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 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.
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 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.”
“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.
“Can you hand me my clothing?” she asked after a pause. “Are any of them still out there waiting for me?”
“No, Dad chased them off,” he said. “But they’ll be waiting for us. You have to marry me, otherwise you’ll never be able to face your friends again.”
“What if I leave instead?” she asked. “Will you let me?”