Tied Up, Tied Down (19 page)

“No fuckin’ way. You don’t get to blurt out something like that and then run off like a scared bunny, Sky.”

“I’m not scared.” In response, she looked down at her hands braced on his chest, as if she’d just realized she was pushing him away.

“Then talk to me.”

“Please. Let me go.”

He inhaled a deep breath. “If I let you up, will you promise to stay here and tell me about it?” His hand slid up her arm to her shoulder. He twined his fingers in a section of her silky hair. “You gotta know nothin’ you tell me is gonna make me change my opinion 148

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of you. And you can trust me to keep my mouth shut. Lord, I seem to be well-versed in keepin’ secrets.”

“I guess I never have heard you talking trash about anyone. Not even your family.”

“See? It’s because I’m trustworthy.”

Skylar didn’t look up. “Would you have a glass of wine if I opened a bottle?”

“Sure. I’d like that.”

“Let me climb off this ride, cowboy, before we get permanently stuck together.”

“I sure wouldn’t complain about that, sweetheart.”

Sky lifted off his softened cock. She scooted back and stood between his legs.

Kade snagged her hand before she ran off. “Just so you don’t get any ideas about puttin’ them clothes back on, the nekkid rule still applies. Even while we’re talkin’.”

“We’re drinking wine in the living room…nude?”

“Yep. And I wouldn’t mind if you walked into the kitchen nice and slow, so I can get all hot and bothered starin’ at your luscious ass.”

She blushed before she headed out of the room.

“Oh yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Shake it a little more. Mmm. Mmm.

Damn, Sky, you are one smokin’ hot mama.”

She gifted him with a “come and get me” grin over her left shoulder.

“You’re gonna pay for that look, woman.”

“I can’t wait.”

Kade ditched the condom and tried to wrap his head around Skylar’s unmentioned marriage. These days it wasn’t a big deal to be divorced. They’d gone out a dozen times last year; it should’ve come up in conversation at least once. So why hadn’t she told him?

Why didn’t you tell her you were Kade, not Kane?

Shit. He hadn’t thought of that. Man, it seemed they were both good at telling half-truths. Haunted by memories they’d rather push aside than openly discuss.

It wasn’t the happiest time in my life.

He understood the desire to move on from the past. He’d done it, sending himself on a sabbatical to straighten out the mess his life had become. During the time away from www.samhainpublishing.com 149

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family and friends, he decided he wasn’t going to live his life full of regret for time and opportunities lost. Nor would he wait around for happiness to float into his life. He was going after it like a rodeo junkie chases the gold buckle: full throttle.

Watching his cousins living the life of home and hearth, the life Kade had always wanted, made him more determined to make that happen for himself. On his terms. Yeah, he knew exactly what he wanted. And she walked in the room stark naked holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“What are you smiling at, Kade?”

“You. What a pretty picture you make completely buck-ass nekkid.”

She poured the glasses full of ruby-colored liquid, then sat on the opposite end of the couch with her knees tucked under her.

He didn’t comment when she downed nearly half the contents in one long swallow.

A couple of minutes passed before she spoke. “You know I grew up in California.

Graduated top of my college class. I scored a primo job at an ad agency in LA right out of college. Big money. Lots of prestige. I had my career all planned out. It never bothered me to be one of those women who are really successful in their work, but a total failure when it came to personal relationships.

“At a party I met this older guy named Ted. He was a real laid-back kind of guy, which was very appealing to me. We’d been dating for a month when my dad was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Doctors told us he had less than three months to live. I’d always dreamed of my dad walking me down the aisle, and I was about to lose the chance forever. When Ted suggested we get married right away, I agreed.” She laughed bitterly. “It was the only impulsive thing I’d ever done in my life.”

Had she loved Ted? It tied a knot in his gut to think she’d married for less than the total love and adoration she deserved.

“Turns out my dad had less time. He died three weeks after the wedding.”

“Sky. I’m sorry.”

