BETWEEN CLOUDS AND STARS: A Sexy Standalone Romance by Sharlyn G. Branson Page B

for me. All my life, I’d tried to be good. My parents, or to be exact, the people who’d adopted me, had pressured me into marrying John. I’d striven to satisfy their wishes, hoping to receive love in return. But no matter how hard I’d tried, they’d always been unsatisfied with me.
    So often I’d seen the parents of my schoolmates hug them, smile at them, and encourage them. They hadn’t been punished even when they’d made mistakes. Nobody had locked them in their rooms or deprived them of supper. They hadn’t known what hunger was.
    I’d forgotten what it was like to be hungry.
    “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
    “For what, honey?”
    “For being unable to find the strength to tell you about my past. But I promise you that I will. One day, I’ll tell you everything, my entire life story. But believe me, it’s extremely gray and boring.” I slid my fingers across his stubble.
    “I want to see you happy and smiling, Estelle.” His lips gently brushed against mine. Closing my eyes, I inhaled his wonderful scent while he showered my face with feather-light kisses. “These beautiful eyes of yours, which I adore, are too sad. I want to take away your sadness. I don’t want you to be afraid of anything.”
    I was grateful for everything Nick did for me, for the strength he inspired in me, for the attention he gave me. The week we’d spent with his parents in Switzerland had been the greatest time in my life.
    With Nick, I’d found out what the word “pleasure” actually meant. With him, I could drift among the clouds and stars and dream of a better tomorrow.
    “I want you,” I murmured and pulled his head down to my level to kiss him. Our lips merged, and we savored every touch, in no hurry to end the clinch.
    Just when I thought I could finally relax and put my past and fears behind me, Nick’s cell phone rang.
    He pulled away from our kiss, visibly annoyed.
    “Who could it be at this time of night?” He pushed himself up from the sofa, reached to the floor where he’d kicked off his trousers, and took out his cell.
    “Frey,” he replied coldly and listened. “What’s happened? Are you sure it was one of our airplanes? How could something like that happen? For fuck’s sake… I’ll be right over.” Ending the call, he turned to me. “One of my private planes has crashed.”
    I felt like a cold shower had drenched my entire body. I put my hands behind my neck to stop them from shaking. “Dear God, was anyone hurt?”
    “I don’t know if there are any survivors,” he responded and gazed at me thoughtfully. “I was supposed to fly to Germany on that plane tonight. I had an important business meeting, but decided against going at the last minute and sent Richard Carroll in my place.”
    Richard Carroll was my immediate supervisor. He was very good at his job, but also a complete asshole. For the nearly two months I’d worked with him, he’d made advances at me numerous times. The fact that he was married and had three small kids didn’t seem to deter him.
    Nick was looking me in the eyes, but I had the feeling he was thousands of miles away from me.
    What if the crash was deliberate? What if someone was trying to kill him? I shuddered at the thought. Intense pain pierced my chest.
    “God… Nick.” He might have died.
    I didn’t even register how my eyes welled up again and tears started running down my cheeks. We’d known each other for such a short time, but he’d managed to occupy my soul and capture my heart. I needed him. Nick helped me forget the past and the pain. He made me feel desired and beautiful. He gave me happiness, something I’d never imagined I’d be lucky enough to experience.
    I couldn’t picture losing him. There was no need to mention my fears—he’d understood me without words. He gave me a peck on the lips and said, “Don’t think about that. I’ll find out the reason for the crash, and if it wasn’t a malfunction but intentional, I’ll have the