Under the Cowboy's Control

She was still in a daze as they pulled into the parking lot of the huge warehouse store to pick up the supplies they were going to buy in bulk.

She gently put her hand on his arm as he turned off the ignition.

"Thank you, Travis."

He slipped the key from the ignition and turned to face her. "Do you like it?"

"Yes. It is beautiful, but much too expensive. You should not have bought one so big."

"I wanted it to be big enough to be noticed right away. You're mine, and everybody needs to know it."

Selena's breath caught. "I don't have anything to give you in return. I have no money to buy you a wedding gift."

Travis reached out and caught the hand with the diamond on it. He laced his fingers through hers. "You don't need any money. You know what I want you to give me. Just in case you haven't figured it out by now, let me tell you how it's going to be."

Selena nodded once and listened while he held her hand in an unrelenting grasp and spelled out her future.

"This is going to be a traditional marriage, Selena. We're both going to have our jobs in this relationship." His voice was deep and serious. "My job is going to be to honor and protect you. I'm going to work hard and make the money and buy you anything you want, within reason. I'm going to pay all the bills and keep a roof over our heads. I'm going to keep you safe. Your responsibilities in this marriage are going to be to keep me fed, keep my laundry done, and keep the house clean." He paused and brought her hand up to his mouth. His lips opened and he placed an open mouthed kiss on her knuckle above the diamond ring. He gazed into her eyes. His voice lowered. "But your number one priority will be to sleep in my bed.

It's not going to make me happy to hear any excuses. When I'm ready for bed, I don't want to have to come looking for you. If I make a move toward the bedroom, you need to drop what you're doing, and get your sweet little ass in my bed. And baby, I mean day or night."

At his words, Selena felt a shaft of desire so strong she trembled with it. The picture he painted of their marriage was blatantly sexual. A shiver of delight danced down her spine. And this he was warning her about?

His grip on her hand intensified when he felt her shaking. "Do you understand me?

Do you want to go forward with this, or are you thinking of running? Because baby, if you want out, now's the time. It will probably kill me, but I'll leave you in Laredo if that's what you want. I'll get you a nice hotel room and pay it up front for a few months. You're a smart girl, you'll make it on your own."

Selena felt panic at his words. Not from being left on her own in Laredo, but from never seeing him again. Panic at the thought of the marriage not taking place.

"No." The single word was breathless.

"No, what?" Travis felt his gut clench.

"No, I don't want to stay in Laredo. I want to marry you. I under--understand how the marriage will be." She watched him from half lowered eyelids.

Travis felt a fierce sense of satisfaction at her agreement.

Thursday couldn't get here soon enough.

****

The three days before the marriage took place flew by for Selena. She wanted everything perfect for Thursday, so she spent all her time cleaning and cooking and stocking up the freezer. It was easy now with so many choices from all the supplies they had bought. She couldn't believe what the bill totaled at the store in Laredo, but most of it was for the bunkhouse kitchen. This was no small ranching operation.

The days before Thursday seemed to drag by in slow motion for Travis. Staying away from Selena was the most difficult thing

he had ever done, and every time he saw that ring on her finger, the connotation of it was like a red flag to a bull. He spent long hours working on the already perfect irrigation system for the heat of the summer coming up. When that didn't keep him outside long enough, he spent long hours riding the fence lines.

He came in late Wednesday night and found his supper warming in the oven. He took the plate out and wolfed it down, and went in search of Selena. He looked out the window at the streaks of color in the sky. He hadn't realized it was so late. He walked down the hall to her bedroom and heard the bath running. Images of her wet, naked body intruded on his peace. He tried to shake it off and went and sat at the computer.

He opened his email, and found the message he had been waiting for. The detective he had hired to find Selena's grandparents, had finally found a decent lead. The last name was not enough to go on, but the combination of her father's distinctive first name and social security number was enough to open doors.

The man would keep him posted, but said that he was close.

Travis knew he should share the information with Selena, but decided against it.

He had a couple of reasons for his decision. He didn't want to get her hopes up, in case her grandparents couldn't be found or were even dead, but the main reason was because he flat didn't want to. He recognized the insidious emotion slithering down his spine as fear, and it pissed him off that he could be even slightly vulnerable to her. He pushed that thought to the back of his head, and concentrated on his main ambition.

There was plenty of time for her to find out that he was helping with the search for her grandparents.