him and stroked his back. “I’ll be all right. I’m tougher than you think.”

  He grinned at that. If she was being strong for him, she didn’t have the time to be worried for herself. He c
arefully positioned himself, moving inside her with one stroke.

  She gasped, wiggling beneath him. “I didn’t think you were going to do that yet!”

  “And now the scariest part is over.”

  She nodded, moving under him. “It feels really weird.”

  “You’ll get used to it. I promise.” He lowered his lips to hers and started to move inside her.

  A short while later, he rolled to his side, still out of breath, holding her tightly to him. “I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it more.”

  She shook her head. “Women aren’t supposed to enjoy it.” She felt guilty enough for just doing it. If she’d enjoyed it, she knew it would be much worse.

  He closed his eyes with a groan. “You’ve got to get that out of your head.”

  “I’m not sure that’s possible.” She kissed him again, truly glad this first time was over. “I’m going to go shower. I’ll be right back.”

  He propped himself on an elbow and watched her rush from the room. Shower? Was she going to run away to shower every time they made love? The woman seemed to be obsessed with cleanliness.

  When she crawled back into his arms a short while later, she was once again wearing the nightgown Chastity had given her. She kissed his lips and settled against him with a smile. She was so glad the dirty part was over, and she could enjoy the rest of the night in her husband’s arms.

  8

  The guilt washed over Grace in waves the moment she woke up the following morning. Marcus was still asleep by her side, and she struggled to control the tears that sprang to her eyes. How did a woman possibly go from believing sex was wrong for her to believing it was right, simply because of a short ceremony?

  She rolled so she was facing away from him and let the tears fall. Hopefully by the time he woke up, she’d be done.

  An hour later, she had composed herself, and Marcus was still breathing softly in her ear. She crept out of bed and dressed, before going down the stairs to make breakfast for the two of them. None of the other advice her mother had given her seemed to be correct, but maybe her insistence that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach would be. She had to be right about something!