Taking Catie: The Temptation Saga: Book Three (8 page)

“Well, if I win this one, it’ll be because of my horsemanship and equestrian knowledge. Not how good I look in a bikini,” she said flatly. “I can ride circles around these other girls.”

“I’ve no doubt of that,” Annie said. “With the McCray boys judging, they’ll put lots of stock in the horse part, much more than the bikini part.” She winked. “Except maybe for the youngest.”

Catie warmed under her friend’s violet gaze. “Yeah, he does love the ladies,” she said wistfully.

“That he does, hon,” Annie said. “But make no mistake about it, you’ve caught his eye.”

“He thinks I’m a kid.”

“I’d bet he doesn’t think that anymore. Anyone who saw you modeling that bikini tonight couldn’t possibly think you were a kid. You’re a grown woman, Catie. You’ve lived abroad. You’ve seen the world. You’ve still got a lot to learn, but no one can call you a kid anymore.”

“Chad can.”

“Chad’ll see the light of day. Don’t you worry.”

Catie rolled her eyes. “How can he see the light of day with Amber and her thong blocking his view?”

Annie laughed. “Haven’t you noticed?”

“Noticed what?”

“Amber and her thong may be hanging on his arm. And those other girls might be fetching his drinks, wiggling their boobs and their butts in his face, but his eyes haven’t left you since we got here.”

Catie’s heart lurched, and she looked behind her shoulder to Chad. Sure enough, she caught his gaze. He looked away.

“Maybe you ought to go offer to get him something.”

“And play those silly games? I’d rather be hung by my toenails from barbed wire.”

“Silly games they may be, but do you want some other woman to get her claws in your man?”

“My man?”

“Hell, yes, your man. Fight for him, hon. He wants you. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

Oh, he knows it,
Catie thought. Physically, at least. Emotionally, though… That was the key. He needed to fall in love with her, as she had with him. And Annie
did
have a point. She was wasting a valuable opportunity to get close to him.

“All right, Annie. If you’ll excuse me.”

Catie turned and marched straight toward Chad McCray and his harem. So focused was her gaze, so focused her concentration, that she didn’t see the waiter wheeling a cart full of food perpendicular to her until it was too late. She lost her footing and landed in the hotel pool.

The scream lodged in her throat erupted just as the liquid covered her face, causing her to gulp in a mouthful of the chlorinated water. Instinctively, she breathed in through her nose, and though she had been a champion swimmer in high school, she found herself floundering in the five-feet-deep pool. What a clumsy idiot.

A strong hand steadied her. “You okay?” A deep voice said.

She coughed and looked into the handsome face of Joe Bradley, the town mechanic.

“Yeah, I think so,” she sputtered.

Joe’s gaze dropped to her chest. What? She looked down and gasped. Her bandeau bikini top was gone!

Why had she listened to Angie and gone strapless? Was it around her waist? No. A strip of sea green floated on the bottom of the pool, away from her.

This could only happen to Catie Bay. The girl who tripped over her own two feet daily. The girl who was brilliant on horseback, but a calamity on her own legs.

She crushed her arms around her chest.

“Get away from her, Bradley!” came Chad’s voice. He stood at the edge of the pool and stripped off his western shirt. His golden chest gleamed in the setting sun. “Come on, Catie,” he said. “I’ve got you.”

“Chad, I can’t.”

“Sure you can. Just come over here to the ladder and step out. I’ll get you covered. Don’t worry.”

Snickers and catcalls cut through the haze of Catie’s thoughts. She was waterlogged. She couldn’t see, couldn’t think. She tightened her arms around her chest. Her breasts weren’t huge, but they were big enough that her arms wouldn’t cover them all the way. A bronze nipple peeked out, pebbled from the cold water.

“I think I know who’s gonna win that contest!” A voice shouted.

“Shut the fuck up!” Chad said. “Leave her alone.” He turned back to Catie. “Come on, I got you.”

