Read Big Sky Rancher for Free Online Page A

pillows, fluffed and waiting for a weary head to be cushioned by their fullness, and then looked back at the man who expected her to comply with his wishes.
    â€œI’d prefer a chair,” she said, her challenge obvious, even to a man as thick-headed as Lucas O’Reilly appeared to be.
    â€œHow about my lap?” he asked, and then turned to perch on the mattress, pulling her across his lap. It was a soft bed, a fluffy feather tick it seemed, and she felt Lucas sinking into its depths.
    â€œPlease, Lucas,” she managed to whisper and then her throat went dry and she lost her ability to speak.
    â€œYou still think I’m going to hurt you?” he asked, and it seemed he was sincere in his concern. “I have no intention of causing you harm, honey. I was joking before when I told you I’d brought harm to another woman. Never have. Never will.” He grinned at her, holding her upright on his muscled thighs.They felt like two solid logs beneath her, with no give to cushion her bottom.
    â€œI’m not afraid of you,” she said, denying the panic that threatened to choke her.
    â€œYes, you are,” he said, apparently more aware of her state of mind than she’d given him credit for. “But there’s no need, Jennifer.”
    With a few easy moves, her placed her on her back, then lay beside her, his arms holding her, his legs trapping hers. “Comfortable now?” he asked, rising on one elbow, his free hand caressing her cheek.
    He was going to kiss her again. As surely as she knew the sun would rise in the morning, she knew that look in his eyes. She turned her head away as he bent to her.

CHAPTER THREE
    â€œS EE NOW , this isn’t so bad, is it?” His drawl was more apparent when he lowered his voice.
    â€œI don’t want to be in your bed,” she whispered. “And I lied. You frighten me, holding me down, making me a prisoner.”
    â€œThen just relax, honey, and cuddle up with me for a minute or two.” He adjusted his position, sliding one arm beneath her head and lying down. She was pulled up tightly against him, her feet barely touching his shin bones, her head cushioned by his shoulder.
    â€œI’ve never done this before,” she protested. “I’m not accustomed to—”
    â€œI surely hope you’re new at this sort of thing, sweetheart. In fact, I’m counting on it. That way I can teach you how to be a wife, and you won’t have any notions stuck in your head about being modest and ladylike.”
    â€œThere’s nothing wrong with being modest. And I am a lady.”
    â€œI don’t doubt that for a minute, honey. And just to let you know, ladies are some of my favorite people.”
    Her mind swung back to the watching women who’d peopled the balcony above Pete’s Saloon in town. “I’ll just bet they are,” she said, her vivid imagination able to envisionhim climbing a set of stairs to a room, wherein waited several of those lush beauties.
    He frowned and changed his tack. “A little modesty goes a long way when it comes to two people in a bed,” he told her. “Especially when those two people are married.”
    â€œI wouldn’t know. I’ve never been married before.”
    â€œWell, you are now. And you’re about to become a wife.”
    He’d waited long enough, given her enough time to get used to his touch, and his trousers were about to burst open on their own, given the pulsing erection he knew had to be pushing at her even now. Curved against him, surely she knew his problem. Certainly she had some glimmer as to what went on in bed between male and female.
    And then a thought struck him. What if she didn’t know? What if he’d married not only a virgin bride, but an ignorant virgin bride?
    â€œJennifer?” He spoke her name softly, trying his best to reassure her. “Didn’t your mother tell you anything about