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

body over hers until his manhood lay between the vortex of her thighs.
    She was so wet for him. He couldn't wait another minute to be inside her. He had dreamed of this, wanted this moment, and couldn't believe it was going to happen.
    He surged ahead, powerful and tender—and met a wall of resistance.
    For a moment he was stunned. He broke off the kiss and glanced down at Rose, then forged ahead again and met the same wall of resistance.
    No! She wasn't a virgin. She couldn't be a virgin? Not a woman like Rose!
    He trembled, his need overpowering him. Pushing forward, he broke the resistance, feeling the barrier give way, and realized Rose had indeed been a virgin.
    She gave a sharp cry, and he rolled her to her side, trying to ease his weight off her. He waited, partly knowing that he needed to give her a moment to recover, partly in shock.
    Rose had been a virgin!
    She shifted beside him, drawing his attention to her face. Her emerald eyes were dilated with passion, her breathing heavy. Shyly she brought her lips to his, and with a tender fierceness, his desire overcame him.
    Rolling her to her back, he drove himself into Rose with an intensity he'd held in reserve. His lips covered hers in a kiss that sizzled with the fervor of his pleasure.
    She writhed beneath him, receiving his thrusts, feeling so good as he tried to control his passion.
    He wanted to devour her. Absorb her into his skin until they became one. He could feel his climax building and knew that this time there would be no stopping. This time there would be no holding back.
    Rose lifted her lips from his and gazed up at him, her eyes glassy, her breathing shallow and fast. "Travis."
    A shudder ran through her, and she tightened her hold on him, her eyes closing, her head thrown back. "Oh, Travis!
    He closed his eyes, unable to watch any longer as his own release ripped through him, shattering him as he climaxed. He shuddered, clinging to Rose as his world lurched.
    Spent, he sagged on top of her, before shifting and rolling them to their sides, facing one another. Closing his eyes, he lay back, dazed.
    For several minutes he lay there stunned. Depleted, his mind and body slowly readjusted. He'd just had the best sex of his entire life, and it had been with a virgin.
    Rose had been a virgin.
    Over and over the phrase repeated in his head, echoing like the inside of an empty canyon.
    He laid his head back on the ground, unable to open his eyes and look at her. He'd thought the worst about her. He'd thought she was easy with her favors, little better than a whore.
    Maybe he was the biggest fool of all.
    But what was the truth? If Rose had not been a woman wise in the ways of seducing a man, then who was this woman who stirred him, aroused him, and made his life generally hell? Who was Rose and what was he supposed to do now?
    How did one treat a virgin after her first time? And why, even now, did the feel of her satiny-smooth skin against him make him harden once more?
    Slowly, he opened one eye and stared at the woman he thought he knew. She reached up and caressed his face with the back of her hand. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief.
    "I'm so glad that my very first time was outside beneath the trees and sky."
    Travis cringed. What did he do now? What if she became pregnant?
    "I hope no one comes by to water their horse. They might get a shock," she said with a laugh.
    "The men are gone," he replied quietly.
    She rolled her naked body up against him and giggled. Trailing her fingers down the length of his stomach, she tickled him playfully. "Oh, Travis, let's stay here all day."
    He glanced at her. Her face was rosy pink, her eyes sparkling, her hair was a tousled mess, and she'd never looked more beautiful. The urge to take up where he'd left off was tempting, but it was already mid-morning, the sun was climbing in the sky and . . .
    It was an excuse. God, what did he do now?
    He jumped up, shoving Rose aside, unable to continue lying there beside her another moment without touching her once again. Without losing himself in her body a second time. It was then he spotted her virgin's blood staining the dress that his mother had given her.
    There was absolutely no doubt. Until thirty minutes ago, Rose Severin had been a virgin. And he had taken her innocence.
    He grabbed his pants and started to pull them up over his hips. "I've got to go!"
    Glancing back at Rose, he saw that she'd sat up naked, looking at him a quizzical expression on her