“No. Not particularly.”
“What’s wrong, sugar?”
“Nothing I can talk about now. I’ll tell you when I get there, okay?”
“Okay, baby.” He smiled into the phone. “I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
Positive.
The dang thing was positive.
Catie drove onto the McCray property and edged her way to Chad’s ranch house. How could she tell him? He had taken precautions. Maybe she should have gone on birth control pills a while back as an extra back-up. But she hadn’t been sexually active, so what would have been the point? Or she should have carried some spermicidal suppositories in her purse. Even if she had, would she have bothered with them when Chad put on a condom?
She shook her head. No more second guessing. What was done was done, and she and Chad had to figure out what to do about it together.
She hadn’t trapped him. The condom breaking had been an unfortunate accident. Nothing more. He would understand that.
Should she have told him about the condom? She hadn’t wanted to worry him unnecessarily over an eleven percent possibility.
Again, it didn’t really matter. Chad knew he had used a condom. He couldn’t accuse her of trapping him. She would never have done that to him anyway. She loved him too much.
If she was going to have him, she wanted all of him. His love. His devotion. His whole heart and soul.
What would he do?
More importantly, what would he want her to do?
Because she had made up her mind about one thing already. Whether he decided to be involved or not, she was having this baby.
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey there, rodeo queen,” Chad drawled when he opened the door for Catie.
He looked gorgeous, as usual. His snug fitting jeans hugged his firm rear-end and sat below his hips at just the right angle to show off the cuts in his hip bones. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, damn him. His golden muscular chest made her heart race.
He reached toward her. “You been crying, sugar?”
Crying. Bawling. Heck, yes. He’d be crying in a minute, too.
She sniffed. “A little.”
“What on earth is wrong? Can I help?”
“I don’t know that you can, Chad.” Catie stifled a sob. “But I do need to talk to you.”
“Well, now, come on in, then.” He led her to the kitchen. “Brenda whipped us up a nice lunch. You want some tea?” He grinned. “Some raspberry tea?”
Catie’s tummy lurched at the thought of food. It was too early for morning sickness. She had a couple of more weeks before that lovely part of pregnancy set in. Nope, this nausea came from having to tell perpetual bachelor Chad McCray that he was about to become a father.
“Tea’d be fine, but I can’t eat. I’m not feeling quite myself.”
“All right. Sit on down.” He motioned to his kitchen table. “I’ll get you some tea, and then you can tell me what’s got that pretty face all in a frown.”
He brought her tea, sat down next to her, took her hand, and rubbed his thumb into her palm. It felt warm. It felt good.
“Catie, there’s something I need to say to you.”
“What?”
“Well, I hope this’ll help you feel better. Course I might be overestimating my importance in your life.” He looked into his lap. “But I sure hope not. Anyway”—he took her other hand—“I’d like to…see you. Romantically. You know, take you on a date. Get to know each other better.”
Her heart sank. Was her dream actually coming true? Now that she had to tell him she was pregnant? Tears threatened behind her eyes. “Chad—”
“Let me finish.” He cleared his throat. “I know we went to bed quickly. I wanted it. I don’t have to tell you that.”
“I wanted it too. And I meant it when I said you didn’t owe me anything.” I still mean it, Catie thought, even though… She couldn’t finish the thought.
“I know you did, sugar. But I’m hoping you’ll let me be more of a part of your life. I… I have strong feelings for you. I’d like to see where they could lead.”
“Uh, well, sure, Chad. I’d like that, too, but—”
“But what, sugar?”
“I have something I have to tell you. I hope you’ll be happy. I just don’t know.” She choked back another sob and sniffed.
Chad stood and brought a box of tissues to her.
“Thank you.”
“No problem, sugar. I hate to see you like this. Is one of your horses sick?”
“No, no. Nothing like that.”
“Then what is it? You can tell me. I’ll help if I can.”
How she hoped he’d help. How she hoped he wouldn’t be completely disappointed.
She took a deep breath. “Chad, I’m pregnant.”
* * *
Chad inhaled, and his heart nearly skidded to a stop. Pregnant. Baby.
How many times could one man—one man who intended to remain single and childless—endure those words?
Within seconds, Chad relived the hellish two month nightmare he’d withstood the previous year—only a week after he’d buried his mother.
“Well, hi there,” the pretty blond woman said when he opened his door on a warm summer evening. She held the hand of a little blond toddler.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” Chad asked.
“Don’t you recognize me, Chad?”
“Uh…well. I’m sure sorry. Can’t say that I do.”
“Surely you remember that night we spent in Denver four years ago? During the stock show?” She winked. “I know I’ll never forget it.”
Stock show? Chad recognized her then. He’d met the woman at a party Angie and Harper had thrown. He and Dusty’s brother, Sam, had taken off with this woman and her friend, barrel racer Sydney Buchanan. They’d gone to dinner, and then back to his hotel room…
“Yeah, yeah, Laura, right?”
