Nicole: Star Crossed Lovers (A Wish for Love Series Book 2) Read Free Page A

astounded, and then threw his head back and laughed.  His voice held no mirth and only with difficulty could Nicole detect an echo of the gay laughter of eight years ago.
    "I left to protect you.  I loved you!"
    Nicole noticed he spoke in the past tense.
    "I told you I would return.  I intended to return.  But you couldn't wait and it didn't take more than a few months for you to marry some rich playboy."
    "How do you know all this?" she whispered.
    "You father told me."
    "My father?"
    "Yes, your father.  The same one who beat you when he heard you were going out with me, the same one who wanted to cheat you and your mother out of your inheritance, the very same one you swore you would protect your mother against."  He was suddenly silent, running his hand through his thick hair.
    The panic, the despair closed in on her.  He knew!  How could he know?  She had never told him and he had never given any sign he knew.
    "I had to leave, Nicole.  I had to have the power and strength to defend you, to take you far away from here."
    "You abandoned me," Nicole accused. "You disappeared and left behind nothing but a piece of paper."  She could feel the rage and the shame.  She could not stop.  "I was pregnant with your child," she shouted.  "I flew all the way to New York to find you.  And when I found you," she hesitated a moment and continued bitterly, "it was in the arms of a woman, another woman."  She stressed every word, slowly and clearly.  She wanted him to suffer.  To feel the pain as she had felt it that terrible moment. "You were making love to another woman!"
    He paled and Nicole felt his effort at self-control.  The minute stretched out forever.  Neither of them moved.
    "Where is the child?" he finally asked and Nicole could hear the tension in his voice.
    "He died.  He died before he was born.  The baby died and Eric died and I was left alone."  She bent her head and her hair tumbled forward, hiding her face.  "I wanted that baby.  God knows how much I wanted him!"  She buried her face in her hands.  Her face was wet.  She did not notice the tears.
    She did not cry when they told her Eric had died in the car crash.  She did not cry when they told her the baby had died as a result of the accident.  She did not cry during all the years that followed when she picked up the pieces of her life. 
    Now she cried.
    With one stride Daniel closed the distance between them.  He took her in his arms, held her close to his chest.  There were so many hidden things to uncover but now he only wanted to comfort her, to offer the warmth and confidence of his body.  They stood, holding on to each other, sharing for a moment the grief of bereaved parents.
    His hand lightly brushed her hair, neck and back, in rhythmic, comforting movements.  When the trembling stopped and the tears dried on his shoulder where her head lay buried, he moved slightly while holding her fast in both arms.
    "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice.  "I would have wanted to be with you when you lost the child, to comfort you and ease the anguish."
    Nicole tried to smile through the tears.  She knew he was sincere.  He meant what he said.
    He released his arm to twist a strand of hair around his fingers.  Her faint smile vanished.  His hand came up to her cheek.  His fingers moved to her mouth, slightly separating her lips.  She stood motionless as he caressed her neck, feeling the agitated heartbeat coursing through her veins.
    "You must be exhausted," he murmured.
    "Yes, I must be exhausted," she echoed, unconsciously drawing closer.
    Daniel knew he must pull back before it was too late.  He longed for her.  She stood so close, so lovely, and he felt a painful need to cover her body with his, to shield her from all the evil and pain of this world.
    He leaned forward slowly, giving Nicole a chance to draw back.  She gasped softly as his mouth tenderly met hers.  His breath was warm and clean and his kiss erotic and