The Rancher's Virgin Acquisition

by Lynda Chance

  "Luke," the sheriff acknowledged the other man's presence without releasing her.

  "Let her go," Luke reiterated in a menacing hiss that promised retribution if not immediately obeyed.

  The other man dropped her hand, stood to his full height, faced Luke and questioned in a gravelly voice, "It's like that?"

  "Yeah," Luke answered in a single, harsh syllable that gritted from the back of his throat, and then turned to her. "You all right?"

  Emma felt the pulse in her neck begin to quiver under his direct gaze. "Yes," she answered him simply.

  His eyes ran over her, observing her closely, no doubt taking in her flushed features, the different dress she was wearing, and the soft-soled slippers encasing her feet. He stood tall and straight before her with a nonchalant grace that was frightening in its deception. The look he was giving her was stamped with a stubborn streak that was rigid in its intensity, as if he was staring at something he owned, something that was his, and his alone.

  The moment in time was interrupted when Maria cleared her throat. Her shiny old face was marred with tension as she looked from Luke to the sheriff and then back again. She held a box in her hands and said simply, "I'm going to the cabin, I'll be back directly." She glanced at Emma once and then quietly left the room and the two men that were facing off inside of it.

  Emma shuddered slightly and wished she could make her get away as easily as Maria had. The tension was thick in the air as Luke cut his eyes away from hers and faced the sheriff fully. "You get 'em yet?" His voice rang out in the quiet room as he referred to the apprehension of the stagecoach robbers.

  "No, not yet," the other man admitted.

  Luke's face was a mask that hid his emotions. His lips tightened, his skin pulled taut over his cheekbones as he questioned with accusation, "Why are you here, then? Seems your time would be better spent some place other than my kitchen."

  "I needed to ask Emma a few questions. See what she could remember while it was still fresh." The sheriff gritted his teeth as if he wasn't used to being under interrogation while Luke grew even more rigid.

  "She answered your questions?"

  "Yeah."

  "All right then. I guess you'll be heading back now." Luke's voice was dark.

  "I think she should go with me, Luke." The other man said it as if he knew he would get an argument, if not a flat-out rejection.

  "No." Luke's answer was firm, spoken in a voice filled with denial, contempt, and irrefutable authority.

  "You can't just keep her here," the other man's voice was filled with dismay and disapproval.

  "Yeah, I can."

  "It's not right."

  "My land, my ranch, my decision." Luke's voice had turned sinister.

  "It's her decision, Luke."

  Luke didn't answer that but his gaze landed briefly on Emma's white face.

  His eyes devoured hers and there was a subtle softening in his features that turned back to stone when the sheriff began speaking again.

  "You're not thinking straight, man. She needs to be in town, where she has access to a doctor. She's had a shock and that ankle needs attention."

  Emma held her breath while the two men discussed her as if she wasn't in the same room.

  She'd heard the sheriff's arguments before; he'd done nothing but try to convince her to come back to town with him. But he'd admitted another stage wouldn't be coming for awhile. The telegram he'd received from the Denver office issued the news that until the robbers were apprehended, the stage wouldn't be making it that far down south for awhile. It would continue along a more dedicated, safer route to Denver.

  The sheriff had given her that information and even offered an armed escort to the next large town on the stage route, but had admitted to her that it couldn't be organized for a few weeks.

  She was stuck and she only had to decide if she wanted to be stuck in town or here on this ranch. She knew no one in town except for the sheriff, she didn't have the funds for an extended stay in the hotel, and besides, she felt comfortable on the ranch with Maria.

  But deep inside her conscience, she knew the reason she wanted to remain here.

  And the reason was looming large and menacing a few feet from her.

  "She stays here." Luke refused the sheriff in no uncertain terms.

  Reed Elgin turned and cursed under his breath. "Luke, be reasonable. She doesn't belong to you, man. Think with your head."

  Luke sucked in oxygen through his front teeth with a hissing noise and pierced the other man with a look that almost made Emma light-headed. Ropes of tension coiled through his steely muscles and his chin jutted out as he answered, "I never claimed she belonged to me. But she damn sure doesn't have to go with you. I'm saying her ankle will heal on its own, she doesn't need a damn doctor, and I can protect her better here than you can in town."

  "This isn't your decision to make. She's a grown woman. She can think for herself."

  Luke's eyes chilled on the other man before they whipped around to land on her.

  "Tell him you want to stay here, Emma." His voice was confident, slow and sure, with not a bit of doubt that she would agree coming from his tone.

  And Emma wasn't about to disagree. As uncomfortable as he made her, it wasn't an altogether bad feeling. It was different from anything she had ever known, and it was something she wanted to explore further. If she went to town she might never see him again, and she wasn't prepared to let that happen yet.

  And added to all those emotions running through her brain, was the added distress of going to an unknown place, with unknown people, and not having a source of income when she got there.

  True, the thought of Denver was still a scary one, but it was something she'd had time to grow accustomed to. And she had a position secured there already.

  The town of Burnet held no such comfort for her. She was quite ready to accept that staying here for awhile longer was what she wanted to do.

