Twin Temptation

“Right now, my aim is to crash for at least twelve hours,” Jase said, then added, “Thanks for covering.”

“I live to serve.”

A BIT DIZZY from sleep deprivation and jet lag, Maddie let herself into Jordan’s Soho apartment. During the last few days, she’d managed to lose all sense of time. The only reason she knew that it was shortly after midnight was because she’d asked the cab driver who’d driven her from JFK.

According to her estimate, she’d spent nearly eighteen of the last forty-eight hours on an airplane. Severe thunderstorms in the midwest had delayed her flights both to and back from Santa Fe. She’d barely been at the ranch long enough to pack what she thought she’d need for a three-week stay in New York. Jordan, the lucky girl, had only had to make one flight.

In the very short time they’d spent together before Jordan had insisted she immediately fly back to the ranch and set things in order for the switch, Maddie had learned that her sister was a ruthlessly organized woman who gathered data, made lists, assembled files and was quite used to having her “suggestions” followed. Had Eva Ware been like that? Maddie wondered. Would she ever know? She hoped that Jordan was right and that by switching lives each of them would come to know the other parent better. But she was beginning to feel a sense of loss that she would never have a chance to talk to Eva about her design process.

And Jordan would never hear Mike Farrell’s laugh.

Not that her sister wouldn’t discover as much as she could about the ranch and their father. The woman was meticulous. She couldn’t think of one thing that had escaped Jordan’s attention. Jordan had even suggested that since Maddie possessed very few outfits appropriate for the city and Jordan experienced the same lack of wardrobe for ranch life, they could borrow clothes from one another and cut down on what they needed to pack. Maddie figured that was Jordan’s subtle way of letting her know not to appear at Eva Ware Designs in her jeans and boots.

Yawning hugely, she muscled her suitcase through the door, then sagged against it for a moment, nearly paralyzed with exhaustion.

“Just a few more minutes,” she muttered. “You can do it.”

She groped blindly along the wall until she located a switch. The muted light from a Tiffany-style lamp allowed her only a shadowy impression of the living room—stained-glass-fronted bookcases flanking a brick fireplace, an antique desk, a comfy-looking leather couch and a flat-screen TV. The furnishings with their mix of the feminine and the masculine suddenly reminded her about Jordan’s roommate—Jase Campbell.

The man’s image slipped instantly into her mind. Jordan had provided her with photos of everyone she might possibly meet during her three weeks in New York, and she’d been reviewing them one by one on the long flight from Santa Fe. From the moment she’d glanced at Jase’s picture, she hadn’t quite been able to get him out of her mind.

Maddie recalled Jordan describing Jase as a big brother. They’d been friends ever since they’d roomed off-campus together in college, and when he’d left the navy to start up his own security firm here in New York, he and Jordan had hooked up as roommates again. Jordan’s description of her relationship with Jase Campbell could have fit her own relationship with her neighbor, Cash.

However, as Maddie had studied Jase’s photo, her response to him had been anything but sisterly. He had a strong face, lean with sharply defined bones. And though he wore a jacket and a tie, he didn’t look quite…tamed. Perhaps it was the longish, windblown hair that hinted at a streak of recklessness. Or maybe it was the eyes. She was baffled by the fact that every single time she’d closed her own eyes and tried to sleep on the plane, she’d thought of those angled cheekbones, the strong jawline and firm lips.

And each time his image had popped into her mind, her palms had tingled with the desire to touch his face. When she’d imagined herself doing just that, a heat had begun to build inside her. She’d even foolishly given into an impulse to run her fingertips over the image in the photo—touching first his mouth, then the rest of those sharp features.

When the heat simmering inside her had rushed to her face, she’d glanced nervously around to see if anyone had witnessed what she’d done. To her great relief, everyone within sight had been sleeping. Something she herself should have been doing. But instead of slipping the photo back into the file, she’d glanced down at it again.

