Catherine's Awakening (10 page)

you as soon as possible.”

“And when did he say that?” she asked, her tone ever-so-slightly shrill. The man

winced, and she backed down immediately, offering him a conciliatory smile. “I mean,

that doesn’t sound like Wade.”

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“He told me himself less than ten minutes ago,” he said. “And Mrs. Jackson said

she saw you two courting in town. Are you sure I’m getting the full story?”

She nodded her head firmly, although she felt her cheeks heating up. She hated

blushing, it made her feel like a schoolgirl.

“I can assure you that Wade Masters and I will not be getting married,” she replied.

“I guess I can’t do more than offer you my word. Well, my word and a signed contract.”

The man looked relieved.

“Well, I guess that’s good enough for me,” he said. “You realize the position won’t

start until the fall, but you’ll have access to the house as soon as the current term ends.

We’ll write up the papers the next time you come into town.”

He stuck his hand out, taking hers and shaking it firmly. She’d never had a man do

that before, and it felt good. Like she’d accomplished something. And she had. A

contract for a job, all on her own. A job that came with a house in town.

She thanked him again and turned away, walking back toward the barn. She’d

expected to feel triumph, even a gloating sense of victory. Instead she just felt strangely

empty, and a little disappointed. She wandered into the barn where a trio of local

musicians warmed up. She knew all of them, exuberant cowboys who were always

ready to play for a party. They’d make the dancing fun. Maria would probably get her

wish and dance with Wade. Catherine supposed that she would too. The thought that it

might be the last time he held her made her breath catch.

Catherine looked up to see him across the dance floor, watching her. He nodded in

greeting, and she nodded back, almost formally. He walked over to her.

“I saw you talking to Reynolds,” he said. “Did they offer you the position?”

She nodded again, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

“Despite the fact that you tried to ruin it for me. That wasn’t very nice of you,

Wade.”

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“He asked me an honest question and I gave him an honest answer,” Wade replied,

his face unsmiling. “It’s a mistake, taking that job. You’ll regret it.”

“I don’t think that I will,” she replied, although a part of her regretted it already.

She didn’t like the idea of him alone at the ranch with Maria. She didn’t think she could

handle seeing them together, much less teaching their children. The thought made her

stomach hurt.

“I wish you hadn’t told him that,” she said. “I get a vote in this relationship too, you

know.”

“Since when do women get to vote?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe that’s the problem,” she snapped back, his tone riling her. “You men think

you should get to make all the decisions, and that’s just not fair.”

“I haven’t gotten ahead by playing fair,” he said, his gaze intense. He leaned

forward, whispering in her ear. “You’d better get ready, Cat. I’m going to do whatever

it takes.”

The warmth of his breath gave her a shiver, awareness running down her body, her

nipples tensing with desire for him. Dammit, why did he always have to do that?

“I think I’ve had quite enough of your company already,” she snapped, turning and

marching away from him. His laugh followed her, and she found herself wondering

why he always ended up sounding like the winner in their little encounters.

Just once, she’d like to be the one laughing while
 
he
 
retreated.

* * * * *

The music started at sunset, and Catherine had plenty of men vying for her hand.

Of course, every woman did, but she still felt special in her bright blue dress. More than

one man complimented her on her earbobs, but the sight of Wade squiring Maria

around canceled out most of the pleasure. The pretty girl’s face had flushed bright with

excitement, and as the cowboys grew more boisterous the competition for her company

grew.

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Joanna Wylde

Catherine drank cup after cup of sweet apple cider and by eleven that night she

decided that it must have been spiked with harder cider. They weren’t supposed to do

that, of course, but after the youngest children had been sent to bed it was hard to keep

the ranch hands under control. The men would keep carousing all night, although the

ladies would retire in a few hours. It helped save embarrassment the next morning.

She kept expecting Wade to come and ask her to dance, but he didn’t. He seemed

far too busy with Maria. Every time she looked up they were together, and it was

enough to make her forget caution when she went to the cider bowl. By the time she’d

had her fourth glass of the sticky drink, her head was spinning. She tripped over

someone’s foot, and suddenly Wade was there, taking her arm and helping her out the

door into the cool night air. Before she knew what he was doing, he’d started walking

her toward their campsite.

“I don’t want to go to the tent yet,” she told him, tugging at him to get free. “I’m

having fun dancing.”

“You’re having too much fun,” he said, pulling her along as if she weighed nothing.

“That cider smelled downright lethal. You don’t need any more.”

“But we didn’t get to dance yet!” she cried, finally managing to tug free of him.

Catherine overbalanced and fell down, laughing up at him in the moonlight. He stood,

hands on his hips, looking down at her and shaking his head.

