Manhattan Millionaire’s Cinderella: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance Read Free Page A

clicked his tongue. “For better or worse.”
    “Worse is what I’m thinking,” she mumbled beneath her breath.
    “What was that, Ms.…er…Nina?”
    ******
    Nina sat strapped in the seat of Century Corp’s private Lear plane beside her husband and stared out the window at rain battering the runway. The summer storm had turned the day dismal, reflecting her thoughts. She twisted the gold band around her finger. Three hours. She’d been married to Cade Sloan all of three hours, and she was now about to jet across the globe for their honeymoon. She curled her fingers so tightly, her pink tipped nails bit into her palm. Moisture beaded her upper lip.
    She glanced at him, slouched in his seat and snoozing like he hadn’t a care in the world.
    Her temples throbbed.
    When the plane taxied down the runway of John F Kennedy International Airport, she clutched the seat arms and held her breath.
    The aircraft picked up speed and then they were airborne.
    A sigh of relief forced its way from her tight throat, and she unclenched her hands. She lifted a stray curl off her moist brow, patted the dampness with a tissue from her purse, and crumpled it between her fingers.
    Her stomach rolled.
    Gulping down nausea, she leaned her head to the side and shut her eyes, but that made it worse. She opened her eyes wide and collided with the intensity of his gaze. It socked her breast, shot into her heart and scrambled her vitals. She sucked in oxygen, desperately, and he bolted upright.
    “You okay?”
    She nodded, and then shook her head, her hand flying to her mouth.
    “Here, lie back.” He reclined the chair, placed his hand on her shoulder and eased her down. When he stretched across to adjust the light blanket over her, he accidentally bumped her breasts, sending an electrical sizzle into her body.
    She held her breath. He expelled his.
    The subtle mint of his breath brushed her hot cheek, alerting her senses.He stayed near for another second. It seemed endless. Her pulse skyrocketed.
    Thankfully, that took her mind off the tornado in her stomach.
    Then he pulled away.
    Pent up air in her lungs shot forth through her lips as she sighed in relief.
    “Want something to eat?”
    “Ummm,” she mouthed, glaring at him.
    “Bad choice of words, huh?” He curved his mouth in a half grin, a gesture that had her breath looping aroundher ribs. “Some water?”
    She rolled her eyes.
    “Guess not.”
    Heck, Cade didn’t know what to do with a tipsy woman in the confines of the aircraft cabin. He squinted at Nina, and her pallor had him wanting to gather her into his arms and stroke her, to smell her subtle scent that seemed to wrap around his heart and not let go. He chuckled at his foolish musing.
Get a handle,
Sloan.
    She’d do for a bit of wedding night bliss to seal the deal with the backer…then he’d keep his distance, avoid complications until such time as he could reasonably unload her.
    “Shouldn’t imbibe on booze on an empty stomach,” he bit out. She must have overdone it with the pre-flight cocktails while he dozed; something he rarely did, but on his own cruiser, he felt he could steal a few moments of shut-eye.
    She opened her mouth to give him some sass but quickly shut it tight.
    “You’ll feel better by the time we get to Larnaca.” He set his jaw, knowing full well he had to go through the farce and show up there with his bride before collecting the cash.
    Someone had set him up to take the fall. The sharks that he put on the case had worked out that the tip-offs came from an undisclosed location in Europe. In the meantime, he had to stack his arsenal to ensure a victory.
    Cade glanced her way, and then retreated.
    It’d work for him…a combo deal; businessand pleasure.
    He’d make sure of it.
    He tossed her another look, and got booted somewhere in the vicinity of his heart for his trouble. Odd. Definitely odd. He waggled his shoulders and dismissed the feeling.
    The one night with her should zip by