"What is it?" she asked. "Have I done something wrong?" "No." She placed her head against his chest. "Won't you let me touch you?" Touch him. Years of conditioning fought the concept. Her voice, so soft and gentle, carried the power to humble him when she asked, "What are you afraid of, Noah?"

Chapter Nine.

What was he afraid of? That she'd rim screaming into the night. That he'd lose this tentative bond he so desperately craved. That she'd be just like everyone who'd ever looked at him and turned away with revulsion in their eyes.

"How can we do this if I'm afraid of where to put my hands?" she asked. "Is there any where...any place safe to touch you?"

There were few areas unscarred, the insides of his thighs?not that he'd suggest that?his feet, one calf. the right side of his torso. Working to keep from trembling, he carried her hand to his side and flattened it over his rib cage.

She stroked his skin and he shuddered. No one had touched him since he was thirteen years old. He was starving for this and frightened of it at the same time.

"I'm your wife."

Yes. The fact held him in awe.

"It's okay to touch me."

She didn't have to say it again. In the darkness he found the curve of her shoulder and grazed his touch downward until he held the weight of her breast in his palm. His throat tightened. She was exquisite. Her nipple hardened against his palm and he feathered his fingers back and forth across it to feel its nubby tip.

Katherine rolled to her back so he could treat the other in the same fashion. She raised a hand to the flesh of his back and pressed her palm flat. Distracted by her body's intriguing responses, he allowed the touch.

Noah bent over her and she met his lips in a kiss more urgent than any previous. The freedom she allowed made him bold enough to discover the swell of her belly and the curve of her hips. Silently cursing his pathetic aversion to light, he recognized his shame had robbed him of seeing something incredibly beautiful and unimaginably erotic. She was made for pleasure?visual and sensual.

She turned onto her side to face him and kissed him back in a melding of lips and tongues and bodies, pressing herself against him until his engorged penis lay cradled between her soft thighs.

She ran her palm over his chest then, her touch fueling the fire in his body at the same time it signaled his brain. He caught her hand and moved it to his ribs. Wedging her knee between his thighs, she once again stroked his chest. This time he didn't stop her.

He cupped her bottom and moved against her, and she felt so incredible he feared this time would be over before it had really started.

She eased back, taking him with her, and parted her thighs.

Noah supported his weight away from her stomach. "You sure this is all right?"

"I think so. If it hurts, I'll tell you."

He leaned on an arm that trembled and explored the secrets she offered, amazed at her yielding folds of softness. He found a slick ridge that, when he passed the pad of his fingers over, made her draw a quick breath. "Hurt?" he asked.

"Oh, no," she whispered.

He devoted his attention to eliciting a reaction from her.

"Kiss me."

Kissing her was his incredible pleasure. Touching her, a privilege that awed him. And when she tensed her body and dug her fingers into his shoulders, he intuitively positioned himself and entered her. She gave a little cry he didn't think was pain, and he captured the sound against his tongue.

She was heat and sensation and all-encompassing ecstasy, and he couldn't believe anything this good was happening to him. By what great hand of fate had he been placed on this earth at this moment and with this woman to experience such an incredible union? It was happening too fast and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Though the room was pitch-black, he saw stars. With her head cradled in his hand, he shuddered against her, into her, and groaned with release. So as not to crush her, he moved beside her and she turned with him, her fingers laced in his hair.

His heart was still racing, but his mind cleared enough so that he asked, "You all right?"

Kate hadn't expected the rush of pleasure and emotion. She'd been prepared to carry out an act for the sake of her marriage. That she had enjoyed it was a delightful surprise. "I'm perfectly fine. Good, even." Noah lay with his wrist draped over her hip, his fingertips caressing her spine in lazy circles. Her belly was pressed against his abdomen. She threaded her fingers through his thick, wavy hair over and over, and he made a sound of gratification deep in his throat. She dared to lower her hand and stroke his shoulder.

His fingers stilled their movement on her back for a moment, but he resumed the caress. There had been few places within her reach on his flesh where she hadn't encountered ridges. She wished she could see all of him in the light, know the extent of his self-consciousness and understand.

But perhaps she would be repulsed. Perhaps the sight was worse than the feel, worse than what she'd glimpsed that night in his room. Perhaps it was for the best he kept his scars hidden. The baby rolled and a tiny limb battered her belly. On her back, Noah's hand fell still. The kick came again, harder this time.

"Is that the baby?"

"We must have wakened him." she answered. She took his hand, scooted back slightly and placed his palm over the place where her child was still moving.

An unmistakable lunge and roll indicated an active infant. Having someone with whom to share him was anoihei joy she hadn't anticipated. Hot tears formed in her eyes at the intimacy of lying here with Noah and introducing him to her child.

For months she'd been afraid of the unknown future, the burden she carried alone and the uncertainty of her life. Tonight and for all the nights to come, she and her baby were secure. She felt a twinge of guilt now that they'd shared this experience and Noah had been so incredibly kind and gentle. He'd never given her cause to doubt him or his word. But her baby's welfare came first. He'd never know the paltry existence that she'd experienced growing up. Her child would have a good home. A man to teach him. A share of the ranch.

"Thank you, Noah."

He'd grown still over the last moments and now-said only, "For what?"

"For coming for me. For taking care of me. For providing a home for me and the baby."

He eased away and her skin felt chill as the air touched her. Standing, he moved to the end of the bed

and she imagined him groping for his clothing.