“You just don’t know when to stop, do you, Cat?” he said, reaching down to pull

her to her feet. She rose unsteadily, lurching forward into his chest.

“Are you going to dance with me?” she demanded, licking her lips. “I danced with

half the men here, but none of them are as much fun as you, Wade. Let’s dance

together.”

He shook his head again, but took her into his arms and started swaying with the

music drifting faintly across the pasture. They weren’t the only couple seeking a little

privacy outside, but nobody around them was close enough for Catherine to identify, so

she figured she and Wade were safe enough from prying eyes. She let herself relax into

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Catherine’s Awakening

his arms, enjoying the play of his muscles beneath her fingers, her head resting against

his chest. Being with him just felt so right. Then she thought about how rarely she’d see

him once she moved to town. Not a fun thought at all, so she pushed it away, focusing

on how he smelled instead.

She loved Wade’s smell. Just a touch of sweat, a little smoke and a hint of whiskey.

No cider for him, she thought, giggling. And while he might have danced with Maria

all evening, he’d left her behind quickly enough when he’d thought Catherine needed

him.

“I don’t think Maria is the right woman for you,” she murmured. “You should stay

away from her.”

“Jealous?” he asked, a laugh rumbling through his chest. “Trust me, Catherine, the

only woman I’m interested in right now is you.”

He stopped swaying, pulling away from her and cupping her face, kissing her

deeply. Dear heavens, the man could kiss. Catherine drank him in, letting all the

wonderful feelings run through her body like water bubbling up from a spring. Every

nip of his lips, every time his tongue grazed her it felt like a new part of her body

caught on fire. And she knew just how it could end too, if she let it. She thought about

the way he’d touched her by the stream, the way he’d looked as he watched her bathe,

and she could hardly breathe. She’d never wanted anything in her life half as bad as she

wanted Wade Masters right at that moment.

He wanted her too. She could tell by the way he stiffened as she started to slide her

hands down his body, the way he groaned into her mouth as her fingers grazed the

hard length trying to push its way out of his pants. Oh, he definitely wanted her too.

“Let’s go back to the tent,” she whispered, pulling her mouth away from his.

He stilled and took a deep breath, as if battling with himself. Then the battle ended,

and he crushed her body against his possessively.

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Joanna Wylde

“The tent isn’t safe, Maria will be back soon,” he whispered. “José said they’d be

leaving right after us. Come to my bedroll. I’ve set it up away from everyone else, under

the wagon.”

She knew that probably wasn’t a good idea, but then his hands ran down her back,

cupping her ass and pulling her up against his erection. All she wanted was to feel

more of him, so she nodded her head.

He took her by the hand, pulling her across the pasture, dodging the scattered

campsites almost playfully. She giggled, and he whispered at her to be quiet. She bit

back her laughter. It was hard, though, she felt like a child skipping school. So naughty

and delicious, absolutely the wrong thing to do, but she’d never wanted anything more

in her life. And for once, he wasn’t blathering on about marrying her. Finally they

reached the campsite, which was dark and lonely. José and Maria were nowhere to be

seen, and neither was anyone else. Laughing, they crawled under the wagon together,

where Catherine had the sudden realization that she was wearing far too many clothes.

“Help me out of this thing,” she whispered to Wade. He obliged, his fingers flying

through the buttons holding her dress together with far too much ease. She shimmied

out of the dress with his help, followed quickly by the petticoats, which he tossed away

impatiently. Then she found herself laid out flat on his bedroll, his large figure looming

over her as his hips pinned hers to the ground.

“Wait a second, we need to get the corset off!” Catherine said, but he shushed her

with a deep kiss.

“I can’t wait any longer,” he whispered, pulling away to drop kisses down her neck

and across the generous swell of her breasts. “And I like seeing you this way. I’ll help

you take it off later, I promise.”

He reached down beneath her chemise and slipped his hands up her pantalets,

pulling at them and drawing them down her legs. Then his hand slid between her

thighs and the entire world went just a little bit hazy. She’d never felt anything half so

good as Wade’s fingers against her clit, and when he popped one breast up and out of

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Catherine’s Awakening

her corset to suckle, she practically fainted. His mouth drew her nipple in deep, sucking

hard like he planned to consume her on the spot. She hoped he would—every time his

mouth tugged at her, thousands of tingles shot through her limbs and center. The

combination of that with his fingers below was almost enough to push her over the

edge.

He pulled away, and for one horrible moment Catherine was terrified he’d quit on

her again. But he only reached down between them to open the fly of his pants, freeing

his enormous erection. Then he knelt between her legs again, his hot length pressed

against her wet opening, and she shuddered with longing and need.

Finally, after all the teasing, she was about to discover what it felt like to be Wade

Master’s possession.