And he was only a human being, anyway, so he still fumed with such anger and resentment towards her for condemning him so miserably.

He'd headed upstairs to shower in hot water, and when he came to the study a little later, he bumped into Natasha coming out of the kitchen with a glass of fruit juice in her hand.

“Hitting the books?” Her deep, quiet voice sent a little tremor of awareness shivering up his spine. He shoved back the unwanted frisson of sexual awareness and forced himself to smile.

“I’m doing research on an assignment due in a couple of weeks,” he explained.

“Well, don’t overtax yourself,” she...