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Without blinking.

She sighed into her pillow. The guest bed—one of many, she was sure—was like lying on a cloud. Better than any bed she'd ever slept on in her whole life. She couldn't believe that Mark was willing to pay for everything as soon as she walked through the door. Was he insane?

Or was she insane for not accepting?

That was life-changing money. Life-saving.

But Jennifer had refused because she knew she could afford to wait. Arabelle's treatments would be covered for the next two weeks, so Jennifer had time to adjust to being around Mark and sense if he had any ulterior motives.

She sighed again. Of course he did, she was going to be his wife. If they were going to spend their lives together, he would want her to be happy. It probably wasn't any more complicated than that.

Still, Jennifer hadn't grown up with a lot of money. Her parents had always lived a frugal life. Even when she moved from Oregon to Colorado to work at the Mesa Verde national park, it wasn't like she was rolling in money. More like living a dream as carefully as possible.

Mark's mansion was an enormous change. Like her whole world had been flipped upside down, and now she was floundering to find something real to grab hold to.

And the only real thing left was Mark. Already he was an anchor ... and she wanted him in more ways than one. Just one look at him filled her mind and body with such filthy thoughts she shocked herself: part of her had wanted him to take her the moment she walked through that front door.

While they were still perfect strangers ... she wanted that primal attraction that bounced between them to take control. Even after their initial encounter, and after that call from her mom had her all nervous and worried, she still wanted him to throw her against the wall and have his way with her.

But, Mark was a perfect gentleman. He wasn't going to do that unless she told him exactly what she wanted—though she saw in his body language that he wanted the same thing as she did.

Yeah, when it came to the marriage part of the equation of becoming a mail order bride, Jennifer was cautiously optimistic. She liked Mark, his life was just going to be an adjustment.

And his wealth could save her mom's life.

But something just seemed so wrong about even considering taking that much money as soon as she walked through the door. No amount of merry-go-rounding in her head was going to change that fact.

The only thing thatmightconvince her to trust that Mark wasn't going to turn around and ask her for something she couldn't give in return was by getting to know him better.

Jennifer imagined his body pressed against hers, his muscular chest and arms wrapping around her, a solid, stable rock against the chaos of the world.

After an hour of tossing and turning in bed, Jennifer gave up on trying to nap. She got up and straightened her clothes and hair, making herself look presentable. At least lying down and closing her eyes for a bit did ease some of the exhausted pounding behind her eyes. She was still tired, but no more than usual.

With a nod of determination, she ventured through the house in search of Mark. She admired the hand-carved wooden walls and support beams, depicting intricate wolves, birds, and other forest creatures. Where the walls themselves weren't painted or carved, paintings of the wilderness—as if outside wasn't quite enough—hung wherever Jennifer looked.

In fact, she noticed that there was nothing left inside the house to remind her of the city of all. Just walking these halls brought her a similar peace as when she was outside in the forest, or when she'd been giving tours and exploring the vast park of Mesa Verde.

The stairs from the second floor deposited her at the front entrance, where Mark was pulling on a coat. She froze on the bottom step when he spotted her.

He smiled broad and warm. "Had a good rest?

"Not so well that I won't sleep better tonight," she said.

"Good answer." He finished putting on his coat. "I'm about to go for a walk. Would you like to join me?"

"Of course. I've been interested in seeing what exactly you consider the 'grounds' since you mentioned them."

He held out a hand. "Come, let me show you."

His hand wasn't just an invitation to go on a walk, but an invitation into his life. But Jennifer had already accepted that invitation when she decided to become a mail order bride. Now it was her curiosity that had her finish the final step and take his hand.

When her fingers touched his, their eyes met. His were dark green like moss-covered emeralds, and whenever his face moved, he revealed more hidden depths within them. They were enough to swallow her whole if she wasn't careful ... and Jennifer wasn't exactly in a careful mood.

His hand was warm when he curled it around hers and guided her outside. That point of contact between them sent waves of heat through Jennifer with each step they took, regardless of the chill they faced when they stepped onto the front stairs. With Mark holding her, she would never be cold again.

"You won't be able to see it from here," Mark said and pointed out into the trees, "but there are three layers of tree walls. Instead of building fences, the forest becomes naturally thicker and provides a natural barrier."

Jennifer stared out into the vast trees, and though far in the distance it seemed likemaybeshe could see what he meant, there were just too many trees between here and there.