Kade heard Skylar thrashing around in bed before he opened the door to peek inside.

It took a second for his head to decipher the images his eyes were relaying.

Skylar was in the middle of the bed. Pajama bottoms off. Her left forearm draped across her eyes. Her right hand stroking madly between her legs as she climaxed.

Holy shit.

He waited. If he burst in now she’d probably die of embarrassment. But Kade realized Skylar wasn’t aware of what she’d been doing; she’d been dreaming.

Jesus. Must’ve been some damn good dream. What would he’ve done if he’d been in bed next to her when she indulged in a little self-love?

Woken her up and fucked her like a madman, convincing himself it was his way of making her dreams come true.

Kade paced the hallway a few more minutes before he snuck in and tucked Eliza in her crib. He stared at Skylar’s half-naked body lolling on his side of the bed, in the ultimate pin-up girl pose. The ultimate temptation. No way could he crawl in there and not touch her. No way.

The clock blinked five a.m. Sun’d be up soon. Might as well get an early start on his day. Right after he grabbed a shower.

A very cold shower.

Skylar was freezing. Disoriented, she sat up. At some point in the night she’d whipped off the covers along with her pajama bottoms. Her gaze landed on Kade’s empty side of the bed. Huh. She squinted at the crib and saw Eliza’s dark head. Vaguely she remembered Kade getting up with the baby.

When?

And why in the world was she half-undressed? Carnal images bombarded her. Kade.

Stretching her out on top of him. Touching her. Bringing them both to a shuddering orgasm.

It hadn’t been a dream…had it?

The old pipes rattled, signaling Kade was in the shower. Why was he up so early?

Probably washing up after he came all over your back and his belly.

Her hand flew to the base of her spine. Dry. Not sticky. She patted the bed behind her. Warm. Not wet.

Not real. A dream.

Why did disappointment jab her in the gut?

Because you’re too much of a chickenshit to admit Kade McKay turns you on beyond reason. And the last thing you want is a gentleman in your bed; you’d prefer a wild man.

Not her first raunchy dream starring the hot rancher. She still remembered the hot dream from last week where he’d stripped her naked, shoved her to her knees, and bound her wrists behind her back with a soft leather strap. Then Kade’s hands impatiently twisted in her hair as his cock shuttled in and out of her mouth. Saliva poured down her chin, between her bared breasts, trickling down her belly to mix with the wetness glazing her inner thighs.

Kade recited a play-by-play in that husky voice of how sexy that she was submissive before him, never allowing her a choice of what he expected from her. But even in the dream she’d been greedy, lost in the slick feel of his cock rubbing over her tongue, scraping against the roof of her mouth, stretching her lips as she sucked hard enough to make him lose his mind.

And rather than give her the prize she’d earned, he denied her his taste, pulling out as he climaxed, coming on her chest in long creamy spurts. His eyes glittered with satisfaction as his seed dripped off her hard nipples.

In the next dreamscape, she was blindfolded, straddling his thighs on a kitchen chair—he’d immobilized her hands with a thick rope. Kade fucked her slowly, sucking and biting her nipples, driving her insane with the heat and wetness of his mouth. Sky was on track to the most explosive orgasm of her life when she woke up.

Maddening. How sad was it that not only was she sexually frustrated in real life, but in her dreams too? And what was up with her kinky bondage fantasies?

She’d never get back to sleep now. She shimmied into her pajama bottoms and scooted off the bed. After checking on Eliza, she crept down the hallway.

The bathroom door was ajar. Odd. Kade always closed it. Maybe she should see if he was okay.

See if he wants coffee.

See if he’s naked.

See if he needs a towel.

Screw the towel. See if he needs you to lick the moisture off every square inch of his wet, ripped body.

Sky eased the door open. Rather than startle him by shouting over the sounds of running water, she’d wait until he shut off the taps.

The clear shower curtain, dotted with red umbrellas and yellow ducks, offered very little coverage. Thank the shower curtain gods for that bit of foresight.

Speaking of gods… Man. She’d never seen Kade completely bare-assed. She’d seen him half-dressed in cut-offs and tight T-shirts. Lately he’d strolled around bare-chested.

But she’d never witnessed him wearing nothing but his skin.

Which was a damn crying shame.

He’d braced his left forearm on the wall below the showerhead. Water streamed over his dark hair, dripping on the chiseled lines of his face. Rivulets trickled down the back of his neck, disappearing into the indentation of his spine. A few water droplets beaded on his muscular shoulders. Soapy drops flew off his wrist and splattered against the shower curtain.