In her haze, she walked to the ladder, still coughing from the pool water. As soon as her chest left the water, Chad had her covered with his shirt. “Come on, sugar. Let’s get you dried off.”

“Ch-Chad.” Her teeth chattered, and she wondered why. She wasn’t cold. Nerves. Had to be nerves. The laughter and jeering met her ears with force. All eyes were on her. She must be turning thirteen shades of crimson.

“What?”

“It was an accident.”

He chuckled, the warmth of his arm around her shoulders a comfort. “I know that.”

“I just didn’t want you to think—”

“That you’d orchestrate a stunt like that to get attention? To help win the contest?” He shook his head as they entered the hotel.

The air-conditioning hit Catie with a snap. Now she shivered even more.

“Some of those girls might try something like that, but not you. You’ve got too much class. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you tried your damnedest to stay away from Zach, Dallas, and me, while most of the other contestants were falling all over themselves to serve us. That doesn’t hold water with me. Or with Zach and Dallas. We’ll pick our winner based on merit. Fair and square.”

“Oh. Yeah, I know you will.” Her teeth chattered again. She’d grind them down to stubs if this kept up.

“Come on, let’s get you taken care of.” He headed toward the elevators, dragging her along.

“Where are we going?”

“My room.”

“You have a room here?”

“Yeah. I decided to stay in town tonight. In case I imbibed a little too much at the party.” He pushed the button. “Tenth floor.”

“But…I need my clothes.”

“Are they in your car? I’ll have the bellhop get them.”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’d be fine.”

“I’ll make sure someone gets your bikini top, too.”

She scoffed. “Really, I couldn’t care less. I doubt I’ll ever wear the thing again.”

“Now sugar, for you not to wear that thing again would be a crime against nature. You sure looked pretty.”

Her body heated with his words.

“Course you look prettier without it.” The elevator doors closed, and Chad opened his shirt and burned his gaze onto her breasts. Heat blazed on her body, especially between her legs.

“You are so damn beautiful, Catie. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you when you were strutting on that stage. I wanted to punch both my brothers right there for looking at you.”

“They weren’t looking at me.”

“The hell they weren’t. They may be happily married, but they appreciate a beautiful woman as much as the next man does. In fact, I wanted to punch every man there. No man should get to see you like that.”

“It’s beachwear, Chad. Women wear it all the time.”

“Not my woman.”

Catie’s heart lurched. Had she heard correctly? He hadn’t just referred to her as “his woman,” had he? She thought about asking, but didn’t dare. He might take it back. She sighed. He probably didn’t even realize he’d said it.

Chad closed the shirt when the elevator reached its destination. The hall was vacant, thank God. She didn’t need anyone seeing her going into Chad’s room. That couldn’t possibly look good for the competition. Though not explicitly stated in the rules, fraternizing with a judge had to be against pageant regulations.

“Go on in the bathroom and dry off,” Chad said. “I’ll call downstairs and have your clothes brought up. What’s your car make and license number?”

“It’s a green Accord, with”—she hesitated—“Catie Bug vanity plates.” She warmed with embarrassment. “I need to get that changed.”

Chad chuckled as he picked up the hotel phone. Catie headed to the bathroom. Afraid to look in the mirror, she went straight to the shower. She hated chlorine on her skin. It made her itch like the dickens. A shower was her only option. She turned it on and the water left the showerhead with a whoosh. Once the room was good and steamy, she stepped inside.

This was Bakersville’s finest hotel—which wasn’t saying much. The shampoo was cheap and runny, but she made do. After lathering her head twice, she rinsed it out and smoothed on the equally unimpressive conditioner. While she let it soak in, she lathered her body and got rid of the wretched chlorine.

Chad knocked on the door and then entered. “Damn, sugar, what’d you get in the shower for? You tryin’ to tempt me with candy?”

“I hate chlorine on my skin, Chad. Get out of here!”

“I had to go down and get your clothes myself. The bellhops were all busy. All two of them.” He laughed. But he didn’t leave the room.

“I said go on, now,” Catie said.

