Taking Catie: The Temptation Saga: Book Three (2 page)

C
atie inhaled
, closed her eyes, and hoped beyond hope the ground might open up beneath her and swallow her whole. What in the hell had Harper been thinking? She’d seen herself in the mirror in the restroom. The ten hour flight hadn’t been kind. Her hair was limp, her eyes puffy, and her left cheek still had a faint imprint from the airplane seat where she’d fallen asleep for a blessed two hours. Still, she was shy about six more hours of slumber, and her face and body showed it. Thankfully, she hadn’t tripped coming out of the bathroom.

Chad McCray.

He was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen. His dark walnut hair fell to his shoulders in silky waves—silky waves she’d fantasized running her fingers through more than once. His brown eyes were long lashed and mesmerizing, and now, little crinkly laugh lines added to their allure. His sinewy and sexy forearms were as muscular as ever, and those wispy brown hairs still peeked out from his western shirt. Tall, the tallest of the McCray boys at six-feet-four—the most beautiful cowboy she’d ever laid eyes on.

And clinging to him was a pretty blond woman. A jolt of jealousy hit Catie in the gut.

Had she really wanted to come to the Bullfrog? What had she been thinking? Her margarita could wait.

Too late now, though.

“Hi, Chad,” she said, and held out her hand. Might as well make the best of the situation. She was an adult now, not some drooling kid with a crush. So she didn’t look her best. She could still act the part.

“Catie, I can’t believe it,” Chad said. “I wouldn’t have recognized you. You’ve sure grown up. Where the heck have you been? Why didn’t you come home to visit more often?”

“Well, I—”

“She hasn’t been home at all,” Harper said. “She’s been traveling the world with her global friends.” He laughed. “But I hope we can convince her to stay for a while, now that she’s here.”

“Uh, Chad?” The pretty blond woman tugged at his sleeve.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Catie, this is Amber. Amber, Catie.”

“Caitlyn,” Catie said. “I go by Caitlyn now.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Caitlyn,” Amber said. “I just moved here from San Antonio.”

“Really? How nice,” Catie said. “Would the two of you care to join us for a drink? I told Harper I just had to have a Colorado margarita after that plane ride. You must excuse me, I know I’m a mess. Overseas flights are a killer.” Catie stopped to take a breath. She was talking too fast. And what was she thinking? Inviting them for a drink. Chad McCray was the last cowboy in Bakersville she wanted to have a drink with.

Yeah, right.

“Yeah, please join us,” Harper said. “The more, the merrier.”

“We were just leaving,” Amber said, “but I’d love a rain check. How about it, Chad?”

“You don’t mind if we join them, do you?”

Chad’s words were for Amber, but he raked his gaze over Catie. Her heart sank. She didn’t want him to see her like this. He was no doubt thinking she looked as bad as she felt.

“Well…” Amber fidgeted with her small purse.

“You’re new here, honey,” he said, and the word “honey” sent another slice into Catie’s gut. “Don’t you want to meet more people?”

“Of course I do.” Amber continued to fidget.

Catie felt a little sorry for her. She seemed like a perfectly nice person, and Chad had totally put her on the spot. Of course, she was Chad’s date for the evening, so Catie didn’t feel all that bad.

Then again, Chad always had a date.

Ever since that fifteen-year-old boy had strutted into her house to work with Angie on some sociology project, he’d been a ladies’ man. He’d never dated Angie, but he’d dated every other pretty thing in Bakersville. Every time he had, another chisel had chipped away at Catie’s heart.

Her little girl crush had never gone away. She’d always thought it would, had actually hoped it would, but nope, it’d only gotten stronger over the years. When she hit puberty herself at twelve, it turned into full blown heart-breaking puppy love. Puppy love that bloomed and grew for the next six years.

Deciding to attend the Sorbonne in Paris had been Catie’s own idea. Her mother had balked at it, saying the distance was too far to go for college, but Catie had wanted to leave Bakersville. Leave the whole U.S.A. She loved her country, but she thought if she got away from Chad McCray, maybe she could stop pining over him.

She’d left after her eighteenth birthday, though she’d made the decision several months earlier. On her eighteenth birthday, though, after her botched seduction attempt with Chad, she’d realized the decision had been a good one. A perfect one. She needed to get over Chad McCray.

That’s why she hadn’t come home for four years.

Oh, the traveling had been fun, and she’d learned and experienced so much. Wonderful memories and amazing friendships that she’d treasure forever.

But the traveling wasn’t why she hadn’t returned.

The reason she’d stayed away was embodied in the tall and ruggedly handsome cowboy staring at her.

“Well, then,” she said, trying her darnedest to act nonchalant, “let’s have a seat, shall we? I’m thirsting for that Colorado margarita.”

