Catherine's Awakening (8 page)

bringing fantasies of being a fancy lady back East, the kind of woman who wore silks

and satins and had a maid to do all the hard work.

“Mmmmm…” she murmured, rubbing the fragrant soap into her hair. She worked

up a good lather, then ducked under the water to rinse it off. When she rose back up,

she knelt up in the tub, rubbing the soap around her breasts. The cool spring air made

her nipples stand up hard, but she didn’t shiver. It felt good. She rubbed the tiny peaks,

enjoyed the tingles that ran through her body, and then opened her eyes to look at

Wade.

The expression on his face more than satisfied.

His eyes had gone dark, the hand resting on his knee clenched so hard that his

knuckles turned white.

“Like what you see?” she asked. He nodded his head slowly, not bothering to

respond with words. She let her hands trail down across her stomach, the soap

smoothing her way until she reached the cleft between her legs. She’d touched herself

before, of course. Alone in her bed at night.

Never with another person present.

44

Catherine’s Awakening

The air hung thick between them as she slid her fingers into the thatch of hair,

rubbing it sensuously and burrowing her fingers down to the little nubbin of her clit.

She gasped as her fingers ran across it the first time, the delicious slide sending desire

running through her body. Her nipples grew hard, and she tilted her head to one side.

Holding it up straight just seemed like too much work.

“Open your eyes,” Wade said, his voice grating. “Look at me.”

She obeyed, unable to resist. His gaze bore into hers, dark with need and a desire

terrifying in its depth. He was like a giant cat, a predator poised to leap on its prey, yet

he held himself back with a visible effort.

Still holding her eyes, he unbuttoned his shirt, each button revealing more of his

hard, bronzed chest. He must work without his shirt sometimes, she thought, wishing

she could be there to see it. As the fabric fell open, he ran his fingers across his chest,

rubbing against his tiny nipples. Catherine reached up with one hand and touched her

own breasts, mirroring him. His low groan carried across the kitchen, the need in his

voice raw and filled with pain.

“Show me more,” she whispered, desire overwhelming common sense. “I want to

see all of you.”

Wade responded by opening the fly of his Levi’s and slowly pulling out his

enormous, erect penis. The head glistened, hard and red, and a tiny pearl of moisture

gleamed at her in the light of the lantern. Without thinking, Catherine licked her lips

and rubbed between her legs again, sagging as little as her knees threatened to give out.

She wanted that shaft in her, thrusting hard into her softness. She wanted him to fill her

up and shoot her with his hot seed, and she wanted him to do it now.

Instead she watched as he gripped his rod with one hand, sliding it slowly and

steadily up and down the length as he watched her. After a few strokes it grew

impossibly bigger. Catherine started caressing herself again, every slip of her fingers

near-painful with the intensity of the sensation. Pleasure mixed with need rippled

through her body, her nipples hard as rocks. They felt connected to her clit with an

45

Thank you for evaluating PDF to ePub Converter.

To get full version, you need to purchase the software from:
http://www.pdf-epub-converter.com/convert-to-epub-purchase.html

Joanna Wylde

invisible string that pulled harder with every movement, until she felt tight and on the

verge of breaking.

Oh heavens, what had she gotten herself into?

Wade rubbed his cock up and down, each time his fingers pulling and squeezing

harder. Looking at her hurt him, caused him actual, physical pain—he wanted to fuck

her that badly. He wanted to rise out of his chair, pull her out of the tub and throw her

across the table. He’d screw her until she screamed, until every muscle in her body was

clamped tight around him, and push his seed so far into her body that she’d never

forget his claim on her.

Instead, he simply watched, touching himself and pretending it was her hand on

him, even as she slid her fingers in and out of the hot slit he should own. He already

knew how good she tasted, how warm her juices were for him. But this—watching Cat

stroke herself with her own fingers—that was something he’d never dreamed he’d get

to see. Her breath came quickly now, her breasts heaving as her fingers flew faster and

faster. He let his own hand copy hers, pulling so hard on his cock it would have hurt if

he wasn’t so damn close to exploding. His gaze held hers, and as her eyes darkened he

felt his own responding. He’d never needed a woman more, never imagined one

woman could be so desirable. The pounding of his pulse, the heat of his cock, the

pressure building in his loins—all of it was completely centered on her. He’d never

wanted a woman this much, not even as a teenage boy.

She started to gasp a little, mewling cries that sent shivers down his spine. She dug

her fingers in harder and then she came, still watching him, her body convulsing as she

sank to her knees in the water. Wade pulled his cock hard, allowing his own climax to

wash over him. He saw her brows rise as the white fluid of his seed flew out of his cock,

leaping for her. His hips bucked, and he gave a low groan. Then it was over, and he

tucked his penis back into his pants slowly and deliberately.

