Her eyes were smoldering. He had her wrapped around his finger now. It was just a matter of getting her to say the word “yes.”
“That is why,” she murmured, “we should not sleep together.”
He blinked. “What?” That wasn’t the “yes” he was expecting.
“Until the wedding, I think it will be best if we do not sleep together.”
“Why not?” He didn’t mean it to come out so much like a petulant whine.
“Because it is too tempting.”
He couldn’t very well argue with her. He’d just told her that himself. That clever Cat had managed to hang him with his own noose. He muttered a very foul Hupa curse under his breath.
“Besides,” she added softly, “I need to be sure that you are loving me for myself and not just for making the sex.”
“Really?” Now he was getting a mite peeved. He crossed his arms. “That’s interestin’. Because I seem to recall you didn’t care all that much before. I seem to recall you threatenin’ to go downstairs to find a gentleman to ‘make the sex’ with you. I don’t think you were all that interested in a man lovin’ you for yourself.”
She at least had the grace to blush with guilt.
But in the next moment, she looked up at him with her big, brown, irresistible eyes, and he knew he’d already lost the argument. “It is not the same, because you I love with my heart.” She lowered her gaze. “I do not want you to love me and leave me.”
He melted. Then he scowled. Love her and leave her? Why would she think that?
Why wouldn’t she think that? Ever since he’d met her, he’d done nothing but tell her that he wasn’t ready to settle down, that he was a rolling stone, a drifter, a free spirit.
He supposed it would take time to convince her—and maybe even himself—that he could change his ways. Until then, he guessed he’d have to play by her rules.
It wouldn’t be easy.
He nodded. Then he sat up, wincing once as his ribs complained. “Well then, if I’m not beddin’ down with my bride-to-be tonight, where am I supposed to sleep?”
She shrugged. “In Jenny’s room?”
He grunted. Cat sure seemed to have everything figured out nice and neat. He might as well put on his trousers, since nothing was going to come of his attempts to seduce his lovely bride.
Satisfied she’d made a wise decision, Catalina turned down the oil lamp and snuggled under the covers…alone.
An hour later, she was still awake. Her bed felt big and empty without Drew in it. All night, she kept waking up and missing Drew. She missed talking and laughing with him. She missed listening to his deep breathing. She missed watching him as he slept. She missed the heat of his body beside her.
By the end of her restless night, she woke in a bad temper. It didn’t seem like she was testing the strength of Drew’s love as much as she was torturing herself.
With a sigh of self-pity, she dressed in her favorite gown of rich red silk in preparation for her new job. To her surprise, Drew was already downstairs and playing poker. She smoothed her skirts and crossed to the balcony railing to peer down at him.
Her heart swelled as she gazed down at the handsome gambler in his well-tailored brown suit. She knew his coal-black hair was softer than it looked. His tawny skin was warm and supple. His broad shoulders were impossible to span with her fingers. And she remembered that when she rested her head on his flat stomach, she could hear the strong beat of his heart.
She sighed, wondering if she could wait so long to make the sex with him.
As if he heard her sigh, he raised his eyes briefly and then lifted his entire head to gaze at her. A smile of appreciation graced his lips as he let his eyes rove over her from head to toe.
She lifted her hand and let her fingers tease at the edge of her neckline.
He narrowed his eyes and ran his tongue across his lower lip.
Then the player next to him gave him a nudge of his elbow.
Catalina grinned. She shouldn’t distract him from his game. After all, the sooner he won, the sooner they could afford a wedding.
Still, she swayed a bit when she came down the stairs, lifting her scarlet skirts enough to give Drew a glimpse of her ankles.
All day long, they carried on a silent flirtation.
When she visited his table to refresh the gamblers’ whiskey, she gave him a tiny peek at the top of her bosom.
When he caught her sauntering past the bar, he gave her a sly wink.
Halfway through the day, she brought a plate of fried chicken for the players, taunting Drew by suggestively licking the grease from her fingers.
While she stood beside him, he sneaked his hand beneath her skirts, sensually stroking the back of her knee.
Her eyes half closed at the heavenly sensation.
He gave her a knowing grin.
Then she pointedly arched a brow at the swelling in his lap.
He answered her sassiness by surreptitiously pinching her bottom.
She squeaked in surprise, blushing when the other players gaped at her, and then gave Drew a scolding shake of her head.
By nightfall, Catalina was aching for him. When he knocked on her door, she practically dragged him into her bedroom.
They didn’t even make it to the bed.
Drew rained kisses all over her face and neck and shoulders.
She clawed at the buttons of his shirt.
He slipped his fingers down the front of her dress, and she sobbed, puckering instantly at his touch.
She thrust her fingers into his lush hair and feasted on his mouth.
He rubbed his hand firmly over the front of her skirts, delving between her legs.
She moaned, pressing her palm hard against his trousers.
He answered with a groan, backing her against the wall.
But deep in her heart, she knew she dared go no further. Their passion was like a wildfire, burning out of control. If she continued, there would be no stopping.
She couldn’t give him what he wanted, what they both wanted. Not yet. Not until she was sure he was hers for good.
