Taking Catie: The Temptation Saga: Book Three

by Hardt, Helen;

  “Christ,” Chad muttered. Twenty-one? He’d had no idea.

  Twenty-one. Catie’s age.

  Damn.

  Somehow, though, with Amber, the age didn’t pack quite as much of a wallop as it did with Catie. Maybe because he remembered what Catie looked like at five. He shook his head.

  Damn it all to hell.

  “Clearly, I look like an old bat to you,” Amber yammered in his ear.

  “No, that’s not it at all,” Chad said. “I just assumed… Aw hell, there’s no getting out of this one, is there?”

  “Afraid not, Chad,” she said.

  “Let me get you a drink, then,” he said. “I’ve found women find my foot in my mouth much more charming when they’ve had a drink.”

  Amber’s lips curved upward. Yep, the McCray charm worked every time. “All right, I guess.”

  “Forgive me, then?”

  “Sure, I suppose.”

  “Let me get you that drink. What’ll you—” His mouth dropped open.

  In a clingy red sundress leaving nothing to the imagination stood Catie Bay. Nothing to the imagination except the hue of those pert nipples protruding through the silky fabric. Pink? Or a deeper crimson? Maybe a dusky brown? And the color of the curls between her legs. Were they dark mahogany, like on her head? Or black as onyx?

  His jeans tightened around his groin. Damn, her legs went on forever. Those luscious thighs disappeared under that clingy red skirt, and all Chad could think about was the sweet, moist spot at their apex. Would that taste like lime and raspberries too?

  “A cosmo,” came a voice from far away. “Or white wine, if they don’t have mixed drinks.”

  Who was that?

  Amber. Right. He’d offered to get her a drink. A bar had been set up on the deck…where Catie was headed.

  “Right. I’ll get it.” Not looking at Amber, he headed toward the bar. And Catie.

  “Hey, little bit.”

  “Hey yourself,” Catie said, leaning down to pet Marnie, “and I thought you promised not to call me that anymore.”

  Chad chuckled. “Old habits die hard, Catie.”

  “Caitlyn.”

  “Right. Caitlyn. Drinking ’ritas again?”

  Catie smiled. Had she always had those cute little dimples?

  “I’m sticking to iced tea tonight. For a while, anyway.”

  The bartender handed her a tall glass of tea. “There you are, gorgeous.”

  The muscles in Chad’s jaw tensed. Who the hell was he, anyway, calling her that?

  “See you later, Chad.” She walked away, her hips swaying gently beneath her silky sheath.

  “What can I get you?” the bartender asked.

  “You can keep your hands off her, first of all,” Chad said, between clenched teeth.

  “Sorry. She your girlfriend?”

  “No.”

  “Your sister?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “She’s…aw, hell, I don’t have to explain myself to you. Give me a…what the hell is that froufrou pink martini called again?”

  “A cosmo?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one. A cosmo. And a Fat Tire. Damn, make that two.”

  He chugged the first one and took the remaining beer and the cosmo back to Amber.

  And there was Catie again, chatting away with Amber.

  Damn it all to fucking hell.

  * * *

  He was walking toward them, Marnie at his heels. It had taken every ounce of strength Catie possessed to act so nonchalantly at the bar. She was secretly thrilled when the hunky bartender called her gorgeous and hoped Chad had noticed. Then Amber had called her over, and it would have been rude to ignore her. She really was a nice girl, even though her platinum blond hooks were sunk in the cowboy Catie wanted more than her next breath of air.

  “Thank you, Chad,” Amber said, when Chad handed her the cosmo. “Did you know Caitlyn’s entering the rodeo queen contest too?”

  “Christ,” Chad said. “What is it with you two? That contest is stupid.”

  “Then why’d you agree to judge it?” Catie asked.

  “I got forced into it?”

  “By whom?” Amber asked.

  “By my brothers. By the mayor of Bakersville. By the whole damn universe. Sheesh.”

  “Calm down, goodness,” Amber said. “According to Caitlyn, it’s quite an honor to judge the thing. And an honor to win, as well.”

  “Catie, what the hell are you filling her full of?” Chad took a swig of his beer.

