Caroline's Seduction (Montgomery Family and Friends) Read online

  Abigail laughed. “Jays mentioned that Sarah eats takeout a lot and it’s not by choice. I’m sure you’re right. They both could probably do with a home cooked meal.”

  “Well I’m here all day with nothing else to do and I remember that I love to cook. Would it be too much trouble for you to give me a ride to the market?”

  “Not at all, actually I’ve been meaning to check out that new gourmet market just down the street. We can go there. Do you know what you need?”

  Relieved to get out of the house, Caroline jumped up. “I thought I’d prepare something simple for tonight. Steaks, tossed salad, and roasted asparagus. What do you think?”

  “I think Kyle will be very sorry when you move out if you plan to feed him like that everyday.”

  “Umm, you may be on to something there. Let me grab my purse from upstairs and I’ll be ready to go. And Abigail I really appreciate this. Thank you. Now if I only knew what time they planned to come home.”

  Abigail smiled. “I can help with that too. Kyle understandably didn’t want Sarah waiting alone after school and he didn’t want to endanger you by asking you to pick her up, so I’m picking her up when I pick up Jay. Kyle said he’d be by to get her around five-thirty. It’s about a twenty minute drive from my house to here.”

  “Six O’clock! That gives me plenty of time then.” Now that she had a timeframe to work with, Caroline felt even better about her plan to surprise the Wakefield’s with dinner.

  ******

  Kyle put the key in the door and continued to listen to Sarah chat away about her day at school and how much all the students missed Caroline. Apparently the sub was an ogre and they hated him already. Most likely there was nothing wrong with the poor man. He just couldn’t compare to Caroline, but Kyle was smart enough to keep that thought to himself.

  The aroma of sizzling steaks assailed him as soon as the door was open. He usually took the time to take his briefcase and laptop to his home office, but this evening he found himself gravitating toward the kitchen and Caroline. He had a sinking feeling that the home cooked meal couldn’t take all the credit. He wanted to see Caroline. He had been thinking about her all day. He’d called Abigail Montgomery that morning to make sure she’d be able to pick Sarah up from school. He also wanted to see if she would check on Caroline. He had been pleased to learn that she was already on her way to visit Caroline that morning.

  “Something smells good,” he complimented her when he walked into the brightly lit gourmet kitchen.

  “Thanks! Since you’re letting me stay here until it’s safe for me to do otherwise, I thought I would at least feed you. Lucky for you one of the things I can remember is that I love to cook and I’m good at it too.”

  “I don’t remember having all this food in the house. You better not have left here and gone to the grocery store on your own.” He sent her a scowl showing he meant business.

  Caroline glared right back. She wasn’t afraid of Kyle or his dark looks. “Abigail gave me a ride to the market. Don’t worry. I promise I won’t die on your watch, if that’s what’s bothering you.”

  Kyle opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it. He didn’t want to antagonize Caroline. There were much better things he could be doing to her. That thought scattered his mind into several different directions. He was brought back to Earth by Sarah.

  Sarah rushed into the room and gave Caroline a big hug. “All the students miss you.” She dug through her backpack and came out with a large envelope. She handed it to Caroline. “My bio class signed this card for you. Everyone in the class left you a message. We can’t wait for you to come back to school.”

  Caroline was touched by the thoughtful gesture. “Thank you.” She took the envelope and gave Sarah another hug. Then she placed the card on the bar next to the stack of mail she had collected when she got back from the grocery store. “I’ll look at it and read the messages as soon as we’ve eaten. Why don’t the two of you wash up for dinner? I just put the steaks on and dinner will be ready in about five minutes.” She walked over to the gas stove and flipped the searing beef filets.

  Kyle watched his daughter happily skip out of the room. He couldn’t resist turning up the heat himself. He walked behind Caroline who was still busy at the stove. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. “I thought about you all day today. I couldn’t get any work done and that’s a first for me.”

