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A Perfect Caress
Nana Prah
From the very first touch…The moment suave businessman Dante Sanderson brushes hands with Lanelle Murphy, he can’t get her out of his head. The guarded beauty resists all of his polished attempts at seduction. To soften the pain in her past, she’s dedicated her life and family fortune to helping others, not chasing sexy millionaires like Dante.Something about Lanelle makes Dante want to open his heart like never before. He knows their encounters are destiny. Lanelle is sure their sparks mean another heartache is in the making. Yet her cherished new project—a state-of-the-art neonatal unit—brings them together. From charity ball dances to strolls in Milan, desire pushes her…right into his arms. But will Lanelle be able to seize this sweet second chance at love?
From the very first touch...
The moment suave businessman Dante Sanderson brushes hands with Lanelle Murphy, he can’t get her out of his head. The guarded beauty resists all of his polished attempts at seduction. To soften the pain in her past, she’s dedicated her life and family fortune to helping others, not chasing sexy millionaires like Dante.
Something about Lanelle makes Dante want to open his heart like never before. He knows their encounters are destiny. Lanelle is sure their sparks mean another heartache is in the making. Yet her cherished new project—a state-of-the-art neonatal unit—brings them together. From charity ball dances to strolls in Milan, desire pushes her...right into his arms. But will Lanelle be able to seize this sweet second chance at love?
Without warning, Dante invaded her space and tilted her into a dip. Gripping the shoulders of his tuxedo, she scowled into his smiling face as the blood rushed to her head. Before she could chastise him, he brought her upright.
She hated surprises. Being out of control ranked number one on her never-to-do list. Dante threatened all of that. From the few stories Vanessa had told her about him, they were as different as a waltz and a tango. “Talk.”
Should she be feeling the deep rumble of his laughter against her chest? When had he pulled her so close? She tried to create space between them. His hand splayed at her back made it impossible.
“Do you ever loosen up?”
She snapped her head up. Even though she was wearing stilettos, he loomed over her. “You’ve met me, what? All of twice? You have no idea who I am.”
He leaned in close, his breath tickling her ear as he whispered, “But I’d like to.”
All thoughts of why she’d come on the dance floor escaped as he pressed his cheek against hers. For once in her life Lanelle lost herself in the gentle sway of a man’s embrace.
Dear Reader (#udb2ec009-a735-5519-997e-f7a0a1be41d2),
Lanelle Murphy’s life hasn’t been easy. Wealth and success have helped to cushion the blows thrown her way, but tragedy is hard to endure no matter who you are. Lanelle has closed herself off from men, and so Dante Sanderson has no chance with her when they meet. Dante isn’t without his issues when it comes to previous relationships, either, but he’s willing to try.
Dante realizes if he doesn’t do something drastic, he’ll never have Lanelle. He devises a trip to the most romantic country in the world—Dante’s words—to help her overcome whatever prevents her from pursuing a romantic relationship. When Dante discovers Lanelle’s secret, the doubts settle in.
I hope you enjoy the emotional drama, laughter, romance and trip to Italy.
Nana Prah
A Perfect Caress
Nana Prah
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
NANA PRAH first discovered romance in a book from her eighth-grade summer reading list and has been obsessed with it ever since. Her fascination with love inspired her to write in her favorite genre, where happily-ever-after is the rule.
She is a published author of contemporary, multicultural romances. Her books are sweet with a touch of spice. When she’s not writing, she’s overindulging in chocolate, enjoying life with friends and family and tormenting nursing students into being the best nurses the world has ever seen.
To my greatest role model, my late mother, Theresa Prah.
Acknowledgments (#udb2ec009-a735-5519-997e-f7a0a1be41d2)
To the women who hung out with me when they didn’t have to. Thanks for helping to mold me into who I am today. I will always love and cherish you. Aunt Waynet, Aunt Frances, Aunt Sherry, Aunt Elizabeth P., Aunty Tej, Aunt Betsy, Aunt Lucy, Lisa S., Sister (former) Elizabeth, Marianne S.
A huge thanks to my inner circle who have supported me in my writing and allowed me to harass them with questions and beta reads. Cathrina Constantine, Debbie Christiana, Kiru Taye, Empi Baryeh and Ortanyi Arrington, you are all the best.
I’m throwing an avalanche of gratitude at Rachel Burkot for grabbing me and tossing me into the Kimani family, and at Carly Silver for securing my place.
Thank you, Toshia T., for helping to promote my work. Toshia, this is for you.
