Violet would have been perfectly happy to spend the rest of the week in bed. Nathan was a skilled lover, and the pleasure he gave her was unlike anything she’d experienced before. But she knew they had to come out of his apartment sometime, so the next day she insisted he drive her back to her hotel so she could change clothes and they could go back to work.

He tried to tempt her into taking off another day. If she gave in, they might never make it out of his place. Nathan sulked, but he didn’t stay too mad, not when she coaxed him into a quickie before they drove off to work.

She kept busy at the mines, collecting samples and analyzing the results from the previous tests. Since she’d missed two days of collections, she’d have to work double time to make up for it. Plus, she had to go through the stack of resumes that had piled up in her inbox.

A knot tightened in her stomach. Had she really been so distracted that she had forgotten about her agreement with Ben? And about Antonia and the girls? She hadn’t heard back from Antonia for a while, nor from the non-profit agency she’d been negotiating with to secure funding.

Before she was forced to leave, she promised Antonia she would find a way to get them out of the village. She was going to bring them down to the nearby town and help them establish a formal orphanage where the girls could be safe and attend school. She used every connection she had and hopped to Switzerland and France, then finally to London where she had a meeting with a non-profit that seemed fruitful. Girl's Liberty Trust, or GLT, focused on helping women and children in war zones. They looked over her proposal and told her they would get back to her, but they were positive they could approve the funding. She felt somewhat relieved but knew it was not over yet. She took the next flight back to the States so she could do her interview in Blackstone.

“Everything okay, Baby?”

She nearly jumped out of her seat when she heard Nathan’s voice. He was standing in the doorway of their office.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking.” The knot in her stomach grew bigger, and her heart felt heavy. He knew about the girls. Surely if the funding came through and she had to leave, he would understand, right? They had made no promises to each other. In any case, it could still be months before she got the money. They could be tired of each other by then and perhaps their relationship, if she could call it that, would fizzle out naturally like her other liaisons.

Her tiger let out an angry hiss at the thought. Mine.

She pushed the word down deep inside her along with her tiger. She thought the damn thing would be satisfied by now. It was practically glowing the past two days, especially around Nathan. The tiger was especially happy knowing he thought it was beautiful.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nathan walked closer to her.

“These test results are riveting,” she lied, pointing to the screen. “Did you know that blackstone is about twenty times harder than diamonds?”

He hauled her to her feet and then pulled her to him. “I can think of something that’s getting hard right now.” He gave her a wink before leaning down to kiss her.

“Eww! Gross!”

They broke apart and turned their heads toward the door.

“What are you doing here, Kate?” Nathan asked, his face setting into a scowl.

“Tsk, tsk, why aren’t you in a better mood? Don’t you know sex boosts endorphins?” She sauntered into the office, then leaned her hip against Violet’s table. “Besides, I’m scheduled to check on the network today. Or did your sex-hazed brain forget that?”

Nathan crossed his arms over his chest. “Get what you need done, then leave.”

“What? You’re not happy to see your sister?” She stuck her tongue out at him, then looked at Violet. “Hey, Vi. I’d ask you how you’re doing, but since you’re banging my brother I’d rather not know.”

“Er, was there something you needed from me?” Violet asked as she sat back down.

“Why, yes! I was hoping to run into you. We—that’s me and all the girls—are having a baby shower for Penny this weekend.” Kate hopped up and planted herself on top of the desk. “You should come.”

“I’m not really sure … I mean, I don’t know her very well. I’d be happy to send a gift.”

“Pshaw. Don’t worry; it’s fine. A couple of other new people are coming. Georgina and her adorable little cub will be there.”

“Oh.” She did want to see how Georgina and Grayson were doing. “I suppose I could drop by.”

“Great!” Kate hopped off the desk. “It’s eleven a.m. at Rosie’s. Wear something blue or pink, whichever you think the baby will be.” She shook her head at Nathan. “Sorry, girls only.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “I’ll be sad for a bit, but I’ll get over it.”

“Bye,” Kate said. “Oh and Nathan? Make sure you call Mom and Dad soon.” She looked meaningfully at Violet and winked at him. “Before I do.”

“Just get out.” Nathan walked to his sister and gently pushed her out the door. “Damn nosy Kate,” he grumbled. “Sorry about that. I don’t know how she knows.”

“Knows what?”

“About us. I mean, you and me—”

“Having sex?”

“Yeah.”

She shrugged. “Sex is a natural thing, you know.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but,” he stalked back to her, “I was hoping to keep you to myself just for a little bit.”

“Oh.” His words made a thrill run down her spine, and she didn’t know why. So she swiveled her chair back to her monitor. “I should get back to this.”

“Violet.” He pivoted her chair back around. “Is something the matter?”

She swallowed a gulp. “Nothing. Not at all.”