by Iris Abbott
Kyle swung her up in his arms and kissed her for all he was worth. She wasn’t the only one that had been scared. He hadn’t been scared for himself however, just Caroline. He hadn’t given any thought to his own life or the danger in taking down a man with a gun. His only instinct had been to keep Caroline safe. He most definitely loved her and he was going to make sure she knew it, starting now.
Cole had the gunman in handcuffs and was leading him out the door. “You might want to hang up with the 911 dispatcher now,” he smiled fondly at Caroline. I have enough evidence to hold this piece of work in county lockup, but I would appreciate it if you and Mr. Wakefield came by the station first thing tomorrow morning to give your statements. I’ll also send over a deputy right away to board up the front door.”
Kyle shook hands with Cole. “Thank you sheriff and I appreciate your consideration. Caroline and I do need some time together. If you need us for any reason we’ll be at my house.”
Caroline watched Cole look Kyle over as if sizing him up. He must have approved of what he saw because he nodded and walked out with his prisoner without another word.
“Oh my gosh,” Caroline struggled to get out of Kyle’s hold. “Put me down! I need to let the lady on the phone know everything is all right. When she felt her feet touch the floor, Caroline ran back into the bedroom and snatched up the phone. “Sorry I didn’t stay on the extension with you. The sheriff and his men just left. They arrested the intruder and are headed to county lockup I believe I heard him say.”
“Thank goodness for that,” the dispatcher stated. “I’ve been on this job for twelve years and this is the most excitement I’ve ever had. Not too much happens in this county you know.”
Caroline said goodbye and disconnected the call. Kyle was standing next to her. Now that the danger had passed and she was returning to normal she was strained and nervous in his presence. “Maybe you should just go home and check on Sarah. Now that the mastermind behind the kidnapping attempt is in custody I should be safe. I’ll stay with Abigail and Mason until my apartment door can be fixed.”
She was giving him an out and he knew it. The trouble was he didn’t want that out. He wanted Caroline. “No you won’t,” he insisted as he slowly closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. “You’re going back to the rental house with me. It’s not just Sarah’s home and mine. It’s your home too.” He tenderly covered her lips with his and kissed her until he was able to coax a response from Caroline. When she freely opened her mouth to welcome his possession he deepened the kiss and staked his claim. He poured every ounce of passion, need, and love he possessed into that kiss. When he was finished and they both badly needed to draw in a breath he reluctantly lifted his mouth from hers.
Caroline trembled in his embrace. “I love you Kyle, but….”
He gently placed a finger over her lips which were swollen from his kiss. “No buts, we love each other. This time it will work Caroline. We are both different people now. I have finally worked through and gotten over the bitterness I held inside from my divorce.” He placed one hand over his heart and another over hers. “I trust what we have Caroline, and I trust you. I hope that you can do the same for me.”
The front door was still hanging on its hinges and the cold night air was beginning to seep into the room. He rubbed both her arms with his hands as if trying to warm her. In reality he just had to touch her, but he was scared right now that she would reject another embrace. He waited a second and then tilted her chin so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. “I know about the miscarriage, Caroline.”
She gasped and twisted to get out of his arms. “After all this time, how did you find out?” Then she remembered the box. She had been so upset that in her haste to leave his house she’d left the box and all its contents behind. She couldn’t look at Kyle. She focused instead on a spot over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I wouldn’t listen to you, and I’m really sorry you lost the baby. It must have been hell for you and you were all alone. For that I will always be sorry. I just hope that you still love me as much as I love you and we can build on our future together as a family.”
Caroline felt her heart lighten at the words Kyle was speaking. She let out a tiny startled gasp when she suddenly found herself floating. Kyle had lifted her into his arms again. She barely managed to grab her purse as he quickly strode toward the front door and out of the apartment.
The ride to his house was accomplished in silence. Both of them had a lot on their minds and they needed time to process and work through their thoughts and feelings. He drove with his left hand because the fingers of his right hand were firmly entwined with the fingers on Caroline’s left hand and he refused to let go, not this time.
“We’re home,” Kyle announced when they were parked in the garage. He sealed the promise with a kiss, a soft touch of the lips meant to reassure not necessarily evoke passion. “Sarah was worried sick about you. Let’s go in and fill her in on what happened and let her know that you both are finally safe.”
Even though it was his suggestion to go inside, he was reluctant to break contact. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. Then he rushed around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her. As soon as she stepped out of the car he lifted her into his arms once again. This time she didn’t gasp. She was getting used to being picked up and carried by Kyle. If she were truthful, she’d admit she liked it. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and snuggled into his body. “I am capable of walking you know,” she informed him.
“I know,” he replied, “but I need the practice.” He opened the door and walked into the laundry room then the family room. His daughter jumped off the couch and ran toward them as soon as they entered her line of vision.
“Caroline, I was so worried about you.”
She twisted to get out of Kyle’s arms, but Kyle only tightened his grip. She gave up and relaxed into his solid warmth. “I’m fine honey,” she promised the girl. “I have my memory back and Sheriff Duncan arrested the man behind our attempted kidnapping too. Everything should be back to normal, soon.”
