Free Overwhelmed by Laina Kenney Page A

axis. She looked at her mother and Grange smiling at one another, the society hostess and the former Army Ranger in perfect agreement, and said faintly, “I think I need to sit down.”
    “Oh, Carolyn.” Her mother laughed. “Don’t worry about a thing. Granger, do you have a tuxedo?”
    “Yes, ma’am, I do.”
    “Well, that will certainly save us some time.” Annalise wore a blinding smile, clearly overjoyed with today’s developments.
    Grange moved to take her mother’s hand. “Annalise, would you favor me with your company for an early lunch? We have had…an issue recently, and I’d like to discuss security with you for the ball.”
    “Why, I’d be delighted.” Annalise tucked her arm in Grange’s and let him lead her to the door.
    “I’ll bring him back safely, dear,” her mother said.
    Carolyn watched in amazement as Grange glanced back at her and winked before escorting her mother from the room.

Chapter 12

    Nearly three hours later, Carolyn walked into Isaac’s office and pulled the door shut behind her.
    Isaac looked at her face and opened his arms to her. She just kept moving forward, and his arms closed around her with satisfying pressure, pulling her firmly against his broad, warm chest.
    “We all have to go to the charity ball,” she mumbled petulantly into his jacket. “Grange and my mother are new best friends. It’s frightening and unnatural.”
    Isaac rocked her a little, back and forth, and it soothed her on a primitive level.
    “Yeah,” he said, laughing a little, “Grange messaged me to get the tuxes dry cleaned, and your gold dress, too. I took them down to the dry cleaners, but he has to pick them up Friday morning,” he groused good-naturedly.
    Carolyn laughed, as he no doubt meant her to. She rubbed her cheek against him, openly savoring his heat. It amused her that these ultra-masculine men, so used to the command position, would take care of such a mundane consideration as dry cleaning.
    “We’ll also be working with your mother’s security guards. Conn and Charlotte will be attending as an extra set of eyes. I realize that we won’t be able to be public about our relationship, and Grange is the one your mom thinks of as the fiancé, so I’ll try to keep the dirty dancing to a minimum.”
    His words were a tease, humorous, but his tone of voice held a certain resignation. Isaac didn’t like taking the second position, but he was trying to make light of it.
    Carolyn reached up, nuzzled his ear, and smoothed kisses from there down to the hollow of his throat. She leaned back, letting his strength support her so that she could meet his eyes.
    “You’re not second best to me, Isaac. Never think it.” She spoke softly and clearly so her words would sink in. “I was having such a hard time feeling what I felt for you and for Grange at the same time. I couldn’t choose one over the other. I love you, and I want to be your wife.”
    “God, baby, I love you,” he said almost desperately. “I love you.”
    Isaac pulled her up close and fastened his mouth tenderly over hers. The heat flared between them as it always did, but it was tempered with a deep, swelling emotion. They rocked together, mouths fused and clinging, until Carolyn had tears standing in her eyes and Isaac was in much the same condition himself.
    “You’ll never know how much you mean to me,” he grated, pressing kisses to her eyelids, sipping the teardrops. “I’m not good with words, and there are no words big enough to cover this feeling.”
    “You’re doing just fine,” Carolyn assured him softly, basking in his focused attention. This gentle and open Isaac was so different from Isaac the office clown, or Isaac the soldier, that she was utterly captivated. He was irresistible to her this way.
    He smoothed his lips down her throat, nibbling and tasting, lingering over the sensitive area until her knees felt like jelly and his hard arms supported her weight completely.
    He laid her down