Sandra Brown: Low Pressure

“I can live with that. In fact, I want to live with that.” He angled his head back so he could look into her face. “You don’t mind that I’m poor and you’re rich?”

“Do you?”

“Hell no. Despite what Gall said, I’m not stupid.”

She tweaked a chest hair. “Are you after my money?”

“Absolutely. But first things first.”

He touched her in a way that caused her to gasp, and then he was above her again, moving inside her, not as frenzied as before but slowly and with feeling. Teasing aside, cupping her face between his hands, he kissed her closed eyelids, and when she opened them, he said, “They don’t look sad anymore.”

“That’s because I’m deliriously happy.”

“Then that makes two of us.”

“So you cared about whether or not I called you?”

Looking deeply into her eyes, he reached for her hands, positioned them on either side of her head, and, palm to palm, linked their fingers tightly. Resting his forehead on hers, he settled his weight on her and said gruffly, “I cared. I cared like hell. Thank God it only took you a week.”

Softly she kissed his mouth. “A week and eighteen years.”

During the writing of this book, I needed a lot of help with the flight sequences for both a twin-engine private aircraft and commercial airplanes. My thanks to Ron Koonsman, my friend and first go-to person, who provided so much valuable information, including an introduction to Jerry Lunsford. He patiently and painstakingly answered my many questions and acquainted me with the totally alien landscape of a cockpit. Jerry Hughes advised me on technical aspects and terminology. Others, who asked to remain anonymous, know how grateful I am that they shared their personal experiences and vast knowledge.

I apologize for any mistakes, which are mine entirely and not the fault of the above-mentioned pilots.

Sandra Brown

June 2012

Sandra Brown is the author of sixty New York Times bestsellers, including TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006), CHILL FACTOR (2005), WHITE HOT (2004), HELLO, DARKNESS (2003), THE CRUSH (2002), ENVY (2001), THE SWITCH (2000), THE ALIBI (1999), UNSPEAKABLE (1998) and FAT TUESDAY (1997), all of which have jumped onto the Times bestseller list in the number one to five spot. Brown now has over seventy million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

Standoff

The Crush

Hello, Darkness

Unspeakable

The Alibi

White Hot

Chill Factor

Ricochet

Play Dirty

Smoke Screen

The Witness

Fat Tuesday

Smash Cut

Exclusive

Tough Customer

Lethal

www.hodder.co.uk

First published the United States of America in 2012 by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Hodder & Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright © Sandra Brown Management Limited 2012

The right of Sandra Btown to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Ebook ISBN 978 1-444-73888-9

Trade paperback ISBN 978 1-444-74249-7

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