A Night of Scandal

Nathaniel lifted his head reluctantly and slammed his hand against the lift button.

Katie made a strangled sound. ‘Now we’re going down instead of up.’

Tearing his eyes from hers, he looked at the buttons. ‘Oops.’

He just had time to lower her to the floor and swiftly rearrange their clothing before the lift doors opened on the foyer.

Two of Rafael’s security team stood there looking perplexed.

Scarlet faced, Katie wanted to slide to the floor with embarrassment but Nathaniel simply smiled. ‘Having a good evening, guys?’

‘Er, was there a problem, sir?’

‘We had a slight malfunction, but I fixed it.’

Adopting his customary bored tone, Nathaniel threw an intimate smile at Katie and once again pressed the button that took the lift straight to the penthouse. ‘I’m good with my hands.’

As the door slid closed Katie sagged against the mirrored walls and covered her face. ‘Why did you have to say that? They knew what we were doing. Just don’t tell me there was CCTV in here.’

‘Why? I can give you some insider tips if you like. The secret of performing in front of the camera is to act as though it isn’t there. Although that definitely should have been a closed set.’ Laughing at her, he swung her into his arms and took her onto the terrace. ‘Where do you think? Day bed? Night bed? Floor? Wall? Shower? All of the above?’

Breathing in the sweet scent of exotic flowers, Katie stared up at his darkened jaw and felt ridiculously happy.

‘You’re insatiable.’

‘Guilty as charged.’ In the end he tumbled her onto the day bed on the terrace and proceeded to prove to her just how insatiable.

They fell asleep on the terrace and woke to the unforgettable sight of the sun rising over Sugarloaf Mountain.

Katie stared dreamily at the incredible view. ‘This place is truly amazing.’

‘Yes. Rafael has impeccable taste when it comes to real estate.’ Nathaniel stifled a yawn and kissed her. ‘Don’t get up. I have some business to attend to today. I’ll see you a bit later. Take a bath. Chill out.’ With a reluctant sigh and a last look at her mouth, he sprang from the bed and picked up a stack of papers and a glossy report.

Still half asleep, Katie sat up. ‘Business? What business?’

‘Rafael and I sponsor a drama project here. Disadvantaged kids.’ He hesitated and then dropped the report on her lap. ‘It’s full of heart-tugging stuff designed to make people with too much money part with some of it. I have to meet with the woman who runs it—it won’t take long.’

With the hiss of the shower in the background, Katie flicked through the pages. Then she turned back to the beginning and read slowly. When she lifted her head, her face was wet with tears. ‘The life some of these kids have led …’

Knotting a towel around his hips, Nathaniel frowned. ‘Why are crying? You don’t know them.’

‘I’m crying because it’s awful.’ And because he was reaching out to children who’d suffered as he had suffered. Reading it made her think about what he must have experienced. Children in hell. Was he even aware of what he was doing? ‘It must be so rewarding to be able to do this. To watch them develop.’

‘I don’t actually “watch them.” I don’t meet any of the kids.’ Nathaniel thrust his arms into a fresh shirt. ‘I just write the cheques.’

‘You’ve never visited one of your projects?’ Katie stared down at the report in her hands. ‘Aren’t you interested to see who these people are?’

‘I know who they are.’ He snatched his shorts from the chair, his tone brittle. ‘They’re kids. The idea is to try and keep them off the streets and out of the gangs. Being involved in these youth projects stops the kids

picking up a gun. That’s what the project does.’

‘But you’ve never met them?’ Katie slid out of bed and walked across to him. His hair was wet from the shower and flopped in dark spikes over his handsome face. ‘Aren’t you curious?’

‘No.’ The panic in his eyes was so swiftly veiled she wondered if she’d imagined it.

‘It would mean a lot to them to see Nathaniel Wolfe in person.’

‘I don’t get personally involved.’