Ellie thought of Kade. She had no idea what Kade felt for her. She had heard his heavy footfalls on the stairs, so she knew he had gone up to his bedroom. He hadn’t asked her to join him. She didn’t think he would come to her room tonight.

She thought of his weary expression, the worry lines digging into his forehead, the tiny creases beside his eyes. She thought of what might lie ahead for him, the danger his men could be facing, the danger he might be facing himself.

By now, she knew him well enough to know he would struggle tonight with all of those things. Ellie left the kitchen and headed for her bedroom to shower and change. Whether he admitted it or not, Kade needed her tonight.

Ellie intended to give him what he needed.

* * *

Kade had just walked out of the bathroom, a towel slung around his hips. His hair was still damp from the long, hot shower he had taken. He’d needed to get the smell of death scrubbed from his body.

He wished it were as easy to erase the memory of Frank Keller’s brains leaking from a hole in his head.

He sighed as he crossed the room to his dresser and took out a pair of sweatpants. He was about to pull them on when a soft knock sounded at the door. He knew that knock, knew Ellie stood in the hallway, and his body stirred to life.

Kade silently cursed. In the mood he was in, Ellie was the last person he wanted to see. Apparently his body disagreed.

He pulled open the door, managed to ignore how beautiful she looked with her face clean of makeup and her burnished hair loose around her shoulders. “It’s been a long day, darlin’. I figure we could both use some sleep.”

Those big green eyes ran over his bare chest, must have noticed the bulge at the front of the towel. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

His pulse quickened. She was barefoot, wearing her fleecy robe. He remembered the first time she had worn the robe to his room and the heated lovemaking that had followed.

His arousal strengthened, but his big head wasn’t in the game. Not after the scene at Earl Dunstan’s. “I’m not in the best mood tonight.” He didn’t move, just stood there blocking the door. “You’d be smart to go back downstairs.”

Ellie reached for his hand, walked past him, and led him over to the bed. “I’m going to help your mood improve. Lie down on your stomach.”

“Ellie, I don’t think I can do this tonight.”

She looked up at him with a trace of pity, then down at the towel, and laughed. He couldn’t believe it.

“You don’t have to do anything. Not tonight. The bed, Kade. Now.”