Free The Outlaw Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides) by Sylvia McDaniel

reached inside her and stroked her like a lover.
    She raised her head from against his chest and glanced at his stony expression. Her breathing became quick and shallow as she looked up into his blue eyes and became lost in their smokiness. She watched with fevered anticipation as his mouth hovered over hers. He moistened his full lips, and she almost moaned with need, fearful he wasn’t going to kiss her, needing the feel of his lips against hers. Then, swiftly, his lips descended, and she eagerly met him halfway.
    His mouth covered hers, and she felt whatever strength remained drain from her body. He clasped her waist and pulled her gently against him. He tasted of potency and masculinity, and he kissed her like a man who had been denied passion for a long time. His lips devoured hers, his tongue running along the edge of her mouth, testing and tasting. And she met his every stroke with one of her own.
    She gasped, and his lips covered hers once again. He seemed famished for her, and she reveled in the feel of him. She felt protected, safe and secure, as though she had found a haven from the ugly world and he was her strength, her fortress. She felt cosseted and coveted and more secure than she had for many years.
    And she’d never been kissed so thoroughly that she felt on fire with desire. The general’s kisses had certainly never left her quivering with need. They’d never incited her to want more. They’d never left her feeling faint.
    His hands caressed her shoulders, trailing down her back, touching her, clasping her to him. She realized she was standing in the arms of the man who had saved her, who was taking care of her, and she was clothed only in her chemise and petticoat. Her intended waited for her two hundred and seventy miles to the north, in Fort Worth, and she was acting like a wanton in a hotel room with a man whose full name she didn’t know.
    Beth pushed away from Tanner and gasped, her lungs rapidly filling with air. She staggered away, her hands gripping the nearby table for support. When she felt confident she could stand, she raised one hand to her chest and the other to her bruised lips. Finally, she lifted her gaze to his.
    Desire—hot, raw, naked need—shone from his eyes, and she was stunned at the impact. He desired her, and she couldn’t deny she wanted him just as badly. But it was impossible. She was on her way to meet the man she intended to marry. Tanner was a man she knew so little about, and what she did know seemed dangerous— much more than the image he portrayed.
    “I—can’t. I can’t do this,” she gasped.
    His expression changed from one of desire to remoteness.
    “It won’t happen again.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Get back in bed. I’ll go get you some breakfast.”
    Tanner strode quickly from the room, the door slamming behind him. It was almost as if he ran, and Beth couldn’t help but think she would run, too, if only she could.
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Tanner leaned against the closed door and wondered what in the hell was wrong with him. He’d kissed her. Like a starving man, he’d put his lips to hers and drank of her sweet nectar until she’d pushed him away.
    The sight of her standing there in her chemise and petticoat had left him rigid with desire. But the feel of her soft curves molded against his limbs had surprised him. He hadn’t been prepared for the onslaught of craving that had rocked him. He hadn’t been prepared for the protective feelings that had suddenly awakened within him when he’d seen her standing there weakly trying to dress. Damn, but he could ill afford the complications a woman would bring to his life, especially now.
    The kiss had been a mistake, one he could not repeat. In fact, the sooner Beth was on her way to Fort Worth, the better. He could not afford to become involved with any woman for more than a night no matter how beautiful, how kind, or how intriguing. Good women, the kind who wanted marriage,