Gift of Fire

knew exactly how and where to touch him. He felt her fingers teasing the full, taut globes at the base of his shaft and instinctively he arched his hips toward her.
    Verity released him and Jonas swore in dismay. He tried to reach for her to drag her close so that she could finish what she had begun. But the manacle chains went tight and Jonas opened his eyes, growling in frustration. What he saw nearly did him in.
    Verity was unbuttoning her shirt. It quickly became obvious that she was not wearing a bra. She worked with tantalizing, excruciating slowness, letting the garment slowly open to reveal the soft curves of her breasts. She didn’t remove the shirt once she had it unbuttoned. She just let it hang free so that the fabric moved with her, alternately revealing, then concealing her rosy nipples.
    Jonas stared at her hungrily, wildly intrigued by the sight of the straining nipple that flirted with him from the shadows. She was as turned on as he was, he thought. That realization almost sent him over the edge.
    But he couldn’t let go yet, he told himself. This was too good to ruin with an early, unplanned climax. He wanted to see how far Verity would go. He had to find out just what she had in mind. When she reached for the soft whip in her pocket he shook his head wonderingly,
    “You wouldn’t dare,” he whispered.
    “Oh no?” She studied him closely, frowning in concentration. Then she extended the whip experimentally.
    “I swear, Verity, if you try anything with that whip, I’ll…Oh, Christ.”
    The velvet tassels trailed lovingly over his thigh and moved upward to tease his thrusting shaft. Jonas jerked backward in reaction. She dragged the tassels the other way, tangling his eager manhood in the little velvet strips. Jonas swelled to new heights.
    “Not bad, for a psychic,” she murmured with a small, teasing grin.
    Jonas swallowed heavily and took another deep breath. “Verity, so help me, when I get free I’m going to make you pay for this.”
    “I warned you the night you tied me to the bedpost that one day I would get even.”
    She twirled the whip, letting it wrap him more tightly. Then she tugged gently and the tassels pulled briefly at Jonas before reluctantly uncurling.
    “Verity, you don’t know what you’re doing.” He could barely get the words out.
    “Don’t I?” She knelt in front of him and replaced the whip tassels with her hot, tight mouth. Jonas stared down at her head and waged a heroic battle for self-control. Every muscle in his body was strained with the effort. His whole world was filled with a flame-haired vixen who obviously considered him her private, personal property. He thought of his baby growing within her and he wanted to shout his triumph to the world. Just when he thought he would surely explode, Verity released him.
    He breathed heavily, taking a step back from the edge and regaining a small measure of control. He watched Verity set down the silly little whip and unfasten her jeans. Jonas stared, hypnotized, as she shimmied out of the denims. She then stepped daintily out of her panties and Jonas gritted his teeth. He was going under fast.
    When she moved away from him he gazed raptly at the sweet, sexy curves of her derriere. He could have studied the sight all day without growing bored.
    But Verity had other plans. She was dragging the padded bench toward him.
    What the hell?” he demanded as she pushed the bench toward his legs.
    “Open your legs,” she ordered.
    He did so reluctantly, uncertain what she had in mind. She maneuvered the bench between his thighs. Jonas suddenly felt very vulnerable. He looked at her through narrowed lids. “Now what, Madam Torturer?”
    “Sit down.”
    He obeyed slowly, discovering that there was just enough play in the manacle chains to allow him to sit on the padded bench. His legs were astride the seat. “Baby, you are going to be the death of me.”
    “You’ll survive. Maybe.” Her eyes were hot and shimmering with desire as she walked over to where he sat. She bent one knee and straddled the bench. She was only inches away from him.
    Jonas inhaled the spicy, feminine scent of her arousal and thought he would go into orbit. Again he instinctively reached out to embrace her and pull her down onto him, but once more the manacles restrained him. He relaxed, swearing softly in frustration.
    Verity settled herself carefully on his hips. She caught his shaft between gentle fingers, then she slowly eased him