The Rancher Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides Book 1) by Sylvia McDaniel Read Free Book Online

responded as he strode quickly to the door the stagecoach driver had indicated. "This won't take long."
    He didn't bother knocking, but kicked open the door, startling Miss Severin, who whirled around to face him. She stood before him, clad in only her corset, chemise, and stockings.
    The material scarcely covered her ample bosom, leaving her creamy shoulders visible through the thin material, her breasts peeking over the top of the garment.
    She yanked up a dress that was lying on the bed and tried to cover herself. Her eyes went wide with fright as she shrieked, " Merde! Not you! Get out!"
    A kick in the teeth could not have hurt worse than the sight of her curvaceous body clearly outlined in her underwear. For a moment Travis didn't think he could breathe, but slowly the oxygen returned to his brain, sending blood, rushing through his body like a speeding train.
    "You took something of mine!" he demanded, trying to keep his eyes focused on her full lips, wanting only to taste the core of her mouth.
    "It must have been your mind! You certainly don't have any manners. Have you heard of knocking before you enter a lady's room?"
    "I have to be in the presence of a lady first," he spat, his fingers curling to a fist and then relaxing, over and over again.
    "Honey, from what the girls in the city jail told me, I'm probably more lady than you're accustomed to."
    He slammed the door closed and took two steps into the room. With a yank, he pulled the dress away from her and tossed it on the bed. She took several steps back, her green eyes wide with fright.
    "I'd be more than happy to give you a sample of what the girls in the city jail are accustomed to receiving from me," he acknowledged, a little less harshly.
    She looked like a frightened doe, and then suddenly she lifted her chin and thrust out her chest. "You're really not my type, cowboy." She pointed her finger and poked him in the chest, painfully. "I've spent the last two days in jail planning your murder and how it would be slow"—she trailed her finger down his chest—"and painful."
    Her finger left a trail of fire. He resisted the urge to grab her hand and bring it to his mouth.
    "But when you couldn't find me to extract your revenge, you took advantage of my mother," he said. His voice belied the fact that right now all he wanted to do was throw her on the bed and bury himself deep within her body, despite his fury.
    She looked at him oddly. "Why are you here? I left town just like the deputy warned me."
    He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her within inches of him. "Let's go right to the problem. You took my mother's wedding ring, and I want it back."
    "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, twisting in his arms trying to get away.
    "Yeah, and next you'll be telling me you're Florence Nightingale."
    "Look, cowboy, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't take your mother's wedding ring."
    Grass-green eyes met and held his gaze unwaveringly. Damn, she was so good at lying that he almost believed her.
    "Your mother paid my fine and got me out of jail. She followed me home, and while I packed, she tried to persuade me to move out to your ranch."
    She was definitely lying. "My mother would never ask you to move to our ranch."
    "You and your mother obviously need to sit down and get to know each other. You don't agree on anything."
    "We agree on one thing. Where's her wedding ring?"
    Travis shook Desirée hard enough to make her head shake and then quickly released her, her soft skin leaving his hands warm, the smell of her causing his blood to flow like hot lava.
    She took a deep breath, the tops of her breasts straining against the material of her chemise, the outline of her nipples peeking through the white material. "I don't have your mother's ring. I didn't steal anything!"
    He looked around the room and spotted her reticule lying on the bed. Quickly he grabbed her bag and started rifling through it.
    "You're welcome to search through my