  "I want to stay here with you." Her eyes stayed glued on Luke's. "I've already explained that to the sheriff," she said softly.

  Her eyes clung to his as he gave her a short nod of approval and a shaft of incendiary heat passed between them. Emma savored the small moment until his eyes left hers to move to the man standing behind her.

  "That right, Reed? She already told you she doesn't want to go with you?" The tic in his cheek was indicative of the anger that glinted from his eyes.

  The sheriff wasn't prepared to let it go without an argument. "You can't expect her to know what she wants. She's alone and she's still in shock. Out here in the back of beyond isn't any place for a single woman."

  "Maria's here to keep her company all day and trust me when I tell you I won't let any of the hands within fifty feet of her." Luke's eyes were hard, flat, and held an expression Emma couldn't decipher.

  "I'm not concerned with the hands, Luke." His voice paused as he seemed to get up his nerve to continue in the face of the rugged rancher's anger. "I'm more thinking of you."

  "You don't need to worry about what I do." Luke watched the other man like a snake about to strike. "It's none of your business what goes on here," His voice was as sharp as nails while his words seemed conciliatory enough. "I appreciate you coming out here to check up on her, but it won't be necessary again." The threat was cloaked in words of gratitude, but they were just a façade covering up his true meaning.

  The sheriff held Luke's gaze for the count of five uncomfortable heartbeats until he turned and picked his hat up off the table and shoved it back on his head.

  He took two steps toward the door and then turned one last time and faced Emma.

  "You sure about this, Ma'am?"

  Emma hesitated only momentarily. "I'm sure. Thank you for your concern."

  Sheriff Elgin looked between the two of them one last time before he shook his head, opened the door, and walked out.

  Luke glanced at Emma and gave her a pointed look that meant she was to stay where she was. Then he turned an
d followed the sheriff out the door.

  Luke followed the lawman out of his house both to make sure he left, and so they could have words without Emma hearing. He wasn't wrong. The other man again began arguing.

  "You're not using your brain, man."

  "Not your concern," Luke responded sharply.

  "She's too soft, Luke. She needs people around her, not just a bunch of rag-tag ranch hands. I'll keep her safe, I'll see to it that Emma has--"

  Luke cut the other man off. "Stop talking," he growled in a hiss. "She's not up for discussion. You lost your chance to keep her safe when you sent me out there to find her. You need to forget she's here. Emma doesn't exist for you anymore. Don't say her name, don't even think about her."

  "Jesus Christ, Luke. You're not even acting sane."

  "Don't fucking push me. I'm the only help you've got this side of Silver Creek. You need to move on about your business. You know I'd never hurt her. Soothe your goddamn conscious with that and finish the job you need to be doing. Find the scum that did this. Find 'em and hang 'em high because I don't like the thought of them being alive after seeing her face."

  The two men locked each other in a heated look and for a moment Luke didn't think the other man would back off. But he did. Reed Elgin swung himself into his saddle and gave Luke his parting shot. "I'll find them and bring them in. They'll get their justice. Just don't make me regret leaving her in your care." The words were a pointed sneer but Luke didn't have time to respond to them because the other man was already riding away.

  He hesitated only a moment before he turned and walked back into the house and prowled to the chair where Emma was still sitting.

  He reached out with one hand and lifted her chin in a firm grasp until his eyes were on hers. "You sure you're all right?"

  Emma's emotions were lacerated. Was she all right? Physically she was fine. She'd made it out alive after the stagecoach robbery. She was safe and whole and had plenty to eat and drink. But emotionally? Her feelings were in a jumble. Her conscience was louder than it had ever been in her life, but then again, she'd never told so many lies before. Her heartbeat was nothing but erratic, and she'd never been in a man's company alone before, let alone a man like Luke Butler.

  The only answer she could give him was a small nod of her head, and she did that now.

  Luke's hand left her chin, slid down her arm in a soft caress and reached for her hand. He pulled her up out of her chair and with a jerk, she stumbled against him.

  His arms reached out and encircled her.

  "It'll take half an hour before Elgin is too far away for one of my men to chase him down and bring him back. So you've got that long to decide." One steely arm was wrapped around her back, the other traced a line down her spine and then up again in a smooth caress.

  "I thought I'd already decided."

  "You need a little more understanding of the situation before you can make a proper decision."

  Emma was pleasantly shocked by the intimacy of his touch and held enthralled as she stood in the circle of his arms. She remained mute and concentrated on her breathing that seemed to be rushing in and out of her lungs as if she were completely out of oxygen.

  "Fair warning, Emma-girl," his smooth voice was brutal.

  "Warning?" she managed to ask.

  "I feel inclined to make sure you understand how its gonna be while you still have the opportunity to leave. Like I said, in half an hour or so, that option will be taken away from you."

  "I'm sure." Her voice was hesitant and didn't sound sure at all.

  "Yeah?" His gaze slipped to her mouth and his already dark eyes grew stormy. "Let's hear you repeat that in a few minutes."

  Emma had no other warning before his mouth fell on hers.

  Shock and sudden excitement took hold as his lips pressed against hers. Emma's brain came to a sudden halt and quit functioning altogether as Luke's tongue invaded her mouth and stole her breath as well as her thoughts away from her. She began trembling as roughly, almost violently, he pulled her into his body and held her with uncompromising strength as he took what he wanted from her mouth.

