LoverforRansom (9 page)

His muscles jerked and he resisted the impulse to withdraw.
Finally, he could stand the heightened sensation no longer. Taking her head in
his hands, he held her in place as he removed his flesh from her mouth.

He wilted and dragged her into his arms. Emotions threatened
to roil inside him and he waged war on them, just as he’d battled this woman’s
countrymen in the throes of combat.

His first instinct was to drive her out of bed and out of
his house. Letting a woman linger in the bed after sex only brought trouble.

But Ransom wasn’t ready for her to leave just yet.
“Cathleen,” he muttered and tilted her face up to his.

Beautiful
. The word repeated itself over and over in
his head as his gaze drank in the sight of her swollen lips, her dark eyes, her
taut, dusky nipples and the thatch of glistening black curls between her
thighs.

“Beautiful,” he ground out, and then covered her mouth with
his.

Cathleen entwined her arms around Ransom’s neck and broad
shoulders as she opened her mouth to receive his kiss. Her body sang with
something vibrant, some whisper of a promise she didn’t want to face right now.

His fingers sought between her legs, raked through her
sodden folds and then glided in deliberate circles around her clitoris. She
writhed restlessly, unable to get close enough, to attain satisfaction fast
enough. His kiss deepened. His tongue delved.

Cathleen tried to rock her hips but his free hand held her
anchored against him and all she could do was throw her knee over his hips to
give him more access to her body. His cock nudged against her thigh. If only
she could twist and coax it inside her. She would have begged for it but he never
allowed her that luxury.

A growl tore from his throat as their teeth clashed. His
pressure on her clitoris intensified and once again, stars flashed behind her
closed eyelids as bliss carried her reeling into the heavens.

* * * * *

Cathleen had been reluctant to wash Ransom’s scent away as
she prepared herself for the day. She wanted the musky reminder of his taste
and his fragrance about her, but she knew Jenny’s sharpened perception would
divulge the secret.

A smile played on Cathleen’s lips as she dabbed on a perfume
blended with lilacs, hyacinths and honeysuckles. She’d never been one to
splurge on such frivolities, but was now glad she’d spent the money. No matter
how much she washed, traces of Ransom still lingered on her skin and—Cathleen
giggled—in her mouth.

He’d pleasured her twice more before helping her dress and
then providing her with a lantern to light her way back to the big house. She’d
barely gotten in the door before the rooster hailed the dawn.

She was so tired, she wondered how she’d ever manage to make
it through the day.

Blinking, she leaned forward and peered at her reflection in
the mirror. She looked an utter fright. She slipped on her glasses, smoothed
down her hair and stepped back to appraise herself once more.

It occurred to her that she’d never before been so concerned
about her appearance, and that her interest stemmed from the idea that she
desired Ransom’s approval. The thought irked her. “It shouldn’t matter what he
thinks,” she said out loud. Theirs was not a love match. Far from it.

She fingered the jet cameo brooch at her throat. Exactly how
was she to define her relationship with the decidedly talented Ransom Byrne?

Warmth unfurled and pooled in her pantalets at the memory of
how he’d kissed her there. Her hand fell to her abdomen where it seemed as if
butterflies flitted. She’d wanted him to take her. It scared her to recall how
badly she’d lusted for him.

She breathed in as deeply as she could. At her request, her
stays had been laced tighter than usual this morning and they made drawing in
enough air difficult. The back of her neck flamed.

She sighed in exasperation and the bemused smile on her face
faded. She’d allowed herself to turn into a simpering idiot over the attentions
of a man. “What a fool you are, Catie Ryan,” she told herself.

“Breakfast!” Merry called from the landing.

“Coming!” Cathleen replied.

Sudden dread consumed her at the knowledge she was about to
come face-to-face with Ransom.

“Good morning,” Jenny said as she passed the doorway.

“Good morning,” Cathleen said, joining her charge to guide
her down the stairs. The puppy bounded down in front of them.

“Listen to his footfall,” Cathleen said, “and you can hear
when he reaches the bottom.”

Jenny’s fingers tightened on Cathleen’s arm. “You’re as
tense as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”

Cathleen tried to force herself to relax. It was no use.
“I’m merely tired. I didn’t sleep well.”