“Linda.” She continued to smile, but tension laced her lips.
“Linda, okay. What can I do for you?”
She let go of the little boy’s hand and pushed him forward. “I’d like you to meet your son.”
* * *
Silence. His face had turned to granite. Had he gone completely devoid of emotion? Catie stood, pondering. Should she say something else?
Finally, “Good joke.”
“It’s not a joke.”
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t be pregnant. We used protection.”
“Yes. I know. But after that first night, I found one of your condoms by the trash in the morning. It… It had a tear in it.”
“Impossible. I use the best there are. I’ve never had a problem before.” He stood up and paced. “How can you be sure?”
“I’m a few days late. I drove into Murphy this morning and bought a home pregnancy test. It…was positive.”
“Only a few days? Then that could be a mistake.”
“Yeah. It could be, but it’s not. This is the same thing they use at doctor’s offices, Chad. They’re so sensitive now that you can detect pregnancy before you even miss your period. I’ve already missed mine.”
“Come on. You’re going to a doctor. The best in Denver. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“Chad, I agree that I need to go to a doctor, but to start prenatal care, not to have a pregnancy test.”
“Prenatal care? Oh my God.”
“Chad, I—”
“A rip in the condom. Nearly twenty years of condom use, Catie, and I’ve never had one rip on me. Interesting, isn’t it?”
“Wh-What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, that last time, you put the condom on me, remember?”
“So?”
“So it would have been really easy for you to poke a hole in it without me knowing.”
Catie’s blood boiled. “You are not going to pin this on me. I found the condom with the tear in it after the first time, before I ever put a condom on you. And for your information, I wi
shed damn hard for that test to be negative. I knew you didn’t want a child, a family. I knew you didn’t want me. But it’s positive, and the child is yours.”
“Maybe.”
She clenched her fists. “How dare you?”
“How do I know who you’ve been seeing? I’ve only been with you a few days out of the three weeks you’ve been home.”
“You fucking bastard!” Catie stood and pushed her chair under the table loudly. “The baby is yours. The condom ripped. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Get in my truck.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“The hell you’re not. We’re going to have a real doctor check you out. Then we’ll figure out where we can go to get rid of this…problem.”
“Get rid of it?” She gritted her teeth. “You can’t be serious. Know one thing, Chad McCray. I’m having this baby. With or without you.”
“Goddamnit.”
“What’s your problem anyway? A minute ago, you wanted to date me. To see me romantically, I believe is how you put it.”
“Dating you and setting up house are two different things.”
“Setting up house? I haven’t asked you for anything.”
“The hell you haven’t. Come on.”
“No.”
“Yes. We need to get you to a doctor in Denver. We need to find out what’s going on.”
“I already know what’s going on. I’m having a baby. You’re the father. I’m not asking you for anything. You can be involved or not. It’s your choice, but I’m having this child.”
Chad’s muscles tightened visibly. “If you’re bound and determined, you’re coming with me. I want a real doctor to look at you, Catie.”
He said not another word as he pulled her out of the kitchen, out of the house, and into his pickup.
He said not a word during the two hour drive to Denver.
He said not a word as he pulled her into the OB-GYN department of Denver Memorial hospital and demanded to see the best doctor they had.
They waited another hour in the waiting area, and he said not a word.
When the doctor confirmed the pregnancy, pronounced Catie in excellent health, assured her she could still have intimate relations, and wrote her a prescription for prenatal vitamins, Chad finally spoke.
“Come on, then.” He pulled her out of the doctor’s office.
“Where are we going now?”
“To the courthouse. We’re getting married.”
Chapter Fifteen
In a pink haze, Catie became Mrs. Chad McCray.
No Papa giving her away. No Angie as her beautiful maid of honor. No white dress. No flowers. No Mama crying in the front row. No Mozart and no string quartet.
No passionate wedding kiss.
Just a quick signing of a marriage license and basic vows spoken in robotic tones.
She had married the man of her dreams.
In an event the opposite of what she had dreamed of for nearly her entire life.
He didn’t want her. Except maybe sexually. Not enough. Not what she’d dreamed of.
He didn’t love her.
But he felt responsible for her. For her and this child she was determined to bring into the world.
Had she been more herself, she might not have gone through with the wedding. But she had, and now she and Chad were driving back to Bakersville after dark.
“I… Where will I live?” The first words she’d spoken since “I do.”
“At my place. You can have your own room.”
“Oh.” So that’s how it would be. “I need to stop at my house, get some stuff.”
“In the morning.”
“But I need my… I need to tell my parents. About us. About the baby.”
“In the morning, Catie.”
“Now. Please.”
Chad pulled onto the side of the road and turned off the ignition. He turned to her, his eyes cold.
“Catie, this day has turned into something out of my nightmares. I will eventually have to tell your parents that I knocked up their baby girl. Out of wedlock.”
“But it was an accident. We used protection. They’ll understand.”