  Caroline felt at home in his arms, but some unexplained and forgotten inhibition was holding her back. She shrugged her way out of his arms. “I don’t want to burn the steaks on my first attempt to cook dinner for you and Sarah,” she used as an excuse to push him away. She needed more space between them. “Dinner in four you better hurry or Sarah and I will start without you,” she threatened. When it worked and he moved out of the kitchen and down the hall, Caroline let out a sigh of relief.

  Kyle knew then and there that his campaign to seduce Caroline back into his bed wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought or hoped. Some deep-seated intuition made her weary. It would however be worth the effort. He found himself whistling while he ran his razor over his five o’clock shadow, and changed into jeans and a tight fitting dark brown t-shirt. He washed up and whistled his way back down the stairs and into the dining room.

  Caroline heard Kyle before she saw him. She and Sarah were setting the last two serving dishes on the table in the kitchen alcove when he put in an appearance. Caroline noticed right away that he had shaved and changed clothes. He looked good in his business clothes, but he was really hot now. She couldn’t help but notice how the worn denim hugged his tight backside and the t-shirt clung to his muscles. It was obvious he worked out whenever he had a chance. He was built like an athlete, and one of the things she did remember was that he’d played football while in college.

  Kyle decided to turn on the charm and pulled out Caroline’s chair for her. “Everything looks as good as it smells Caroline. Coming home to a home cooked meal everyday is a nice change.” Kyle realized that was true. He wasn’t just flirting, he really meant it. Other than the time he spent with his daughter he’d rather be at the office instead of home. If it weren’t for Sarah he’d probably live in his office. He had a sinking suspicion that that was all about to change.

  Twelve

  “Wake up sleepyhead.”

  Caroline heard the gentle command, but instead of waking up completely she snuggled deeper into the covers. It was chilly outside of her little cocoon. It was January after all. She felt a flutter across her nose. She rolled away from the annoyance.

  Kyle looked at the sleeping beauty in his guest bedroom and wished for about the hundredth time in the past five days that she was in his bed instead. He sat down on the edge of the bed and feathered kisses along her jaw and ear. “Sarah and I are leaving for the day. I’ll make sure everything is locked up behind us. Remember don’t leave the house by yourself and don’t open the door for anyone but Abigail or the sheriff.”

  Caroline finally opened her eyes and stretched out the kinks from a good nights sleep. “I’ll be careful, Kyle. I promise. You don’t have to worry about me. Maybe that way you’ll get some work done today,” she teased. After all teasing Kyle had quickly become the highlight of her days.

  “Maybe not,” Kyle replied. “I bought you a present yesterday between meetings.” Caroline was already falling asleep again and didn’t notice the change in conversation. “Thanks,” she mumbled more interested in staying warm and languid then she was in the present Kyle had mentioned. “I’ll look at it later.”

  “You do that,” Kyle laughed, “and I’ll be sure to picture you wearing it later too.”

  He was already out the door before his words registered. Caroline abruptly set up in bed and her eyes spied a distinctive lavender, rose, and champagne colored gift bag. It was stamped with the logo for Seductive Dreams Lingerie. She pushed aside the delicate tissue paper protecting the hidden treasure inside and pulled out a silky soft turquoise sat
in pajama set. The full-length pajama bottoms looked innocent enough, but the loose fitting sheer halter-top with the peek-a-boo keyhole opening between the breasts was definitely seductive.

  Her mobile phone rang and she answered in a breathless voice. “This is Caroline.”

  She was greeted with a chuckle. “It sounds like you opened my gift. I can’t wait to see you model it for me.”

  Caroline scrunched her brows together. “In your dreams lover boy,” she retorted.

  “I think that’s the point of the store,” Kyle reminded her. “And it’s working. Every time I close my eyes I can see you and those pajamas both rumpled from being in my bed.”

  Caroline let out a startled cough to try and hide the sudden surge of longing that welled up inside her. “I can’t believe you’re having this conversation while you’re in the car with your daughter.”

  “I’m not. She’s in the car and I’m still in the garage. I knew you’d open your present just as soon as I left the room. I couldn’t resist a call. I thought about going back upstairs, but Sarah will be very upset if she’s late for school.”

