Catherine's Awakening (6 page)

Wade felt right.

His hands grew more urgent, and his penis got harder the longer she sucked. Then

Catherine had a brilliant idea. Wade wanted to come, she knew enough about men to

understand that. And she wanted him to make love to her. Maybe all he needed was the

proper motivation.

Pulling free of his hands, she released him with a pop and sat up next to him. His

eyes flew open and he groaned, his penis standing so straight and hard it could have

been a fence post.

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“I think I’m done,” she said lightly, looking out over the pond. “That was fun, but I

don’t want to take advantage of you. You made it very clear that you wouldn’t have sex

with me unless we’re married, and I don’t want to cross that line.”

Wade’s moan of frustration was everything she’d hoped it would be, and she

couldn’t keep the smile off her face as he lunged toward her. He tackled her, flinging

her back onto the grass and pushing her hands up above her head. He held them there,

looming over her, his face dark with frustration. For a moment she felt fear, but then her

mind registered that this was Wade, not Ryan, and she didn’t need to be afraid.

At least, that’s what her head told her. Catherine’s body had other ideas. Her heart

thundered in her chest, her entire being poised to fight or run.

“You little tease,” he ground out, eyes flashing at her. “I’ll bet you have no idea

how dangerous it is to do that to a man. That’s a good way to get yourself raped.”

She licked her lips, took a deep breath and smiled at him. Time to be bold, not

chicken.

“It’s not rape if the woman is willing, Wade,” she said. He groaned and fell on her,

kissing her wildly, pushing a knee between her legs and thrusting his raging penis

against her. She lost all sense of time and reality, everything in her body focused on his

touch, so that she hardly noticed when his hands let go of hers. He reached down to her

skirt, pulling the heavy fabric of her dress and petticoats up. Then his fingers reached

between her legs, sliding into her pantalets and plunging into the moist opening hidden

there.

“Dear heavens,” she moaned, eyes closing as his clever fingers found the spot she’d

only ever explored in the darkness of her room at night. Wicked, wicked man… He

flicked it, running his fingers against it over and over until all the blood in her body

seemed to rush down toward him and her head felt light.

Wade pulled away and she whimpered in protest, but he only scooted down the

blanket, dropping his head down to that spot he’d touched earlier. His tongue was like

hot, white fire against her nubbin, wiggling and fluttering until her heart pounded in

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her ears. She felt a terrible tension growing stronger and stronger deep inside, and

every breath caught in her throat. Catherine strained up toward Wade, needing

something from him that was just out of reach. He seemed to sense her distress, giving

a low, mocking chuckle against her flesh that vibrated through her skin all the way

down to the nerves.

She shuddered, moaning and gasping, and then he pulled away from her.

“What do you want, Catherine?”

She had trouble understanding him at first, her need overwhelming everything else.

But then he asked again, and she heard the gloating triumph in his voice.

“I need you to keep touching me,” she whispered. “Dammit, Wade, I need you to

finish it.”

He shook his head, making little “tsk-tsk” noises, then raised himself to his feet and

turned away from her, straightening his pants.

“Do you want to marry me, Cat?” he asked, the question tossed over his shoulder.

“I’m not looking for a mistress, remember?”

She threw her skirts down, flushing deeply, hating him so much in that moment

that she’d have shot him dead if she had a gun. Her entire body felt restless, itchy with

desire. It was all she could to keep herself from walking over and rubbing against him

like a barn cat in heat.

“Doesn’t feel so good, does it?” he asked, his tone strained. She didn’t answer,

getting up and gathering the picnic supplies as quickly as she could. Then she threw

them in the back of the wagon and pulled herself up onto the seat. She considered

grabbing the reins and leaving without him, but he was too quick for her, reaching up

and snatching them before she had the chance. Then he swung up beside her and

clucked at the horses to go.

“You might want to pull some of that grass out of your hair,” he said shortly.

“Otherwise everyone you see will know exactly what we were doing.”

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Catherine felt her face grow hot, and jammed her bonnet up and over her head. She

tied the strings tightly, refusing to acknowledge him.

Her little game with Wade hadn’t turned out like she’d planned at all.

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Chapter Four

“Mrs. Masters spoke to me about the teaching position,” George Reynolds

mentioned to Wade as both men leaned against the counter in the post office. Wade

grunted.

“She’s a better candidate than we’d hoped for, that’s the truth,” Reynolds

continued. “But I can’t help but wonder if she’d last. She’s never lived on her own

before. You think she’s up to the challenge? I suppose she could always board with one

of the families, but she said the house was one of the greatest attractions for her. What

do you think?”

Wade stayed silent for a long moment, choosing his words carefully before he

spoke.

“She’s young and pretty,” he said. “Do you really think she’d last all term without

getting married? It’s been a full year since Ryan died.”

