Gift of Fire

He waited a moment, breathing heavily while his insides settled. He was shaking.
    He needed a pill—two. Unfortunately, the ones the doctors at the clinic had given him didn’t seem to be doing much good anymore. But then, what did those stupid doctors know? No one understood him, Spencer realized. No one really wanted to help him. Everyone was against him. He’d come to realize that years ago.
    He’d take a couple of those prescription pills when he got back to his room, but then he’d take a couple of the tabs he’d bought from his dealer last month. Those suckers really worked. When he was on them, he felt good. They made him feel in command of himself. It was good to feel in control.
    Spencer climbed slowly out of the pool and trudged toward the villa’s dark entrance. The rain beat down on him, and he asked himself for what seemed the thousandth time why everything he tried to do in life turned to shit.
    It was a rhetorical question. Slade knew why everything always went wrong for him. Everyone was out to get him. It was him against the world.
    And he always lost.

 
    Chapter Six
     
    “I just want you to know that one of these days, I’ll get even.” Verity stirred languidly, turning on her side and propping herself up on one elbow. She picked up the leather belt Jonas had used to bind her and trailed the buckle through the wiry hair on his chest. “You’ll never know when it’s coming. But someday, somewhere, when you least expect it,
zap!
You’re gonna get it.” Jonas flashed a wicked, laughing grin. “Really getting into the leather-and-bondage bit, huh?” He took hold of the belt and tugged it free of her grasp. He then dropped it over the edge of the bed and it clunked on the floor.
    Verity managed a reasonably severe glare. “No, I am not getting into leather and bondage. I was forced into it. You’re the one who likes kinky sex. I used to be such a nice girl before I met you.”
    He put a hand behind her head and pulled her close for a quick, hard kiss. “Damn, but I love corrupting you,” he said with great satisfaction. “You take to it so naturally. Ouch! Dammit,” he added as Verity slapped his bare thigh.
    Verity’s hand stung from the blow, but she decided it was worth it. She sat up and crossed her legs. “Okay, Jonas, enough with the distracting fun and games. As usual, sex has made you relaxed and indulgent, so now I expect a few answers.”
    “Relaxed and indulgent. Is that what sex does for me?”
    “Sure. Haven’t you ever noticed? You come on like a lion, so to speak, and pull out like a lamb.”
    “A lamb?” He looked disappointed.
    “Lamb, kitten, poodle, whatever.” Verity waved her hand to indicate a whole world of limp, cuddly things that included the present state of his manhood.
    “If I weren’t feeling so relaxed and indulgent, I’d argue that point with you.”
    “Later, maybe. Right now I want some answers.”
    Jonas turned his head on the pillow, enjoying the direct view he had of her triangle of soft hair. “How can I concentrate hard enough to answer questions when all I can see is your pretty little…”
    Verity pulled a sheet over her legs. “Talk about a one-track mind.”
    “You never want me to have any fun,” he complained, his eyes bright with laughter.
    “You’re right. All fun and no work makes Jonas a very poor boy. Back to business. What happened tonight when you went gallivanting through the corridors of Hazelhurst’s Horror?”
    “You have no respect for four-hundred-year-old architecture?”
    “Not when it looks like this place. Quit stalling and tell me what happened.” Verity’s eyes grew serious. “I got a scare tonight, Jonas. I could feel you coming very close to something dangerous.”
    “I know. I could feel you there with me.”
    “But where were you?”
    “Clear over in the north wing. Second floor.”
    “But that’s a long way from where I was. You were much too far away for us to connect.”
    He sat up against the pillows, his golden eyes becoming as serious as hers. “The link was weak but you were with me. Both of us felt it. I think the connection between us is growing stronger, Verity.”
    Verity tugged the sheet more closely around her, covering her breasts. She glanced distractedly toward the window. “It’s chilly in here, isn’t it? It must cost a fortune just to keep this wing heated. No wonder the Warwicks want to unload this place as soon as possible.”
    “It scares you, doesn’t