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

air.
    She jumped, startled by Travis sitting in the shadows. "You scared me."
    "Sorry. I wanted to make sure you made it home okay."
    His voice was low and as smooth as silk, sending a delicious shiver down her spine.
    "The director kept us an extra two hours tonight."
    He'd waited for her, pretending to be concerned for her safety. She continued walking up the steps and across the porch until she stood before him. She didn't have the strength to fight him and had no desire to continue their earlier disagreement. He reached up, took her by the hand, and gently pulled her down onto the swing beside him. The touch of his hand was warm and pleasant, almost comforting.
    "You look like you're about ready to fall down."
    "I'm tired," she said.
    "Rough rehearsal?" he asked.
    "The worst yet. I don't know what I expected from acting, but I wasn't prepared for the endless hours of standing on the stage saying the same lines over and over. Or waiting while someone else repeated their lines time and again."
    "It's a lot of hard work then?"
    "Harder than anything I've ever done."
    A cool night breeze blew against her skin, teasing the wisps of curls that had fallen from the twist at the back of her head. Sitting next to Travis in the dark, not talking, just resting, was soothing. A sense of closeness enveloped her, as if they were the only people for miles and miles in the dark.
    It was almost as if she knew when he was going to take his next breath, and her body adjusted to be in pulse with him. Adjusted and fell into a rhythm with this man who was her captor.
    She turned her face toward Travis in the dark, and he reached out and brushed the curls away from her face. "I ... I owe you an apology."
    Rose swallowed, feeling suddenly very nervous. She was tired, and she was enjoying the peace of just sitting beside him, feeling close.
    "Do we have to talk?" she asked, wanting only to enjoy his presence beside her.
    He pulled her head down onto his shoulder, and she relaxed against him, soaking up the feel of his body heat.
    "I mean, didn't we say it all this afternoon?" She was so tired, she knew her defenses were down and she couldn't take another battle. Not now. Not when she needed to feel his arms around her, holding her as though he was keeping the world at bay, keeping her safe in the security of his embrace.
    "That's what I need to apologize for." He picked up her hand and held it, his thumb caressing her skin. "This afternoon, you were right. I have been avoiding you," he said, not looking at her. "I wasn't prepared for the fact that you were a virgin. Your innocence took me completely off guard."
    She didn't move; her head lay still against his shoulder. "You thought there had been many men in my life, didn't you?"
    He nodded his head. "Yes."
    She laughed. "Why? What made you think that I was well acquainted with the ways of love?"
    "The way you acted at that roadhouse in Waco and the way you talk sometimes led me to believe you weren't an innocent," he acknowledged, gazing at her in the darkness. There was genuine surprise in his voice.
    "If you had known I was a virgin, would you have made love with me?"
    He was silent for a moment.
    "Honestly?" he asked, pausing to consider. "Yes. But you should have given me some clue that it was your first time."
    "I wasn't thinking very clearly at that moment. And I certainly wasn't contemplating stopping you," she admitted, feeling the heat suffuse her face in the darkness.
    She would never admit it out loud, but even now she didn't know if she would stop him if he were to pursue her again. But worse, she didn't want to halt him. The strength of his arms around her caused her breathing to quicken and her pulse to beat erratically.
    "You have to remember that my father, Isaiah, and an occasional woman friend of my father were the people who took care of me when I was a child." She yawned. "My father's lady friends did not exactly attend church."
    "I'm sorry for the way I've treated you since ... since we were down at the pond."
    She sat up and gazed at him. "You really are apologizing?"
    "Yes, I am." He smiled. "Have I been that bad?"
    "You were a casse-couilles . "
    "And what is that?" he asked.
    "A pain in the derriere ."
    He chuckled while his hand stroked her face. "Where did you learn to speak French? And you've already admitted to being born here in America, so don't give me that line about coming from France. I'm not buying it."
    Rose smiled and relaxed against the back of the