Kyle cleared his throat. “I have a feeling nothing is ever going to be normal around here again.” He looked down at Caroline. “Valentines Day is in two weeks and I want you to be my Valentine Bride! Caroline Johnson, will you marry me?”
Caroline felt all the pain and mistrust she’d been storing for four years splinter apart and then melt away into nothing. She tightened the arms she had wrapped around his neck and pulled him to her for a scorching kiss. When she pulled away he slowly lowered her down his body.
“I take that as a definite yes,” he teased.
“Yes,” Caroline shouted before throwing her arms around his sculpted middle and hugging him close. “I love you Kyle Wakefield and I can’t wait for us to finally be a family!” They separated long enough to bring Sarah into their embrace.
Epilogue
Caroline took a deep breath and let it out in the form of a contented sigh. The past few months had been a wild rollercoaster ride for her emotions. First there was the sudden and unexpected appearance of Kyle. Then there was her fight to maintain a physical and emotional distance from the man who had once crushed her heart, the attempted kidnapping, her amnesia, Kyle’s relentless seduction, the return of her memory, and now finally after everything else her happy ending.
She watched Kyle walk toward her with a glass of champagne. She took the offered glance and took a small sip. “Thank you Mr. Wakefield.”
“You’re welcome Mrs. Wakefield.”
Caroline felt the thrill of those words all the way down to her toes. She knew she’d never get tired of that name, and she’d never get tired of being married to Kyle. Careful of the glass of champagne she was still holding she wrapped her arms around his neck and offered her lips for a kiss. She closed her eyes and gloried in the feel of his lips brushing across hers.
The kiss ended and Caroline turned to look at thei
r guests. She leaned into Kyle’s warmth and was rewarded when he encircled her body with his strong embrace. “I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect wedding even if I’d had months to plan it.” She sighed again. “Getting married on Valentines Day is so romantic.” She looked around at the bunches of long stem red roses and baby’s breath that adorned the formal ballroom of the Old Plantation house now home to Annabel Montgomery Chambers and her husband Jonathan. “And it was really nice of Annabel and Jonathan to offer to host the wedding at their house.”
Kyle agreed with her. “The Montgomery family is definitely special and I owe them a debt of gratitude for loving you and taking care of you when I couldn’t.”
“They are indeed special,” Caroline said in the saddest voice she’d used all day. “I’m really going to miss them when you finish with this company here in Tallahassee and we go back to Georgia.”
“Maybe not so much,” Kyle confided. “I know the Montgomery women are like family to you. You and Sarah are both settled at the high school. I think we should stay in this area. I’ve wanted to delegate more responsibility to my VPs for a while now. I can communicate through emails, texts, and phone calls, and I can take a commuter flight from Tallahassee to Atlanta every Tuesday for a weekly briefing with staff.”
Caroline had thought it would be impossible to be any happier than when she and Kyle spoke their wedding vows, but her husband continued to surprise her with his love and generosity. “I would love to stay in this area, and I would never argue over you spending more time with your family and less time occupied with work.”
A very pregnant Abigail sided up to the pair to offer her congratulations one more time. She hugged Caroline. “Congratulations you two and may you be as happy as the rest of the Montgomery women and their husbands,” she said with a wink. “I couldn’t help overhearing the last part of your conversation and you know several acres of land have opened up for sale next to us by the lake.”
Caroline’s eyes grew large. She turned to Kyle, “can we please check into it! The lake is gorgeous and you know how much Sarah loves visiting with Jay and Emily.”
“She loves our horses too,” Abigail reminded them. “There’s plenty of room for you to build a barn and fence in a pasture for a horse or two.”
“Horses,” Sarah squealed as she and Jay joined the group. “Who’s getting new horses?”
And right then Kyle resigned himself to his fate. There was no way he would ever disappoint the two pairs of shinning eyes looking up at him.” “Well I guess we are. It also looks like you and Jay are going to be neighbors in the not so distant future.”
The two teenagers looked at each other and smiled. “Well it looks like Project Valentine was an even bigger success than we could have ever imagined,” Sarah proclaimed just low enough for only Jay to hear. “And we didn’t even really do anything. Those stupid kidnappers actually set all this in motion and did most of the work for us. Come on,” she said grabbing his arm. “Let’s go find your sister and talk about horses.” Jay just shook his head, but followed behind.
Caroline gave her new husband a quick kiss. “You know one day the Wakefield’s and Montgomery’s might really be family.” She watched her husband’s eyes narrow as he glared at the retreating back of his daughter and her best friend Jay. “You are so cute when you are being all protective,” Caroline teased.
They were approached by the three Montgomery sisters and their husbands. “Are you two ready to make your escape?” Abigail asked in a mock whisper. “There are a bunch of children waiting in the foyer to shower you with those pastel candy hearts.” She winked. “It is Valentines Day after all.”
Caroline and Kyle looked at each other and they both smiled wicked grins. They were remembering the last time they’d seen candy hearts. The night of Caroline’s seduction, a seduction they both knew would last a lifetime!
Thank you for reading Caroline’s Seduction. If you enjoyed book four of the Montgomery Family and Friends Series please leave a review at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. If you would like to know more about Iris Abbott or her romance novels please visit irisabbott.com.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Epilogue
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Epilogue