Tied Up, Tied Down (25 page)

The drive home wasn’t any better. Eliza screamed in her car seat. She screamed in the house. She quieted down long enough to drink a bottle, but she threw most of it up on Kade. She was red-faced and mad during her bath. Her legs were kicking, her back arching as Kade put clean clothes on her.

During the two hours of nonstop crying, Kade didn’t try to pass the unhappy infant to Skylar. And it wasn’t due to his male stubbornness, but Kade’s desire to figure out for himself how to deal with Eliza when she wasn’t all sweet smiles and cute baby coos.

Which only made Sky more crazy about him because the man never gave up, never took the easy way out, even when he was exhausted.

After Eliza finally crashed, Kade flopped on the couch next to Skylar and groaned.

“I’m whupped.”

“I imagine. What time did you leave to go to the ranch this morning?”

“Four-thirty. I was already up after we…you know.”

Sky smiled. Kade? Shy? After everything they’d done together? “After we did the wild thing?”

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“For the
fourth
time, woman. I think I deserve to go to bed early tonight.”

“Poor baby.” Skylar grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles. “Come outside and sit on the swing with me. The moon is beautiful.”

He cracked an eye open. “Just moon gazin’? No hanky-panky? You’ll be a perfect gentlewoman?”

“If that’s what you want.”

They strolled onto the porch, hand in hand, and stared at the big, fat moon, a golden orb that rolled across the midnight blue sky. A gentle breeze stirred the persistent scent of sage as they set the swing in motion.

Kade exhaled on a sigh. “One good thing about you not havin’ cattle around here yet.

No barnyard scent.”

“True.” She paused. “
Yet
? You planning on bringing barnyard animals home, McKay?”

“Sure. I promised Eliza a pony. I think I promised to buy her a Corvette when she turned sixteen to get her to stop bawlin’ tonight.”

“Sucker.”

“Well, it didn’t work, so I don’t think it counts. Anyway, I thought I’d talk to Cord about gettin’ us a coupla horses so we can go ridin’ when the mood strikes us. And that chicken coop is in good shape if you wanna try your hand at raisin’ chickens. Ma has some great setters. She’d be happy to getcha started.”

“Is this where you make a crack like ‘horse feathers’ to the city slicker when I say yes to ponies and hens?”

Kade snickered.

The swing creaked as they rocked. Night sounds surrounded them in a soothing outdoor lullaby.

He asked, “Can you smell that sweet scent?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“What kind of flower is that?”

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She inhaled. “Which one? The faint floral of the petunias? The pungent pepper of the marigolds? The sugary sweetness of the sweet peas? Or the heavy perfume of the clematis?”

“You can tell the difference between all of them? That’s amazin’.”

“Not really. It’s what I do. I’ll bet if we drove by a field of cattle you could tell me which variety every one was and whose brand they wore.”

“Probably. But I can tell you, with how the air feels and with the wind pickin’ up, it’s gonna be rainin’ before too much longer.”

“Then I’d probably better do this before we get soaked.” Skylar gathered her skirt up and swung a leg over his lap, straddling him, pressing her chest against his and her lips on his surprised mouth.

Didn’t take Kade long to get with the program. Didn’t take him long to try to wrest control, either. He patted her ass in a signal to lift up. He yanked down his sweat bottoms and all that smooth male hardness rested against his belly.

She wiggled closer, proving she wasn’t wearing panties.

“I like this naughty side of you. Maybe I oughta institute a no panties rule, like the nekkid rule.”

“I’m game. Especially since I know how much you like the skirts I wear. Every time you see me you’ll wonder if I’m going commando.”

She swallowed his answering groan as his hands cupped her face. Rubbing his length against her cleft made her wet enough to push him inside.

“Jesus. That’s always so good.”

Sky sank her teeth into his bottom lip and tugged. “See? You aren’t too tired. I’ll do all the work. You just have to keep the swing in motion.”

“I thought you said no hanky-panky?”

“
You
said no hanky-panky. I agreed to be a gentlewoman. And I’ll be very, very gentle, I promise.”

She kissed the strong line of his jaw up to his ear. “Let me rock your world, Kade, like you rock mine.”