  Caroline felt her body tingle at his suggestion. She had to get off the phone before she made a fool of herself. “Okay, thanks for the gift. I have to go now Kyle,” and she abruptly broke the connection, but not before she heard his husky laugh coming through the line once more.

  Caroline stumbled through the day trying to force her mind to remember everything it had forgotten. In the end all she had to show for her effort was a gigantic headache and furrows in her forehead that might become permanent if she wasn’t careful. She finally gave in and laid down for a nap a few hours before Kyle and Sarah were due home. She gave up on getting any rest when all she could see when she closed her eyes was swirling turquoise satin and Kyle’s impressive body.

  She threw together a chicken broccoli and rice casserole for dinner. Nothing fancy, but it was warm comfort food fit for a chilly January evening. Both adults were quiet through dinner, but Sarah in typical teenage girl fashion chatted nonstop about the school day. When dinner was over Sarah discreetly excused herself saying she had homework to finish upstairs in her room.

  Caroline felt her heart rate increase at the thought of finally being alone with Kyle. She stood up and grabbed her dinner plate. “And if you’ll excuse me, I need to take care of this mess before the food sticks.” She walked into the kitchen and relief at her escape turned to dismay when she found that Kyle had followed her into the kitchen. “Thanks, but I don’t need help. I can finish up on my own,” she offered hoping to send him on his merry way. After all what man really wanted to help with the dishes.

  “Oh I don’t mind at all, Caroline.” He began rinsing dishes and handing them to her to stack into the dishwasher. “If I help with the chores maybe you’ll be more inclined to model your new lingerie for me,” he said in a hopeful voice. “The saleslady at the shop volunteered, but somehow I couldn’t picture anyone but you gift wrapped in turquoise.”

  Caroline swatted Kyle with the dishtowel. “Maybe you should have taken her up on that offer, because that’s as close as you’re going to get to any turquoise wrapped gifts,” Caroline promised with a smug smile.

  Kyle threw up his hands and slowly backed out of the kitchen and away from the dishtowel. “We’ll just see about that,” and he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

  Caroline should have felt relief at the reprieve, but instead she felt the tension inside her tighten a notch. She recognized the look Kyle had been wearing when he exited the kitchen. He was going to be turning up the heat. There was no doubt about it. It was going to become even more difficult for her to resist and suddenly Caroline found herself wondering why she would even want to resist such a sexy man. Whatever their past problems they must have worked through them. After all they had reconciled. That must mean something.

  ******

  Caroline woke the next morning with another trademark lavender, rose, and champagne colored gift bag on the pillow next to her. She was literally holding her breath as she unveiled the black sheer mesh teddy with tiny spaghetti straps and the matching panty. They would have been absolutely indecent if not for the strategically placed lace insets that covered her breasts and other feminine areas. It was exquisite, but it meant war! It was time to fight fire with fire.

  That evening she greeted Kyle and Sarah at the door. She was almost giddy with the knowledge of what she was about to do. She hugged Sarah and asked the teen about her day. While the teen happily chatted away Caroline winked at Kyle and made sure the bottom of her fitted sweater rose enough above her low-cut denims to show off the sheer black mesh below. It obviously worked because halfway through Sarah’s explanation of the biology lab she’d worked on that day, Kyle sputtered and coughed.

  Caroline gave him a couple of hard whacks across the back and smiled. “You better be more careful there, Kyle. You sound like a man who’s bitten off more than he can chew!” Caroline linked arms with Sarah and led her toward the stairs. “So tell me more about this biology experiment,” she encouraged.

  Her tinkling laughter trailed behind her and wrapped around Kyle like a soothing blanket of warmth. His mind had all but shut down letting his body take over when he saw the sexy black material of his latest present to Caroline peaking from beneath her sweater. The need to have her under and around him was almost suffocating. It was beginning to take over his life to the exclusion of everything else. He’d even cancelled a meeting after lunch today so he could make another trip to Seductive Dreams Lingerie. The saleswomen were starting to recognize him on sight. He had the ultimate seduction planned for the next evening which just happened to be Friday. Now he just had to endure one more night of knowing Caroline was right next door, but not in his bed.

