“That’s fifty dollars!” she said. “You’re crazy. I didn’t know you had this kind of
money lying around.”
“We didn’t trade our gold for Confederate script during the war,” John said,
looking a little sheepish. “The family actually came through all right, although we don’t
advertise that. No reason to give thieves any reason to come poking around here. I
buried it myself out on the range, and only the boys knew where to find it. But you’ve
earned your share, and that’s enough to give you some spending money. Or save it for
something special, girl. You’ve taken good care of us, and we appreciate it.”
“Thank you,” she said, meaning it. She’d never had that much cash of her own in
her life. Neither had her parents, at least not that she knew of. Her father had been a
hardworking cowboy, and while they always had enough to eat, there was never any
extra.
“I’m sorry we didn’t give it to you earlier,” Wade said. “But you need to
understand, as long as you’re part of our family, what we have is yours, Catherine. You
don’t have to worry about money. I just assumed you knew that. Now are you up for a
trip to town?”
She nodded her head, still feeling a bit stunned. Back in the kitchen she wrapped
the gold eagles in a bit of cloth, then stuck them in her pocket. She wasn’t quite sure
what to do with them, but she figured she should put them away for now. No reason to
make any decisions just yet.
She had their lunch packed and ready by the time Wade pulled around to the
kitchen in the platform wagon. She thought of the chores she should be doing today,
but shrugged her shoulders. They’d still be there tomorrow, and a trip to town in the
middle of the week was a treat. She often made it in on Sundays, but not always.
Everything depended on the weather and the needs of the stock. Wade gave her a hand
up and they set off.
26
Catherine’s Awakening
In the wrong direction.
“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Is this some kind of trick?”
He gave her a hurt expression, patently false.
“Of course not,” he said. “But I promised George Watson I’d stop by his place and
look at a horse.”
“That’s six miles out of the way,” she snapped. “Wouldn’t it be faster and easier to
ride over some other time?”
“I’m already losing a day to go after supplies,” he said. “Makes sense to combine
the trips.”
“We won’t get to town until this afternoon,” she replied. “I think you planned this.”
He shot her an unrepentant grin.
“Of course I did,” he replied. “I don’t get a lot of time just with you. Figured this
was as good a day as any to grab some more.”
She snorted, and turned her head away from him. He’d gotten her, no question of
that. A trip to town was too good to pass up, and he’d been so nice this morning she’d
figured he was feeling guilty about last night. Stupid thing, to imagine Wade Masters
capable of shame…
But after twenty minutes her foul mood dissolved. The sun was shining, and while
the spring air was still a little brisk, all around her birds sang and tiny flowers bloomed.
She loved springtime—especially since the end of the war. They’d all lived in fear for so
long, and now it lay behind them. She wasn’t happy that Texas had been defeated, but
she was glad to be finished with the bloodshed. Let other people be bitter—there were
too many opportunities ahead of her. After a while she broke the silence.
“It was a dirty trick to lie to me about this trip,” she said. “Especially since I would
have come, anyway. I’m not afraid of you, Wade.”
“I didn’t think you were,” he replied. “So far as I can tell, you aren’t afraid of
anything. It’s always fun to rile you up, though. You look pretty when you’re mad.”
27
Joanna Wylde
“You shouldn’t talk like that,” she snapped at him automatically, but the
compliment made her glow a little inside. Like the land around her, his touches
yesterday had awakened something within her after a long winter. She raised her arms
up and sighed happily, thrusting her chest out a bit as she stretched.
“You’re the one who chickened out last night,” she replied. “I don’t remember
saying no to you. Like I said, I’m not afraid.”
“Aren’t you worried about your reputation? I thought you said the school board
wouldn’t hire a loose woman.”
“I know you too well, Wade,” she said, smiling. “Anything that might happen
between us would stay between us, as long as we weren’t obvious and it didn’t last for
long. You don’t tell tales about women.”
Unlike Ryan.
The words hung unspoken between them.
“I think I made my position clear last night,” Wade said. “I’m looking for a wife,
not a mistress. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to do my best to convince you to
marry me.”
“Well, I don’t see quite what you have to offer,” she replied, laughing. “I already
have access to the ranch, and so far as I can tell, being your wife would be a lot of work.
Work I already do.”
“You do the work, but you don’t get to do the playing that comes with it,” he
replied, his voice dropping in tone. “I know how to make a woman happy, Catherine.
Very happy. You should let me show you sometime.”
“I’m game if you are,” she replied, turning to grin at him. The look in his eyes
stopped her, though. Their banter might have been light, but the expression on his face
was dead serious.
“I’m going to have you, Catherine,” he said. “Don’t mistake me. And when I do,
you’ll be begging for it.”
“At least you aren’t short on ego,” she replied.
28
Catherine’s Awakening
“No true Texan is.”