And traced her fingertips over it once more. Her desire to touch the image, to touch him was baffling…and unprecedented. She’d experienced a purely chemical reaction to a man before. But no man’s photo had ever affected her in such a physical way.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t had any sex in a while. During the past year, between the plans she had to expand her jewelry design business and the extra work she’d had to take on at the ranch, she simply hadn’t had the time. Or the desire.

Yawning again, Maddie struggled against a huge wave of exhaustion as she turned and dragged her suitcase down a narrow hallway. The effort of placing one foot in front of the other almost defeated her.

Probably her whole odd reaction to Jase Campbell’s photo was due to sleep deprivation and the emotional whirlwind she’d been caught up in during the past few days. When she met him, she’d find him a pleasant man, and her unusual and highly sensual response to his photo would turn out to be much ado about nothing.

Not that meeting Jase was a sure thing. Jordan had mentioned that for the last three and a half weeks he’d been out of the country and out of contact. So she had no idea when he’d be back.

Maddie stopped short at the first door she came to, not sure if she could take another step. If she didn’t find a bedroom soon, she was simply going to curl right up on the floor. She bit back a groan when the door to her left opened onto a tiny bathroom. Putting all her effort into the move, she half stumbled into the room directly across the hall. There was just enough moonlight pouring through the window for her to make out a bed. Not bothering to turn on the light, she shoved her suitcase against the wall. Unpacking would have to wait. Using the foot of the bed as her guide, she moved to the side nearest the window and pulled the drapes. Then she stripped down to her tank top and panties. With the last bit of energy she could summon up, she tugged just enough of the covers back to slip beneath them. The moment her head touched the pillow, she fell abruptly into sleep.

IT WAS nearly one when Jase let himself into the apartment. At some point during the taxi ride from La Guardia, the adrenaline that had fueled him for the last few weeks had drained away as surely as if someone had pulled a plug. Setting his duffel down, he shut the door and locked it. Then, without turning on the lights, he made his way to his bedroom, shed his clothes, eased back the covers, and climbed in. Sleep claimed him before his head settled fully into the pillow.

THE DREAM came slowly, slipping into his mind as a lover might slip into his bed. A woman, soft and warm, was nestled against him. With lazy pleasure, he let himself drift in sensations, absorbing each one. The press of a palm against his chest, the silky length of a thigh trapped between his. And the scent—he had to draw her closer to place it—he’d caught that fragrance before on drives through the country—a mix of wildflowers and sunshine.

When she sighed and snuggled closer, Jase ran a hand from her shoulder to her thigh and back again, absorbing the contrasting textures of smooth, soft skin and rougher cotton. Desire tugged at him when she pressed against him and her hands moved to slide over his back.

Drifting with the sensations, Jase touched his mouth to her temple and slipped his hand beneath her shirt. The throaty sound of pleasure she made when he cupped her breast had the tug of desire turning into a sharp pull. Nothing would be simpler than to give in to the temptation to shift her onto her back and make a place for himself between her legs. To thrust into her and lose himself in her.

But equally tempting was the thought of exploring her more thoroughly and discovering how far the dream would take him. Slowly, he ran his hand from her breast down the taut length of her torso, over that firm, narrow waist until he could slip his fingers beneath the band of her panties. The soft moan she made when he found her heat and began to stroke her urged him to take his mouth on a leisurely journey over her face from her temple to jawline and back again. Her breath was hitching now and she began to arch faster and faster against his hand. Desire pulled even more strongly against his control. But first…first, he wanted to take more, to give her more. He traced her mouth with his tongue, then began to tease her lips with his. When he finally allowed himself to fully taste her, the flavor was so sweet, so potent, that he thought he might never get enough. Taking the kiss ever deeper, he slipped two fingers into her and felt her soar.

THE ORGASM shot through Maddie in one glorious wave after another until she was sure she was going to drown. When she finally surfaced, she had only a few moments of respite, barely enough time to register what that clever mouth was doing to hers before those long hard fingers began to move inside her again. She’d never dreamed anything this vividly before. Even as the incredible pressure began to build once more, other sensations bombarded her. She inhaled his scent, something dark and male. The sharp nip of his teeth on her bottom lip. And his body—it was so hot that she felt as if it was branding her at each and every contact point.

