Free Now and Forever by April King Page A

driver of the red car yelled to his opponent.
    “Whatever. I let you win.”
    “Gunter, that’s the fifth time this week. I sure do appreciate your kindness.” The slim young man with the short brown hair and yellow car laughed.
    Tanner and Grace stopped before the red car’s driver. “Grace Michaels, this is my cousin Bud, the black sheep of the family.” For his comment, Tanner was rewarded with a punch in the arm, which he quickly reciprocated.
    “Now don’t go making me look any better than I already do. Besides, I can’t help that you chose to cruise through life, while I drive in the fast lane.” The two handsome men traded friendly verbal jabs, until Bud turned to Grace. He bowed deeply and kissed the back of her hand. “Pleased to meet you. And might I say that you’re prettier than a field of daisies.”
    She batted her eyes. “Yes, sir, you may.”
    “I see your lines are lame as ever,” Tanner said.
    “The ladies would beg to differ.” Bud winked at Grace. “He’s just jealous of all this.” He gestured to his body.
    Bud was Tanner’s height. However, he was much leaner with a long torso. His skin was tanned. Grace saw danger in his rich brown eyes. Heat and flames and mischief danced in them. A lopsided grin revealed a tiny dimple in his right cheek. His red and black driving suit fit him snugly. If his female devotees could see him now, the side lines would be packed with women recuperating from fainting spells . He was definitely a heartbreaker.
    “Whatever happened to Justine?” Tanner asked.
    Bud shrugged. “We were headed in two different directions in life. She wanted to settle down and start a family. I wasn’t ready to get hitched so I burned rubber.”
    “Too bad.”
    “Not really. She’s already engaged to another driver.”
    Bud was twenty-seven years old. At eighteen, he’d shocked his parents, both prominent lawyers, by dropping out of college after his first semester to chase his dream of being a stock car driver for NASCAR. His parents had been so disappointed they disowned him. “Three years ago, I was involved in nasty crash while driving in the Busch series. I was in pretty bad shape for over a year, but my cuz , Tanner, nursed me back to health. Now I’m better than ever. Ain’t that right?”
    Tanner looked around uneasily. It was obvious that he and Bud shared a strong bond. “I didn’t do much.”
    “Sure, you did.” Bud said. “Grace, this guy even helped mend my relationship with my parents. These days, I can’t keep them from attending one of my races. Tanner is my hero always has been.”
    A hero.
    It wasn’t hard for Grace to believe Bud idolized Tanner. After all, he was the type of hero she fantasized about at night. Super sexy and confident, but not cocky. Shy when it came to accepting compliments. He always arrived in the nick of time to save the day, but was reluctant to take the credit. Beneath his easygoing exterior resided dogged determination, ironclad principles and deep regard for his fellow man. His interior housed a raging sexual bull who only released his potent passion upon the woman that possessed his heart.
    Grace touched his arm supportively. Big mistake. Slowly, his gaze met hers. A toxic level of desire radiated in his stare. Her stomach twisted into knots. From head to toe, her body was on fire. Knees weakened. Her heart hammered against her chest. She was losing control of her senses. Her thoughts were muddled. The air around her seemed thick. Memories of their last physical encounter had an intoxicating effect upon her.   She grew dizzy thinking about the way his hands had explored her body in his backyard on the blanket. Or, how good each ripple of his chiseled chest had felt against hers through the thin fabric of her dress. Her body was the perfect mold for his. She yearned to know how well he would fit into her tight, wet space.
    This can’t be good . She had the major hots for him. It would take a twelve-step program to