  ****

  Caroline woke up the next morning and was disappointed that there wasn’t another pastel gift bag waiting for her. She was getting used to opening those pretty gift bags which contained even prettier lingerie. Her spirits were lifted when Abigail called and invited her out for a latte before she had to pick Sarah and Jay up from school. After what seemed like just a few minutes of general chatter between two females, Abigail looked at her watch. “My goodness, we’ve been talking forever why don’t you come with me to pick up the children?”

  “That would be fantastic,” Caroline agreed. Secretly she hoped seeing the school she’d taught at for almost two years and the place of the attempted kidnapping might help return some of her missing memory. “Then you can just drop me and Sarah off at the house. That way Kyle doesn’t have to drive back out to your house to pick her up.”

  Abigail gave her a funny look. “No can do, Caroline. Didn’t Kyle even bother to tell you?”

  Carline had no idea what Abigail was talking about. Her friend rolled her eyes and offered up a snort of exasperation. “I didn’t see Kyle or Sarah this morning before they left the house and he didn’t mention anything out of the ordinary last night. What’s going on?”

  “Kyle made arrangements with Mason and me yesterday when he picked Sarah up from the house. She’s staying with us this weekend. She’s going horseback riding tomorrow with Mason and Emily and she and Jay have plans to finish the lab report they’ve been working on everyday after school. Most of their research is on Jay’s desktop anyway since they’ve done all the research and actual writing at the house, so it makes sense for them to finish it there.” She shook her head again. “I can’t believe Kyle didn’t mention it. What was he thinking? Surely you’d notice when Sarah wasn’t at the dinner table.”

  Caroline was a little hurt that Kyle hadn’t bothered sharing his plans with her, but she reminded herself she wasn’t Sarah’s mother and she was only staying with them right now because of the attempted kidnapping. She found herself making excuses for Kyle. “He’s had a lot on his mind with work and with our safety. I’m sure it just slipped his mind.”

  “I suppose,” Abigail agreed. She checked the time on her mobile phone.
“Well it’s about that time. We’d better be going. I most definitely don’t want Sarah and Jay to have to wait for us.”

  Caroline could second that. Just the thought sent chills down her spine. “I agree. Let’s go.”

  ****

  Caroline intently studied the beige brick building that housed the local high school. She felt nothing, not one flicker of recognition. She glanced at the faces of several students as they milled around the parking lot. She even waved and smiled at several students that seemed to recognize her. Her mind drew a blank however and her head was starting to pound again from the stress of trying so hard to remember what seemed to be just beyond her grasp.

  She massaged her aching temples and let out a frustrated sigh, “nothing!” She exclaimed to Abigail. I get nothing, not even a small sense of recognition.” She felt and welcomed the comforting pat on the shoulder from the woman next to her.

  “Don’t rush it Caroline. The doctor said your memory will return when it’s ready. Right now let’s just focus on keeping you and Sarah safe. Speak of the devil here she comes now.” Abigail let out a little laugh, “with Jay trailing behind as usual. I think my son has a severe case of puppy love!”

  Both women laughed and Caroline relished the feel and the sound. It felt so good to be able to laugh and to hear laughter. She had a deep down gut feeling that she hadn’t been doing much laughing for a long time now. She shook off the somber thought and welcomed Sarah and Jay with enthusiastic hugs. She asked them both about their day and made sure to include Jay in the conversation. The poor guy was having trouble getting in a word edgewise with Sarah enthusiastically chatting away.

  ****

  Caroline ran up the front steps of Kyle’s house and let herself in the door. She turned and waved goodbye to Abigail and the children. She was well aware that Abigail wouldn’t pull out of the driveway until she was safely inside the house. She closed and locked the door and then stopped dead in her tracks. She’d been so focused on letting Abigail know that everything was all right she hadn’t noticed the noise.