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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Joanna Wylde
“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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Catherine’s Awakening
“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.
57
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
58
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.
59
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.