“Hmm. This is quite a dilemma, isn’t it? I’m thinking I might need a shower myself. I’ve been knee deep in this pageant bullshit since sunup. Got hands runnin’ the ranch.”

“Yeah. If you haven’t been ranching, you don’t need a shower. Get out!”

“I’ve already got my shirt off…” Chad pulled off his boots and socks and unbuckled his jeans. “Don’t know whether I can trust you alone in the shower, anyway. Never took you for such a klutz, falling into the pool in the middle of a party. Can’t imagine what might happen to you on a slippery shower floor.” All the while his lazy grin lit up his handsome face. “Seems like we have some unfinished business in a shower.”

“Chad…no. It’s unethical. I’m a contestant. You’re a judge.”

“You’ll just have to disqualify yourself.”

He pulled down his jeans and boxers, leaving them in a heap. His arousal sprang forward, and Catie widened her eyes. Still gorgeous. Still huge. Still all for her.

He opened the shower door and joined her, crushing her to his hard muscular body. “Damn, you feel good, sugar.”

“Chad…”

His mouth clamped onto hers, and she was lost. The kiss fired her blood like nothing had before. His tongue tangled with hers, tasting, devouring, until she had to rip her mouth away to breathe. Embers smoldered between her legs. Chad gripped her breasts as he sucked on her neck, her shoulders.

“I need you.”

Need? He needed her? He hadn’t said he wanted her. He said he needed her. That had to be a good thing, right?

He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips, meeting his mouth again. The head of his shaft teased her entrance. Then, “Damn.”

“What?”

“Forgot the condom.”

“Oh.”

For a moment, Catie remembered the torn condom in Chad’s bedroom. She’d been so busy readying for the pageant, she hadn’t thought about that in days.

They were absolutely not having sex without a condom. She removed her legs from his hips and slid down his body.

In fact, they weren’t having sex, period. It would be unethical, and they had already engaged in behavior unbefitting a contestant and a judge. She needed to get dressed and leave.

Now.

If she didn’t, she’d fall right into bed with him—God, how she wanted to fall into bed with him—but Catie Bay was a good girl. She followed the rules.

Well, sort of.

She needed to get into her clothes and get back down to the party before anyone realized how long she and Chad had been gone together.

She pushed him away and left the shower stall, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her dripping body.

“Sugar, I can pull out.”

“This isn’t happening, Chad. It’s unethical.”

“It’s not like we’ve never done this before.”

“Before I wasn’t an official contestant. I am now, and this is unethical.” She dried off quickly with a soft hotel towel and wrapped her hair in another, trying to ignore her racing pulse, the flutter between her legs. “I’m getting dressed, and I’m rejoining the party. I suggest you do the same.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry I put you in this position. I should know better.”

Chad left the stall and dried off, deliberately, or so it seemed to Catie, wiggling his gorgeously-formed ass in her face.

“I’ve already lost points for my clumsiness at falling into that damn pool, and I—”

“You haven’t lost any points. Zach and Dallas won’t hold that against you.”

“I was in the middle of a sentence, Chad.”

“Sorry,” he chuckled, “ma’am.”

“So they won’t hold it against me. What about you?” She stared straight into his long lashed eyes.

“Sugar, there are tons of things I’d love to hold against you.” He moved toward her, his body dripping, but she wriggled out of his reach. “Tripping into the pool ain’t one of them.”

Catie took a deep breath, trying not to stare at his powerful thighs, the dark hair matted down by water. “I need to borrow your hairbrush.” Without waiting for an answer, she rummaged through his shaving bag and pulled out a brush. She brushed her hair quickly and fluffed it with her fingers. It would have to air dry. She pinched her cheeks and then left the bathroom to put on her clothes.

A few minutes later, she was clad in her black denims, red shirt, and ostrich boots. Much better than the bikini. Chad hadn’t left the bathroom. She had left the bikini bottom in the bathroom. Well, no harm done. She’d rather not see the damn thing again, anyway.