“I heard you come up the stairs early this morning.”

The heat in the back of Cathleen’s neck moved around and
into her cheeks. “I thought an early morning walk might clear my mind.”

Together they descended the stairs and entered the dining
room. Mr. and Mrs. Byrne stood waiting, but a strange mix of disappointment
laced with relief flooded Cathleen when she did not see Ransom.

Jenny’s chin lifted as greetings were exchanged. Her brow
furrowed as if something were amiss. “Where’s Brother?”

“He rode out early this morning for Franklin. Said he has
business to attend,” Mr. Byrne declared as he seated the women and then moved
around to his own chair at the head of the table.

Throughout breakfast, Cathleen could not relinquish the idea
that Ransom’s absence had something to do with what had happened between them
the night before.

Doubt reared hard inside her. What if he’d reconsidered
their arrangement? What if she’d displeased him? She didn’t like the
unequivocally feminine emotions churning inside her.

Or the awful realization she might have entered into an
agreement with the devil.

* * * * *

Sitting atop Asteroid, Ransom stared down the hill at
Harriet Bostick’s house. He ought to pay her a call. It made no sense that he’d
come all this way…and lacked the desire to dally with his favorite distraction.

He twisted the reins around his gloved hand and shifted in
the saddle. Memories of the previous night roiled in his brain.

He’d come dangerously close to claiming a virgin. He shut
his eyes tight and breathed in. How stupid he’d been. Offering up a silent
prayer to the heavens for giving him the fortitude to stop, he dug his heels in
and urged Asteroid back down the pike toward Thompson’s Station. The widow
could do without his visit today.

No sooner had he come to terms with his decision, than the
recollection of ordering Cathleen to go to his room and strip naked slipped to
the surface.

That moment when he’d been utterly and completely in control
of her pleasure both intrigued and disturbed him. Playful spanking and toying
with restraints had heretofore only been something at which he’d dabbled with
his more adventurous lovers. Those incidents had been scarce as a hen’s teeth.
And not only rare, but spontaneous.

He and Cathleen had set forth the terms of their… Ransom
searched for the word. Arrangement. Yes, that was perfect. For it was hardly
anything he dared to deem a relationship. That clarification aside, he’d never
been involved in planned…punishment.

“Damn.” The infernal woman had him at a loss to form
sentences in his own head.

Had she looked for him to be at breakfast this morning? He
simply hadn’t been able to face her. More importantly, he’d been terrified of
how she’d react. On the one hand, he wanted her to remain levelheaded about
this…arrangement. Why did he keep stumbling over that word?

But some baser part of him yearned for her to want more.

The knowledge stunned him.

More between them was not only impossible, it was ludicrous.

He didn’t want more.

A ripple shuddered through Asteroid from the animal’s ears
to his tail.

“You want to run, don’t you?” Ransom asked.

Asteroid blew a snort and jerked his head. With a laugh,
Ransom snapped the reins and the horse bolted forward, legs churning as he
covered the distance from Franklin to Thompson’s Station.

With the wind in his face and the powerful animal moving
effortlessly beneath him, Ransom pushed the troublesome thoughts out of his
head and instead, enjoyed the ride.

Asteroid was loath to walk when they reached the stone wall
marking Byrne’s End’s property line. Shaking his head fiercely, the animal
stomped and snorted.

“Calm down, you grand rascal,” Ransom told him. But the
horse’s sense of anticipation mirrored his own.

Cathleen would be here, doubtless garbed in that threadbare
mourning gown and those peculiar spectacles. Only Ransom would know what lush
curves that dress hid. The woman was a wildcat, begging to be tamed.

As if consigned to his fate, Asteroid plodded up the drive.
Ransom studied the big house with its imposing Georgian façade. He’d always
thought he’d live out his days here with grandchildren on his knee and a team
of trainers like Morris Hunt to oversee the horse breeding.

That dream could still be yours.

The intruding voice shocked Ransom. He’d resigned himself.
He’d decided.

He didn’t like changing his mind once he’d made it up. Hell
no.

Besides, though he kept his emotions to himself, seeing
Jenny groping her way through the house and Sissy becoming more and more
dependent on her
tonic
ate at Ransom like a festering sore. He’d done
those things. He’d caused them.