"What are you doing?"

"You're welcome."

She sat up and reached for the sheet. "Noah?"

"Good night, Katherine."

The door opened and closed. Silence wrapped around her.

Kate clutched the sheet to her breasts, her body still tingling from his lovemaking. It had been good for

her and she'd believed for him, as well. But he had told her he planned to stay to himself and expected

her to do the same. There would be no change in sleeping arrangements. He'd accommodated her request and that was that. Perhaps he found her added girth offensive or the baby she carried an unpleasant obstacle. Perhaps he simply had no feelings for her. Why should he? She was a burden he hadn't asked for. A duty. Another responsibility when he already had plenty of them running the ranch.

She had hoped to endear herself to him. She splayed her hand across the sheet where it was still warm from his body and felt his absence like a physical ache. She could acquire greater value yet. Things took time. They'd only been married a week. There was plenty of time.

Katherine's thanks were a bitter taste in Noah's mouth through the night and the days that followed. He

left the house early and didn't return until late.

One part of him wanted to mount a horse and ride into the wind, shouting. His first encounter with a woman had been nothing short of incredible. Well, short and incredible, he admitted.

The other side wanted to kick something, hit something or somebody, and rage. He'd known what he was doing when he'd offered her security to stay. He'd used it as a way to keep her here. And now that it had worked, he hated that his ability to provide and protect was the reason Katherine was here.

He wasn't Levi. He wasn't one of any number of charming handsome men who would be more suited to a woman like Katherine.

Katherine. Even her name was pretty. Katy. If he was another man he would call her Katy.

During the week that passed, he worked long hours and came to the house tired. Still, he couldn't keep his thoughts from her or his eyes away when they were together. On Saturday evening, he entered the house to cooking smells. He hung his hat and Katherine turned from the stove to give him a hesitant smile.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"There was a dance in town, so the hands left early. I told Fergie to go on. I'm fixing your meal."

"I could have gotten my own meal."

The smile disappeared. "I'm sure you could have."

He didn't want to hurt her; he just needed to keep a safe distance between them. He'd never been this

vulnerable before and he didn't like it. "Wash up and have a seat. I've fried ham and potatoes. I also cooked beets for you because I know you like them."

He washed and sat at his place where she'd laid out silverware and a glass of buttermilk.

While she finished dinner preparations, he watched her with a hunger that consumed him. He had never seen it in the light, but he'd run his hands over the soft womanly body under that dress and apron. Her sweet smell and the taste of her mouth were ingrained into his memory and had consumed his every thought. The pleasures of her yielding body were incomparable.

Physically aroused, he lowered his gaze to the table. Her face was there in the wood grain, her sigh in his ear. He closed his eyes. She was there, too, her smile a secret in the darkness. His yearning for her consumed him.

Her footsteps neared and he looked up as she placed a plate of food in front of him. He remembered her touching his shoulder once as she'd served him and how he'd stiffened until she removed her hand. He remembered the night she'd touched him in the darkness and the sensation of her glorious hands on his skin.

The way Estelle treated him was normal. It was what he had learned to handle. Katherine's kind treatment brought upheaval to his senses and disrupted his way of life. Careful distance and not caring had always protected him. He had to concentrate on keeping his perspective to retain that safety, but it was difficult to do with her right here.

He reached for her wrist and surprised them both. Her bones were small and delicate beneath his hold.

She glanced down at his hand quickly, then into his eyes. He met her gaze and read curiosity?surprise and...hope??in those dark hazel depths. Her face was perfection, gentle contours and ivory skin.

"Noah?"

She said his name often. He liked the sound of it more than he should have. He studied the bow of her upper lip, the tempting dewy pinkness, then tugged her wrist down so that she had to bend forward. As she did so, he captured her chin and jaw in one hand and turned her mouth to his for a kiss.

She didn't resist.

He slid his chair back and pulled her into his lap. Noah held her head in place and kissed her more fervently than he'd planned. But then he hadn't planned to kiss her at all. He probably smelled like horses, but she didn't seem to mind. She tasted good and her bottom felt even better, pressed hard against his erection.

Their tongues melded in mutual longing and Noah caressed her breast through her dress. He'd planned to keep his distance. She wasn't obligated to him. He didn't want her pity or her favors.

God help him, he just wanted her. Wanted her with a ferocity and a hunger that scared him. What did he know of women, of keeping them happy? What did he know about being a husband? A lover?

Apparently enough, if the sound she made was any indication. A whimpering sort of sigh against his mouth that pumped fire through his veins as though lightning had struck him.

Dazed, he took her by the shoulders and held her away so he could breathe. So he could think. It was still light outside. At least an hour remained until dark.

"You're thinking it's too early." Her voice came out breathy as though she'd just run all the way from Cedar Creek. "Stop telling me what I'm thinking all the time." She blinked. "I'm sorry." "Don't say you're sorry. Don't move for a minute. Just sit there. Quiet." She met his gaze in silent obedience.

Hating that he was so transparent, Noah released her. "Let's eat."

He caught her elbow as she stood somewhat shakily. He cleared his throat, scooted his chair back to the table and forced himself to eat. His belly was hungry but the rest of his body wanted more than food.

"You going to church tomorrow?"

Sitting with her own plate, she nodded. "Do you want to join me?"

"No. But I'll heat you a bath. Take one myself."

"I'd appreciate washing my hair."

"Leave the dishes for Fergie tomorrow."