* * * * *
They stopped for lunch at midday, and even Catherine had to admit the visit at the
Watson ranch had been nice. Hope Watson was a plump, happy young woman with
three little children hanging from her skirts, and the two of them had enjoyed a cup of
tea together while the men looked at the stock.
They ate lunch beside a little stream that she’d gone swimming in as a child—
swimming with Wade and Ryan, actually. About a mile outside town, it was a magnet
for kids on hot summer days. There was even a swimming hole and a rope swing. It
was still far too cold for swimming, though, so they had the place to themselves.
Catherine spread their picnic blanket on the ground and pulled out the basket she’d put
together for them. Nothing too exciting, just thick slices of her own bread spread with
jam, a couple of boiled eggs and some cheese, but they both enjoyed it.
“That was good,” Wade said, leaning back on the blanket. Catherine looked over at
him, secretly admiring the view. Wade wasn’t a pretty man, but his features were
strong and clear. And those penetrating green eyes… Every girl in town had been in
love with him at one point or another. Even her, although she didn’t like to admit it.
She’d had a huge crush on him before he left for the war.
Heck, she had a pretty good crush on him right now. Her eyes wandered down his
body, noting how well his faded wool pants outlined his figure. Between his legs in
particular. There was bulk there, enough to make a girl wonder, and she felt her cheeks
heating up. Of course he chose that moment to look over at her.
“See anything you like?” he asked in a slow drawl. “You can touch if you want.”
She opened her mouth to give him a snappy comeback, and then a smile stole
across her face. Two could play at this game.
“Sure,” she said, scooting across the blanket toward him. “Looks like you have a
nice enough package there, but maybe a little small. I think I should check things out.”
29
Joanna Wylde
She reached across his lap, rubbing her hand boldly along his thigh. He gasped, and
they both froze, captivated by their game of sexual taunting. She’d never done anything
remotely like this before, not even when she was married to Ryan. But she wanted to
touch him, she could admit that to herself. Wade darned well wanted to be touched. No
question of that. And if she managed to break past his self-imposed boundaries? Well,
then she won. And if she didn’t, at least she’d have some fun before settling into her
new role as town schoolmarm.
She felt his flesh rising beneath her touch, the hard length of his erection thickening
under her fingers. She ran her fingers back and forth, each time holding him a little
more firmly. He gasped, and then let himself fall back on the blanket, one arm over his
eyes as he allowed himself to fully enjoy the moment.
After a little while she decided this wasn’t enough. She didn’t just want to feel him,
she wanted to look at him. Maybe even taste him. She’d heard about that from some of
her girlfriends, although she’d doubted at the time that any woman would willingly do
something like that. But being around Wade, smelling him, seeing the tension in his
body as she touched him—it made her wonder…
Catherine opened his pants, sliding her hand in and finding the hot length of his
penis. It was bigger than she’d imagined, and the skin was very smooth. She ran her
fingers up and down, finding the ridge below the head, tracing it to the notch on the
bottom. A tingling sensation grew between her legs, a certain eagerness to be close to
him that reminded her of the way his kisses made her feel.
Wanting more, Catherine used both hands to ease his pants down his hips, Wade
lifting himself to make it easier for her. She pulled out his penis, awed. It wasn’t as large
as Baron’s, of course, but it was pretty big. The head was flushed red, and a whitish
pearl of moisture had gathered at the tip. She ran a fingertip through it, painting the
slippery substance around his sensitive flesh. Wade gasped, and Catherine smiled. She
loved how it made her feel, so powerful and special. Wade was a strong man, yet all it
took was one of her fingers touching him to conquer him completely.
30
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Catherine’s Awakening
Catherine leaned closer, examining him carefully. Wade reached down and grabbed
her hand, cupping it around his length and showing her how to run it up and down.
She followed his lead eagerly, loving the way he moaned as she worked his stiffened
shaft.
“You’re killing me, Cat,” he muttered finally. “You need to stop now.”
“Or what?” she asked, rubbing him even faster. “You’ll throw me down and have
your wicked way with me? I dare you to do it!”
He moaned, and lifted a hand as if to push her away. Before he could act, she
wrapped her lips around the head of his erection, sucking him in deeply. Wade gave a
groan of pain and need, then clutched her hair with his fingers, pulling her more fully
down and over him.
Now that she had him in her mouth, Catherine wasn’t quite sure what to do with
him. He tasted salty, and from the quivering of his body and the strength of his hands,
she knew he liked what she’d done. She tried sucking at him like lollipop, reveling in
the little noises he made. Then she swirled her tongue around the tip for a while. A
surge of salty fluid came out, and she wondered if he was done already. But it didn’t
seem like it was enough, and his hand still urged her on, so she kept sucking. She’d
never tried anything like this with Ryan, and frankly had never wanted to. But sucking