Catherine's Awakening (11 page)

He took her mouth for one last, deep kiss, and started to slide into her body slowly

and steadily. Every inch was a struggle, her tight, wet opening yielding only when he

pushed hard. He pulled his mouth from hers, dropping his head down beside her,

utterly focused on penetrating her. Each tiny motion pulled her tighter, and she knew

he would have hurt her if she hadn’t been so aroused. Fortunately, Catherine had never

been more ready to take a man in her life. After what seemed like hours, he bottomed

out. They lay together for long seconds, panting, enjoying the tight pressure of their

joined flesh.

“I love you, Cat,” Wade whispered. “I’ve never wanted a woman more in my life,

and I can’t imagine wanting anyone beside you.”

Catherine smiled up at him, and once again the first thing in her mind popped out

of her mouth.

“Not even Maria? She’s really beautiful, and she’s crazy about you, Wade.”

“You are jealous!” he crowed triumphantly. Then his face softened. “She’s just a

little girl, and I want a woman. She doesn’t come close to you in any way.”

Catherine laughed with pure pleasure, and Wade gasped as her flesh tightened

around him.

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“Honey, you have no idea how good that feels,” he said, his voice tight with strain.

“But if you don’t settle down, this is going to end a little faster than I’d planned.”

With that, he pulled out of her almost all the way, only to push back in hard and

fast. The stroke caught her clit and she gave a tiny scream, pleasure ripping through her

so strongly it was almost painful. Wade thrust again, just as hard, the tension in her

body winding tighter than she’d thought possible. Again and again he took her, until

every breath was a strain and every thrust pushed her right to the edge of something

she could only begin to imagine.

Ryan had never done this to her, not even close, and what she’d experienced in the

tub was just a pale shadow of the cliff’s edge of pain and desire she felt at that moment.

Catherine couldn’t get enough air, and her heart pounded in her ears as the corset

constricted her upper body. The world started spinning around her, and she couldn’t

tell if it was from desire, the lack of breath or the incredible, gut-wrenching pleasure of

him plowing her hard under the wagon. Whatever it was, it felt better than anything

she’d ever dreamed of, and her hands grasped his body spasmodically, willing him to

finish it off before she died of need.

Wade moved faster, his body pounding hers into the ground, every thrust pushing

her toward the inevitable explosion of lust and desire. Each penetration slammed him

down across her clit, until she saw stars even though her eyes were closed. Then it hit

her. Hard. Explosions of pleasure raced through every nerve in her body, her muscles

clutching him tight as he gasped and muttered her name. Wade came too, hot waves of

seed hitting her, hips spasming as he groaned into her ear. He collapsed next to her, his

arms holding her protectively.

“Wade, that was incredible,” she murmured, dropping one arm across her eyes. “I

had no idea sex could be that good.”

“It sure as hell hasn’t ever been that good before,” he replied, rolling his head over

to kiss her hair gently. “I knew it would be beautiful between us, but that surprised me.

This is really special, Cat. Do you understand that?”

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She nodded her head—she really did understand. None of her married friends had

experienced this, not unless they were better at keeping secrets than she believed. She

wanted him again already, wanted to feel his body over hers every night, to look

forward to this kind of closeness whenever she saw him. But first she needed to get rid

of her damn corset. She rolled over onto her stomach, presenting the laces to him.

“Get this thing off me,” she whispered. “I don’t care how much you like to look at

it, I need to breathe.”

He gave another of those low chuckles, then reached over and started pulling at the

laces. They were tight, but he managed to unravel them within a few moments, and she

eased the constricting garment off over her head, tossing it away without thought. The

chill of the spring air hit her for the first time, and she shivered. Wade crawled over her,

warming her with his body, and she sank down into the bedroll on her stomach,

enjoying the weight of him on her back. They lay like that for several minutes until she

noticed his erection rising against her ass.

“You ready for more?” she asked, wiggling her butt against him.

“Hell yes,” he muttered, kissing along the back of her neck. Little tingles ran

through her each time his lips grazed her skin. She started to roll over, wanting more of

him, but he held her steady.

“No, let’s try something different this time,” he murmured. “Just follow my lead.”

She nodded her head, and when he slipped one hand under her stomach and lifted

her to her knees, it felt strangely familiar. Then she remembered standing in front of

him in the barn, legs spread as he thrust against her from behind. It was kind of like

that. She wiggled her butt again, gratified to hear him groaning softly.

Catherine still wore her chemise, but he bunched the soft fabric up around her

waist quickly enough, spreading her legs with his knees and thrusting into her without

warning. She braced herself with her hands, pushing back at him, and had the

satisfaction of feeling him in places she’d never felt before. This new angle had definite

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possibilities… It took all she had not to fall down under the weight of his possession,

but she held herself up, determined to take him just as her mare had taken his stallion.

