The Mail Order Bride's Deception by Ruth Ann Nordin Read Free Book Online

her, he smiled and brushed aside a strand of auburn hair that fell across her eyes.  Her hair was slightly messed up from her night’s sleep, but it in no way detracted from her appeal.  He couldn’t help but recall the rest of her.  Generous soft breasts, narrow waist, the auburn curls that hid her most secret place.  He shifted to relieve the pressure of his arousal.  Last night hadn’t gone the way he’d hoped, but he could in no way blame her.  She hadn’t known a man before, and they’d only met yesterday.  Even if she was afraid she’d get more nervous because he’d decided to wait, deep down, he knew this was for the best.  It was what she needed.
    “Doctor,” she whispered .
    What could she be dreaming about?  In his brief correspondence with her, there was no mention of a doctor.  She said she’d grown up on a plantation and that her father was well-to-do.  Her mother died a couple years earlier, and she said that was why his ad appealed to her.  She wanted to come out and be Gilbert’s mother.  Maybe as Hazel slept, she was thinking of the time the doctor came to visit her ailing mother.
    Maybe seeing Gilbert brought back those memories and how much she wanted to fill in the gap she said a child would have if he didn’t have the kind of nurturing only a mother could give him.   She’d warned him that she didn’t know the first thing about caring for babies, but she also assured him that she was more than happy to learn.  He smiled.  He had no doubt that she’d be a wonderful mother.
    “Some one get the doctor,” she whispered again, taking Al’s attention off the letters she’d written him.
    She opened her eyes.  For a moment, she stared ahead of her as if not really seeing anything, and then she blinked and looked around the room.  When her gaze finally turned in his direction, he smiled and brushed her cheek with his thumb.  “Good morning.”
    She offered a small smile in return.  “Morning.”
    Lowering his head, he gave her a soft kiss, and she stiffened slightly.  “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, pulling away from her so he could get a better look at her face.
    For a moment she seemed to have the same look in her eyes that a startled deer got when he went hunting, and it made him wonder even more about her past.  Did men easily startle her or was it because she still wasn’t sure about him in particular?  He reached forward and caressed her cheek.  She didn’t seem to mind it so much if he gently touched her, and if he was right, she relaxed.
    “I hope you’ll come to understand that you have nothing to fear with me,” he whispered.
    “I know.”
    Though she said those words, he wondered if she truly did understand it.  But if she didn’t, was there anything he could say to make her?  In this case, all he could do was show her through his actions.  Hopefully in time, she would realize he was telling her the truth.
    “It’s about time for Gilbert to wake up,” he said as he rose up from the bed.
    “You don’t want to…to finish what you started last night?” she asked.
    Of course he did, but one look at her was all he needed to know it wasn’t the right time.  Not when it was apparent she wasn’t ready.  “There’s no need to rush it.  We have the rest of our lives to do it.” Then, in an effort to lighten the mood, he took out his razor and asked, “Do you prefer men who have a mustache, a beard, or shave everything off?”
    As he hoped, her smile returned and there was a hint of mirth in her eyes.  “What do you care what I prefer?”
    “I never have to look at myself, but you’ll be stuck looking at me all the time.  The least I can do is present myself in a way that’s suitable to you.  So, what would you like me to do?”
    “Since you asked, I like a man who shaves it all off.”
    “You do?”
    “Yes.  I like seeing the whole face.”
    “Then I shall do your bidding, my lady.”
    He bowed and she giggled.  With a