The Rancher Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides Book 1)

rays against the morning sky. Rose came over the top of the small rise to where the pond lay and groaned when she saw Travis watering his horse there. He raised his head and glanced up at her.
    "What's wrong?"
    She stepped down the slippery embankment toward him. The mud slid beneath her feet, and she almost fell.
    He caught her in his arms, and Rose let out another groan.
    "You changed clothes. Why?" he asked, puzzled.
    "When you catch up to the men, send Isaiah back. We're leaving."
    His eyebrows drew together in a frown and he released her. "Why?"
    She took a step back, her courage suddenly failing her. But bravely she pressed on. "I can't continue this way."
    "What way? Why are you in such a hurry?"
    "I . . . I've got to go."
    Travis looked at her, his head tilted to the side. "I don't understand. Yesterday you were perfectly content, shopping with my mother. What's changed?"
    She turned around to face him. "That's the problem, you don't understand. I am not content. When you brought me here, you didn't tell me how long I'd have to stay."
    "We took you shopping yesterday, and you seemed fine this morning. What has happened to make you so upset?"
    She stepped up to within inches of him and shook her finger. "Don't think that just because you and your mother bought me some new clothes that is going to keep me here. I know you think that I'm not a lady, but I can't be bought"
    "You know perfectly well why I'm keeping you here." He grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. He took his free hand and pushed a strand of hair back away from her face. Rose felt her anger subsiding and knew she couldn't let the desire only Travis seemed to evoke replace her ire. For once it was gone, she'd be lost.
    He was staring at her lips, watching her. She gazed at him as his tongue ran across his own full lips, and then he swallowed. "I can't let you go. Not yet"
    She didn't know if it was an admission or just a general statement, but his voice was harsh, almost rasping. He leaned forward and pulled her deeper into his embrace. She watched as his lips descended on her own, warm and wet, and her hands wrapped around his body seeking a place to hang on, as he drained the resistance from her body. This was why she hadn't wanted him to kiss her. This was why she knew last night she would be lost if he touched her.
    His kiss was demanding, yet so satisfying, as if their souls were hungry for one another. Rose felt a sense of homecoming, a sense of belonging.
    His hands gripped her buttocks, fitting her snugly up against his hardened shaft, and she wondered at the stiffness. She felt faint as his lips moved across her own, the texture of his mouth hard and persuasive.
    The scent she'd come to recognize as Travis flowed around her, filling her, tantalizing her, making her crazy with need.
    Suddenly he broke off the kiss. His voice was rough, his breathing heavy. "You can't leave. Not until you give the ring back."
    She pulled out of his arms and took a step back. She had to break the spell he'd woven around them with his kiss. She took a deep breath, her chest heaving. "You watch me. It's going to take every one of your men holding me down to keep me from leaving. I've been way too patient with you about that damn ring."
    "Don't do this." He grabbed her by the arm. "If that's what you want, it can be arranged. But I'm warning you, you're not leaving until Mother's wedding band is returned."
    She was frightened of her feelings for Travis, she was scared of the emotions he evoked, and she was a stranger in a family where she didn't belong. And all he worried about was his mother's wedding band.
    " Couillon! " She yanked her arm free, turned, and stalked up the embankment of the pond. She had to get away.
    Halfway up the steep sides, she heard him running behind her to stop her. It was one of those moments that seemed to last a lifetime, but took mere seconds.
    Before he could catch her, her foot started to slide in the slick mud. Flailing her arms, she tried to regain her balance, only to go tumbling backward toward Travis. Her back hit his chest, smashing into him. With a grunt, he fell to the soft mud, catching Rose as she landed between his legs. The momentum of their fall carried them sliding down the embankment until they landed with a splash in the cool water of the pond.
    Rose sat up, spewing the muddy water from her mouth, wiping the grit from her eyes.
    Travis came up spewing curse words. When he turned his brown eyes on Rose, he