So she rested one hand on his shoulder and murmured, “We must not.”
“Aw, Cat, don’t tease me.”
“I do not mean to, truly.”
He let out a breath that was half a sigh, half a growl. Then he backed away, running both hands through his hair.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, then gave him a hopeful smile. “I promise it will be worth the wait.”
He nodded, then mumbled, “If my balls don’t turn blue and fall off first.”
He adjusted his trousers, trying to hide the bulge there, and put his hand on the doorknob.
Then, remembering, he dug in his pocket and tossed a pouch of coins onto the bed. “Twenty-four dollars. That should move the weddin’ date up a bit.” He gave her one last longing look. “Good night, Cat.”
Chapter 24
Catalina felt terribly guilty. Perhaps she should not have tormented Drew so. But it was just as much torment for her.
Before, when she’d thought of losing her maidenhood to him, it had seemed like a thing to check off her list of accomplishments.
But now she was gambling with her heart. She had fallen in love with Drew. And until she was sure he could be trusted to keep his promise to stay with her, she didn’t dare raise the stakes.
She fell asleep—miserable, lonely, and unrequited—realizing she was in a prison of her own making and not knowing what to do about it.
It was still dark when she abruptly awakened out of a deep sleep.
She threw back the covers and sat up. The moonlight was streaming in through the window, making a pale rectangle on the bed. Outside, crickets whirred softly in the summery night. The air was still.
But something was wrong. She didn’t know what it was or how she knew. But she definitely felt that something was wrong.
She climbed out of bed, slipped on her wrapper, and quietly opened her door.
One was Drew’s.
The other belonged to a woman.
Catalina’s heart wrenched, even though she knew she was jumping to hasty conclusions. It might be Miss Hattie. It might be Anne or Emily. There was no reason to believe she wasn’t hearing an innocent conversation between Drew and one of the ladies of The Parlor…even if it was behind his closed door.
She couldn’t make out the words. But as she strained to hear, she realized it wasn’t Miss Hattie or Anne or Emily. She didn’t recognize the woman’s voice.
Against her will, her eyes filled slowly with tears of hurt. Her throat began to ache with a trapped sob.
It would be naïve to deny that Drew had betrayed her.
He hadn’t been able to wait until they were married.
He’d taken another woman to his bed, right under Catalina’s nose.
She told herself this was why she’d made him wait. This was why she hadn’t made the sex with him. He might make promises with his words. But they were promises his body could not keep.
Still, knowing she’d been right didn’t stop the heartrending pain of his infidelity.
It wasn’t fair.
Catalina had slept with Drew. She’d kissed him. She’d shared secrets with him. They had been intimate. She’d given him her attention, her time, her heart.
He owed her his loyalty.
As Catalina continued to listen to the voices, chatting casually back and forth while she stood in her doorway in misery, her sorrow evolved rapidly into anger.
It wasn’t fair.
Drew had been so possessive of her—burning with jealousy at the thought that another man might have her. Did he truly expect her to feel any differently? Did he believe she would willingly share him with another woman?
It was more than heartbreaking. It was infuriating.
She drew her brows together, glancing at her nightstand. Drew had left his forty-five there. For one melodramatic moment, she imagined exacting revenge. She could use the pistol on the man-stealing puttana in Drew’s room…and then perhaps on Drew.
Of course, she’d never do such a thing—not really. She might be furious, but she wasn’t a killer. She’d never even used a gun, except for the accidental shot she’d fired into the floor of the salon.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t just retreat to her room to lick her wounds like a kicked hound. She had to do something. She quietly closed her door, shimmied back into her red dress, and swept her hair into a hasty knot.
In the moonlight, the revolver on the nightstand gleamed up at her. Even if she didn’t mean to use it, it wouldn’t hurt to have the weapon in her hand. It made her feel more powerful.
The gun seemed cold against her palm, but no colder than her heart.
Taking a shaky breath, she opened the door and stole onto the dimly lit balcony. Then, gripping the pistol in both hands, she approached Drew’s room.
She pressed her ear to the door. There was no sound.
For a crazy moment, she wondered if she’d dreamed the whole thing, hoped she’d dreamed the whole thing.
She carefully turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. By the moonlight, she could see that Drew wasn’t sleeping with another woman. He wasn’t even in his room.
She furrowed her brows. Where had he gone?
The floor beside the bed, where he would have left his boots for the night, was empty. But when she rested her palm atop the rumpled sheets, they were still warm.
Then she heard a noise in the hallway.
Holding the gun in front of her, she crept toward the door. When she got to the doorway, she saw a shadow fall across the balcony.
She lunged out.
Someone gasped.
Startled, Catalina almost pulled the trigger.
It was Miss Hattie.
Catalina managed to steady her hands, but she didn’t lower the gun.
“Where is he?” she demanded, sure Miss Hattie must know.
“Who?” Miss Hattie choked out.
“You know who.”
“Put the gun away, and I’ll tell you.”
“Tell me, and I will not shoot you.”
Miss Hattie’s brows shot up. But she complied, with the warning, “You ain’t gonna like it.”
