Texas Passion (2 page)

“I had no
doubt you’d get here eventually.” Her hands shaking, Catherine laid her book on
the rocker and tried for a more seductive tone. “But I’d like to know what
delayed you.”

One corner of
his mouth turned up in a crooked grin, he stepped forward, and then paused. “Wait
a second, don’t I know you?”

Catherine
nodded and toyed with the knot holding her robe together. Should she shed her
robe and try to seduce him first? Or just tell him her name?

He tilted his
head slightly, and a frown formed on his lips. The subdued lighting of the
lantern didn’t mask the lines marring his brow.

Apprehension
slithered over her skin, and a lump the size of Texas grew in her throat. “I…uh…”

“Catherine?”

More of an accusation
than a question, her name echoed in her head. “Yes, I…” She edged closer.

He shuffled
backward until his back hit the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”

His gaze
dropped to swell of her breasts, and the cattywhumped expression on his face
registered. Clarity filled her head. The man might deny it, but the heat in his
eyes proved he found her appealing. Energy pulsed through her, and she untied
the knot at her waist. “I decided, since we’re practically engaged, I didn’t
want you sleeping with another woman.”

“Whoa, don’t
even think about removing that robe.” He held out his hands to stop her, but
his tongue slid over his parched lips and the blaze in his eyes sparked higher.

Catherine’s
confidence grew, and the doubt that had plagued her for the last few hours
faded. He might resist, but she’d show him this was what they both wanted.

He shook his
head, and a frown marred his brow. “You don’t need to do this.”

“Then you
weren’t planning to make love to another woman tonight?” She lifted her hands
to her collar and eased her robe off her shoulders. It fell to the bend in her
arms. “Because if you are, it’ll have to be me. I’m the only woman you’re
allowed to touch from now on.”

His head
jerked like he’d taken a shot to the chin. He drew back his shoulders, and his
eyes flickered with anger. “We’re not married yet.”

“Meaning, we
will be soon.” She lowered her arms, and the robe fell to the floor. Excitement
coursed through her veins at being this close to the dream of having Trent in
her arms.

He rubbed his
hand over the back of his neck as his gaze sped over her exposed body. “Where
did you get that outfit?”

“I bought it
for you.” She stepped boldly forward, hoping the sexy garment would increase
her appeal. But maybe he needed more incentive. She tossed her long hair over
her shoulder to give him the full view of her breasts. “Do you like it?”

He shook his
head. “A man gets ideas when a woman shows off her underwear.”

Good.
Catherine
arched her back to expand the fabric covering her breasts and sauntered across
the rough wooden floor with an exaggerated swing in her hips. She laid her
hands on his chest. Never in her life had she wanted something as much as she
ached for Trent. “Really? What kind of ideas?”

“Wicked
thoughts of removing all her clothes.” He lifted his large hands, and his
fingers toyed with her bloomers.

Liquid need
coated the lips between her legs, and she waited impatiently for his hands to
slip beneath the material. What would it feel like to have them on her pussy?
She’d seen men pleasure the women at the theatre with their fingers and they
seemed to enjoy it.

“And do I get
to undress you, too?” She slipped the top button of his shirt loose and trailed
a finger over the base of his throat.

“You shouldn’t
be here.” He groaned and caught her wrists in an iron grip. “Not with me, not
tonight, I have a hunger that will consume us both if you don’t get out of here
fast.”

The fire in
his stare should have frightened her, but instead, the impure thoughts in her
head intensified. For four years, she’d dreamed of being in his arms, touching,
kissing, making love to him. She refused to wait another day. “What if I yearn
for the same thing?”

He locked his
jaw, as if afraid to speak. The grip on her wrists loosened, and he dropped his
hands to her waist. The heat of his body drew her closer and warmed her soul.
Could she give him everything he wanted?

Doubt
resurfaced, but she refocused her attention on the smooth line of his neck. The
small knot of his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. She toyed with the
next button on his shirt, determined to convince him no matter what she had to
do.

Trent slid
his hands along her ribcage and cupped her breasts. A light squeeze, then his
thumbs caressed the tips through the silk of her corset. Need pulsed through
her breasts, and her nipples tightened into taut points of agony.

A low moan
escaped, and she closed her eyes to absorb the pleasure his touch evoked.
Catherine waited for him to say something, anything that would release her from
the torture of wondering if he would refuse her.

“We shouldn’t
do this.”A groan rumbled in Trent’s chest and vibrated through her hands. Heat
shot straight to her core.

“Please,
Trent. You have to make love to me.”

****

Oh, fuck.

Trent
gathered every drop of self-control he possessed and removed his hands from
Catherine’s lush breasts. No longer a half-pint child, she’d grown into a sassy
woman who tightened his cock and numbed his mind with need. And he’d been
without a woman too long.

He massaged
the curve of her shoulders and toyed with a silky strand of copper hair. “You
don’t know what you’re asking.”

She opened
her green eyes and stared at his lips for a few seconds then met his gaze. Pink
touched her checks. “You want to sink into a woman and satisfy the hunger in your
soul. I understand that. I have a brother and two male cousins who’ve educated
me on how much a man can ache for a woman.”

With smooth
creamy skin and a willowy figure, her beauty captured his lust and held him
prisoner. He couldn’t back away. “Maybe, but a woman like you should have a
ring on her finger before she gives herself away.”

A shy smile
softened her lips. She worked a few more buttons on his shirt loose. “What if I’m
not willing to wait?”

He captured
her hands against his chest. He forced air into his lungs, and her alluring
scent filled his senses. When was the last time he had held an innocent woman,
slipped into her tight cunt, and enjoyed her naïve response? The temptation
pulsed through his body, and his balls churned with the need to come. Images of
shoving her against the door and taking her right on the spot taunted him.

