Gift of Fire

fingers of the cold fist that had assaulted him earlier returned to flex painfully on his insides.
    “What time are you and Dad leaving in the morning?”
    “Five. I’ll get up around four-fifteen. All I have to do is throw a few things in my duffel bag. Won’t be needing much. We won’t be gone more than a few days.” He tried to subtly emphasize the last words.
    “I suppose one of the things you’ll be tossing into your bag is that damn knife you carry?” she asked with a hint of renewed aggression.
    “Honey, I’ve been traveling with that knife for so long I’d feel naked without it. Don’t worry. It’s just a precaution. I don’t plan on using it.”
    “I don’t believe you,” she said quietly. “You and Dad aren’t planning on just handling the ransom drop, are you? You’re going to try to rescue Samuel Lehigh.”
    Jonas’s mouth tightened. He slung the shirt over one shoulder and studied her for a moment. “It’s just a ransom swap, Verity. No reason to think the guys holding Lehigh want anything except the cash. It’s just a business deal.”
    “Sure.”
    Jonas shrugged impatiently. “Lehigh’s a good friend of your father’s. Do you really expect Emerson to do nothing?”
    “Nope.” Verity sipped her tea.
    “And do you expect me to stay here while Emerson goes down to Mexico alone to handle the payoff?”
    “Nope.” Verity put her mug of tea on the counter. She turned away from him for a moment as she did so. When she turned back, she was smiling.
    It wasn’t her brilliant, melt-’em-in-their-shoes smile, Jonas thought, but at least it was a smile. It was a small, oddly gentle smile, filled with far too much wise, superior feminine understanding for his taste.
    He’d caught traces of this particular smile on her soft mouth a couple of times during the past week, and it was beginning to make him uneasy. It was as if Verity knew something he didn’t know.
    He dropped his shirt across the back of a nearby chair and moved toward her. When he held out his arms, she walked into them and wrapped her arms around his waist. He buried his lips in her hair as she leaned her head against his bare chest.
    “I’ll be back as soon as I can, little tyrant,” he vowed. Her sweet scent relaxed something inside him that had been wound too tightly for the past few hours. Everything was going to be all right, he told himself. Verity would be waiting when he returned. She was a home-loving woman.
    “You’d better get to bed early tonight,” she said softly, ignoring his last comment. “You’ll need the sleep.”
    “That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.” He picked her up and started down the short hall to the bedroom. Through the fabric of her nightgown and robe he could feel the sleek muscles of her thighs. His body stirred eagerly, the familiar, powerful hunger beginning to seize him.
    By the time he got her into the bedroom and slipped off her robe, Verity’s strange little smile had reached her eyes.
    She climbed into bed and leaned back against the pillows, watching as he unzipped his jeans.
    “You know something? This is beginning to have a familiar feel,” Jonas said suddenly as he finished undressing and crawled into bed beside her. He was aroused and ready.
    “What is?”
    “Going to bed with you every night. It’s getting to feel sort of comfortable and natural.” He reached for her and felt the slight stiffening of her body.
    “Maybe it feels a little too familiar,” she suggested, not meeting his eyes. Her fingertips toyed with the curly hair on his chest.
    Jonas tensed. “What the hell does that mean?”
    Verity shrugged. “Nothing. I just thought you might be getting a little bored with life in Sequence Springs. This isn’t exactly an exciting place.”
    He relaxed and began to nuzzle her throat. “It’s exciting enough for me.”
    When she moved against him he trapped one of her legs between his own, chaining her gently so that he could lift off her flannel nightgown. As she lay there naked he ran one hand down the length of her body, luxuriating in the feel of her gentle curves. She was so soft and sweet and warm. He palmed her breast and felt the instant tautening of her nipple. When he heard her faint intake of breath, he groaned and bent his head to capture her mouth.
    Her hand trailed down his hip to tease the inside of his thigh, then she took his hard manhood into her palm. She could drive him over the edge with just her touch. She knew