Reynolds gave him an assessing look.

“Anyone courting her?” he asked.

“Not my place to say,” Wade replied. “We’d sure hate to lose her out on the ranch,

though.”

“You trying to tell me something?” Reynolds asked. “I know you’re not on the

board, but you give enough support to have a say in the decision. We couldn’t have

built the school without your family’s help.”

Wade opened his mouth to speak, then closed it as Catherine walked into the post

office, heels clicking on the polished wood floor. She held a largish bundle wrapped in

brown paper. Fabric for a dress?

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“I’m finished at the store,” Catherine said brightly, smiling as she saw Reynolds

standing next to him. “Why, Mr. Reynolds, I was hoping to run into you today! I

wanted to ask you if the board has made a decision about the teaching position yet.”

“I was just discussing it with Mr. Masters,” he said, and his expression grew

puzzled. “Mrs. Masters, did you fall down?”

She shook her head, offering him a questioning look.

“No, why do you ask?”

“You have grass all over your skirt,” he replied.

“I told her to be careful where she sat when we stopped for lunch,” Wade

interjected, keeping his voice utterly bland. “But she’s so impetuous. I guess she rolled

right off the blanket. You know how women are.”

Reynolds looked startled, and Wade had to bite back a smile. Catherine’s eyes spat

fire, but she kept her smile firmly in place.

“We stopped for lunch at the swimming hole after visiting with the Watsons,” she

said. “I guess I wasn’t as careful as I should have been. The picnic blanket wasn’t very

large, and I like to give my brother-in-law plenty of space when he eats. You know how

cowboys are, you don’t want to get between them and their food.”

She laughed and Reynolds joined her.

“To be honest, we haven’t made a formal decision about the job yet, Mrs. Masters,”

he said. “There’s some concern that you’ll get married before the term ends. You do

realize there’s a substantial pay penalty if that happens?”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” she said. “I have no intention of

marrying, Mr. Reynolds. I very much like the idea of being self-sufficient. That’s why

I’m so interested in the house.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure you’d do a wonderful job,” he said, nodding and smiling at her.

Wade had to keep himself from grinding his teeth—she had every man who met her

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crawling at her feet and she didn’t even realize it. Half the town would be all over her

the moment she moved into that house.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea for a woman to live alone like that?” he asked

Reynolds, ignoring the daggers she shot at him with her eyes. “When we built the

house, it was with the understanding that there would be a schoolmaster—a man—

living there. Texas is a dangerous place for a woman alone. Not only that, nobody’s

lived there for several years now. Is it even habitable?”

Reynolds frowned, and shook his head.

“I don’t think it’s in that bad a shape,” he said. “But you’re right about a woman

living alone. Perhaps I should talk to the board about it.”

“Surely it’s safe,” Catherine said, giving him a winsome smile. “It’s in the heart of

town, not far from where you live, Mr. Reynolds. I can’t imagine any woman would feel

unsafe there. In fact, I believe I’m probably in more danger out at the ranch. Sometimes

the men are gone for weeks at a time, and I’m left to fend for myself.”

Wade narrowed his eyes at her. He’d never left her alone for weeks. There were

always ranch hands around, and his father.

“I think you’re exaggerating,” he said. “You probably have no idea how unsettled

this area still is.”

“I know I lived here all through the war,” she said. “You men were gone, and the

women were left to keep the town running. It didn’t dry up and blow away, now did

it?”

He opened his mouth to retort, but Reynolds stepped between them, looking

slightly alarmed.

“I don’t think we need to settle this here and now,” he said, his voice sounding a

little strained. “Mrs. Masters, I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of running your own

household. We’ll have to discuss the situation at the board meeting. Will you be

attending the spring social and dance next week?”

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“Of course,” she said, looking quickly to Wade. “That is, unless the countryside is

too dangerous for me to travel?” She arched one delicate brow at him, challenging him.

“We’ll be there,” Wade said, his voice gruff. Somehow he felt like he was the loser

in this little exchange, although he wasn’t quite sure how or why.

“Wonderful, I’ll let you know then,” Reynolds said. “Good day to both of you.”

He tipped his hat and left. Catherine looked up at Wade, her eyes cold and hard.

“What did you say to him before I got here?” she asked. He took her arm and

started walking her out of the office. For a moment it seemed like she might fight him,

but then she realized that they still had an audience, albeit a small one. She let him walk

her back toward the wagon before she started speaking again.

“I swear to God, Wade, if you told him something to keep him from hiring me, I’ll

make you wish you were never born!”

“Sometimes you make me wish that already,” he replied, feeling the blood start to

pound in his head. “So I guess that’s sort of an empty threat. For your information, the

only thing I told him was that we’d miss you out on the ranch. Oh, and that I thought

you might not make it through the term without getting married.”