EMMA PACED AROUND HER OFFICE like a caged tiger, anxious and short tempered. Three days married and she was a bale of nerves, completely at a loss as to why she snapped like a shrew. And Ty, usually so calm and pleasant, had a short fuse as well.

Everyone around the ranch, even the one-eyed tomcat who claimed the barn as his home, avoided the newlyweds who were prone to snap with little or no provocation.

Although he spent the last three nights in her bed, he made no attempts to touch her. He always insisted she turn in first then came in, undressed and slipped under the covers. She woke to find him gone and hated to admit how much she enjoyed having him near. The sound of his gentle snores, the smell of him, the heat of him, all worked together to drive her to distraction. He promised to kiss her and touch her and yet he had done neither and she wondered why.

Never one to shirk a necessary task, she racked her brain for every tidbit of information Sarah and Mable gave her regarding marriage. Some she dismissed as foolish, other pieces tantalized her imagination and caused her body to react in ways she wasn’t familiar with, yet intuitively understood it all came back to the man-woman thing she knew so little about.

She devoted the morning to figuring out a course of action, then clarity struck.

It was the problem.

The constant worry of when Ty would decide the time arrived to be husband and wife. Would he keep his word and not force her? Should she do something first? Was she ready for this next very important step? She pictured him lying in her bed, bare chest gleaming in the moonlight, visions of what lay beneath the covers haunted her dreams, made her body ache with a need she couldn’t define.

With a deep breath for courage, she made up her mind. It’s time to stop this nonsense, and just get it over with.

A plan began to form.

Ty closed the ledger after entering the last figures. The wedding, a stampede and unexpected bad weather delayed the start of the roundup so they needed to start tomorrow, regardless. But the thought of leaving Emma alone tore at his gut.

Mostly because of Walker.

He deemed the man was somehow involved in their string of bad luck with the cattle but lacked any kind of proof. With him gone, Emma would be unprotected, and there was no doubt in his mind she needed to be protected from the bastard whether she would admit it or not.

I couldn’t bear it if something happened and I wasn’t here.

Rafe’s condition neither improved nor declined but still, she hesitated to leave him and finally decided not to go on the drive this time. A good and bad deal for Ty. Good because seeing the curve of her luscious backside in jeans would be continued torture. Bad because he believed she’d be vulnerable without him.

Getting married seemed like a good idea at the time but at this moment, he was a sexually frustrated, unhappily married man.

With a heavy exhale, he swiveled the chair and surveyed the expanse of yard visible through the window. The brilliant blue of a cloudless sky was offset by the faded red barn. Chickens pecked at the ground under the huge oak trees where the wedding celebration took place. He smiled, remembering how self-conscious she acted when it came time to dance with him in front of everyone. In spite of all her grit and determination, she was, at heart, very shy and he found that endearing.

His eyes drifted back to the chuck wagon in front of the barn where final preparations were in process. Everything would be ready to head out at first light but his insides twisted every time he thought about it. That three-week trip stretched like an eternity before him.

The hair on his neck prickled at the change in atmosphere. He sensed her presence behind him, but didn’t turn around.

Neither spoke.

She puffed out a breath, but remained silent.

He turned to face her and stiffened. His mouth went dry as overwhelming desire blindsided him.

She wore the same moss green gown that drove him crazy enough to suggest marriage in the first place. His eyes briefly met hers, then slid down to her breasts, their luscious fullness accentuated by the hands clasped in front. The fabric of her gown fell away from a small waist to drape over feminine hips. Those curls he ached to touch, the tiny ribbon at the nape of her neck he yearned to pull free, all threatened to unhinge his resolve.

He clenched his fists for control, unable to speak.

Her cheeks glowed a bright red as his eyes made their way back up them.

“I, um, thought, um, since you are leaving out tomorrow we could, um, have an early dinner and go to bed, um, I mean retire early.”

He could not remember ever seeing anyone blush the way she did; the color highlighting her eyes till they shone like precious gems.

He cleared this throat. “I, uh, thought I’d bunk with the men tonight so I wouldn’t wake you when we left. We’ll head out before daybreak.”

Her face scrunched up and she nibbled her lower lip. “Oh.”

Is that disappointment I see in her face? He scrambled to salvage his mistake. “But if you’ve got dinner planned…”

“I do, um, have plans…for dinner.”