Contents
Cover (#u1908a93b-8292-5109-b907-b2fffc7fafb0)
Back Cover Text (#u3aeb5e05-da1c-5f34-9e30-19b936be0748)
Introduction (#ubcce98a9-ccee-5383-992f-5679489a34ad)
Dear Reader (#uc6b84c04-0125-5323-8b80-5fd337b9b3cd)
Title Page (#u71844e51-bdd3-5c18-a0b3-c65b25e55f51)
About the Author (#u7c52bf64-d805-5edd-aa33-974c6a7b7b47)
Dedication (#ubae660ad-dc17-58aa-89b0-f65c130a4296)
Acknowledgments (#uefdaa1b6-ac8b-5748-a844-3bdda02a444a)
Chapter 1 (#u05ce0b29-ace7-5d9a-91b8-9575f36362f2)
Chapter 2 (#u517d5fe4-81d2-5ae0-a4b7-5910c31b8a80)
Chapter 3 (#u0b8f9411-88fc-5ef2-b135-44c271c85c27)
Chapter 4 (#u0706ea2c-6e16-55b4-abc8-8eded1b33f4f)
Chapter 5 (#u3f5556f3-2303-500f-852e-44f61bb6435b)
Chapter 6 (#u05f6b595-b826-518b-8b05-b7afc3e104b5)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 29 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 30 (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#udb2ec009-a735-5519-997e-f7a0a1be41d2)
Tackling a person to the ground in order grab the last piece of cake would be wrong. Lanelle Murphy had trouble convincing herself of this little truth. Maybe not so much wrong as bad and kind of depressing. Unless it ended up being the best cake ever baked.
Her gaze never wandered from the prize while a suspected perpetrator remained in the periphery. At five feet eight inches, Lanelle increased her already long stride to eat up more of the ground at a faster rate.
Their hands landed on the clear plastic container holding the triple-layered moist chocolate cake covered with scrumptious, rich chocolate icing at the same time.
Since Lanelle’s palm touched the container with his warm fingers wrapped around hers, it meant she’d gotten to it first. The cake belonged to her. The stranger’s resigning breath pushed away any idea she may have had of elbowing him in the ribs before running toward the cashier and dropping money on the counter without stopping.
Lanelle tilted her head to the man without deigning to look at him. If she gave him her full attention, she’d do the kind thing and relinquish the treat. After receiving a disappointing update about a project close to her heart, she deserved it.
After almost two years of planning and fund-raising to build a new neonatal unit in the hospital, Lanelle felt like giving up. Dealing with the other members of the hospital board had proved tedious.
The problems creeping up with the construction set their timeline back and deepened the financial ditch. The funds they’d raised had run out faster than expected, and she couldn’t understand how it had happened. They’d been meticulous in their calculations. After going through the books with her personal accountant this past week, they’d found nothing amiss.
Maybe she should’ve accepted her father’s help when he’d offered it, but she figured it couldn’t be difficult to construct a hospital wing. It wasn’t like they were building a whole hospital from the ground up. It turned out that more went into it than she’d researched.
Lanelle had been trained by the best to ensure things happened the way they should, but this project was draining the life out of her.
She needed this cake. “Hi,” she said instead of telling him to get his paw off her pastry.
“Hello. It looks like we both want the same piece of cake.”
The deep rumble of his voice enticed her but wouldn’t detract her. “Looks that way.” Didn’t this man know not to get between a woman and her chocolate? She turned her head to get a good look at the enemy. They stood so close she had to angle her head back in order to see his face.
Great. The guy who threatened her sanity turned out to be at least six-two. She could’ve picked a better day to wear her cutest pair of Tabitha Simmons ballerina flats.
More than his height caused her breath to hitch. His sienna-brown eyes, contrasting with skin almost as rich and dark as the cake, made for a gorgeous man.
“Would you be interested in the vanilla, by any chance?” His grin drew her attention to full lips covering a set of even white teeth, adding to the squishy feeling in her stomach.
“As tempting as it looks with those rainbow sprinkles, I’d prefer the chocolate.” She’d finished playing nice with the handsome stranger sporting the cutest little afro she’d seen in a while and pulled the cake toward her. “Since my hand is on the container, it means I reached it first, so technically it’s mine.”
“On a normal day I’d agree, but I need this cake.”
She snorted. “Let me guess. You have PMS and you’re about to take down anyone who gets in the way of getting your fix.” Her frown melded into a grin at his burst of laughter.
“No. My niece is about to find out if she’s still in remission from the cancer she beat last year. She asked me last night to pick her up a piece of chocolate cake from this cafeteria when I came to join the meeting after her MRI. She insisted no other would do.”
Lanelle squinted in an attempt to assess if he’d given her a line. Detecting no guile in his expression, she released the box. He didn’t let go of her hand.
Sliding her fingers out of his grasp, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I hope your niece is healthy.”
“Thank you. I know she’ll appreciate that I almost got beaten up for her cake.” He held out his right hand. “I’m Dante Sanderson.”
“I wouldn’t have fought you. Maybe just taken you down,” she mumbled as she placed her hand in his. She pulled it away at the bizarre sensation of tingles racing up her arm to her scalp.
She tucked her hand behind her, confused at her body’s reaction.
He raised an eyebrow. “You think it’s a possibility?”
“A fact.”
“Hmm. You sound sure of yourself.”
A slight dip of her head to the side would have to suffice for an answer as they walked to the front of the cafeteria.
He placed the single item on the counter and waited to be checked out. Before she had the chance to move past him, he asked, “What’s your name?”
She paused, wondering if she should answer with the truth. His charm had an uncomfortable effect on her. What did she have to lose? She’d never see him again. “Lanelle Murphy.”