She took Amber’s arm, bypassing Chad. “It’s wonderful to meet you. What brought you to Bakersville?”

“I’m working for Judy at the salon. I do nails.”

“Oh, how nice.” Catie led Amber to a table for four in a corner. “Mine are a fright. I’ll have to come see you.”

“Oh, yes, please do. I’m just starting to build my clientele.” Amber sat down next to Chad and possessively glommed onto his arm. “I’d appreciate any new business.”

“I imagine I’ll be coming in for the works in a few days,” Catie said. “Traveling does terrible things to my hair.” She shook her head and tried to act casual. “I need a facial, too.”

“Sheesh, Catie, what’s all this girl talk?” Harper said. “Let’s get you that margarita. Then you can tell us about your trip to Greece.”

“Greece?” Chad shook his head. “You went to Greece, little bit?”

Little bit? Chad McCray hadn’t changed. She tried to ignore the nickname. “Yes, my friend Dominic and I spent two weeks there during spring break. It’s gorgeous, as you can imagine.”

“She’ll have all her photos at the shindig tomorrow night,” Harper said. “You’re coming aren’t you, Chad?”

“Sure, wouldn’t miss it,” Chad said, his gaze meeting Catie’s. Again.

Amber looked self-conscious, biting her lip. Should Catie invite her? Would Chad? She waited a moment, but Chad said nothing.

Catie turned to Amber. “I hope you can come. It’d be a chance to meet lots of folks. My silly mama thinks everyone in town wants to hear all about my travels.” She smiled as Amber started to relax. “But it’s really just an excuse for a big party. Please say you’ll come.”

“I’d love to come,” Amber said. “Thank you for the invitation. I’ll need to get directions to your place.”

“Chad can pick you up, can’t you?” Harper said.

“Uh, sure. Yeah, I can do that.” Chad played with the collar of his shirt. “You working tomorrow?”

“Till six,” Amber said.

“I’ll pick you up at Judy’s at six, then. Will that work?”

“Sure, that’d be fine.”

A waitress interrupted their conversation and took their drink orders. Chad and Harper started talking about ranching, seeming to forget all about her trip to Greece. Amber smiled up at Chad, her hand resting possessively on his arm.

When Catie’s margarita came, she took a long drink. The salt around the rim stung her lips, chapped from the dry air on the plane.

Nothing like it.

She chugged the rest and stood up, her head a bit hazy. When had she last eaten? On the plane sometime.

“I want to dance,” she announced, and grabbed her handsome cowboy’s arm. “Come on, Chad.”

“Little bit,” Chad said, as she dragged him away, “are you sure you want to do this?”

“Sure I’m sure,” Catie said. “It’s just a dance.”

“You drank that ’rita awful fast, sugar.”

Sugar? She liked the sound of that. “A little tequila, a little Garth Brooks, a little dance with a handsome cowboy. Sounds like heaven.”

“Whatever you say, little bit.”

“Little bit?” She looked into his eyes, so dark they were nearly black. They seemed to smoke. “I like sugar better.”

“Okay,” he drawled. “Come on.” He snaked his arms around her waist. “Let’s cut the rug, sugar.”

The song wasn’t made for slow dancing, but the crowd on the dance floor necessitated closeness between them. Chad’s hard body crushed against her, and her pulse quickened.

“I’m glad you decided not to ignore me all night.”

“Ignore you?”

“Yeah, you talking on and on with Amber, when it’s clear to a saint you and she have nothin’ at all in common.” He chuckled. “You sure have changed, little…I mean, sugar,” Chad said. “I hardly recognized you.”

“It’s been four years, Chad.”

“What happened to the little girl who loved horses more than people?”

“She’s still in here.”

“I admit, I sure was surprised you left your mare. You must have had a huge reason for leaving the country.”

“Oh, I did.”

“What was it?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you sometime,” she said coyly.

“Okay, sugar.” He chuckled. “I’ll hold you to that.”

The music changed from fast to slow, and she leaned into Chad’s muscles, closed her eyes, and inhaled. Leather. Leather and cinnamon. And Chad. Musky, male, perfect Chad. If anything, he’d become even more appealing in the four years she’d been gone.

They swayed gently to the music, their bodies melting together in all the right places. Catie slipped into a dreamworld, a world she hadn’t dared visit in the last four years. A world she’d thought she could forget.

No. She couldn’t forget. They might have only this one dance, but she’d make it worthwhile. She pulled away just a smidge and stared up into Chad’s face. She wanted only to look at him, to drink him in. But his dark eyes smoldered, and she read something in them. Something she couldn’t quite decipher.

“Sugar?” His voice cracked. Just a little, but she noticed.