  “Nothing, Chad. I’ve lived here almost my whole life, and you know what a huge thing our rodeo is. It’s the pride of Bakersville, and it’s every little girl’s dream to represent the town at the rodeo.”

  “I’d bet it was never your dream,” he said. “Your dream was to ride like the wind atop your mare. Ladybird, right?”

  “Well, I have to admit, I never considered it before. But I’ve been gone for a while, Chad. I think it would be an honor to represent my town as rodeo queen. I think it would mean a lot to Amber, too, being new here.”

  “Yes, it certainly would,” Amber said. “Do you know who else is entered?”

  “I have no idea,” Catie said. “I just got back in town. Chad probably knows, don’t you?”

  “I haven’t the foggiest.”

  “But you’re a judge.”

  “So? Doesn’t mean I give two damns, sugar.”

  Sugar. He’d called her sugar again. Oh, the sweet sound of it. And from Amber’s pursed lips, clearly she’d noticed, too. Course it probably didn’t sound nearly so sweet to her. Catie couldn’t help but smile.

  “Well, I expect you’ll be a terrible judge then,” she said. “Thank goodness Zach and Dallas will take this duty more seriously.”

  Chad let out a belly laugh. “You’re kidding right, Catie?”

  “Caitlyn.”

  “Christ. Caitlyn. Do you really think Zach and Dallas care any more about this thing than I do?”

  “This is a tradition in Bakersville. It’s part of our history. It’s a…a…” Catie grasped for words. “It’s as true to Bakersville as the Miss America pageant is to Atlantic City. Just ask Annie. That’s where she’s from!”

  “I can’t imagine Dr. Annie having anything to do with pageants of any kind, Catie.”

  She scoffed, and he rolled his eyes.

  “Caitlyn. And as far as this one, I got roped into judging, and I’ll do it, but neither of you better expect any preferential treatment from me. I intend to be fully fair and impartial.” He shook his head. “Of all the silly nonsense. Especially you, Catie. I’d’ve thought you’d have more sense.”

  Anger seethed in Catie’s gut. It was as much an insult to Amber as it was to her, but if he thought she’d have more sense, why did he insist on thinking of her as a child? How dare he belittle her? “You’ve already told me I’m just a kid. I believe those were your words last evening, if I recall correctly. So it makes perfect sense that I’d want to take part in this silly tradition. Amber, I’ll leave this jerk to you.”

  Catie stormed off, across the yard, her sandals tapping on the patio, through the kitchen where the caterers were readying the buffet, up the stairs, and to her pink and horsy room. She flopped onto her bed and let the anger give way to sadness. She hugged her stuffed horse as tears fell.

  Tears for missing four years of her life in Bakersville. Tears for Laurie McCray, her second mother, whose funeral she hadn’t attended. Tears of jealousy for Annie, who had her handsome McCray boy and his children. Tears for Amber, whom she liked, and who might have been a friend under different circumstances. And mostly tears for her unrequited love. Even four years in Europe hadn’t erased him from her heart.

  She sobbed and sniffed into her pillow as she realized the bitter truth.

  Nothing would ever erase Chad McCray from her heart.

  Chapter Five

  Catie wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Surely
the caterers would have dinner ready by now. Still, she lay on her bed. The sobs had stopped, replaced by sniffles. She grabbed tissue after tissue from her nightstand until her bed was a sea of used snot rags.

  She let out a heavy sigh. Her door creaked open.

  “Sugar?”

  Oh God. Not Chad. He couldn’t see her like this. In this infantile bedroom that belonged to a horse-loving freckle-faced teenager.

  “Your ma’s looking for you. I told her I’d find you. It’s almost time for the buffet.”

  His voice was husky and sexy. Same as always. Same as freaking always.

  “Go away, Chad. Please.”

  “Have you been crying? Damn, what’s wrong?”

  He walked in and sat down on her bed. She turned toward the wall, inching away from him.

  “I’m sure sorry, sugar. I didn’t mean to upset you. If you really want to be rodeo queen, you’ll be the prettiest one ever. I swear it.”

  “Please go away.”

  “Not until you get your pretty self up and come down and join your party.”