Careful of
the field you plow, boy. There are women you can fuck for fun, while others
demand more devotion like marriage.

His father’s
words played through his mind and cooled his desire. He eased back and turned
his head to keep her from seeing how much he wanted what she offered. The bed
across the room tempted him with the pleasure he’d have on the feathery
mattress. “Catherine, a woman is expected to wait until her wedding night
before she has sex.”

“But if you’re
going to be that man, why do we have to wait?” Her innocent question nicked his
conscience.

Was he really
willing to marry her? The thought didn’t stick in his craw as it had when his
father mentioned it earlier. He studied her face. Excitement sparkled in her
gaze, and her slightly parted lips offered an invitation to partake of the
pleasure of her mouth. After a long moment, his gaze dropped to the full swell
of her creamy breasts and on to the shapely curve of her waist. She certainly
had the body to satisfy him. But did she have the grit to be a rancher’s wife?
After all, she’d spent the last few years in a big city.

Hell, was she
even innocent?

With the way
she was parading around in her underwear, she might have had a number of lovers
during her stint in Boston. Still, honor wouldn’t allow him the freedom to make
love to her unless he knew for certain she’d one day be his wife. After all,
his father had already agreed to their marriage. “Are you a virgin?”

A fire lit in
the depths of her eyes, and with a quick jerk to free her hands, she stepped
back. “I won’t be after you make love to me.”

His patience
thin, he grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t play with me. Have you ever had a man
between your legs?”

She blinked
at his coarse words and shrugged out of his grip to stand a few paces away. “No,
I haven’t ridden a man’s cock. Happy?” She threw the last word at him.

Pleasure
coursed through his body. If no man had touched her, then after tonight she’d
truly belong to him. He grinned, content at last with what it would mean to
take her innocence. “Yes.”

“Well, that
makes one of us,” she grumbled and turned to walk away.

Where she was
headed he didn’t have a clue, but he caught her around the waist before she
could escape and hauled her against his chest. He groaned when she rubbed her
ass against his engorged erection. “You best be still.”

She turned in
his arms, and her green eyes flashed with anger. “Or what? You’ll finally do
what you came here to do and take me to bed?”

He captured
her face in the palm of his hands. The soft silk of her hair played between his
fingers. “Yes.”

Her body
wilted against him, and a little smile formed on her pink lips. “Promise?”

Air rushed
from his lungs. How could she tempt him so? He leaned his forehead against
hers. “God, Catherine. Are you always this persistent?”

She snuggled
closer, and her fingers trailed over his back. “Yes, when I really want
something.”

“And you
think you want me?” He lifted his head a few inches from hers and wrapped his
arms around her. She hadn’t seen him in years, didn’t know the first thing
about him. How could she be so sure she wanted to marry him? “Because most
people will tell you, I’m not an easy person to get along with.”

“I know. You
can be stubborn, domineering, and downright rude if the mood strikes you, but
you also have a kind heart.” She tugged his shirt from the back of his pants.

“Are you
sure?” He guided his hands down her back and untied the bow at the back of her
corset. She had to be out of her clothes soon, or he’d rip them from her body.
He shoved his hands lower, cupped her plush ass, and tugged her closer to his
aching cock.

“I…uh…” She
squirmed and worked her hands between them until she managed to slide them
around his neck. “Can we discuss this later?”

He brushed
his lips against hers, and she shuddered. From need or fear?

Her hands
burrowed through his hair and didn’t allow him the space to pull back. Instead,
her lips ran over his with hungry, wild kisses. Lust shot through his body to
the sole of his boots.

Consumed by
an obsession to taste her, he captured her mouth and thrust his tongue deep.
God, she was so incredibly sweet. Her unique flavor set off a firestorm in his
blood. His cock turned rock-hard, and he wanted her so badly he couldn’t decide
what to do. Tear off her clothes and carry her to bed? Or sink to the floor and
take her right here?

A low sigh
escaped her as she eased her lips away. Her shallow panting brushed his ear as
he licked and kissed his way down her neck to the soft hollow at the base of
her throat.

“Trent,
please. Let’s move to the bed. My legs won’t hold me up much longer.” She
wobbled on her feet.

He tightened
his hold and drew in her intoxicating scent—fresh spring flowers dancing in
wind. He nipped her ear lobe then lifted his head. “Are you trying to hurry me?”

“No, I…”

Her endearing
confusion drove him to action. He swept her into his arms. “Good, because I
plan for this to take all night.”

After laying
her on the bed, he tried to straighten so that he could remove his clothes, but
her arms were locked around his neck. He eased down by her side and drank in
the sight of the light freckles on the tip of her nose, the small bow of her
lips, and the round curve of her chin. Just looking at her drove him insane. He
longed to strip off her boomers and plunge deep, to take her hard and fast, but
he couldn’t introduce her to sex that way.

No, he needed
to take it slow so as not to frighten her.

After a
calming breath, he guided a single finger down the center of her body. “As much
as I like this sexy getup, I’d prefer if you’d take it off.”

A smile
spread over her lips, and she moved to sit up. “Sure, but you’ll have to unwind
the tie in the back.”

He rolled out
of her way and noticed the labyrinth of hooks the string ran through. She
reached around and plucked at the twine holding the contraption together.

“Wait a
second, let me help.” He grabbed the two ends of the ribbon and slowly unwound
the crisscross pattern. The task reminded him of the stakes involved in bedding
Catherine. Could she endure the hours she’d have to spend alone while he was
away riding the range or gone on a cattle drive? She’d need to learn everything
it would take to be his wife, like how to run a household and…