Page 8 of Christmas Captive

Kade glances toward me. “You want to talk to him, or should I make him leave?”

I step forward, my heart racing. “Wyatt… please go. I’ll call you later and we can talk things out.”

He adjusts his feet, kicking the stones in the driveway. “Are you sleeping with this asshole? He’s almost twice your age. You see that, right?”

Is there a rock somewhere I can hide under?

“Okay,” Kade groans stepping down the front porch steps, “it’s time for you to go.”

Wyatt’s a city boy. Back in the day, he may have fought a few jerks, but in reality, a train station fight with a drunk guy is a lot different from a fight with a big lumberjack who’s carrying.

Wyatt takes a step back and redirects his attention toward me again. Must be I’m an easier target. “You're going to let your boss come between us?”

I shake my head. “You came between us, Wyatt, when you called off the wedding, remember? I’m here on work, and you’re on the man’s property. Now leave.”

I want to scream at the top of my lungs. I want to tell him every plummeting fear and emotional pain he’s put me through. Instead, I stand on the porch shaking, wondering how I’m ever going to make sense of why he’s back, why he wants more, why he gets the option to do any of this… because he shouldn’t! He shouldn’t be able to come in and out of my life like some turnstile door that I can’t uninstall for the life of me.

Kade finishes the porch steps and starts walking down the drive as Wyatt backs into his car. I swear if the man had a tail, it would be tucked between his legs.

“I’m calling you in the morning. Make sure you answer.” His tone is firm, and I know he’s feeling small and insignificant compared to Kade, but his words have my chest tight and angry.

When he’s pulled out of the driveway, Kade looks back at me. “What a fucking asshole.”

“Yeah, he really is.” I look down then up again. “I… I’m so sorry. You’re just trying to get work done. You trusted me, then hired me, and I’m causing all this drama. I should go.” I don’t let him answer me. I step off the porch, desperately trying to cover my heated face. Calling off the wedding was one thing, but embarrassing me in front of my boss is another.

“No. No. No.” Kade grips my arm in his.

I turn back, lips parted, eyes locked on his.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I am.”

“No. That asshole is probably waiting for you at your cabin. He’s unhinged. He flew all the way out here to—”

“He’s not unhinged. I’ve known him forever. He won’t hurt me. He’s just… not good at any of this.”

“You make a lot of excuses for a man who hurt you.”

I stare toward Kade with that warm feeling in my stomach again. The one that makes my clit throb, and my heart feel heard and seen.

“I mean… it was all emotional stuff. I can take it.”

Kade laughs. “I should hold you captive until your mind catches up with what’s happening because you’re not making a damn bit of sense.” He takes a dramatic pause to collect himself then makes direct eye contact with me as he says, “Now come back in the house or I’ll carry you in.”

Suddenly, I’m the one laughing. “I’d love to see you try and carry me.” When the words come out, I’m not intending them to be a threat, but that’s how they spill, and that’s how Kade takes them.

In one quick movement, he bends down and picks me up like I’m a feather or a small child. There’s no grunt or groan. There’s no struggle at all. He just lifts me up onto his shoulders and carries me back into the house, locking the door behind him.

I know I should hate it. I know I should be kicking and screaming. I know I should rebel, but for the first time ever, my body knows what it wants… and it wants my boss.

Chapter Four

Kade

I don’t think this is considered kidnapping, but I bet it goes in the same box since I’ve carried a woman into my home and have no plans on letting her go.

Fuck! What the hell am I doing?

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