“Hmm?”

He shook his head slightly. “Goddamn, sugar.”

He lowered his mouth to hers.

T
hey were the softest
, sweetest lips Chad McCray had ever kissed, and he’d kissed a lot. Laced with lime and a touch of salt from her margarita, but mostly they tasted of sweet raspberry wine. Who would have known Catie Bay tasted so good?

Catie Bay.

Little
Catie Bay.

Little bit
.

Damn.

Chad ripped his lips from hers. Thank God he hadn’t sunk his tongue into her mouth. He’d have been lost then. This way, it remained a friendly kiss. A welcome home kiss. Nothing special, just a little peck between friends.

Damn, he wanted more. He wanted to taste the sweet secrets of her mouth, of that beautiful body pressed against him. Her pert little nipples were hard berries protruding through her cotton blouse. They jutted out, begging for his attention. Had any man had tasted them before? His groin tightened, and he wished, if only for a second, that he could be the first to suck them into hard little pebbles. The first to run his tongue over the silky contours of her body, to taste the nectar she had to offer.

Get hold of yourself, McCray. This is little Catie Bay!

Little Catie Bay who was still looking into his eyes with lusty desire. Hell, she had no idea what she was doing to him.

“Come on, sugar,” he said, “let’s get back to the table.”

“I wanna dance.”

“Another time.” He led her back, his fingers entwining with hers of their own volition. Why did her hand feel so good in his?

Amber was deep in conversation with Harper. Thank God she hadn’t seen him kiss Catie. But he had invited her home with him.

Strange thing, he was no longer interested in a roll in the hay with Amber.

Right now, he wanted a roll in the hay with one sugar-lipped Caitlyn Bay.

He was definitely headed for hell in a hand basket.

“Having fun?” he asked Amber, when he and Catie returned to the table.

“Oh, yeah. Harper’s a barrel of laughs.” Amber giggled. “But don’t you think we should be going, Chad? I do have to work tomorrow.”

“Okay. Sure, we can go.” He held out his hand to Amber, trying to come up with a way to get out of taking her home with him. They left the bar and he walked her to her car.

“Honey,” he said, “I’m going to have to take a rain check on that hand massage. I just remembered I have an early day tomorrow. Promised my brothers I’d help them with a few projects. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Oh.” Amber’s face fell.

Chad felt like a heel. She was nice enough girl, but he was no longer interested. What the hell was the matter with him? Pretty face and a hot body, and all he could think about was getting into Catie Bay’s pants. He was hell-bound for sure. Maybe a night in Amber’s bed was exactly what he needed.

“You know, maybe it’d be okay after all,” Chad said. “If you took your own car. I…” Okay, this was awkward. “I have to get up real early, so you wouldn’t be able to spend the night.”

“I think I get what you’re saying,” Amber said. “I’ll take that rain check. I have an early day tomorrow too. And don’t worry about Harper’s party tomorrow night. I can find my own way.”

“Now come on, honey, don’t be like that. This is just a little bump in the road. I can take you to the Bay shindig.”

“Well…”

“I don’t mind at all. I’ll pick you up at the salon at six like we planned, okay?”

Amber smiled. She sure was pretty. So why wasn’t his libido on fire? Didn’t make any sense at all.

“Okay. I’d like that. See you tomorrow, then.”

Chad closed the car door for her and watched as she drove off. He walked back toward the entrance to the bar, and out came a whiff of roses and raspberries. Catie.

“Hey,” he said. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just needed some air.” She laughed, a little shakily. “Shouldn’t have had that second margarita.”

“When’s the last time you ate? Or slept?”

“I slept and ate on the plane.”

“You’re all jet-lagged, sugar. You’d best get home and get to bed. No more ’ritas for you until you’ve had a decent night’s sleep and a decent meal.”

“Now you sound just like Harper,” Catie said. “I happen to be twenty-one, for your information. I’m certainly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Twenty-one.” Chad chuckled. Twenty-one had been so long ago. “You’re just a baby. Let’s get you back inside, and Harper can take you home.”

“I am not a baby, Chad McCray.” She stomped her foot adamantly, barely missing Chad’s boot-clad toe. “I haven’t been a baby for a very long time. You just never took notice.”

“Well, you haven’t exactly been around for me to take notice,” Chad said. Why was he engaging in this infantile conversation? What the heck did he care? “Come with me, sugar.”

“I will not.”

“Oh, yes, you will.” He grabbed her arm, shocked at the tingles he felt when he touched her.

She jerked her arm away. “I’m not a baby, you stupid cowboy, and I’ll prove it.”

She clamped her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers. Her lips claimed his in a forceful open-mouthed kiss. Lime again, and raspberries. Sweet, soft lips. Chad couldn’t help himself. His tongue met hers and tangled, devouring the hidden treasures of her mouth.