The second orgasm was sharper than the first, and before it peaked, he was there, just where she wanted him to be, thrusting into her. And then they began to move together.

Yes, she thought as she wrapped arms and legs around him. This was what she wanted—this wild, fast race. This was what she’d always wanted, and no one had been ever able to give it to her before. Holding on for dear life, she rode the climax, rode him, until they leapt over that final crest together.

Chapter Three

MADDIE DRIFTED UP slowly through layers of sleep, trying to hold on to each one. The dream she’d been having was so wonderful, so real. With each breath, she drew in her lover’s scent—potent, male. His arm held her close, and she felt the length of that hard body pressed against her. The sensations were vivid enough to have her blood heating all over again.

She wanted more than anything to sink back into the dream so that he would touch her, tempt her, tease her again. But there was light beyond her closed eyelids and she could hear muted sounds. Motors rumbling, brakes squealing…

Traffic? Frowning, she struggled to remember.

The insistent beep of a horn, louder than the others, triggered a kaleidoscope of memories. Her sister, the terms of her mother’s will, the endless series of plane rides, the detailed files Jordan had insisted she study.

The horn blasted again.

She definitely wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Nor was she at the ranch in Santa Fe. She was in her sister’s New York City apartment. The last thing she clearly recalled was dragging her suitcase into the closest bedroom and falling into bed.

That’s when the dream had begun—and her lover had joined her. And he was still with her. The smooth taut skin on his shoulder was warm beneath her hand, and above the sounds from the street below she heard the steady rate of his breathing.

Was she still trapped in her dream?

A mix of emotions swept through her—fear, excitement. Anticipation? Gingerly, Maddie opened one eye. There was just enough light seeping through the slit in the drapes for her to see that her senses were not deceiving her. Her hand was indeed resting against a man’s shoulder. And the rest of her body was totally wrapped around his. Everything about him, the hint of stubble on his chin, the strength of the arm wrapped around her waist—even the erection growing harder against her stomach—seemed to be very real.

Squeezing her eye shut again, Maddie drew in a deep breath and let it out. One thing she’d learned growing up on her father’s ranch was that you had to face facts. So the dream lover who’d joined her in bed last night had been real. Was real.

And facts had to be dealt with. A cut fence had to be mended ASAP so cattle didn’t stray. Still, a real lover in one’s bed instead of a dream one presented more complicated problems—one of them being that she didn’t seem to want to disentangle herself from him. What she was tempted to do more than anything else was to push him onto his back and taste him again, touch him again.

Not happening, Maddie lectured herself. And why was she even considering the possibility? No man had ever made her feel the way this one had. Ever. And she didn’t even know who he was.

Stiffening her resolve, Maddie slowly drew her head back and this time she opened both eyes. Even in the dim light, recognition was instantaneous. After all, she’d memorized those features—the angled cheekbones, that strong chin, the firm lips.

At some point in the night, she’d made love to Jase Campbell. And he’d made love to her.

Heat shot through her. But it wasn’t from embarrassment. Her body was on fire because she wanted to repeat the experience. Right now.

Not going to happen. She had to get a grip. And she had to get out of this bed. If she could just get away before he woke up, maybe she could pretend that the night they’d just shared hadn’t happened. If he brought it up, she’d just tell him that he’d been dreaming. That would be one way to mend the fence. Maybe the only way.

Dragging her eyes away from his face, she focused on ungluing herself from him. But her body rebelled, refusing to take orders from her brain. Her hand seemed permanently affixed to his shoulder, her fingers splayed. Maddie faced another fact—she didn’t want to stop touching him, and she knew that if her hand moved at all, it would slide down to wrap itself around the length of his erection which was pressing against her stomach more insistently with each passing moment.

When he sighed, his breath feathered along her temple, and his arm tightened more firmly around her waist. Maddie barely managed to stifle a moan. He was waking up. Once he did, the pretend-it-never-happened scenario would no longer be an option. But it wasn’t panic she was feeling, it was a wild thrill.

