Now and Forever Read Online Free PDF Page A

perfectly. However, it was her tantalizing sashay that kept his eyes glued to her sumptuous backside. Each step she took excited him. The motion of her hips had made his mouth water. They had swayed from side to side with rhythm and grace. Like a pendulum, she’d kept Tanner’s eyes following the steady movement of her hips until he was in a daze.
    Luckily, he was able to get up close and personal with her before the night ended. The kiss they had shared sent his pulse skyrocketing to the moon. Grace possessed the sexiest lips he’d ever seen, and the sweetest he’d ever tasted. Her bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top. When her lips had parted, he groaned sensually as she feasted on his mouth with her tongue.
    But the pleasure had not been his alone.
    Grace had quivered and purred when he caressed the length of her body with his fingertips.
    Grace had quivered and purred when he caressed the length of her body with his fingertips. Her soft and velvety skin rivaled rose petals. Her toned body dipped and curved in all the right places. Her perky breasts begged to be cupped and fondled. However, he had not responded to their beckoning. Instead, he had willed himself to wait for a better time and place. The self-control he had exhibited that night deserved to be put into the history books.
    Grace could arouse a dead man, Tanner thought.
    He welcomed the sweet temptation she provided. After his breakup with Sheila, something inside of him had died. He thought he’d forever lost his ability to trust, desire, and love another woman. For over a year, he’d kept his emotions—and hormones—leashed. Therefore, when Grace had puckered her lips and allowed him into her world, more than a kiss transpired between them. Barriers had been broken. Hearts had been opened. A dead man had risen. Since Tanner had returned to the land of the living, he couldn’t tame the fierce lion that roared inside him. It was fixated upon Grace, and wouldn’t be gratified until it savored her sweet nectar.
    The clock on the microwave eased some of Tanner’s tension. It informed him that the hours had drifted away. Soon, he would be near his heart’s desire. He counted down every minute, every second. Anticipation caused him to pace the floors. He intended claim sweet revenge on Grace for making him lose his cool. He was too old to act like some teenager on his first date.   He was a grown man. And Grace was every bit a woman. She would definitely reap what she had sown. He would give her a tongue-lashing she’d never forget.
    He breathed deeply. Grace should be taking a shower now, he surmised. An image of her lathering her naked body from head to toe with lavender and jasmine shower gel—scents he’d smelled on her skin before—crept into his mind. He imagined her hair piled high on top of her head and her neck tilted to the side as water rained down upon her skin in rivulets. He envied the tiny bubbles that might have trailed a path from the nape of her neck to the space between her breasts. After traveling through that heavenly channel, he imagined them sliding over the smooth surface of her flat stomach and plunging in and out of her navel’s groove, until it reached the luscious valley between her legs—a place Tanner vowed to become acquainted with.
    “Maybe you should concentrate on cooking, instead of daydreaming. I wouldn’t want you to ruin your sweetheart’s special meal,” Lorilee said, sarcastically. Her voice interrupted his private fantasy, gaining his attention.
    He understood the reason for his sister’s sarcasm. She was dying to get the goods on Grace. She wanted to pump her for information in order to determine whether or not she was a perfect match for him. After all, Lorilee had hit the nail on the head when she guessed Sheila was no-good. Secretly, Tanner admired her. She was an excellent judge of character, and she knew it. While he rummaged through the fridge, looking for honey mustard, Lorilee snatched a