She left the room, closed the door behind her, and thudded back against it for a moment, her heart thundering.

She’d had the chance to make love with Chad again, and she had blown it.

For a stupid pageant she really had no interest in winning.

T
hat beautiful woman
had walked away from him.

Chad switched the shower to lukewarm—he never could take a cold shower—and slid down the cold tile to sit on the floor. The water pelted his body.

He wasn’t going to just get over her. This was insanity, plain and simple.

He’d been worried his ultimate rejection would hurt her. Her and her schoolgirl crush.

He’d never dreamed she might reject
him
.

Was that a little bit of pain he felt in his heart? Nah, couldn’t be.

She was just another beautiful woman, right? Beautiful women were a dime a dozen, and right now there were at least a dozen down at the party waiting to fawn all over him. Might as well take advantage of it. Even if the one he wanted was bound and determined to do the ethical thing.

He respected her for that. Caitlyn Bay was all class. All elegance and inner, as well as outer, beauty. Part of him was glad she’d stopped him, because all heaven knew he couldn’t have stopped himself. He was a judge, after all, and she was a contestant.

Chad stood, rinsed off, and turned off the water. Time to get back to business.

He dressed and returned to the party, but Catie was gone. Amber hung onto him, and she sure was pretty. Her pert little bottom looked darn nice in that red thong.

“Sweetheart,” he said, “how’d you like to have a drink?”

“You’re crazy,” Amber said. “Now you want to be with me?”

“Sure.” He trailed his finger over her shoulder lightly. Funny, none of the sparks he felt when he touched Catie. Still, her skin was warm and soft, and imagining his lips sliding over it was a pleasant image indeed. “Come on, honey. This party’s dying down anyway. Let’s go. I’m not suggesting anything improper, just a drink.”

Amber swatted his hand away from her face. “Are you trying to get me disqualified?”

“Huh?”

“You think I can’t see where this is headed? You sleep with me, and I’m thrown out of the rodeo queen competition. You’re nuts. I’ve worked too hard for this.”

“Aw, hell, Amber, you only signed up last week, same as Catie.”

“Well, it means just as much to me as it does to Catie. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Like what?”

“You’d like to sleep with me and have me disqualified, so your precious Catie can win.”

“My precious Catie? What the hell are you talkin’ about? I was suggesting you and I have a drink together. Nothing more.”

“You haven’t taken your eyes off her all night. The other girls and I, we’ve noticed.”

“Amber, I’m not the only judge.”

“Surely you have some influence over your brothers.”

Chad couldn’t help the boisterous guffaw that flew from his throat. “Honey, I have about as much control over those two as a fly has over a spider. I’m the baby of the family, and they never let me forget it.”

“Still, I’ll have to pass.”

“Fine. Fine.” Chad rolled his eyes. Amber didn’t stoke his fire anyway. He’d truly only wanted some company, not a fuck. There was only one woman he wanted to take to his bed.

He hadn’t yet had enough of Catie Bay.

What the hell he was going to do about that?

T
wo days later
, Catie and Ladybird waited their turn at the patterns. Amber had already competed, and Catie had been surprised to see that the other woman actually knew her way around a horse. She’d watched with fascination as Amber flawlessly ran the patterns. Amber hailed from San Antonio, so Catie shouldn’t have been surprised. Her horse was a beauty, too—a creamy white Appaloosa mare with brown spots.

But no horse could compare to Ladybird. Ladybird was pure chocolate all over, even her mane and tale. Catie had curried her to a fine shine and had her re-shod a few days prior. She and Ladybird understood each other even though four years had passed since they’d worked together regularly. Once in her saddle, Catie felt she’d never left. Comfy, cozy, and perfect.

When the emcee called her name, she and Ladybird nailed each pattern to perfection. They moved fluidly, as though they were one.

She smiled at the deafening applause from the stands in the arena.

She waved to the spectators, and they cheered even louder. She wouldn’t know her scores until the competition was over the next evening, but that didn’t matter. She’d be at the top of the heap when it came to horsemanship.

