Love Beyond Reason(33)
She tucked bare feet under her light robe and in minutes realized that she had allowed herself to relax against him. She felt his steady breathing as his hard chest supported her back.
She started when he began stroking her upper arm with the hand that had been resting on the back of the sofa. She glanced at him quickly, but he was seemingly preoc- cupied with the newscast.
His motion was slow and hypnotic, tickling the inside of her arm with sensuous strokes. The strong tapering fingers imperceptively moved closer to her breast. She could feel their movements on the soft curve without his actually touching it. The fabric of her robe stirred against his knuckles, so close was he to touching her. But he did not.
Her nipple became erect with longing and there was a heavy warmth in the lower part of her body. By the end of the broadcast, she was tempted to capture his hand and press it to her. His fingers finally stilled and Katherine held her breath. Now he'll touch me, she thought.
To her intense disappointment he patted her arm in a filial fashion and eased her up. "I guess I'd better get to bed," he said.
That night her body had tingled with unsatisfied sensations as she tossed restlessly on her narrow bed. Had he invited her onto the new king-size bed, she would have accepted gladly. Was this then his particular form of cruelty?
Peter had charmed Mary into loving him and then tortured her with physical and verbal abuse. Was Jace's method different only in that he tortured with a silken touch? Was he planning to make her care for him, only to torment her with rejection?
She resolved not to care. Falling in love with Jace Manning would be a slow kind of death, for she knew that he didn't love her. He wanted her physically. His constraint hadn't dissolved his desire. It was evident in his kindling blue eyes that she often caught staring at her.
But his reasons for marrying her had been explicitly enumerated. He was compensating for Peter's treatment of Mary. He was fulfilling a responsibility he felt for Allison. He had even said that he didn't want to get married, and, that by doing so, he was sacrificing his freedom.
As Jace had predicted, his lawyer friend, Mark, sent them a newspaper clipping announcing their marriage. With uncanny clairvoyance Jace had been correct about his parents' reversal. The article quoted them as saying that Jace and Katherine had developed a deep attachment soon after they met (when was that to have been?), and, as Jace's parents, they were thrilled that he had married sweet Mary's sister.
Katherine had been furious when she read it. Jace only shrugged and tossed the clipping in the wastepaper basket. Maybe he wasn't as contemptuous of his parents as he pretended. Did he have an affinity for them that he concealed when it was expedient to do so? Like when convincing someone it would be to her advantage to marry him?
Now, as Katherine looked at his beguiling smile across the table, she warned herself again to be careful with her emotions.
"I'll get Allison dressed, and we can go whenever you like," she said.
* * *
They drove through the east Texas countryside for about half an hour. Katherine enjoyed the scenery. The woods were thick with pine, cedar, native oaks, and elm. Now and then she glimpsed the graceful dogwood. In the spring it, with its glorious white or pink blossoms, would shame the towering giants that dwarfed it.
The country road narrowed and dwindled to little more than a pothole-rid- den trail. The jeep bounced over the road, jarring their teeth and preventing conversation. Katherine clutched Allison to her, fearful that the baby would fly out of her arms when they hit a large bump.
Jace turned off the road and struck out across the pine-tree-dotted field that was somewhat more level. As they came to a clearing, the drilling rig came into view. Katherine was amazed by the activity and noise. The equipment required for the project was awesome.
Several of the crew stopped their work for a moment to wave to Jace as he bounded out of the jeep. He directed Katherine to stay put. He jogged to a disreputable- looking trailer whose peeling, faded gray paint was its most redeeming feature. Moments later Jace emerged wearing a hard hat and carrying another.
He shouted over the noise, "Here, put this on."
Katherine looked at the bright yellow helmet skeptically.
"Sorry. Mr. Manning's rules." He winked at her and plopped the hard hat on her head. He took Allison in his arms and carried her toward the trailer.
Katherine self- consciously climbed out of the jeep carrying her purse and Allison's diaper bag. She could feel the furtive glances directed toward her, though the roughnecks continued working with deliberation. She did- n't try to distinguish Jim Cooper. The workmen had taken on the anonymity of an array. Were her jeans too tight, she wondered in panic, remembering what Jace had told her earlier.
The hard hat seemed like a ridiculously unnecessary precaution, but Jace had often referred to the strict rules he enforced at any site he worked on.
"Back in the thirties during the big boom in Texas men needed jobs desperately. They found work in the oil fields whether they were qualified or not. The wildcatters who hired them for peanuts didn't care about the danger involved. They were only glad to have a supply of cheap labor.
"It wasn't until later that safety regulations were put into effect. Unfortunately, many men were killed or seriously injured in unnecessary accidents. There's always the risk of having an accident around any derrick, but I try to lower the odds of one happening by enforcing as many safety precautions as possible." Apparently even his wife wasn't exempt.