She knocked back a mouthful of wine. “Anyway, my mother went into a deep depression and decided to ‘find herself’ at a monastery on some damn island.”

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“You’re shittin’ me.”

“Nope.”

“People really do that?”

“My mom was a bit of a free-spirit, hippie type. She could do pretty much whatever struck her fancy because my father had left us well off.” Her troubled gaze met his. “Very well off. She vanished and I didn’t hear a word from her for two years.”

Kade cringed. He’d essentially done the same thing, disappeared without a word. No wonder Skylar had sported the attitude that he might not care about Eliza’s existence. Or that he intended to become a permanent part of her life.

“At the time, India was a drug addict and a drunk, in and out of rehab. I’d used my grief to bury myself in work and advanced to the level of vice president. Ted had a fairly low-stress job so he handled everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.” Skylar closed her eyes. “All the finances, all the household stuff. Some nights I’d come home from the office an emotional basket case and he took care of me too. I trusted him. I let him have total control of every single thing in my life.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And he fucked me over. Big time. I didn’t know he wasn’t who he said he was. Ted wasn’t a real estate developer as much as he was a con man.”

No wonder she’d freaked out so badly about him pretending to be Kane. No wonder she was taking her time on deciding whether she’d marry him.

“I also didn’t know he’d taken half of the inheritance from my father and squirreled it away somewhere. I didn’t know he’d helped himself to half my earnings over a two-year period. I only found out when he hit me with divorce papers. There were very little liquid assets, where we should’ve been drowning in them.

“California is a community property state, which entitled Ted to fifty percent of what I had. My house, my cars, my pension, my assets—assets that had dwindled to damn near nothing in the time we were married. Everything I’d worked for, all the money my dad left me…gone.”

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“Oh baby, c’mere.” Kade put their wine glasses on the coffee table and enfolded her in his arms. She didn’t cry, this tough, independent woman who’d had every man in her life let her down. She just melted into him. That broke his damn heart. He didn’t speak, partially because he didn’t know what to say, but mostly because he now understood her need for absolute control.

“It was the most humiliating thing that’s ever happened to me. So yeah, I have some issues with trust.”

“I imagine so. Hell, I would too.”

An unwieldy pause lingered.

Finally, he said, “Can you tell me the rest of it?”

“When we were at the end of the divorce proceedings, my mother returned. I moved into her new place, which ended up being a good thing because not four months later she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.”

“Jesus. Are you serious?”

Sky nodded. “Sounds like a soap opera, doesn’t it? Of course, my mom had let her health insurance lapse while she was in seclusion, so all the payments to the hospital and doctors came out of her pocket. India actually cleaned up her act for a while and helped me care for Mom. My grandma, my mom’s mother, Elizabeth, came to help.”

A warm feeing unfurled in his chest. “Eliza was named after her, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah. She was a remarkable woman. It fascinated me she was part Cheyenne since my mother had never mentioned that part of our background. Grandma mixed up herb ointments for my mother that actually worked. When I asked her about them, she gave me the basics until she realized I had more than just a passing interest. We created batches of new soaps and lotions made from all-natural ingredients. I decided someday I would start my own company using her formulas. After she passed on and left us this land, I knew this was where I was supposed to be. Everything had come full circle.”

“Well, you’ve done her right proud, sweetheart.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. Know what else I know?”

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“What?”

Kade brushed his mouth over her ear and was tremendously pleased when Sky trembled. “That Eliza has a long line of strong women behind her to look up to. She’s a lucky girl.”

“You’re so sweet, Kade, you’re going to make me cry and I swore I wouldn’t, not ever again. Not over him or what he did to me or anything from that awful part of my life.”

“Go ahead and cry, baby, I gotcha.”

Skylar didn’t sob, but she allowed him to hold her and settle her, stroke her wherever he wanted. Her arms. Her breasts. Her belly. Up and down her thighs. Her breathing had become erratic, even as she relaxed against him.

Time to make his move.

“Thanks for tellin’ me the truth. You gotta know I wouldn’t ever do what that bastard done to you.”

