The tour of the house over, they stood in the middle of the bedroom they would share. They had to share the room, even if this was just temporary, because if Mrs. Barrett didn’t believe it was real, she’d say something to Dave. Then the whole thing was a waste of time and money. He watched his new bride a moment, she glanced at him, bit her lip then over at the bed as if she was uncertain about something. The innocent look made him want to strip her down and see if her curves fit against him the way he suspected.

“You take the bed for now. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Confusion clouded her face, but she didn’t say anything.

“Why don’t we take some time to get to know each other before we take things to the next step?” He didn’t offer another room, that would look odd. But he didn’t have to sleep beside her. That might test the limits of his self-control.

She licked her lips, her tiny pink tongue peeking out between full lips that made him want to taste her, made him ache to see that lush mouth wrapped around his dick.

Damn, I need to get out of here. “Make yourself at home. There’s not much in the way of cell signal out here, but there are phones in nearly every room, feel free to use them. If you’ll get out your computer, I’ll set it up on wi-fi for you.” He was getting ready to make his escape, to lock himself away in his office, or his security room, the room where he did most of his work for the government.

“I don’t have one.” Her voice was soft as if it was a dark confession. Alex wasn’t sure which caught him more, her words or her tone.

“Don’t have what? A computer?”

“A computer, or a phone. I don’t have either.”

Where the hell had she come from that she didn’t have either a phone or a computer? Most people, even low income, at least had a phone.

“All right. I’ll take care of it. A phone isn’t as important out here, but we’ll get you one anyway. Mac or Windows? IPhone or Android?” He knew how to use both and could help with whichever she chose. But he had his own preferences.

“I-I don’t know.” She looked down at the floor and a deep red flush rose on her cheeks.

Damn, now he was intrigued.

“Do you know how to use a computer?” He wondered again where she’d come from.

“They taught some things at the agency, and I learned a few more on my own, but I was too embarrassed to admit I needed more.”

He let out a sigh, trying to think of somewhere she could be from in this country that didn’t have modern electronics as part of their daily life. Maybe that was the thing right there. Modern. He looked at her again, long sleeve shirt, collar buttoned to her neck. Long hair stretching down her back. But jeans. On the other hand, she’d said she’d been at the agency for six months maybe her clothes weren’t as indicative as they could be. Or maybe she’d gotten past the need to wear long skirts and cover as much as she could. Did they even have Amish in Texas? He didn’t know, but he knew how to find out.

“I’ll get you what you need, and I’ll show you how to use them when they come in. Does that sound all right?” If he was going to teach her to use them, she was getting his choice of devices. A PC and an Android.

“If you’re sure.” She still looked at the floor, as if expecting him to berate or slap her for being inadequate. He couldn’t take that. He closed the small distance between them and stood in front of her until she looked up at his face.

“I’m sure.” He waited a moment, until the doubt seemed to clear her face. “I’ve got a few things I need to take care of in the office. Ranch business. Feel free to make use of anything in the house and if you have any questions, ask me or Mrs. Barrett.”

“I can use the library?”

“Of course.”

“And the kitchen?”

“If you like. Dinner is at six, we feed the ranch hands at the long table off the family room, you don’t have to attend if you don’t want to, I rarely do. Also, it’s not your job to cook for them. I have a full staff to take care of that.”

“Then what is my job?” she asked with a slight crease between her brows, as if she wanted to frown but wasn’t sure if she should.

“To be here for me.” Unable to resist the temptation he leaned down and kissed the end of her nose. Surprise bloomed in her eyes and he turned away. He had to get away if he wasn’t going to find out if she tasted as sweet as she looked.

Downstairs in his office, Alex sat behind the desk and stared at one of the two screens arranged there. He’d been working on bookkeeping for the ranch, one of the jobs he hated the most, but it still had to be done, and he didn’t trust anyone else with the numbers. Well, no one but him and Dave. Dave was too busy fighting for freedom in some hell hole that Alex didn’t want to think about, for Alex to even consider asking his brother to deal with this. And there wasn’t time to wait. Feed and medications had to be ordered, paychecks had to be scheduled, not to mention food and supplies for the house and hands. It was a monthly chore that never ended.

With a sigh he decided it was time for a break. Instead of getting up and moving around, he turned to the other screen and pulled up a shopping site. Janie needed a few things and he might as well order them while he was ordering other things.

An hour later he’d ordered a computer, a phone and he was trying to decide what color kindle to get her. As much as she seemed to love reading he wanted her to be able to access any book she wanted. After ten minutes of mental debate he realized he just didn’t know her well enough yet to guess what color she liked best, though she’d probably be thrilled with anything, something drove him to get just the right one.

He pushed away from the desk, stood and stretched, then went looking for her.

Alex found his new bride on the second floor in the sitting room, well that’s what he used it for now, he assumed it had been a play room or a nursery at one time. It was an odd little room with no closet, or bathroom like all the bedrooms, only a window seat that looked out over the front driveway. Janie was curled up in that window seat now, leaning against the glass, her knees pulled up in front of her and a paperback resting on them as she read. She didn’t even notice his presence. He stood there a moment, watching her, wondering what she was reading that she was so absorbed in. Her nose scrunched and Alex found himself smiling at how cute she was. After a while he cleared his throat to let her know he was there. She jumped and slammed the book shut as she looked up, a guilty look on her face. He wondered what she was reading to make her look like that, and who’d gotten mad at her for whatever it was.

“Am I late for dinner?” Her wide eyes filled with worry.

“No. It’s still a couple hours away. I came looking for you, I have a question.”

“Oh? What?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Purple, dark rich purple.” Her voice held a note he didn’t quite recognize. Her face turned pink.

Alex wondered why liking purple was something to be embarrassed about. “Is purple a bad color?”

She frowned and looked confused.

“You turned pink, I thought you were embarrassed about liking purple.”

She was quiet for a moment, then when she spoke, her voice was soft and hesitant. “It’s not that purple is bad, it’s that I was raised to be modest and not stand out. Blacks and earth tones were encouraged. White was allowed for a wedding dress or baptism, that was all. At least for women. Men had different rules.”

“And you feel bad because you like purple?” He stepped closer and sat on the edge of the window seat so he faced her. He wasn’t trying to interrogate her, just understand her.

“Not bad exactly. I know they were wrong. But sometimes those old teachings, the things that were drummed into my brain, sneak out.”

“Like no bright colors.”

She nodded and kept her face tipped down toward her lap where her hands were folded around the book. Something about her demeanor made him think she’d been raised that women were to be submissive to men, always.

The idea made his blood boil.

While he might like to play games in the bedroom occasionally, — who didn't? — he hated to see women subjugated just to make men feel superior. He’d seen women raised like that before, and it took them a long time to overcome those basic lessons, if they ever did.

Unable to stand the way she wouldn’t meet his gaze, Alex reached out and gently lifted her chin.

“It’s okay. You can like whatever you like, and if you want to wear bright red and purple all the time, that’s okay too. You’re an adult and I won’t dictate what you do, as long as you honor our vows.” Her gaze raked his face and settled on his mouth.

Just knowing she was watching his lips made him want to kiss her. Why the hell did he find her so irresistible?

“I don’t know all the rules you were raised with, but they’re gone here. If you’d like to talk about it, I’m here, but I’m not going to push.” Not sure what else to say, and not wanting to pressure her by giving in to the urge to lean in and kiss her, he stood. “I hope you’re enjoying your book.” He didn’t wait for an answer, but turned and went back to his office, wondering again where the agency had found her.