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And amidst the creaking of the swing and the approaching storm she did just that.

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It poured all day. Coming to work on a rainy Tuesday depressed everyone in her employ.

But it was impossible to be depressed when Skylar relived Kade’s glorious rainy morning wake-up call. Long, thorough kisses. His rough-skinned hands bestowing sweeping caresses over her bare skin.

Their naked bodies rolled and twisted in an unhurried lover’s dance. Kade worshipped her breasts with his fingers, teeth and lips. Squeezing, suckling, nipping, dragging his morning beard across the hardened tips of her nipples. Circling open-mouthed kisses over every swell and curve until she damn near came just from the erotic heat of his mouth.

But he wasn’t close to done.

Nothing was a lovely as the dreamy feeling of his tongue lazily penetrating her pussy in the hazy gray predawn. His silky hair teasing the inside of her thighs as he licked and lapped at the thick cream pouring from her sex. His fingers digging into her ass cheeks as he brought her to a gasping orgasm two times, before gently turning her over on the cotton sheets.

A cool breeze floated in the window, heavy with the dark scent of moist soil drenched in rain. The humid air settled on Skylar’s heated skin, as soft and welcome as Kade’s kisses.

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Kade stretched her arms above her head and hiked her hips up, trailing his wet tongue down her spine a vertebra at a time. That naughty, wicked tongue kept right on going, between her cheeks, across her tailbone, down to the puckered rosette. The tip of his tongue teased the nerve-rich tissues, drawing tighter circles, wetter circles, probing her ass completely. He’d chuckled at her moan of approval.

Then Kade widened her stance and rose to his knees behind her, adjusting her pelvis higher, to his height and to his liking.

No hard, fast thrust. His entry was slow and sweet. Once his cock was fully seated, he began to stroke, a long withdrawal, a quick snap of his hips and he pushed that thick, hard cock in deep again.

She’d rested the left side of her head toward the window. A soft draft stirred the scents of rain, damp sheets, and Kade’s sweaty masculine tang into an intoxicating aroma that left her mindless. Breathless.

His hands moved from gripping her hips to gripping her ass. He separated her cheeks, baring that tight little hole and whispered, “Watch me.”

Skylar looked over her shoulder as he sucked his middle finger into his mouth, hollowing his cheeks. He slowly pulled it out, showing her it was good and wet. Then he placed it against her puckered flesh and slipped it in her ass.

“Oh.”

Kade never missed a stroke as fucked her with his finger and his cock. Pleasure beat at her from all angles. When a second finger joined the first and he began ramming into her both places, she sank her teeth into her upper arm to keep from crying out as another climax erupted as fast and furious as a windstorm.

The sounds of skin slapping skin stopped abruptly as Kade stiffened. Liquid male heat coated her spasming interior walls in strong bursts, and his low grunt of male satisfaction made everything inside her preen. After he was spent, he layered his chest over her back and nuzzled the back of her head. “Good mornin’, sweetheart.”

“Skylar. Did you hear me?”

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She blinked at Annie glaring at her in the doorway. Crap. “No. Thinking about something else. Sorry. What’s up?”

“Phone. Line two.”

“Thanks.” She picked up the receiver and hit the flashing button. “This is Skylar Ellison.”

“Where the fuck is my wife?”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t play stupid. Where’s my wife? And my kid?”

“Who is this?”

“You know goddamn good and well who it is. Now lemme talk to that bitch Nadia right fuckin’ now.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but Nadia isn’t here.”

“The fuck she ain’t. She ain’t been home in three damn days. The only places she ever goes is work and home and she sure as shit ain’t here.”

She forced herself to stay calm. “I suggest if you think your wife is missing, you contact the sheriff’s department and file a missing person’s report.” Skylar hung up.

Jesus. That man was a piece of work.

Nadia’s words,
they’re all just like him
, rang in her head.

Wrong. Kade wasn’t like that. Not at all. He’d never shown a single sign of violent behavior.

She looked around her office and groaned. She’d fallen behind since Eliza’s birth in keeping up with the piles of paper clutter. A dozen cardboard boxes were stacked against the wall. Suppliers’ catalogues, trade magazines, junk mail, all stuff she needed to go through before she tossed it in the shredder.

