Free The Rancher and the Redhead by Suzannah Davis

unfasten her dress, and her eyes widened with dismay.
    â€œOh, hell!”
    Straining, she could only reach the top three covered buttons of a line that ran down her spine from her nape to her hips. Her mother had helped her dress, and it had never occurred to Roni that without assistance she was trapped in her own wedding gown. And the only assistance available to her now was Sam himself.
    There had to be a way. Grimacing, Roni craned her arms backward until she thought they’d pop from their sockets, but only succeeded in freeing one more button.
    The bubbles in the bathtub were almost overflowing. With a sound of frustration, Roni twisted the taps off, struggling momentarily again with the hot water spigot before forcing it shut. She caught sight of a back brush hanging on a nail and tried to pry another button loose with its long handle. She nearly had it free when she heard the awful ripping sound of a seam giving way.
    Panting, Roni dropped the brush and tried to assess the damage. This had been her mother’s wedding dress, and now hers, and in the back of Roni’s mind she’d already been planning for Jessie to wear it someday, too. There was no way she was going to ruin it out of a misguided sense of modesty. Defeated, she realized she would have to ask Sam for help.
    Blowing a damp curl out of her face, Roni spoke to herself in the steamy mirror. “All right. Be casual. Nothing unusual here. Just a friend helping a friend.”
    Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door, then hesitated in the hall. Sam tiptoed out of Jessie’s room a moment later, carefully pulling the door shut behind him in the way of all parents who prayed that their offspring would continue to sleep. It might have been a comical position on a man with less stature, but on Sam the attitude was watchful, protective and somehow very attractive. Roni felt her mouth go dry.
    Hand on the doorknob, he looked up at her in surprise. “I thought you were in the tub.”
    â€œI’m trying, but that spigot was being stubborn again. It’s really kind of dangerous, so could you fix it soon?”
    â€œYeah, I’ve been meaning to get to that.”
    â€œAnd I’m having a little trouble...” She shrugged sheepishly and pointed at her back. “I can’t—that is, uh, would you?”
    â€œSure.” Hands on her shoulders, he turned her, then went to work on the buttons. “I swear, female garb can sure be mystifying. Who’d think a garment you can’t get into or out of by yourself is a good idea?”
    A woman who wants her husband to touch her. The thought caught Roni by surprise and heated her skin. Or perhaps it was the brush of Sam’s callused fingers that splayed electricity along her nerve endings. Was it her imagination, or had his progress slowed, so that he seemed to linger on the last few buttons gracing the curve of her spine? And did he realize that except for her lacy demibra, she was naked beneath the dress?
    Roni’s breathing accelerated, but when she went to move away Sam forestalled her by sliding a hand through the opening of the gown to rest in the indention of her waist. Startled, Roni looked over her shoulder, only to be snagged by the intensity of Sam’s blue gaze. The pressure of his fingers on her bare skin increased, spreading down over the jut of her hipbone. Over her token resistance he pulled her back flush against himself.
    â€œYou’re as skittish as a newborn filly, Miss Curly.”
    â€œSam...” Her breath clogged in her throat as his gaze fell to her mouth, and her knees went weak. “You know this isn’t a good idea.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œYou’re just curious.”
    â€œUh-huh.” His other hand skimmed over her shoulder, easing under her scalloped neckline to explore the tender skin stretched over her collarbone. “Aren’t you?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œLiar. You’re wondering just