Her gaze was drawn downward as his hips pushed forward. The muscles on his right side were strung tight, bunching and flexing with each movement of his arm. The long, thick muscle between his legs was clutched in his fist. His hand moved rapidly.

Rhythmically.

Oh wow. Kade was jacking off. Right in front of her. He was so intent on the task at hand he hadn’t noticed her.

Yet.

She should leave, sneak out, forget she’d stumbled upon such an intimate moment.

But she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, lost in self-pleasure. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever witnessed, the contour of his brawny body tensed in anticipation.

Hearing his indecipherable mutters as his hand flew faster and faster over his cock.

Her heartbeat spiked. Blood pulsed in her throat, and her nipples, but mostly between her legs.

The scent of lemon sage soap and steam and Kade swirled around her until she was dizzy with want. Why couldn’t she climb in with him and finish the job? Using her hands, her body, her mouth to bring him over the edge?

Just as she’d decided to doff her pajamas, Kade’s neck arched. A low grunt bounced off the tiled walls and his movement slowed. Water beat on his face as he stilled and savored his orgasm.

Talk about sexy. But not nearly as sexy as when Kade said her name. Startled, her eyes zoomed back to his profile, expecting to be busted for her voyeurism. But Kade’s eyes were squeezed shut. He’d said her name, not because he’s seen her, but because he’d been thinking of her as he’d masturbated.

Sexual need like she’d never experienced dimmed her vision and thickened her blood.

Maybe the gentleman was a wild man.

Maybe he’s exactly the kind of man you need.

Maybe you should quit dreaming and supposing and just flat-out ask him.

Skylar slipped out as quietly as possible.

Chapter Seven

“You ain’t complainin’ about bein’ tied down with a kid and all that shit now?”

Tied down. As if. Eliza had turned his world upside down, but she hung the moon and the stars as far as Kade was concerned. He was absolutely head over heels for his little Miz Eliza Belle Ellison McKay. Thinking about her sweet face, big inquisitive eyes, toothless grin and plump cheeks filled him with so much pride and love, he was damn close to bursting out in song.

“No complaints,” Kade said.

“Really? So how’s diaper duty?”

“Ain’t any worse than shovelin’ hot cow shit.”

Kane snorted. “If you say so.”

His brother’s sarcastic comments about Eliza were getting tiresome. Kade rested his forearm across the posthole digger handle and tried to rein in his temper. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothin’.”

“I’m serious. Why you always sayin’ shit like that, Kane?”

“Maybe you oughta be askin’ why you’re so touchy about it. I can’t say nothin’ lately without you bitin’ off my head, bro.” Kane continued to fiddle with the coil of barbed wire and wouldn’t look at him.

“Yeah? Maybe I am a little touchy ’cause my only brother can’t be bothered to drive sixty miles down the road to meet my baby daughter.”

“I ain’t good with babies,” he said softly. “You know that.”

Kade hadn’t been either up until about two weeks ago. “Look. I ain’t gonna make you change her diaper.”

Kane’s mouth twitched.

“But I would like you to see her. Next to her mama, she’s the prettiest thing in the whole world.”

“I reckon she probably is. But you ever think it might not be the best idea for me to see her? Or for her to see me?”

“Didja hit yourself in the head with a hammer?”

“Why you say that?”

“’Cause you ain’t makin’ a lick of sense.”

Kane squinted at him. “Yeah? Did it escape your notice in the year you’ve been gone that we’re identical twins? That havin’ two men who both look like daddy might be confusin’ to her?”

Hell. That hadn’t occurred to him.

“I know you’re bondin’ with her, or whatever you wanna call it, and it’d be just my luck if I’d fuck it up somehow. I done that once with you and her mama. I ain’t lookin’ to do it again.”

Kade had no idea how to answer. For once his brother had brought up a valid point.

“I appreciate your honesty. But it wasn’t your fault I never came clean with Skylar about me not bein’ you. I pissed away my chances to tell her and I gotta live with my stupidity.”

A couple of minutes passed where the only sounds were bugs and birds and the grinding chink of tools against hard-packed soil.

A heartfelt sigh drifted up from where Kane worked in the dirt. “Didja ever wonder why Ma named us Kane and Kade? Jesus. It ain’t bad enough hardly anyone can tell us apart? We gotta have names that are damn close to identical?”

“Yeah, I wondered that. But neither of us has balls enough to ask the blonde tornado just what she was thinkin’ when she popped out a matched set,” Kade said wryly.