Review: Tied Up, Tied Down

Tied Up, Tied Down
Lorelei James
Contemporary Erotic Romance
Rough Riders/Book 4
Samhain/July 2008
Purchased

From the author's website ~

The strongest bonds are the ones unseen.

Businesswoman Skylar Ellison is firmly in control of her life. So getting tangled up with a sexy Wyoming cowboy - and conceiving a baby in the parking lot of a honky-tonk - wasn't in her plan. Since it appears the daddy has taken off for greener pastures, the only thing to do is pull up her bootstraps and carry on alone...

Cattle rancher Kade McKay returns home after a year on the range, and is knocked for a loop when he learns he's the father of a three-month-old baby girl. When Skylar refuses to marry him, Kade grits his teeth, moves in a plays house by her rules to prove he's a man in for the long haul.

Despite Skylar's insistence they are to remain strictly parenting partners, their old passions flare hot as ta brush fire,, spurring Kade to demand absolute sexual surrender from the headstrong woman. Skylar willingly submits her body to the hot-blooded cowboy but she's leery of handing Kade the reins to her heart.

Can Kade convince Skylar the wicked sex games aren't a temporary distraction? Or will he have to bust out the ropes to show her he wants to be tied to her... forever?

Warning: this book contains: no holes barred kinky sex scenes, wicked rope play, blunt language, and yowzw! lots of hot cowboy nekkedness.

If I were single and the Rough Riders were real, I'd move to Sundance, Wyoming. How can you resist those cowboys and more specifically the McKay cowboys? Tied Up, Tied Down is the story of Kade and Skylar and how they must over come their past mistrust and misunderstandings and make a life together for themselves and their daughter.

Kade McKay has been out of touch for the past year. He was working an isolated section of the ranch, living there alone with little contact with the outside world. He certainly didn't keep up on the town gossip of Sundance. So when he comes back home he's in for a surprise that's as cute as can be. I loved the scene when Kade first meets Eliza. He is dumbstruck and awed by his little girl. Kade is ready to step up and do what he considers the right thing by Skylar and their child. He doesn't convince Skylar to marry him but he does get her to agree to them living together so he can help with the care of Eliza.

Skylar is not used to relying on anyone, she's more accustomed to people using her and walking away. So when she finds herself pregnant and the father is nowhere to be found, she does what she always does, and takes on motherhood alone. When the missing father turns up Skylar is worn out. She's been hard at work at her factory, getting her company up and running. She's also a single mom who is sorely in need of help. She's skeptical of Kade's offer of help but after seeing him with Eliza and his heartfelt desire to help, she takes him up on his offer. It's not a conventional arrangement, at this point their main connection is their daughter.

The arrangement is to live together and share responsibility of Eliza who is still waking up during the night. I can't blame Skylar for accepting Kade's offer of help. She's working 24/7 with some assistance from her sister India but Skylar has a hard time accepting help. I do think part of her wants Kade not only in her daughter's life but in her own except she's not ready to admit that. Living in close proximity to a sexy cowboy whom she has strong feelings for leaves Skylar open to making their relationship more physical than what she had intended. As usual James' sex scenes are smoking hot with both Kade and Skylar showing their vulnerabilities. Kade gets quite imaginative in the bedroom, he even has a secret pirate/wench fantasy. LOL Not only did I find this to be an emotionally fulfilling read but it had that humor that I have come to expect from this series.

We do get to catch up with some of the other McKays that live and work in and around Sundance. It's always fun to see previous heroes/heroines and find out what has been happening with them since there HEA. There is also a developing relationship between Skylar's sister India and Kade's cousin Colt. I like the way the different secondary characters are woven into the main story, adding to the plot but never taking over the spotlight.

I'm nearly at the half-way point in this series and it's still going strong for me. It's labeled as erotic romance and it does have some very steamy, very sensual sex scenes but the building of the relationships is also well written. I'll keep reading this series as long as James keeps writing it!

Rating: B+

Reviews for Books 1-3

Long Hard Ride
Rode Hard, Put Up Wet
Cowgirl Up and Ride