Wade’s fingers slid down her stomach, finding the nub of her clit and rubbing it

roughly in time with his thrusts. It should have hurt, but the little bit of pain only

heightened the sensations she felt as he plowed her from behind. Her breath came faster

as the tension built deep within. Every part of her wanted him to move faster, to rub

harder, to give her another of those incredible orgasms that burst her world apart into a

million pieces.

Wade didn’t disappoint her.

His motions roughened, and she suddenly flew apart with a pleasure she couldn’t

describe. Every muscle in her body stiffened, then released suddenly as she collapsed

beneath him. He kept her hips held high, thrusting into her four more times before he

released his seed. They both collapsed, panting, and he pulled the blanket up and over

them.

Catherine felt exhausted, completely worn out from their efforts. She snuggled into

his hard, warm form, startled to realize he still wore almost all of his clothing. She

wanted him naked beside her, but she didn’t have the energy to do anything about it.

Instead she took a deep breath, inhaling his scent, and fell asleep.

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Chapter Six

“Holy God preserve us!” a woman shrieked in the early morning chill. “I cannot

believe my eyes. Catherine Masters, you explain yourself this minute!”

Catherine’s eyes flew open, and she clutched the blankets against her body,

blinking blearily, trying to figure out what was happening. Wade lay beside her, a

broad smile on his face. The bottom of the wagon rose above her.

“We have company, sugar,” he said, dropping a kiss on her nose. “Better get

yourself dressed.”

He rolled out from underneath the wagon, his voice immediately conciliatory and

filled with concern.

“Now, Mrs. Jackson, there’s no need to get all worked up,” he said. “Mrs. Masters

and I are practically engaged. We’ll just move the wedding up. It won’t be the first time

in this town a couple’s jumped the gun.”

Catherine peered out from under the wagon, realizing she wore only her shift and

stockings. To her utter horror, Cordelia Jackson stood in the center of their campsite,

shaking Catherine’s forgotten corset in outrage. Beyond her hovered a small crowd of

onlookers. On the ground just past the wagon lay Catherine’s new blue dress, flanked

by her bedraggled petticoats.

She ducked back under the wagon, thinking frantically. She’d fallen asleep with

Wade, right in the middle of a pasture filled with her camping neighbors. And she’d left

her clothing out on the ground like a damn flag to get their attention. Her eyes

narrowed.

Wade.

She’d played perfectly into his hands. She wanted to hit him, to blame him, but as

she ran though the blurred memories of last night, she couldn’t quite blame him for

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everything. The only thing he’d done wrong was letting her stay with him after she fell

asleep. But should she really fault him for that? The whole thing had been her idea,

after all.

Then she heard him speaking again, his strong voice cutting through the babble of

the crowd.

“I know you’re all upset to see this, but you know how courting couples are. It’s not

like I seduced an innocent girl. Catherine is a respectable widow and I have every

intention of marrying her. Soon.”

“You’re darned right it will be soon,” a man said, voice dripping with disapproval.

“I can’t believe we almost hired her to be our teacher. A woman of such questionable

morals—”

“Now you just shut your mouth,” John Masters’ voice rang out across the campsite.

Catherine slid deeper into the blankets, wishing desperately she could simply cease to

exist. Not only had she slept with Wade, everyone knew it.
 
Everyone.
 
The crowd out

there wouldn’t keep their mouths shut, and more people joined them every moment,

eager to see the show. Then the full magnitude of the situation hit her.

She was never going to have her little house in town.
 
Never.
 
They couldn’t give her

the teaching job, not after a spectacle like this.

“Catherine and Wade will be married as soon as possible,” John was saying. “In

fact, we might as well have the wedding this afternoon. We’ll have another party

tonight to celebrate. I’m sure nobody will have a problem with that?”

There were murmurs, but for the most part the crowd seemed appeased. Everyone

liked the idea of another party, and there were precious few excuses for ranchers and

their families to get together and visit. After a few more moments of muttering, John’s

voice rose again, shooing people back to their own campsites. Wade dropped back

down under the wagon.

“Are you all right?” he asked, concern written all over his face. “It’s not as bad as it

sounded, everything will be fine.”

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“It will
 
not
 
be fine,” Catherine moaned. “Why didn’t you wake me up and make me

move?”

He just gave her a look and didn’t answer.

“You trapped me!”

“If I remember correctly, you jumped me, not the other way around,” he said. “You

took advantage of me, and now that you’ve gotten caught you don’t want to face the

consequences. Usually the man’s in that fix, Cat, but I guess it works both ways. You

made your bed…”

She snorted, utterly disgusted with him. Well, with herself, really. He was right, the

whole thing really had been her idea. And that
 
really
 
rankled her.