  She shuddered when the warmth of his hand caressed her back.

  He rubbed her slowly, comfortingly. “Come on.”

  She turned toward him. She couldn’t hide forever. He’d never love her, so what did it matter if she looked a fright? “Give me a minute, okay? Where’s Marnie?”

  “I’ll give you all the time you need. Marnie’s down there playing with her cousins.” He laughed. “Seanie and the twins, that is.” He got up, walked to her dressing table, and retrieved her brush. He sat down, pulled a red bandana out of his pocket, wiped her tears, and held it over her nose. “Blow.”

  She giggled. Chad McCray, the love of her short life, was holding a hanky for her to blow her nose into. What else was there to do but laugh? She blew as daintily as she could, which wasn’t very. She’d always been a honker.

  “There, that’s better.” He stuffed the bandana back in his pocket. “Sit up now.”

  She obeyed, and surprise gushed through her as he began to brush her long hair.

  “I remember when this pretty hair was always in two pigtails, and that cute little nose of yours was covered in freckles.” Chad’s touch was so gentle as he brushed. Even with the snarls, he didn’t pull once. “Whatever happened to that little girl I once knew?”

  Catie gulped. “She grew up.”

  Chad put the brush down on the nightstand and cupped both Catie’s cheeks in his hands. “She sure did, sugar. You’re about the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

  Her heart thundered, and butterflies flew around in her tummy. Had he just called her beautiful? Her eyes swollen from crying, her nose still congested? Beautiful? Her lips shook as she spoke. “Ch-Chad?”

  He brushed one calloused thumb over her bottom lip. “These are the softest, sweetest lips I’ve ever kissed, too.” He smiled a crooked smile.

  Had Catie not known better, she’d have thought it was a shy smile.

  “Have you let a lot of men kiss these lips?”

  “N-Not too many,” Catie stammered.

  “I’m right glad to hear that, sugar,” Chad said, and replaced his thumb with his lips. He brushed over her lips gently, slowly nibbling, taking only the smallest taste. She closed her eyes and savored the masculine feel of him. His tongue peeked out and traced her lips, and a soft sigh escaped her throat.

  “Mmm, sugar,” he said against her mouth. “You still taste like raspberries. Raspberries and sweet tea.”

  “Th-That’s what I’ve been drinking. Raspberry tea.”

  He chuckled. “You tasted like raspberries last night, and you were drinking ’ritas. It’s just the sweet flavor of you, Caitlyn.”

  She couldn’t help smiling. It sounded all wrong. “Catie.”

  “Catie it is, then.” He crushed his mouth onto hers.

  The kiss was open-mouthed, wet, and hungry, and she responded with her whole body and heart. She reached for Chad’s head and tunneled her fingers through his thick hair. Silk, just as she’d always imagined. She let the strands sift through her fingers and then she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him closer. Their mouths already meshed together, they kissed frantically, their tongues tangling. A low rumble escaped Chad’s throat.

  His hand crept from her shoulder to her breast, and he stroked it through the thin fabric of her dress. Her nipple puckered, and she leaned into him, wanting to feel his hard chest against hers.

  When he ripped his mouth from hers, she whimpered.

  “Damn,” he said. “What the hell am I doing?”

  “I don’t know,” Catie said, “but please don’t stop.”

  “Catie, this is all wrong.”

  “No. No, Chad, it’s not wrong. It’s right. It’s so very, very right. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  Chad kissed her cheek. A sweet, loving kiss. “You have a schoolgirl crush on me, Catie. That’s all. And right now, what I’m feeling for you goes way beyond what a schoolboy feels. I’m a man, with man feelings and man desires.”

  “Chad, please.” She held his head in his hands and looked into his burning gaze. “I’m not a schoolgirl. I’m a woman.”

  “And I’m a man, sugar, and right now this man has got some very strong desires to take you to bed and ravish that gorgeous body of yours.”

  “Then do it.”

  “God, sugar.” He groaned, covered her hands with his, and removed them from his face. “I can’t do it. As much as I want you, I just can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “’Cause then I’d have to marry you, and I don’t want to marry anybody.”