46

Catherine’s Awakening

He’d meant to confront her, to pressure her again about marriage. He hadn’t

expected this, the vulnerability he felt after exposing himself to her. He stood up

abruptly, fastened his pants and tossed the length of toweling toward her. Then he

grabbed a rag and cleaned up the mess he’d made, stalking out of the room without a

word.

Catherine sat back in the cooling tub, dazed and stunned. Her limbs felt limp and

flaccid after her powerful arousal, and she couldn’t imagine how she’d ever face him

again. The moment had been out of time, surreal and strange, and she hadn’t felt any of

the shame or embarrassment she knew she should. Up until now it had been a sort of

game for her—she wanted Wade, but she didn’t
 
really
 
want him. Not forever. But what

they’d just experienced together, she’d never dreamed it could be like that. What would

real sex be like with him? How would it feel to have those intense eyes following her

every day?

What would it feel like to have a little boy look up at her with Wade’s green gaze?

Catherine surged up and out of the tub, splashing water on the kitchen floor. She

couldn’t let herself think anymore. She needed to remember her goals.

To be independent. To be a teacher.

To never rely on a man again.

47

Joanna Wylde

Chapter Five

Wade left unexpectedly to check on the stock early the next morning, and Catherine

didn’t see again him for three days. To her surprise, she enjoyed having Maria around

to help. The girl worked hard, she liked to laugh and her English was good enough that

they could really talk.

Unfortunately, the only person Maria wanted to talk about was Wade.

“
 
Señor
 
Masters is very handsome,” she said as they hung wet laundry up behind

the house. “And he isn’t courting anyone, is he?”

“Not that I know of,” Catherine replied, trying to keep her tone light. She didn’t

have a right to be jealous, she reminded herself. After all,
 
she
 
didn’t want to marry him.

“I think he likes me, I saw him looking at me,” Maria said, blushing faintly. “José

says he’s a good man, and that he’s going to be very important someday. José says that

Señor
 
Masters is the best boss he’s ever had, and that he wants to ride for this brand

forever. Do you think
 
Señor
 
Masters is happy with the work I’m doing? Do you think

he’ll want to dance with me on Saturday night at the party?”

Catherine shook her head, wishing the girl would be quiet. Maria misunderstood

her gesture, and tears started to well up in her eyes.

“Is it because I’m Mexican?” she asked, her voice soft and hurt. “I’m a good girl,

señora
, and my family has lived here for six generations. Do you really think he only

likes American girls?”

“Of course not,” Catherine said, feeling even worse. “I wasn’t shaking my head at

you, I was thinking about something else.”

“So you think he likes me?” Maria asked, her face lighting up. “I have a special

dress I want to wear to the dance. It’s very pretty—he’ll want to dance with me, I’m

sure of it!”

48

Catherine’s Awakening

She started humming a happy tune, gliding through the hanging sheets with the

exuberance of the very young. Catherine stood, bemused, wondering how the

conversation had gone so many places so quickly.

Maria was a fine girl, she thought. And she knew for a fact that Wade wouldn’t

hold her nationality against her. Lots of cattlemen married Mexican women, and she

supposed the young woman would be good for him. She was sweet, pretty,

hardworking and she knew everything there was to know about living on the range.

Just the thought of them together made Catherine feel sick to her stomach.

She didn’t want Wade with another woman—she wanted him for herself.

The thought had been creeping up on her at odd moments lately. The man was

insidious, and while she hadn’t seen him since the night in the kitchen, he filled her

imagination. She wanted him to come home, she wanted to see him and smell him and

touch him. And she definitely wanted to sleep with him. Her body ached with need

every day. And the most tempting, horrible part of it was that she knew she could have

him, have all of him, if she could just bring herself to trust him.

But what kind of fool stuck her head into the same noose twice?

* * * * *

Wade rode up to the barn, dead tired from ranging the farthest bounds of the ranch,

but not even exhaustion dented his desire to see Cat again. He’d wanted to get some

distance between them, to try to convince himself that he didn’t need her. She was

slipping away from him, and if she took the teaching job it would be so much harder to

court her. He wouldn’t give up, he wasn’t a quitter. But every step she took toward

town would make it that much more difficult to win her over.

“
 
Señor
 
Masters!” Maria waved vigorously at him from the porch as he walked

toward the house. “We’re so happy that you’re back. Tomorrow night is the dance in

town—José said everyone will be going. Will you come with us?”

49

Joanna Wylde

Her bright smile cheered him. Then he realized she waited for his answer with

more than casual interest. Well, shit, that was the last thing he needed, some little girl

with a crush on him. He should have gotten an old lady to help Cat, he thought dourly.

But José had been lonely for his family, and she was a good girl. She’d probably end up

marrying one of the ranch hands, and before long he’d have to build them a house. That

would be perfect—he liked the idea of stable, family men riding for the brand.

“I’ll be at the dance,” he said, stepping up onto the porch. “But right now I could