What was happening to her? Why was she reacting this way?

He stirred again. Maybe there was still time to slip away. She focused all her effort on pushing against his shoulder. It was like trying to dislodge a boulder. Then she felt his whole body stiffen. Before she could blink, he slipped a hand beneath her chin and tilted it up so that she had to meet his eyes.

She was aware of several things at once. The body pressed against hers had grown harder, and the heat that seemed to leap from him to her was enough to melt her bones. But it was his eyes she couldn’t look away from. The photo hadn’t captured the color. The mix of dark green and blue reminded her of some of the rarer turquoise stones she worked with.

Then suddenly his gaze narrowed, darkened, and his fingers tightened their grip on her chin. Their mouths were close, nearly touching. If either one of them moved…Just anticipating the brush of those lips against hers, Maddie felt her brain cells wink off one by one. Yes.

No. Jase felt his mind clouding over and fought to clear it. He was holding a woman in his arms, and he had no idea how that had come to happen.

The last thing he remembered was reaching his apartment and falling into bed. Memories began to trickle in. That’s when the dream had begun. There’d been a lover waiting for him, hungry for him. What she’d ignited in him had gone beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. Desire had never been so compelling. Passion had never been so consuming.

But what had happened during the night hadn’t been a dream.

It was morning now. The sound of traffic floated up from the street below. Her hair was just brushing his chin, her breath was hot on his chest. She was very real. And so was the fresh surge of desire he was feeling. A thin stream of sunlight fell across the delicate line of her cheekbone.

If he gave into temptation and traced a finger along the path of the light, he knew just what her skin would feel like. Soft as the petal of a flower, warm…

Jase clamped down on the heat that shot through him. She wasn’t a dream. This was a real woman. And she was wrapped so tightly around him that he wasn’t sure he could ever break free.

And he still wanted her. Desperately. Her mouth was so close, barely a breath away. His leg was already nestled between hers, and he could feel that she was ready for him. More than anything, he wanted to sink into her, to lose himself in her again.

No. Gripping her shoulders, Jase disentangled himself, pulling back far enough so that he could see her face clearly for the first time. It was the eyes that drew his attention first. They were dark—a deep blue that bordered on violet. And they were very familiar. The color, the shape—they were Jordan’s eyes. And she had Jordan’s face. But…Narrowing his gaze, he studied her more closely.

“You’re not Jordan.”

He would have staked his life on it. Her scent was all wrong. Jordan always smelled like some exotic French perfume. This woman smelled like wild flowers and sunshine. And Jordan’s hair wasn’t long enough to pull into a braid.

Then there was the chemistry. As long as he and Jordan had known each other, there’d never been any spark between them. And spark was far too tame a word for what he’d experienced with this woman.

Those eyes, damn them, were still clouded with desire. The pulse at the base of her throat was hammering. Whoever she was, he could have her again. Right now. Jase wasn’t usually one to throw caution to the winds either in his personal or his business life. But for one precarious moment, he was outrageously tempted.

He tightened his grip on her shoulders. “Who are you and what are you doing in my bed?”

THE NOTE of command in Jase’s voice snapped Maddie out of the trance she’d fallen into ever since he’d pulled back and she’d looked into those mesmerizing blue-green eyes. A moment ago, she’d been sure he was going to kiss her again. And she’d wanted him to. More than that, she’d willed him to. But he hadn’t. And now he seemed to be focused on getting answers. Okay, maybe he had a right. But so did she.

She squirmed backward, intending to get out of bed. But she was naked. Sweeping her hand beneath the covers, she searched for her tank top. Without success.

“I’m still waiting for an answer.”

The sudden hint of humor in his tone had her chin lifting and her temper surging. This was not funny. “What I was trying to do here was sleep. When I arrived last night, I was nearly blind with exhaustion and I simply got into the wrong bed. Do you know how many planes I’ve been on in the past three days?”

“Not as many as I have, I’ll wager. Is this what you’re looking for?”