She and Ladybird walked past the judge’s table, and again, she made eye contact with each one. She gave Chad an extra-large smile.

C
atie sweated
bullets as she waited in the hall in front of the hotel conference room for her turn to be interviewed by the three judges. Her speech had gone well, if she said so herself. Amber had already had her interview and had wished Catie luck before she left to get ready for the final presentation later, before the start of Saturday night’s rodeo festivities.

“It’s not too bad,” Amber had said. “They didn’t grill me or anything. Just lots of questions about horses and the rodeo.”

Catie had thanked Amber and given her a quick hug. Amber hadn’t had to tell Catie about the interview. After all, they were competitors. It was a nice gesture, and one Catie wouldn’t forget. She and Amber might be friends after all.

Patti Sherberg came out of the room nibbling on her lower lip.

“How’d it go, Patti?” Catie asked.

“Okay, I guess. Watch out for the oldest one. Dallas. He asks some hard questions. If you ask me, he’s taking this all much too serious.”

“What about the others?”

“They weren’t quite so bad,” Patti laughed shakily. “But I was a bundle of nerves. I felt like I was talking way too fast, not making any sense.”

“Everyone loses points for nerves.”

“You don’t. Your patterns were perfect, Catie. You’ll win for sure.”

“I don’t lose points for nerves?” Catie laughed. “Who was it that fell into the pool and lost her top Wednesday night? Now simmer down. I’m sure you did fine.”

Patti nodded and walked away, her shoulders slumping.

The door to the conference room opened, and Dallas McCray’s handsome head peeked out. “You can come in now, Catie.”

“Thank you.”

She walked in, and Dallas sat down at a table with Zach and Chad.

“Have a seat,” he said.

“Thank you.”

Geez. She’d already said that. No time to get all jumbled up now.

“It’s great to have you back in town, Catie,” Zach said. “So why don’t you tell us why you want to be the rodeo queen.”

Nothing like being put on the spot. What was her answer? Because Chad told me not to enter? She forced back a laugh. “Well, I think it’s an honor to represent one’s community in any way one can. The rodeo queen competition is a tradition here in Bakersville, and tradition means a lot to me.”

“Why is that?” Dallas asked.

I don’t know!

“Because…tradition is the backbone of any community. It’s well-documented throughout history that human society cannot function in the absence of tradition.”

“Miss Bay, one might call that an antiquated view,” Dallas said. “These days, some people claim that reason, rather than tradition, should guide humankind.”

What?
Catie hoped she had clenched her jaw before it dropped open. What the heck was he talking about? This didn’t have anything to do with horses. Dallas McCray was trained as a lawyer, but didn’t, to her knowledge, practice. Where was this philosophical stuff coming from? And what the heck was she supposed to say to that?

“Just who are these people who claim that, Mr. McCray?”

“Scientists, philosophers.”

“I suppose one could argue the point,” Catie said, “but we no longer live in a primitive society that depends solely on tradition. Traditions are no longer rigid and unbending. These days, reason and experience are certainly appropriate learning tools, but we shouldn’t lose focus on tradition, either. The only way to continue to learn who we are, Mr. McCray, and where we’re going, is to understand where we’ve been.”

Dallas smiled, nodding, as he made notations on his pad of paper. “Very well said, Catie.”

Now she was Catie again?

Okay, that was strange. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and forced herself to unclench her fists.

“I have a question,” Chad said.

“Yes?”

“Catie, clearly you’ve indicated that the traditions of your hometown mean a lot to you.”

“Yes, they certainly do.”

“If that is the case,” Chad said, “why did you leave your home for four years and not visit even one time?”

This time her mouth did drop open. She couldn’t stop it.

“I think that’s a question of a…a personal nature.”

“Not at all,” Chad said. “You’ve indicated your love of tradition.”

“I can love my hometown and its traditions and still leave. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“She’s right, Chad,” Zach said.

