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heartbroken and miserable. She felt Jordan sit beside her, and as his arms went around her, she struggled, weakly trying to push him away, but he held her tightly.
    "My dearest, little one, what a brute I am. You are ill and have just lost your aunt. Forgive me, will you?"
    "There is nothing to forgive, Jordan. We will just forget all you have said to me."
    He tilted his handsome head sideways and looked into her eyes. "No, Honor, we will not forget. The offer to make you my wife still stands." His head slowly descended and his lips covered hers in a tender kiss.
    It was the moment Honor had always dreamed of. Jordan, the man she loved, was kissing her, and he had just asked her to be his bride. Honor tried to ignore the warm sensation that crept into her body as her lips trembled beneath his, knowing she could not accept such a proposal.
    Jordan raised his head and frowned. Taking a deep breath, he pulled her head down on his shoulder. "You are not quite the child I thought," he laughed. "You go to my head, little one. Will you marry me? Say yes, and I promise I will be good to you. I think you and I would deal very well together."
    "No, I will not marry you Jordan, and I want you to leave now. I do not feel well."
    He held her at arm's length. "You are like a delicate flower that is about to bloom. I think you have not been awakened to the feelings a woman can have for a man. Did the one you love ever kiss you?"
    "No," she said breathlessly, beginning to feel drawn under his spell by the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes.
    His lips were very near hers. "I thought not," he whispered.
    Before she could protest, his lips covered hers in a deep, soul-shattering kiss. She felt she could not breath. Hot waves washed over her body. She wanted to cling to him forever.
    He released her quickly. The eyes that looked into hers were not the eyes of the Jordan she had always known, but the eyes of a man stirred by passion. He wanted something from her and she did not know what it was.
    "In some ways you are not unlike your sister. You have a way of stirring a man's blood."
    "Jordan, why did you kiss me?" she whispered.
    "I wanted to show you that it could be good between us. I guess you could say I was taking advantage of your innocence, but as it turned out, you are the one who took advantage of me."
    "I do not understand."
    "You, my little vixen, are turning into more than I bargained for."
    "Jordan, you are not making sense."
    His hands gripped her tightly as he pulled her against him. "Say you will marry me, Honor. I need you. I need what you can give me. Bring stability back into my life once more."
    He could have found no greater persuasion than to say he needed her. She would throw her pride to the wind if she thought she could be of help to Jordan.
    "Yes, I will marry you if really want me," she blurted out, surprising not only Jordan but herself as well.
    He smiled slightly. "I want you, little one, make no mistake about that." Once again he tilted her face up. "You may be the very thing that can save me."
    "When would you like me to marry you?"
    "For now, you go back to bed and rest. I will have Darcy ask the circuit rider who is sleeping upstairs to come down and talk to me. It may be that he can marry us tomorrow. That is if you feel you will be up to it."
    "Jordan, what will you expect from me after we are married?" She asked.
    He laughed softly. "Nothing this trip home, little one," he said, smiling at her innocent question. "I am not so insensitive that I would introduce you to married life while you are so ill." He paused. "Would you like me to help you to your bedroom? I can see you need to be in bed."
    "No, Darcy would be scandalized, but if you could just help me up the stairs, I would be most grateful," she told him, knowing she had been too long out of her sickbed and fearing she would never be able to make her way up the stairs unaided.
    To her surprise, Jordan lifted her into his arms and carried her up