Free Wildcat by Cheyenne McCray Page A

since last night, he could sense her pulling away from him, trying to distance her emotions and her heart.
    After a leisurely breakfast, Jarrod drove Catie back to her ranch, and then walked her up to the front porch. She paused, her fingers gripping the handle of the screen door, and raised her eyes to meet his. “Thanks for the hot time, cowboy.” Her tone was light, but her eyes were so dark they were almost black—like she wanted him right this minute.
    “I’m working this area for awhile.” He reached up and caught a wisp of her blonde hair, fingering the soft strands. “How ‘bout I take you out for dinner tomorrow night. I know a great Mexican restaurant.”
    She shivered, as though unnerved by his nearness. “I thought you were worried about being mobbed in public.”
    “It’s not so bad early in the week.” He moved in closer, pressing her up against the screen. “It’s easier to tell a few people to go to hell, rather than a large crowd.”
    “I…I’m busy Monday.” Catie swallowed, her throat working. She put her palms against Jarrod’s chest, like she was trying to bolster her determination. “Actually, the whole week’s pretty tight.”
    “Sure it is.” He brushed his lips across her forehead, breathing in her vanilla musk scent. Even though they’d taken a shower together, he thought he could still smell the scent of their sex, her juices and his come mingling together. “Change your plans.”
    “Can’t.” Her response was barely a whisper as his mouth trailed from her forehead to her ear. She clenched her hands in his shirt and tilted her head back, a soft moan rising in her throat.
    “My dad always taught me there’s no such word as can’t.” Jarrod moved his lips over hers. “Anything you truly want, you can have. Anything you put your mind to, you can do.”
    “And you put your mind to taking me out?” Her breath was warm against his mouth, her gaze focused on his lips.
    “Uh-huh.” Jarrod took possession of Catie’s mouth, his hands sliding around her slender waist and drawing her tight along his length. His cock was hot, throbbing with need again, even after having fucked her so many times. The woman was fire in his blood, singeing him, until she’d burned a permanent hole in his heart. No way was she getting away from him, no matter what she might think.
    Her fingers gripped his shirt tighter as their mouths mated. His tongue gained entrance to her willing mouth, and her sweet taste swept through him like the warm rush of rain in a summer thunderstorm.
    “Where the hell have you been?” A man’s voice growled from the other side of the screen door.
    The sound of her brother’s voice startled Catie. She jerked her head back, breaking the kiss, but Jarrod held onto her, keeping her pinned to him.
    “Dammit, don’t sneak up on me like that, Steve.” Her tone was slightly breathless as she turned to look at her brother through the screen door.
    She glanced back up at Jarrod and saw a predatory look in his eyes. “’Morning, Wilds,” Jarrod said as he pulled her away from the door, giving Steve enough room to open it and step through.
    Steve glared at Jarrod, that ‘protective older brother’ look in his brown eyes, then turned his frown on Catie. “Since when do you stay out all night without calling home?”
    “You knew where I was.” Catie straightened to her full five-feet-four-inches and raised her chin. “I’m twenty-eight years old. I certainly don’t need to report in to you.”
    “Well how about a bit of common courtesy?” He brushed past her and Jarrod and headed to the far end of the porch where an enormous box stood that she hadn’t noticed before. “You had me worried.”
    “You could have called.” She pushed away from Jarrod, and felt relieved when he let her go. “What’s that?”
    Steve dug in his front pocket and pulled out his pocketknife. “New water heater.”
    “We can’t afford that.” Catie put her hands on her hips and