He nibbled at her lips, her tongue, and then moved to her cheek, raining tender kisses along her jawline, up to her ear.

“God, you taste good, sugar,” he whispered.

Her sigh was sweet as spring rain against his neck. “Kiss me again, Chad. Please.”

She didn’t have to ask twice. He crushed his mouth to hers and drank of her intoxicating sweetness. Where had she learned to kiss like a little siren? Her tongue inched along his lips, his teeth. When she sucked the point of his tongue into her mouth, his groin tightened and pulsed inside his jeans. He grabbed her and rubbed his arousal against her. That body. That luscious, tempting body.

But this was Catie Bay.

Little Catie Bay.

What the hell am I doing?

He broke the suction of the kiss with a loud smack. “Sugar. We can’t do this.”

“Why not? We’re both adults.”

“No.” He stopped to catch his breath, which was coming in rapid puffs. Damn, he wanted her. Wanted to sink into her softness with every part of his body. Especially one particularly persistent part.

“Chad—”

“Come on.” He led her back into the Bullfrog. “Harper needs to get you home. You need sleep. Or maybe you should eat first. Aw crap, I don’t know, but you need to get the hell out of here.”

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t, something’s gonna happen that we’ll both regret come morning.”

“I’d never regret it, Chad.”

“Yeah, sugar, you would. Trust me.”

“Don’t tell me what I’d regret and what I wouldn’t, Chad McCray.” She stomped her foot again and looked charmingly indignant with her hands on her luscious hips. “I’ve been in Europe for four years. Europe, where nude beaches are the rage and indiscriminate sex is as common as a—”

Chad clamped his hand over Catie’s mouth. “Christ, sugar, shut up, will you? You’re just a babe. You can’t lie on a nude beach. As for sex… I hope to hell you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mmmffpph,” she said under his hand.

“I’m taking you back into Harper, and you’re going home. You and I are going to forget this mistake of a kiss ever happened.”

Catie stopped struggling—why? Chad didn’t know—and let him take her back to Harper. Once she and Harper were safely on their way home, he found his pickup and started the engine. He inhaled sharply, trying to get his bearings. A slight aroma of raspberries wafted to his nose. Catie. Her scent still lingered on his clothes, her sweet taste on his lips.

He hoped to God she could forget their kiss, but one thing was for damn sure.

He never would.

M
aria Bay crushed
Catie into her arms. “Home, finally. Where have you two been, Harp?”

“Catie wanted to stop at the Bullfrog.”

“The Bullfrog? Land sakes.”

“I just wanted a margarita, Mama,” Catie said. “The plane ride was harrowing. And then there was the two hour drive to Bakersville.”

“I could have made you a perfectly fine margarita here,” her mother said, “though God knows why it couldn’t have waited. I’m so glad you’re finally home.”

“Just push me toward my room,” Catie said. “I need to fall into bed.”

“I understand completely, sweetie, but Angie’s on her way over, and I thought we’d have a nice late supper together.”

“Ma, Catie’s been up for twenty-four hours,” Harper said.

“I slept a little on the plane.” Catie’s mouth cracked open in a wide yawn.

“Well, well, little Catie-bug.” Catie’s father, Wayne Bay, entered the room, big as a bear and just as cuddly.

“Daddy!” Catie ran into his arms.

“Let me look at you, sweetheart.”

“You just saw me at Christmas, Daddy.”

“True enough, but let me look at you back in your own home. It’s sure been lonely around here the past four years. Did you see Ladybird?”

“Of course. Harp and I stopped at the corral before we came up to the house. I had to see my precious. You’ve taken great care of her, Daddy.”

“Thank the hands, darlin’. They knew you’d be back eventually and you’d check her out real good. Feel up to a ride?”

Catie yawned again. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but not tonight. I need to get to bed. I’m absolutely exhausted.”

“What about Mama’s dinner? And Angie?”

“All right, all right. Can I just lie down a minute? Why don’t you all come get me when Angie shows up.”

“Sounds fair to me,” her father said, grabbing one of the suitcases Harper had set in the foyer. “Harper and I’ll bring up your luggage. The rest of your stuff arrived yesterday.”

“Good,” Catie said. “I’ll see you all in a little while.”

She trudged up the stairs to her room and flopped on her canopy bed, all pink and ruffled. Yuck. Had she really been the girl who lived in this room? Horse posters everywhere. Tomorrow she’d think about redecorating. But tonight…

She yawned again, her lungs expanding. Closing her eyes, she remembered soft, full masculine lips traveling up her jawline to her earlobe.

Mmm. Chad McCray. She slipped into a dream.