He didn’t deserve a happy life amongst people who loved him
in spite of the misery he’d brought on his family.

Beyond the house, under the shade of a giant Osage-orange
tree, Cathleen sat on a blanket. Charles and Jenny sat on either side of her.
Ransom smiled to himself at the sight of Cathleen holding Jenny’s hand on the
pages of an open book. Jenny’s smile was bright and she nodded her head as if
she understood what Cathleen was teaching.

Jenny had always loved to read. It eased Ransom’s heart to
see her enjoying her favorite pastime once more.

The puppy brought Charles a stick and the two played a quiet
game of tug-of-war—until Charles saw Ransom.

The boy shot to his feet. “Mister Ransom!”

Ransom’s gaze flicked to Cathleen. He wanted to see her
reaction.

He wasn’t disappointed.

Her shoulders rose as she inhaled. The hint of a smile
played on her lips and she pushed her glasses up higher on her nose.

He slid out of the saddle and walked Asteroid toward the
tree. His stomach tightened. His palms grew damp. Instinct urged him to turn
the other way, to go to the barn, go anywhere but to that tree—and to
her
.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted. The blush tinting Cathleen’s
cheeks sent a tendril of triumph coursing through him.

“Do you want me to take care of Asteroid?” Charles asked
eagerly.

The puppy let out a sharp, high-pitched bark. Ransom bent
and scooped the little mongrel up in his arms.

“Would you like that?” he asked Charles.

“Yes sir,” the boy said, reaching for the reins.

“Wait!” Jenny interrupted. She pushed herself up and turned
in the direction of Ransom’s voice. “Could I…could I ride him?”

“Oh, I don’t know—” Cathleen began.

At the same time, Ransom said, “Asteroid? Are you out of
your mind? Even as skilled as you were before…before the war, and even given
this old boy’s age, he’s not the horse for you.”

Cathleen closed her book and stood as well. Her gaze
scrutinized him and he struggled to keep from flinching lest she see too much.

“Is there perhaps another horse she might ride?” Cathleen
asked.

“What about String Bean?” Charles asked.

Jenny scowled. “That old bony bay couldn’t run if he wanted
to.”

“That’s the idea,” Ransom remarked.

“Want me to saddle him up?” Charles offered.

“It’s String Bean or nothing,” Ransom declared.

Jenny huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

“What if Miss Ryan rides him too?” Ransom said with a wink.

“Miss Ryan? On String Bean?” Jenny laughed.

Cathleen smirked. “I’m afraid I’m not very adept at horse
riding.”

“We know,” the trio said in unison.

“You could teach her,” Ransom directed at Jenny.

Cathleen’s humor turned to a scowl. “I don’t know about that…”

Ransom turned to Charles. “Put a saddle on String Bean, and
not that side saddle, mind you. I won’t have either of these gals falling off.”

Charles bolted toward the barn.

“Now, Mr. Byrne—” Cathleen began.

“You can’t live in Tennessee and not know how to ride,”
Ransom said.

Jenny’s demeanor had changed and now she seemed excited
about the idea of returning to the saddle.

“But astride?” Cathleen objected.

“I always rode astraddle,” Jenny chirped.

Ransom laughed. “Yes, much to Sissy’s chagrin.”

“Aunt Chloe’s face that time you let me ride astride to
Spring Hill with you!” Jenny blurted and burst into laughter.

“I thought she would skin me alive,” Ransom said. “If I
hadn’t been two heads taller than her, she’d have taken a cornstalk to me.”

Their mirth didn’t appear to reach Cathleen, who kept
turning anxiously toward the barn. She worried her bottom lip, a little habit
Ransom had grown to appreciate.

His fingers itched to tear down that severe chignon and
release her inky locks. Her gaze flicked to his. She drew in a quick breath and
then looked away.

Charles emerged with String Bean. The gangly animal looked
dumbfounded, but enthusiastic to finally be wearing a saddle. With his
abundance of buck teeth and two overly large mulish ears, the horse reminded Ransom
of one of the Bumpas brood that lived down toward Mt. Pleasant. None of the
Bumpases were known for their looks—or their smarts. Neither was String Bean.
But the animal was eager to please and had never bucked a rider.