Sleepless Nights:The Donovans of the Delta 2(52)
She held the gown at arm’s length. “My dear, you look lovely in red. May I have this next dance?”
“Certainly, you devastating thing,” she said, answering her own question.
Alternately chuckling and humming, she waltzed on toward the clothes rack. Behind her, the shop bell tinkled.
She whirled around, her cheeks almost as bright as the dress. Tanner stood in the doorway, dripping all over the floor. Such love flowed through her, she thought she would faint with the intensity. She stood facing him, clutching the dress to her chest, and suddenly she knew that she could never let him go. Whatever had happened in the past, whatever was between them now, had to be resolved. Some wonderful twist of fate had brought them together again, and she had been blind to think she could ever part from him.
Without saying a word, Tanner closed and locked the door. His eyes were bright with purpose as he stalked her. When he was close enough to touch, he reached out and removed the dress from her hands.
“May I cut in?”
“Always.” She went into his arms. The sounds of rain and the Glenn Miller Orchestra invaded the shop as they waltzed.
“We fit together so well,” Tanner said.
“Yes. As if we were made for each other.”
“We were.”
“I agree. It would be a shame for us to part.”
“A sin.”
She sighed against his shoulder. “I suggest we make this arrangement permanent.”
His arms tightened, but he kept on dancing. “Is this a proposal?”
“Yes.”
“You’re asking me to marry you?” She could hear the exultation in his voice.
“Yes.”
“I know a preacher.”
“Shall we call him?”
“Not unless you want him to be a part of this victory celebration.” He waltzed her into the lounge at the back of the shop without missing a beat.
“What celebration?”
He stopped dancing and gazed down at her in that long, languid look of absolute possession and unadulterated desire she’d come to know well.
“This one.” He undressed her with reverence and care, then stood back in admiration. “I will cherish you forever.” Reaching out, he ever so gently traced her cheekbones. “That face has never been far from my mind, not in all these years.”
She stood very still, scarcely daring to breathe. She didn’t want a thing to mar this precious moment. Today she was entrusting herself to the man she loved. She was making a commitment, and there would be no going back.
His hands moved down the side of her throat and across her shoulders. New life tingled through her. She felt wonderfully vibrant, gloriously happy. Her hands smoothed his dark hair. It was a gesture of tenderness, comfort, and reassurance.
“You are a special man, Tanner Donovan. I love you, and nothing will ever change that.”
“And you are a special woman—my woman. Nothing will ever change that.” He looked deep into her eyes. “That’s a promise, Mandy.”
Their lips met tenderly, softly, sealing the vows they’d made. As always with them, their passion was explosive. The sweet kiss quickly escalated. Tanner crushed her close, bending her body under his so he could thoroughly claim her mouth. Their moans were lost in the raging of the storm against the shop windows.
“You’re wearing too many clothes, Tanner.” Amanda’s hands were eager, tearing aside his shirt so that buttons flew all over the room. He helped her by flinging aside his shirt and shoving off his pants. His belt buckle clanged against the floor.
He lifted her hips against his just as thunder rattled the shop.
“You certainly know how to make an entrance.”
“Wait until you see the performance.”
He treated her to a glorious love waltz around the room. The frenzy of their lovemaking kept pace with the frenzy of the storm. Tanner’s waltz became a frantic jazz number. Not a single prop went unused. With the table under her hips and the rain battering the shop, she knew the full force of him. He eased into a fox-trot as he moved them, still joined, to the sofa. Outside, the winds roared and moaned, and lightning split the sky. Tanner and Amanda matched the storm, mood for mood.
When both the storm and their passion were spent, Tanner held her in his and caressed her.
“I came to the shop to rescue you from the storm.”
She smiled. “It seems you brought it inside.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Are you cold?”
“No, but keep holding me. Don’t ever let go.”
“I don’t intend to. That’s another reason I came to the shop. Today while I was at home waiting for you, I realized that you had been right all along.”
“Right about what?”