“Pretend to be someone else? Take something from me? Use me? No offense, but I’ve heard that line before, from every single man who’s been in my life.”

“I ain’t like them.”

“You sure? Would you be here with me if it weren’t for Eliza? Especially since she’s the rare McKay girl child?”

When Kade paused, she assumed it was a guilty pause. “I didn’t think so.”

“You’re wrong, but it don’t change a damn thing.”

“Change what?”

“That I still wanna marry you. I’m gonna keep askin’ until you’re so sick of it that you’ll say yes just to get some peace.”

She smiled slightly. “Not happening, McKay. Once burned, twice shy.”

“We’ll see. I’m not Ted. I’ll never be the man who wants more from you than you’re willin’ to give. But I’d be lyin’ if I told you I didn’t want it all.” He turned her around so he could kiss her full on. He loved the way their mouths fit together, hunger fed sweetness. The kiss changed from slow and easy to hot and heavy.

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Kade traced the line of her body from her neck to her knee. His fingers inched up the inside of her thigh until they reached that warm wetness between her legs.

Skylar made a soft moan when his first two fingers pushed inside.

He rocked them in and out in a steady rhythm. She began to undulate and whimper, clenching and unclenching her thighs, kissing him with more force. Kade twisted his wrist so the heel of his hand rested on her clit. As he plunged his fingers in, he pressed on the swollen bit of flesh.

She jerked her mouth away, placing her own hand on top of his. “Move side-to-side.”

Encouraging, that Sky’d become willing to teach him how to satisfy her. “Like this?”

“Yes. Exactly like that. Oh. Don’t stop.” She threw back her head and came on a low, throaty moan.

It was hot as hell, the way she looked, the sounds drifting from her beautiful throat when she let go. The fact she’d let go with him only made him want more of the same.

While Skylar was still tingling from orgasmic aftershocks, Kade reached for a condom and put it on. “Come on.”

He led her to the hallway. Specifically to the antique armoire with a wooden bench seat located above the compartment used for storage. Metal coat hooks decorated the ornately carved top and both sides. What made the piece unique was the full-length mirror along the back.

They stopped in front of the mirror. Once Sky caught sight of her naked reflection, she immediately tensed up and tried to turn around. “What—”

“Ever done it in front of a mirror?”

“No!” She tried to twist away.

“Don’t move.”

“But—”

“That ain’t a request,” he growled, holding her against his body at a sideways angle.

“Watch.” Kade reached for her right hand, and brought it up, placing it behind his neck.

“Look at you. See the way your body curves here?” He trailed his fingers from the 154

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outside of her thigh up to her hip. “And here.” He flattened his palm, gradually dragging it up the bend in her waist, his fingers barely brushing her quivering belly.

He stopped at the bottom of her rib cage and moved his lips closer to the arch of her neck. “Look how havin’ your arm lifted like this draws attention to the swell of your breast. One exquisite curve flowin’ from bottom to top, creatin’ this long sexy line. A sexy line just beggin’ for my touch.” His fingertips followed the inside of her biceps up to her elbow. “You have a gorgeous body, Sky. Can’t you see that?”

She shook her head.

“Then look at your face. Your cheeks are flushed, your eyes are bright. Your lips are fuller, a little redder from kissin’ me. See how fast you’re breathin’, makin’ your chest rise and fall so my eyes are drawn to your breasts? See how hard and tight your nipples are, makin’ my mouth water to taste them? If I touch you like this—” he dragged a fingertip from hipbone to hipbone, “—your belly quivers. Makes me crazy, rememberin’

how you quiver when I’m balls deep inside you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can.” He zigzagged his tongue up the column of her throat and blew softly on the wetness just to have her trembling in his arms. “Because you are as temptin’

as sin. Because you’re beautiful. Because this is how I see you. In my head. In the dark.

In the flesh. So when I fuck you every way my sex-addled brain can dream up, you’ll know I wasn’t kiddin’ about how hot you can make me burn.”