Her quick response and the ensuing smile put a hitch in his breathing as lust engulfed him. Lord help me.

“It’ll be on the table in a few minutes if you want to wash up first.”

She whirled and left the room, leaving him gasping for air and shifting to ease the tightness in his jeans he endured just being in the same room with her.

Ten minutes later, he entered the dining room to find his new wife seated at the table, a glass of wine in her hand.

He sat opposite her, noted his glass held a healthy drink as well and tasted it. “Is there something special we should toast?”

Crimson color flooded her face but her gaze didn’t waver. “To us. Tonight.”

He choked on his wine. “Tonight?”

She looked down at her plate, gulped down the rest of her wine and refilled the glass, sloshing some over the rim in the process. She drank half of it in one swallow and faced him, her voice edged with tension. “Dammit! I’m no good at this. I listened to what Sarah and Mable said, but hell, I can’t remember anything. I don’t know how to be seductive or whatever it is I need to be to get you in the mood. I’ve no idea what I should be doing. I thought I did, but…”

“In the mood?”

She flung her napkin on the table. “Yes. For us to…you know.”

Lupe entered carrying platters of food which she placed in the center of the table. Evidently sensing the tension between them, she turned and left the room.

Alone again, Ty took a cautious sip of his wine, and looked at Emma. She sat ramrod straight, hands no doubt fisted in her lap as she waited for…what?

“Are you saying you want to…?”

“Yes. I’m tired of waiting and worrying when it’s gonna happen. We need to just do it and get it over with.”

He sat back in his chair, and stared. What the hell? Talk about a mood breaker.

“Get it over with? That’s how you see it? Something to just get over with?”

She shot from her chair and paced beside the table, hands flailing in the air. “I don’t know! Dammit! I don’t know! And it’s driving me crazy.” She rounded the end of the table and stood in front of him, apprehension evident in her pinched expression. “You make me crazy!” Her hands floundered about as she ranted. “I think about the stuff Sarah told me and I want to know if what she said is true or hogwash. I have these…these feelings I don’t know what to do about… now you’re going to be gone for weeks and you said you were going to kiss me and touch me and you didn’t, and you’re so warm next to me, and I want to touch you and I don’t know if I’m supposed to or not or what the hell is happening to me.”

She waited, hands clenched at her sides, chest rapidly rising and falling as she fought to catch her breath.

He struggled for calm, released the grip he had on the fragile wineglass less he break it. The last thing he wanted to do was alarm her. “I didn’t kiss you or touch you because I knew it would be a mistake.”

She jerked back like he’d hit her.

“Not that kind of mistake, Em.” He stood, reached for her, then dropped his hands. “The kind that would make it impossible for me to keep my word and not push. Because, after that first night, when I had to help you undress… I knew one kiss, one touch, would never be enough.”

“It-it wouldn’t?”

He shook his head.

She closed her eyes and gripped the sides of her head, jostling delicate tendrils caressing her cheek, softening the strained features. “There’s so much I don’t know about this, this man-woman thing.” She opened her eyes and met his. “I mean, I know what horses and cows do so I’m guessing it’s similar.”

Horses and cows? “Em…what horses and cows do is nothing like what happens between a man and a woman.” He placed his hands on her arms and gently caressed up and down. “The…mechanics I guess are the same, but the feelings…” A tremble rippled through her at his touch. “The feelings enhance the experience.”

“Sarah said it’s… difficult …the first time.”

“Is that what you’re afraid of?”

She swallowed hard, and nodded.

“As far as I know, there’s nothing to be done to … to ease that. I can just promise to be as gentle as I can.” And get it over with.

Her smile was timid, trusting. “I know.” She puffed out a long breath. “Have you, um, ever been with someone…like me?”

There is no one like you.

She backed away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t‘ve asked.”

“No secrets, Em.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and blew out a breath. “Once. A long time ago. Before the war. We were engaged to be married.” She hated it, would never let me near her afterwards. Please God don’t let it be that way again.

She bobbed her head, eyes downcast. “At least one of us will know what to do.”

H worked hard not to smile at her seriousness. “Shall we finish our dinner?”

She slanted her eyes toward him, and his heart stumbled. Who says you don’t know how to be seductive?

“I don’t think I can eat right now.” She licked her lips. “I think I’ll just…go upstairs and - and wait for you.”