Brea looked over at Bobby, who was standing on the other side of the corral. Bobby grinned at her and Brea blushed a hundred shades of crimson before turning a livid look on her younger sister. “I was doing no such thing.”

“Please,” Jolene said. “Lust is written all over your face.” She nodded at Bobby. “Let’s take a lunch break and we’ll get back to this in half an hour. Tell the others.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Bobby said before heading off. Jolene and Brea went into the house and grabbed sandwiches that Lila had made for them. Brea poured two glasses of lemonade and they pulled up chairs at the kitchen table. They ate in silence, Brea realizing she’d worked up an appetite. Typically she picked at food, but since she’d been on the ranch she’d done more physical work and it made her hungry. Getting outside and back to doing what she used to do before she’d moved into the city was . . . fun. Even if it wasn’t what she was going to spend the rest of her life doing, it was nice to get back to her roots again.

And also nice to watch Gage.

“You’re doing it again.”

Brea lifted her head to stare at her sister. “Doing what?”

“Getting that dreamy, moony, sickly sweet look on your face. It’s disgusting.”

Brea rolled her eyes. “I am not.”

Jolene pushed her empty plate to the side and picked up her glass of lemonade. “I’m serious. You must have it bad for Gage.”

She refused to answer.

“Did you f**k him yet?”

“Jolene!”

Her sister didn’t look apologetic in the least, instead tapped her fingers on the table. “Well?”

“I’m not going to discuss my sex life with you.”

Jolene smirked. “That means you have one. Good for you. Just don’t drag him off behind the barn to blow him while I need him working.”

Brea rolled her eyes. “You’re such a tart.”

Jolene waggled her eyebrows. “Don’t I know it. Now if only I could get Walker to see just how much of a tart I am.”

Thankful to turn the topic away from her and Gage, Brea leaned forward. “What about Walker?”

“I’ve got the major hots for him and he’s running scared.”

“Why? He doesn’t seem the wimpy type to me.” Walker was gorgeous. Tall, lean, one hell of a hot cowboy, filled with testosterone and 100 percent male.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t think so. But he won’t give me the time of day.”

“Maybe he’s not interested in you.”

Jo gave her a sideways look of disbelief. “Please. If he wasn’t interested, I wouldn’t bother. I know when a guy’s interested. Trust me, he is.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m his boss. He seems to think that’s an issue.”

“Oh.” Brea leaned back in the chair. “Well, you do basically run this ranch. I can see why he’d think that might cause a conflict.”

“Too bad. I want him. He wants me, I know he does. We’re going to tussle.”

“Just because you say so?”

Jolene grinned. “I always get what I want.”

“Must be nice to be that confident.”

“You should try it.”

Brea laughed. “I’m not you, Jo.”

“You don’t have to be me. You just set your sights on what you want and go after it. And don’t let anything or anyone get in your way. Life’s too short, Brea. Get what you want while the gettin’s good.”

brea spent the rest of the day thinking about what Jolene had said, and realized she’d been patient long enough waiting for Gage. She wanted him again and was bold enough to at least admit that to herself.

But she wasn’t Jolene, didn’t have the self-confidence her little sister had.

Still, maybe it was time to stop assuming Gage would come after her.

When she was finished with the calves, she hung out near the barn and watched Gage train the horses. When he was done and climbed outside the fence, she took a deep breath and headed in his direction. She’d made it halfway before he spotted her, wiping the back of his neck with a rag as he watched her approach.

His lips lifted in that smile that made her toes curl in her boots.

“Afternoon, Miss Brea.”

“Gage.”

“Saw you working the cattle today.”

“Jolene made me.”

He laughed. “It’s your ranch, too.”

“So she keeps telling me.”

Silence. Say what you came to say, Brea. He isn’t going to make the next move.

“I want to see you tonight, Gage.”

One brow arched. “Is that right?”

If he shot her down, she was going to run to her room and hide in the closet until she died. “That’s right.”

“Where?”

“In my room. Late.”

He propped one arm on the top of the fence and leaned closer. “You want me to sneak into your room tonight?”

“Yes, I do.”

His lips quirked. “I’ll be there.”

She shuddered her next breath, her ni**les tingling at the thought. “I’ll be waiting.”

Before she embarrassed herself by kissing him right there in front of God only knew who was watching, she pivoted and walked away, feeling his gaze on her the entire way back to the house.

She liked knowing he watched her.

Now could she be brave enough to let Gage into her room tonight, right under the noses of her family?

She was going to have to be, because she’d just invited him.

gage kept an eye on the goings-on at the house. He’d come in and had supper with everyone earlier. Jolene gave him a knowing smile—Brea must have told her the two of them had something going on. Fortunately Valerie had eyes only for Mason, so he didn’t think he’d have to be too concerned about the two of them. They had remarried at the justice of the peace a couple weeks ago, and were practically honeymooning again, so absorbed in each other they didn’t notice anything going on around them. Walker just shook his head.

Gage knew Lila went to bed early. Valerie and Mason had left in the truck earlier. Jolene took off out of the house and headed toward the barn, then rode off and hadn’t come back, no doubt seeing to the cattle farther out on the property, because Walker had gone with her.

That left Brea alone in the house except for Lila.

Gage left the bunkhouse, the other hands occupied with a game of Texas Hold Em. They didn’t even notice him leaving. He went up to the house, careful to come in through the back door instead of the front. No one locked doors on the property. No reason to, first because they were remote and knew everyone within a hundred miles, and second because everyone who lived on the ranch was plenty handy with a shotgun in case of intruders.