Catalina gulped. But she had to know the truth, no matter how painful. “Tell me.”
“A young blonde lady came for him. I think she was the daughter o’ one o’ the ranchers here. She said it was a…a family matter.”
“Family? What family?”
Miss Hattie grimaced. “I got a notion she might have been in the family way.”
“What does this mean—in the family way?”
“Expectin’ a baby.”
“A baby? But what does that have to do with…”
A horrible thought came into Catalina’s head, and she knew at once what Miss Hattie was trying to tell her.
“No!” she cried, full of disbelief and hurt and anger all at once.
Miss Hattie was shaking her head. “Never trust a gambler. I should have known better. And I should have warned you.”
“It cannot be true,” Catalina insisted. “He said he was going to marry me. He gave me a ring.”
But even as she said the words, they sounded hollow and meaningless.
“I’m so sorry, Catalina.”
Miss Hattie’s pity made Catalina’s heart ache. But she wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t give Drew the satisfaction. “Where did they go?”
“It might be best to just let the bastard go,” Miss Hattie advised. “A man like that ain’t worth cryin’ over. He certainly ain’t worth wastin’ a bullet.”
“Where did they go?” she repeated.
The madam bit the corner of her lip and eyed the gun uncertainly. “Now you don’t want to be doin’ anything foolish.”
Catalina’s eyes flattened. “Tell me.”
“You don’t want to be shootin’ him, Catalina,” she warned. “They’ll hang you. It don’t matter how bad a man he is.”
Catalina was growing impatient. “And will they hang me if I shoot you?” She arched her brow at the madam.
Miss Hattie swallowed, glanced again at the gun, and reconsidered. “They said somethin’ about the jail.”
“The jail?” Catalina scowled. Why would they be going to the jail? “You are certain?”
“That’s what she said. She meant to take him to the jail.”
Then the jail was where Catalina would go.
She swept past the madam and headed down the stairs.
Standing half-naked outside the jail in the middle of the night, Drew decided this was the most reckless thing he’d ever done. And for Drew, that was saying a lot.
His twin, Chase, had definitely gotten himself into a heap of trouble. He’d been arrested by Sheriff Campbell and wound up in the town jail. And now it was up to Drew to spring him, no matter what ridiculous lengths he was going to have to go to to do it.
He just wished he hadn’t been so careless, leaving his gun in Cat’s room. He was fine running around the woods in nothing but his drawers. It wasn’t so different from the way he’d dressed as a youth in Hupa. But he felt naked without his forty-five.
From what Drew had been able to decipher of what he’d heard so far, a lot had happened in the past few days. While Drew was preoccupied with the beautiful Catalina, Chase had gone to exact revenge on Samuel Parker, the Paradise rancher who’d enslaved their grandmother.
When Chase had left The Parlor that night, Drew had assumed his brother was too liquored up to even find the ranch. But not only had he found it. He’d managed to break into the ranch house, kidnap the rancher’s daughter, and ride off with her to parts unknown.
That was the “little girl” Samuel Parker and his obnoxious accomplice had been looking for when they’d burst into Drew’s room that first morning.
Only it had turned out she wasn’t so little.
Claire Parker was defini
tely full-grown. His brother must have appreciated that fact too. In just a few short days, he’d managed to fall in love with his pretty little captive.
The crazy thing was she loved Chase back, even though he’d abducted her and dragged her all over kingdom come.
But the girl’s father had finally hunted her down and intended to bring Chase to justice for kidnapping…and probably worse. Hell, if Sheriff Campbell had been the one to haul him in, he’d probably mistake Chase for Drew and add cheating at cards to his list of crimes.
The sweet little blonde had sneaked away in the middle of the night. She’d come looking for Drew, calling herself “Chase’s woman” and begging for his help in springing Chase out of jail.
How could he turn her down, especially when she looked as helpless as a lamb and when her big green eyes started filling with tears?
He was just glad Catalina wasn’t awake when he left with the woman. He’d have a devil of a time explaining who she was and what he was about to do.
As it turned out, Claire Parker wasn’t quite as sweet and innocent as she appeared. Chase must have told her his twin brother was a dead-eye gunslinger. She fully expected Drew to behave like a dime novel hero and rescue Chase by shooting his way out of jail.
But though Drew was good with a gun, he didn’t like wasting ammunition. Besides, he didn’t want to disappoint the lady, but his brother Chase was the one in the white hat. Drew was nobody’s hero.
Chapter 25
As Catalina swept down the dark, deserted streets of Paradise toward the jail, she bit her lip, holding back the tears that wanted to spill over her lashes.
Could it be true? Could Drew have a wife? Was she carrying his child?
It was too painful to think about.
She couldn’t be angry with the lady. After all, she could have been an innocent like Catalina. Drew Hawk could have used his charm on her. He may have seduced her into sleeping with him, never imagining there would be a baby.
On the other hand, she might be his legal wife. Perhaps Drew had overlooked that tiny detail in his quest to bed Catalina.
Native Hawk (California Legends Book 3) Page 17
