Love Beyond Reason(45)

Careful, Katherine, she cautioned. She could feel the tears filling her eyes. "For whatever your reasons, you landed me a peach of a job. I thank you, Mr. Manning. But I'm just another employee now. And from here on, I fly alone. If I make it, great. If I don't, then it will be my own failure. But I want no help from you." She enunciated the last seven words precisely, defiantly.

"You're mistaken if you think I would have it any other way, Katherine," he said quietly.

She was taken aback by his calm acceptance of her tirade. Where was his anger? Why wasn't he fighting back? If anything, he looked ... what? Sad? She struggled to regain some of her impetus.

"As far as our marriage goes, we each go our own way. Under the circumstances, I think that's fair."

"You do." It wasn't a question. Rather it was a barely audible statement.

"Yes, I do," she said with more conviction than she felt.

She was presenting him an open invitation to be with Lacey as often as he wished. Even as she said the words that gave him his freedom, she asked herself how she could bear it if he left her now.

"For Allison's sake, we can go on imitating a family unit, if ... if you still want to," she struggled on. Pausing, she allowed him ample opportunity to contradict her, and prayed that he wouldn't. When he didn't speak, she continued, twisting her hands together, "I think you and I should ... should follow our personal pursuits and do whatever we ... whatever we want to do."

She was finished. Where was the sense of satisfaction she had expected to feel? There was no triumphant elation filling her veins. Instead, an emptiness, ironically as heavy as a stone, was pressing on her heart. Her rehearsed speech had sounded trite, childish, uninspired, and uncertain.

Jace stood, stretched to his full height, and walked toward her. "I think you are absolutely right, Katherine."

She closed her mind to the agony his words brought her. Her lips pressed together to trap a sob that longed to escape. Even now she hoped he would beg her forgiveness and declare an everlasting love for her. Well, she had delivered an ultimatum, and he had accepted it. But she abhorred his ready acceptance. This was one argument she would gladly have lost.

He continued his slow walk until he stood directly in front of her. She felt cornered, suffocated, overwhelmed. His nearness always started a destructive chain reaction in her body. It had done that since she opened her front door and saw him for the first time.

"I think each of us should follow our personal pursuits and do whatever we want to do. And right now, I want to kiss my wife."

She was in his arms before she had time to realize his intention. His mouth closed over hers. There was no violence in this kiss like the bruising one of this after-noon. The force behind it was just as dominating, but the approach was different.

His mouth moved over hers with supplicant precision until, unwillingly, her lips parted to receive his persuasive tongue. He kissed her deeply, thoroughly, and sensually. He didn't move his hands. He only held her tightly against him, making struggling or resistance of any kind out of the question.

She was breathless when, at last, he lifted his head. He looked into her swimming green eyes and slid his arms forward until the heels of his hands were lightly brushing the sides of her breasts under her arms. "Good night," he whispered.

Then he released her, turned, walked into his bedroom, and shut the door behind him. Katherine was dizzy and swayed slightly, though her feet felt nailed firmly to the floor.

Instinctively, her hands reached out for his support. She hoarsely whispered his name. Those now familiar sensations were prickling her body. Don't leave me like this, she cried silently.

Then reason returned. And the reason turned to anger. And the anger boiled.

How dare he! How dare he kiss me like that after spending the day with Lacey.

She marched into Allison's bedroom and slammed the door behind her. The racket woke the baby, and she had to be rocked before she would go back to sleep.

* * *



Chapter 11

?^?

"I think I'll start shopping around for firewood. I've seen several ads in the newspaper. Cooper and I thought we'd buy a cord and divide it. One of these evenings, it'll be cool enough for a fire." Jace munched on an English muffin and sipped scalding black coffee while Katherine fed Allison her morning ration of cereal and strained fruit.

When she didn't respond to his attempted conversation, he persisted. "What do you think?"

His easy chatter annoyed her now as it had done all week. Ever since the day her new, wonderful world caved in and left her desolate, he had behaved as if there were nothing wrong between them.

She wished he would shout, throw something, have a temper outburst, anything but maintain this pleasant congeniality. "Whatever you think," she murmured as she wiped Allison's cereal- smeared mouth with a damp paper towel. A week ago she wouldn't have believed they would still be living together by the time the weather turned cold, and now, he was talking about stocking up on firewood.

He had almost broken her implacability the evening he came home and casually announced that the well they had been drilling had come in.

"Why, Jace, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed before becoming irritated with herself for the genuine joy she felt at his good news.

He looked at her quickly and grinned in sheepish pleasure. "Yeah. Katherine" – he rubbed his hands together excitedly – "I never get used to it, you know? I mean each time we strike oil, even if I'm positive before we drill that it's down there, it's like ... like—" He broke off as he held his palms up and shrugged helplessly. He laughed boyishly. "Well, it's like nothing else."