“I’m not sure I agree, Zach,” Chad said. “She left for four years, and now she’s not even back for a week before she plunges head first into the rodeo queen contest. And as far as I could tell, you never had any interest in this type of tradition before you left, Catie.”

“Chad.” Zach again.

“It’s all right, Zach,” Catie said, hoping she could speak without stammering, “I will answer Chad’s question.” She forced her eyes to his.

“I left because I was tired of Bakersville. I’ve lived here since I was a toddler, as you all well know. Unlike my older brother and sister, I don’t know any other home. I wanted to get beyond the small-town life. Beyond the trips to Denver and the western slope. The chance came to attend the Sorbonne, and I jumped at it. Instead of coming home for vacations, I chose to travel. I’ve been all over Europe and some of Asia. I’ve seen riches and poverty, happiness and sadness. I’ve seen cultures that are millennia older than our own. And I loved every minute of it.

“But when I got off that plane a week ago and got back to Bakersville, it hit me that this was home. I had taken it for granted. I’m not proud of that, but I did. Not that I’d trade my four years overseas. They were wonderful, and I’ll treasure them always. But Bakersville is home, and its traditions are important to me.”

She said the words with emotion and conviction, and to her surprise, she found that she meant every single one.

“This pageant is a tradition, and should I emerge the winner, I will be proud to represent this community and its traditions to the best of my ability.”

Dallas smiled. “I’m not sure that could have been said any better, Catie.”

“I agree,” Zach said.

Chad simply scowled.

“I don’t have any more questions,” Dallas said. “Do either of you?”

“Nope,” Zach said.

“Chad?”

He cleared his throat. “No, nothing.”

“But don’t you want to ask me about horses?” Catie said. “Or the rodeo?”

Dallas chuckled. “We’ve known you since you could hardly talk, Catie-bug. We know you know more about horses than any of those other girls. You did fine. Now get on out of here.”

Catie breathed a sigh of eternal relief, stood, and left the room.

“
W
hat in the
name of God was that all about?” Dallas glowered at Chad.

“Yeah, I’d like to know, too,” Zach said. “You grilled that poor girl to within an inch of her life on something that has no bearing on whether she’ll make a good rodeo queen.”

“Me?” Chad scoffed. “Dallas’s the one who insisted on the philosophy lesson.”

“Hey, I just wanted to see what they taught her at that fancy French university. I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“She was always a smart cookie, Dallas,” Zach said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Dallas agreed. “Annie thinks the world of her.”

“I’d still like to know what you had up your ass,” Zach said to Chad. “You went way overboard.”

“It was a fair question,” Chad said. “None of those others went gallivanting around for four years.”

“True,” Zach said, “but they didn’t all grow up here either. A few of them just moved here, your girlfriend Amber, for instance.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You took her to the Bay party.”

“So? I brought Marnie, too. I’m sure as hell not dating my dog!”

“Always joking, aren’t you?” Dallas said. “When in hell are you going to get serious about someone?”

“Oh, hmmm.” Chad scratched his head, falsely contemplating. “I’d say around…the fifth of never.”

Dallas shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re missing, boy.”

“Boy?”

“Yeah, boy. You’re just an overgrown kid with a teenage libido. Having a woman you love to come home to is damn nice. Damn comforting. Ain’t it, Zach?”

“The man speaks the truth, Chad.”

“Shit, Zach. I expect this kind of big brother bullshit from Dallas, but you? We used to be pals.”

“We’re still pals. I’m just concerned.”

“Dallas didn’t marry Annie till he was thirty-six.”

“But Dallas was married to someone else before Annie.”

“A big mistake, too,” Dallas said, “but worth it. I wouldn’t know Annie otherwise.”

“I think I might be sick all over my score sheets,” Chad said. “Do we have any more of these damn interviews? If there’s a God in heaven, Catie was the last one.”

Zach laughed. “Sit yourself down and hold back your puke. We’ve got two more ladies to see.”

“Christ,” Chad muttered, and picked up his pen. “Bring the next one in then.”