Now and Forever Read Online Free PDF Page A

wasn’t the material girl she’d been when he met her. She still dressed well and had her hair and nails done often, but she no longer saw things as her biggest reward in life. He told her she was keeping the ring and a shadow of uncertainty crossed her face.
    “Don’t worry that I can’t afford it,” he said. “I’ve been good with my real estate money. Better than you probably realize.”
    “It’s not that. I just . . . don’t feel like I deserve this. I’m not one of those women men want to have a fairytale with.”
    “Fuck fairytales.” She still stood in front of the bathroom sink, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and met her eyes in the mirror. “That shit’s boring, and you are anything but. Let’s go out for dinner tonight and talk wedding plans.”
    “We’re supposed to go to my parents’ tonight, remember? Dad’s birthday?”
    He’d forgotten. But they couldn’t miss that. So he’d agreed and left for the office. And he’d come to her apartment after work. He was waiting for her to get home now so they could go see her family. He loved her parents; they were the kind of people he wished his own parents were. And Emma was okay, too. But Cole was an annoying prick. He barely spoke to Layla and he got jealous if Ben was within ten feet of Emma.
    Layla sailed in to the apartment with a thousand watt smile and came straight for him with a kiss.
    “Hi there, fiancé,” she said, her fingers winding up the nape of his neck into his hairline.
    “Mmm.” He bent to reach her round, firm ass and squeezed it, pressing her body into his. Her sweet, familiar smell always made his body react without thought. He kissed her deep and hard. His stiffening cock meant business, and he’d have to hurry since they were due at her parents’ place.
    “Ben,” she murmured. “We need to go.”
    Her words were half-hearted, and he wrapped his arms around her back and lifted her to carry her into the bedroom. Her straight black skirt kept her from being able to wrap her legs around him.
    “ This needs to go,” he said, using one hand to work the skirt up to her hips.
    “We really don’t have time,” Layla said with a pleading look. “We’re already gonna be a little late. I want to, I really do, but can we wait ‘til we get back later?”
    He groaned and returned her feet to the floor. “You want me to stay here tonight?”
    “If you want to.” She reached up and pulled her hair loose from its bun. Ben watched the dark waves falling over her shoulders and considered telling her he didn’t give a shit about being late.
    “I want us to stay together, but you need to stay at my place sometimes, too,” he said, following her into the bedroom. “Maybe we should get rid of this apartment and just keep mine.”
    Layla turned to him, eyes wide. “Why would we do that? We should keep mine, it’s bigger. And mine has a bathtub. I can’t live in a place with no bathtub.” Ben stared at the long lines of her legs as she let her skirt fall to the floor. Nothing got to him like seeing her in dark stockings. When she stripped the shirt over her head, leaving her in only a black bra and the stockings, he got a full hard-on.
    “Uh . . .” He scrubbed a hand down his face, trying to regain his train of thought. “I can put a bathtub in the apartment.”
    “There’s no room,” Layla countered, pulling on a sweatshirt. She reached for the waistline of the stockings and Ben stopped her.
    “Leave them on. Just wear jeans over them. I want those on you later.”
    Layla smiled and reached to the floor for her jeans. “This is the last time I’ll wear these, then. You have a tendency to destroy them.”
    Ben’s lips curled into a smile. “You love it, baby. And I’ll put a bathtub in the bedroom for you.”
    Layla rolled her eyes and stepped into her jeans. “In the bedroom?”
    “Hell yes. Then I can watch you take a bath. Maybe I’ll put in an extra large tub so we can take baths