The Rancher Takes A Bride (23 page)

***

That did it! He'd hardly said two words during breakfast, and before that he'd almost accused her of getting up early to steal his mother's jewelry. She'd had little sleep the night before, and she couldn't take the tension a moment longer.

Flouncing indignantly, she ran up the stairs. In her room she changed into Eugenia's old dress and hurried back down. As soon as she found Isaiah, she would tell him to saddle that nag he'd bought in town so they could leave. She couldn't stay here anymore.

Even the prospect of riding a horse couldn't restrain her from leaving this time. She couldn't face Travis alone over the dinner table, in the parlor, or anywhere else in this big, lonely house. She had to get away now, or else be willing to face the consequences of her desires.

Racing back down the stairs, she hurried through the parlor and kitchen, then out the back door, taking the same path as Travis. Hopefully, he would have already saddled his horse and gone.

As she came out of the house, she saw the men riding off in the distance, toward the rising sun, to do the day's work. Isaiah rode with the ranch hands, and her heart sank. She didn't know how to saddle a horse, and it was too late to catch them. She would have to wait until Isaiah returned tonight before they could leave. Unshed tears hovered just beneath her eyelashes. She wanted to leave so badly. She had to get away.

As she watched the men disappear over the hill, she couldn't see Travis among them, but she hoped he accompanied them, because she didn't want to see him right now.

Halfway to the bunkhouse, she turned and decided to walk along the pond. After all, there was nothing she could do until Isaiah returned, and she could use a calming, soothing surrounding right now.

The sun was peeking over the eastern horizon, shooting orange and purple 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 glared. "Damn it, Rose, you didn't have to knock us into the pond."

"I didn't do it on purpose, you idiot," she gritted out, feeling the water soak through the calico material of her dress.

He sat up in the water, spitting and cursing, grabbing for his hat before he pitched it onto the bank. "You damn-fool woman!"

Without a second thought, she reached into the mud, grabbed a handful of muck and threw it at him, hitting him smack in the front of his shirt.

His eyes widened; his nostrils flared.

"You deserved it," she challenged, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. Maybe she had acted a little rash. Maybe she should back away for just a moment and give Travis time to cool off.

A dangerous spark glinted from his dark eyes, and she knew she was too close to him, perilously close to Travis and his anger.

She tried to scramble away, but her heavy skirt became bogged down in the water.

His hand, full of mud, landed square on her chest, brushing against her breast and sending a tingle of awareness through her.

She glanced up at him, prepared to do battle. Suddenly he unleashed on her the full extent of his muddy threat as he covered her in the wet, sandy ooze. The water churned around them as they smeared each other's bodies, lathering each other until there was not a spot of color or a glimpse of skin that remained uncovered with the wet, gritty dirt

All the pent-up tension from the night before was released as Rose picked up a handful of mud and plastered it to the top of his hair. Laughing, she watched as the mud ran down the back of his head to his neck.

With a quick tug, her hair fell from its clasp as he retaliated. Her unleashed curls lay floating in the cloudy water.

Running out of breath, she stopped and glanced at him. He was brown from head to waist, covered in the oozy, slimy mire from the pond. He looked like a giant mud dauber, his brown eyes big and angry. The image was too much, and she started to giggle. The laughter changed and deepened until she was holding her side, laughing at the sight of Travis covered in the brown silt.

He stopped and stared, his hand still full of ooze, but slowly a gradual smile lightened his face. With a chuckle, he joined in her laughter. "Don't laugh too hard. You look pretty funny yourself."

The anger of a few moments ago suddenly dispersed as they sat in the murky water staring at one another, cackling loudly, only to be overtaken by a growing sense of awareness.

Slowly he released the last handful of mire. "How often do you do this sort of thing?"

She trailed her hand in the water, cleansing the wet earth from between her fingers. She glanced up at him, her face smiling. "This is my first time. What about you?"

"Not since I was a boy." He reached over and swiped at streak of dirt on her cheek, his fingers brushing against her skin.

Rose felt his touch like the scorch of the hot summer sun. Her cheek was on fire. She gazed up at Travis, dipped her hand into the water, and slowly rinsed the mud from his face, tenderly wiping away the wet earth.

"I guess we better clean up before we go back to the house," she said, her voice soft, a warmth filling her. Her anxiety was still there, but it felt different now.

Travis cleared his throat, his eyes lingering on the front of her dress. "It might take a while to get all this filth off."

"Hmm. Close your eyes."

He gazed at her, his eyes almost touching her, as her breathing quickened. Slowly he closed his eyes, and she wanted him to open them, she wanted to look deep within his soul once more. She wanted him to continue touching the very depths of her with his glance.

She cupped her hands with water, held them over his head and slowly released the water, rinsing his hair.

He gripped her, his hands strong and firm around her waist. Again, she cupped her hands, letting the water trickle down the front of him.

Travis opened his eyes, and Rose felt the heat of his gaze. He released her waist, cupped his hands, and filled them with water.

"Now close your eyes," he said, his voice a husky whisper.

Rose lowered her lids as he requested, a sense of vulnerability filling her, as she waited for him to repeat the same process she had done to him. Slowly his hands emptied over her head, rinsing the mud from her face and hair. Repeatedly he poured the water over her, until she felt she couldn't take it anymore.

"I think I got it all," he said, his voice husky, his breathing uneven.

She opened her eyes and met his gaze, her breathing quickening at the raw, naked desire she saw there.

Slowly he rose to his feet, his hand reaching out and pulling Rose up out of the water with him. He leaned toward her, and she met him halfway, his lips barely touching hers, before he broke away. It was a tease, a gentle promise of more to come, that left her aching with want.

His hands reached for the buttons on the front of her dress, and Rose knew she was unable to say no. She didn't want to say no.

Rose almost quit breathing. Their eyes locked in a not-too-subtle exchange that left no doubt what he was feeling. Her own hands reached up and started to unbutton the front of his shirt, the wetness of her fingers slipping on the wooden buttons. Her nerves caused her hands to shake.

She was lost to the sensations his touch evoked as he reached inside her opened dress and caressed her breast. She knew there was no turning back, there was no more denying that she hungered for Travis's touch. She wanted to be in his arms.

She finished unbuttoning the wet shirt and slid her hand inside to touch his satiny skin. His muscles rippled beneath her stroke, and she sighed as her fingers traced the length of his chest, feeling the hard contours.

Still locked in a staring battle, he gasped, "The mud ... let me finish rinsing the mud off you."

His hands slid the wet material of her dress down over her shoulders, down her arms. She stood before him, her chemise showing from the waist up, soaking wet, her nipples peeking through the clinging material.

Taking her hand, Travis pulled her up and led her into deeper water. When they were waist-deep, he turned and began sluicing water on her, trailing his hands down her arms, cleaning the mud off her. She did the same for him, running her hands down his muscular arms, reveling in the feel of his skin, aching to let her lips trail where her fingertips had lingered.

His movements increased in speed, and she followed his lead, hurrying to some unknown destination. Wanting to get there quickly before she rationalized her actions.

Suddenly he stopped, his finger moving down her arm, leaving behind a trail of goose bumps. "I think that's all."

She gazed up at him. His eyes were almost glassy, as they shone with a fire that drew her to his flame. He was mere inches from her and she suddenly was nervous about what was to come next. "I ..."