Chad scoffed. “Your daddy’ll understand? That I humped his daughter and got her with child? It sounds like a fucking lie, Catie, and I’m having a hard time believing it myself.”
“But—”
“No buts. Tomorrow we’ll deal with our families. Tonight I want to go home and go to bed.” He turned on the ignition, looked straight ahead, and continued driving.
Catie’s heart sank. Sadness welled within her. She wanted her mother. Her father. Her brother. Her own house. Her own bed. To be back in Paris. To be traveling. She longed to talk to Dominic, who had become her best friend. She wanted so much.
Most of all, she wanted Chad’s love.
And here she found herself married to him. The man she loved, had always loved.
The father of her child.
How had things gone so horribly wrong?
When they finally arrived at Chad’s house, he ushered her inside.
“The doctor said you can have sex.”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“Then I, by God, want a wedding night. You’ll stay with me tonight. You can move into one of the guest rooms tomorrow.”
“No, Chad. I don’t want to be…intimate with you tonight.”
“I don’t recall asking your opinion on the matter.”
He grabbed her and kissed her. Hard. She gasped as his tongue plunged into her mouth. They had kissed before, but not like this. This was an angry kiss. A possessive kiss.
Despite herself, she enjoyed it. He held her so close she felt every inch of his muscle pressed against her. His masterful mouth devoured hers, and she felt, rather than heard, the moans from deep within his chest. She shivered as her passion grew. Though he was angry, she loved the warmth of his body pressed so close to hers. She tunneled her fingers through his silky hair, pulling him closer, and she caught his tongue between her lips and sucked it into her mouth, nursing on it like it contained the nectar of life. Like she couldn’t get enough.
She couldn’t.
He groaned again and ground his arousal into her belly. His body became more insistent. She bit his lip, his tongue, and then plunged her own into the firm drugging pressure of his mouth. The perfect kiss.
Without breaking the kiss, Chad lifted her and carried her to his bedroom.
* * *
He’d lost control.
Never had happened before, but he’d gone feral. This woman was carrying his child. He should show her the respect she deserved, but here he was acting like a caveman branding his woman.
Yet he couldn’t stop.
He wanted her. Wanted to brand her. Wanted to possess her.
Wife.
Mother of his child.
He nearly roared with triumph.
A wife he didn’t want. A child he wasn’t ready for.
But damn it, Catie was his now. His forever. And he’d have her tonight. She wasn’t resisting. Why shouldn’t he have her?
“Chad…” Her voice burrowed against his shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“I…nothing.”
“Look, Catie, we don’t have to do this.”
What the hell was he saying? She was his wife.
“It’s okay. I…want you. I’ve always wanted you. You know that. I’m just sorry.”
“Sorry about what? About getting pregnant? Why? It got you what you wanted.”
She whipped her head away from his body—he was still holding her—and said, “What I wanted?”
“Me. You’ve always wanted me.”
“Not like this.”
“Well, you got me. Now I want to make love to my wife.” He placed her on the bed as gently as he could and began to undress her. When her beautiful body had been bared to his view, he ripped his own clothes off and joined her on the bed. He forced his libido to ca
lm. He’d take her, but he’d do it slowly, gently. She deserved that much.
Even though what he wanted at this very moment was to thrust into her and declare to the world that she was his.
A wife he didn’t want.
But she was his, damn it, and the world would know it.
He kissed her again. This time gently, but insistently, nibbling across her upper lip and then her lower, running his tongue along the seam of her lips, coaxing her open. When their tongues touched, his groin burst into flames.
Just a kiss from this woman turned him to jelly.
He sucked at her tongue, swirling, coaxing, and then she did it again. She sucked his tongue into her mouth, and he went crazy. He groaned. For a woman who was a virgin a mere few weeks ago, she sure knew how to kiss him into a frenzy.
Her sweet little moans fueled his passion, and he moved on top of her, grinding his erection against her soft curves.
It was going to be so amazing. Sex without a condom. Thirty-two years old, and he’d never experienced the sensation. He’d fuck her with no barrier.
But not yet. Not until she was so soaking wet that she begged him. Then he’d take her, and they’d both soar to the moon.
Chad deepened the kiss, tasting every crevice of her sweet raspberry mouth. He cupped a breast and thumbed one perfect nipple. She wriggled under him, moaning into his mouth. His arousal grew harder. Harder than he’d ever been.
Wife.
Catie was his wife. His. No other man’s.
Before he could think, he thrust his hard cock into her moist depth.
God. This is what he’d been missing the last seventeen years? Every ridge, every soft caress of her walls gloved his cock. She moaned beneath him, her voice a soft whisper in the sanctity of their bedroom.
Their bedroom.
He wanted this to be their bedroom.
He withdrew and then thrust again. Only four thrusts and he was coming, spilling inside her.
Inside his wife. Inside his wife where his seed already was being nurtured. Nurtured into a child. His child. His and Catie’s.
Would it be little girl who looked just like her beautiful mama?
Taking Catie: The Temptation Saga: Book Three Page 12