Wasn’t she the boss? Couldn’t she make someone else do the drudgework for a change? Congratulating herself on her sneaky cleverness, Sky dialed Annie’s extension and said sweetly, “Could I see you for a minute?”

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Annie swung open the door, propped herself against the doorjamb. “I know that look, boss. No way. You’ve been puttin’ off cleanin’ this office for two months. I ain’t doin’ it for you.”

“Dammit. How did you know? Please? I’ll pay you extra.”

“Huh-uh, not worth it. Besides, I already went through all this junk once and sloughed it off to you because I didn’t know what the hell to do with it.”

“That sucks.”

“Buck up, little camper. This is why you get paid the big bucks. Don’t forget, tomorrow is your day in the kiddie ward and you ain’t passin’ that off on me, neither.”

“Why did I hire you again?”

“Because I’m a snappy dresser and I can smell bullshit a mile away.”

“Speaking of bullshit…The last phone call. Did you know that was Nadia’s husband?”

“Yeah. Caller ID. Third time he’s called today, but he finally asked for you.” Her eyes glittered. “Mean motherfucker needs to die. I offered to help Nadia pull a ‘Good-bye Earl’ on him, but she wouldn’t go for it.”

“You offered to kill the man with poisoned black-eyed peas?”

Annie grinned. “Or a poison kiss with a black powder Smith and Wesson. Whatever works.”

Sky shook her head. “Forget I asked.”

With a resigned sigh, Skylar plopped on the floor in front of the first box. An hour later ninety-nine percent of it was in the trash. She eyed the other eleven boxes. Maybe she ought to save herself a bunch of time and just chuck the whole works.

Nah. If she tackled one box a day, she’d be done in two weeks. Easy. Doable.

A visit to check on Eliza in daycare and she returned to work, steering clear of any more distracting wet daydreams about her favorite naked cowboy.

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Kade returned home later than usual. Quieter than usual too. Looking exhausted again. He changed into an outfit similar to hers, ratty sweat shorts and a tank top since they were both out of clean clothes. He lavished attention on Eliza while Skylar caught up on mountains of laundry. They were running low on baby supplies and groceries.

She frowned. When was the last time she’d been to the store to stock up? At least a month ago. Before Kade moved in.

Had Kade ever picked up diapers and formula? She wandered into the living room and saw Eliza on a blanket on the floor and Kade lying on his side next to her.

He said, “I think she’s gonna roll over soon.”

“She’s too young.”

“Not accordin’ to Brazelton. Lookit how fast she’s kickin’ them legs. Any time now she’s gonna be rockin’ and rollin’, ain’t you, baby girl?”

Eliza grinned and made a goo noise.

That girl was shameless when it came to charming her daddy.

“You know, I think she’s teethin’, that’s why she’s been so cranky.”

“Could be.”

“Isn’t she supposed to be gettin’ another round of shots at four months?”

“Yeah. I haven’t made the appointment yet.”

“Huh. Well, we don’t want her fallin’ behind schedule. Be best if it was taken care of right away.”

Skylar crossed her arms over her chest. “Why don’t
you
take care of it? Eliza sees Dr. Monroe. She’s in Moorcroft. Set it up in one of the convenient Monday through Friday, nine-to-five timeslots, wait with other sick kids for two hours for an appointment that lasts ten minutes. This time
you
can hold her when she screams as they poke needles in her legs, since I know how much you love needles. And
you
can walk the floor with her for two days afterward because the shots always make her sick and cranky.”

“Hey, now. Don’t get defensive. I was just sayin’—”

“I know exactly what you were saying, Kade. You want to be involved with every little thing? Here’s your chance. And while you’re at it, why don’t you pick up diapers www.samhainpublishing.com 203

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and formula because we’re almost out. And we’re running low on food and laundry soap and cleaning supplies and everything else it takes to run this household.” She spun on her heel and stomped to the laundry room.

Thwack
. She threw the sopping wet clothes in the dryer. Stupid spin cycle wasn’t working. Might as well wring the damn clothes out by hand or it’d take forever for the load to dry. She couldn’t hang them outside since it was still raining.