  Catie’s heart fell. There. He’d said it. He didn’t want to marry her. Didn’t want to marry anyone, for that matter. But he wanted her. She inhaled, bracing herself for a fight she intended to win. It wasn’t forever, but it was a start.

  “Why? Why would you have to marry me, Chad? That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Because”—he stroked her cheek—“you’re better than a one shot roll in the hay, sugar. I won’t do that to you.”

  “Better? Better than what? What makes me better than any other woman, Chad? Better than Amber? Because I’m pretty sure you’ve rolled in that hay with her.”

  “Amber? Heck no, sugar. We’re just friends.”

  “So you never considered—”

  “Hell, yeah, I considered it, and then I decided against it. I…aw hell, Catie. Yeah, I was ready to. I was ready to screw the daylights out of her last night. Until you came along.”

  “Me.”

  “Yeah, you. Once I set eyes on you, Amber had no appeal. You turned those pretty brown eyes on me, and I melted. But damn it, I won’t—”

  Catie cut him off with a kiss. A kiss so deep and powerful, she felt as though their souls had fused. She poured seventeen years of love for Chad McCray into that kiss. Seventeen years of longing and desire, hoping against hope that he’d return it, if only for a second or two.

  He did.

  He kissed her with an urgency she’d never felt. He bit her lower lip, sucked it between his teeth. He tangled her tongue with his, explored every crevice of her mouth. All this time he moaned, he groaned, his husky voice rumbled as he nipped at her, tasted her, drank her in, made passionate love to her mouth.

  Catie had never imagined such a kiss. A kiss that not only gave, but took. A kiss that heated her body and caused havoc between her legs. A kiss nearly as intimate as the sexual act itself.

  After a few breathless moments, the passion slowed, and Chad moved his lips to her cheek, raining tiny kisses across her face, her neck. Catie shuddered as sparks erupted everywhere his lips touched.

  “Chad, Chad,” she said. “This feels so good. So nice.”

  “You ain’t felt nothin’ yet, sugar.” Chad traced the shell of her ear with his hot tongue. “Damn, you’re something, Catie. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted a woman this much.”

  “Take me, Chad. Please.�
�

  “Aw, sugar. I can’t.” He fingered the wisp of her spaghetti strap and eased it down over her shoulder. He kissed her sensitive skin, leaving tingles everywhere. His calloused hands reached for the other strap, and soon the bodice of her sheath dropped to her waist, exposing her breasts.

  Chad sucked in a breath. “Coppery-brown, like the bricks on the walkway to my place.”

  “What?”

  “Your nipples, sugar. They’re beautiful. And they’re all puckered up and hard for me.” He moved her hands from her shoulders, but stopped before settling them on her breasts. “If I taste those pretty nipples, there’s no going back. I won’t be able to stop. I’ll need to make love to you. All the way, baby. Are you sure you want that?”

  “God, yes, Chad. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “You know I can’t marry you.”

  “Geez, I’m not asking for a marriage proposal.”

  “You deserve one, Catie, but it won’t come from me. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. For God’s sake, Chad, just get on with it.”

  “Tell me you’ve done this before, sugar. You’ve slept with a man.”

  “Uh…yeah, sure I have.”

  “Okay. Are you sure you want this?”

  “Damn it, how many times do I have to say it?”

  He chuckled. “One more ought to do it.”

  “Okay then.” She smiled at him and tried her darnedest to look as though the whole marriage thing meant nothing to her. Hoping he couldn’t read all the lies in her eyes. “I want this. I want you.” She tried not to choke on the words. “I understand you won’t marry me.”

  “Thank God. As long as we’re on the same page.” He lowered his mouth to her nipple and kissed it.

  A jolt shot through Catie like a streak of lightning. She already knew the warm softness of those lips on hers, but on the sensitive turgid flesh of her nipple, they sparked heat to every cell of her body.

  “Mmm,” Chad said against her flesh, “these taste even better than they look.” He closed his teeth around her nipple and tugged.

  She gasped. Pleasure flowed through her like warm honey and settled between her legs. She closed her eyes and leaned her head backward, the whisper of her long tresses a tickle against her bare skin.