Gage wasn’t intruding. He’d been invited, which had surprised and pleased him. Brea had finally been bold enough to be the one to do the inviting. Besides being busy as hell the past week, he’d also purposely held off instigating anything with her. He wanted her to realize she was worthy of having a man in her life. If she wanted him, she was going to have to come to him this time.

He climbed the stairs, inching his way quietly on the toes of his boots. He sure as hell hoped Lila was a sound sleeper, though he knew her room was on the first floor and on the east side of the house, far away from where the sisters slept.

Brea’s room was down the hall, at the end. No light shined there. He hoped she hadn’t chickened out and headed into town. He reached her door and turned the knob, easing the door open.

Soft candlelight bathed the room.

He moved in and shut the door behind him, making sure to lock it. As he turned to face the bed, his breath stuttered.

Brea sat on the bed, one leg curled behind her. Her hair caught the flickering candlelight and looked like waving flames in the semi-darkness. She wore a silky dark slip that molded to every one of her lush curves.

Gage swallowed, his throat gone dry at the sight of her perched in the middle of the bed, her wary gaze following him as he made his way fully into the room.

She looked like a sex goddess, her hair falling over one eye, her lips glossy and full and slightly parted in invitation. Did she have any idea what that did to his cock?

He stopped at the foot of the bed, content just to look at her. Brea tilted her head back to capture his gaze.

“Say something,” she whispered.

“You’re beautiful.”

Her lashes dipped down, hiding her eyes.

“Look at me, Brea.”

She did.

“You’re beautiful. I wish I had a picture of you sitting on the bed the way you are right now. You take my breath away.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I don’t say anything I don’t mean.”

“Thank you.”

“This is nice. The candles, the room, you.” She had some snacks on the bedside table, some cheese, and a bottle of wine chilling. He sat on the edge of the bed and reached for the bottle.

“Would you like me to open this?”

She nodded and he grabbed the corkscrew.

“I wasn’t sure you even liked wine. It might be too fussy for you.”

He pulled the cork out and reached for the glasses. “I like it just fine.” He handed her a glass and took a sip of the wine. “It’s good.”

She held the glass and peeked at him through the fringe of her lashes, the action making her look even sexier than she already did. His c**k tightened and swelled.

Down, boy. The night was just starting. He was going to let Brea play this out her way, since she’d done the inviting.

“How’s the horse training coming?”

“Good. Making some headway. He’s stubborn, but he’s starting to see things my way.”

Brea’s lips quirked. “You can be very convincing when you want something.”

“No point in beating around the bush. Just lay it out there and make your wishes known.”

“I suppose so. Waffling would be a sign of weakness and would cause unnecessary delays.”

“Yeah. Besides, if you’re straight up about what you expect, there are no surprises later on. And then you both get what you want.”

“The horse wants to be wild and free, doesn’t it?”

“The horse wants food and water, shelter and affection. I can provide that.”

“If he does what you want him to do.”

“He gets what he wants, I get what I want. It’s a win/win.”

She laid her glass on the table. “You meet in the middle.”

He put his glass down, too. “Yes. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Power shouldn’t be one-sided. My aim isn’t to break him, just show him a different way than what he’s been used to.”

She shifted, planting her palms on either side of his legs to draw closer to him. Gage inhaled her sweet fragrance of soap and shampoo.

“I like your way. It’s honest.”

He slid his hand into her hair, sifting through the silken softness of it. “I’ll always be honest. It’s the only way I know how to be.”

“Then I’ll try to be the same way.” She climbed onto his lap, straddling him, aligning the heat of her sex against the throbbing hardness of him. “I honestly want you to kiss me.”

His lips were on hers as soon as she finished the sentence, his body taut with the need tightening inside him since the last time he’d had her in his arms. It had been too long, and he craved the touch of her, her taste against his lips, on his tongue, the way her scent floated along his senses, more intoxicating than any bottle of wine. He leaned against the headboard and took Brea with him, her legs sliding along his, her br**sts pressed to his chest. He got to touch her this way, run his hands along the flimsy little thing she wore, feeling it and her soft curves as she squirmed against him. He let his hands roam down to her sweet ass, squeezing her, pressing in so her body rubbed his cock. Damn, it felt so good having her against him.

She broke the kiss, sat up and began to unbutton his shirt.

Oh, yeah. He let her have at it, figuring she could do whatever the hell she wanted with him. She slipped each button out, tugging her bottom lip with her teeth in concentration. He wanted to reach for those tiny little straps on her shoulders and tug them down so he could see her breasts, but he got the idea she wanted to be in charge, so he left his hands at his sides and let her open his shirt.

Her hands were cool as she spread her palms over his chest, smoothing them over his ni**les until they hardened. She bent down and ran her tongue over his nipples, sucked them. Damn, that felt good all the way to his balls. He swept his hand over her hair.

“I like that.”

She looked up at him and smiled, then licked her tongue over his ribs, stretching out over his legs to snake down his body as her tongue moved in fluid motion over his skin.

He liked her exploring his body, would give her free rein to do anything she damn well pleased as long as her hands and mouth stayed on him. Bold Brea was something new. He was enjoying this side of her and wanted to encourage more of it.

She scooted farther down, her tongue mapping his ribs and abs, sizzling across his body until she got to his jeans. She stopped only long enough to unzip his pants and tug them down with relentless determination, freeing his cock. Before he could take a breath, she had his shaft in both hands, her now-warm fingers wrapped around him, stroking up and down. He sucked in a breath and watched her as she stared at his c**k like she was enraptured. He sure as hell was, fisting the sheets as she played with him as if what she did had no effect. Hell, it took all the self-control he had not to come all over her hands. She might think she was a novice, but her touch made him crazy.