  Her heart beat raced out of time as she felt his tongue slide in and out of her mouth as he gripped her by the waist and held her flush up against him.

  She'd heard about kisses like this, listened as the teenage girls in the orphanage had whispered to each other late at night, but she'd never experienced anything like it before in her life.

  Through a new haze of desire, she briefly realized that he would expect her to know about this side of intimacy, and with new dedication, tried to mimic the movements of his tongue and lips on hers.

  She tentatively swirled her tongue with his, their breathing mingling together. She heard him groan deep in the back of his throat, and her skin tingled where he touched her, and then, in other areas, where shockingly, she found herself wanting to be touched.

  His breath was hot against her face and she tried to absorb what was happening to her, tried to memorize the feel of him against her in case it never happened again.

  Luke gave up a prayer of thanksgiving that she was a woman full grown who knew the ways of men, and not a green girl that he'd have to go easy with as her scent, the taste of her skin went to his head as fast as moonshine whiskey on an empty stomach.

  He felt her sway against him and his arm held her tightly to him as he pushed through her lips with his tongue and tasted the sweetness within. Ahhh, she was sweet, and holding her in his arms, tasting her with his lips and tongue made the thought of her going back to town and being alone with another man during the long ride unacceptable to him.

  She was sweet and soft and she smelled like strawberries and raw sunlight. He pushed against her and felt himself swell with arousal as her delicate little tongue reached out to tangle with his and the honeyed taste of her lips and mouth reduced him to the thought of begging within seconds.

  He steeled his emotions against her, and concentrated on the taste of woman in his arms. Female. Woman. That's all this was.

  He'd never had an available woman in his home before and the idea of it was making him hard as a rock, that's all this was. That's all it could be. That's all he'd let it be.

  His hands ran up and down the indent of her narrow waist as he held her to him; the perfection of her soft curves next to his harder body was a contrast that had him gripping her to him, holding her with a ferocity he didn't recognize in himself.

  He explored the recesses of her mouth, trying to learn her, memorize her as he kissed her relentlessly. He brought her up on tiptoe, trying to get closer to her, trying to align her female parts with his male ones. Her skin felt like silk to the touch, it was a delicious sensation that he couldn't ever remember experiencing as he held her face in his rough palm and ran his hand up and through her hair, feeling the soft, silkiness of it for himself.

  He gave her kiss after drugging kiss, and with the last bit of sanity left in his brain wondered if he was really the one in control.

  His lips continued the forceful domination of hers and she hung in his grasp until she couldn't breathe anymore and jerked her mouth from his and turned her head away to take a huge breath of air.

  His mouth stayed open on her face as he kissed her cheek, the side of her mouth, and then ran his lips to her ear where he breathed in hotly as he grabbed her earlobe between his lips and grazed his teeth over her soft flesh.

  One brawny arm looped around her waist and she dragged in as much oxygen as she was allowed before he turned her face back to his and took her mouth again with his hot, open lips.

  His tongue began thrusting into the hollow of her mouth again, as with a ferocity she'd never imagined in her life, he kissed her savagely and within moments she was completely out of breath again.

  She turned her face away and he lifted his head from hers, his eyes open and glittering down at her.

  His breathing was as uneven as hers, and at the sound of it, she opened her eyes and saw the feral expr
ession that covered his face.

  His words when he spoke were guttural. "You understand where this is going?"

  She studied his face in silence and he gave her a tiny shake and said her name again.

  She gave him one jerky nod up and down in affirmation and her breath broke and a small whimper escaped her lips when his hand slid to her breast and unerringly enfolded it in the palm of his hand.

  He stroked his thumb across her nipple and lightning streaked down her spine and landed in a pool of hot need between her thighs.

  "You sure?"

  Oh God.

  Emma's mind went blank again.

  The arm that held her around the waist slid down and he cupped her buttocks at the same time he gently squeezed her breast again. "Emma," he demanded an answer.

  Drawing oxygen into her lungs, she broke away and stepped from the circle of his arms. His eyes followed her movement and stayed on her like a hot brand and she knew he'd never let her leave the room until she answered his question to his satisfaction. "Yes, I understand."

  He watched her closely and had she known him better, she would have sworn that what she was seeing was relief in his demeanor. He gave her a short nod and began to move to the door.

  She knew he was going to walk away and leave her standing there alone.

  But she had one burning question that needed to be answered.

  "Luke," she called to get his attention when his hand landed on the doorknob.

  He turned back to her and waited.

  "What--what if I had said no?" She tried desperately to keep the tremor from her voice.

  He gave her an all-encompassing look and gritted his teeth as his face clearly drew into lines of pure stubbornness. "You didn't."

  She wasn't going to let this go. "But what if I had?"

  He studied her face and then his eyes slowly dropped to her body before moving up to clash violently with her eyes again. He shook his head slowly back and forth in an unhurried motion of denial and then walked from the house.

  Emma knew there were only two ways she could take that. He was either refusing to give her an answer, or he was telling her his answer would have been no.