She glanced up barely in time to catch the tank top he tossed her. Then her gaze focused on him. Big mistake. He was lying on his side now, his head propped on his hand. The sheet barely covered him to the waist.

An intense wave of hunger shot through her. Why was this happening to her? Baffled, she tore her eyes away from him, slid off the side of the bed, and tried to cover as much as she could with the tank top. If she wanted to think clearly, her best bet was to get out of the room. But the door was on his side of the bed. There was just no way to make any kind of a dignified exit.

“You haven’t answered my first question. Who are you?”

She shot him a narrow look. He was definitely enjoying this. “I’m Jordan’s twin sister and Eva’s other daughter.”

It gave her some satisfaction when a bit of the humor faded from his gaze.

“You’ll have to do better than that. Jordan doesn’t have a twin.”

“Yes, she does. Turns out we were separated when we were babies, and neither one of us knew anything about it until four days ago.”

For two full heartbeats silence stretched between them. He was studying her as if he were weighing what she’d told him. And she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Worse, she could feel her brain cells start to click off again. She had to get a grip.

“Where is Jordan?” he asked.

Her chin lifted. “She’s at our father’s ranch in Santa Fe.”

“Why?”

Maddie welcomed the surge of temper. “Look. It’s a very long story, and if you were any kind of a gentleman, you’d leave right now and give me a chance to get dressed. Then I’ll be happy to answer all of your questions.”

He smiled slowly, fully.

Maddie felt the heat shoot all the way to her toes.

“Never let it be said that my mother didn’t raise me to be a gentleman.”

Maddie stared as he threw back the covers and got out of bed. For the first time, she got a good look at what she’d explored with her hands during the night—the broad shoulders, the strongly muscled back, the bronze skin that ended with a clearly defined tan line at his waist.

And his butt. There were muscles there too. She remembered exactly what they’d felt like beneath her palms, tensing and then relaxing as he’d moved inside her. When he turned, Maddie’s throat went dry as fresh need thrummed through her.

“My jeans…ah, there they are.” He leaned down to scoop them up. “But these are yours, I believe.” He laid her panties on the foot of the bed.

She ignored the panties and focused her gaze on his. He knew exactly what effect he was having on her. Damn him.

Still smiling, he took another step toward her, extending his free hand. “I’m Jase Campbell, by the way. I’m Jordan’s roommate. And your name is…?”

“I’m Maddie Farrell.” She sent him a thin smile as she shook his hand. The instant he relaxed his grip, she hooked her foot behind his right ankle, then used both hands to shove hard against his chest. His butt hit the floor with a very satisfactory thud. There, she thought. Enjoy that.

He grinned up at her. “Nice move, Maddie Farrell.”

She snatched her panties off the bed. “I believe you said something about your mother raising a gentleman.”

He winced a little. “So I did.” He stretched out a hand. “You wouldn’t want to give me a hand, would you?”

“Do I look as though I have stupid branded on my forehead?”

“No. But it was worth a try.” He rose in one graceful movement, but she noticed that he took his time walking to the bedroom door. When he reached it, he turned back. “I’ll make us some coffee, Maddie Farrell. Then we’ll talk.”

For a full thirty seconds after he’d disappeared from view, Maddie didn’t move. Because she wanted to run after him? What in the world was wrong with her? The man thought this whole situation had a humorous side to it. Maybe—in a hundred years—she could agree with him.

Biting back a groan, she sank onto the bed. Maybe if she burrowed under the covers, she’d wake up and discover that it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t. In a few moments she was going to have to join him for coffee and answer his questions. Besides, she wasn’t the kind of person who ran from problems. On a ranch you just couldn’t do that.

You grew up around men. You know how to handle them.

All she needed was a plan.

Chapter Four

JASE LEANED his hip against the counter and sipped coffee. He could hear the shower still running in the bathroom, so he had a few more minutes to figure out what in the hell he was going to do. Usually, he wasn’t at such a loss. But the night he’d just spent with the woman who called herself Maddie Farrell had been unprecedented. She’d scrambled his brain.