Gift of Gold

with lazy intent.
    “When have you ever found me wearing a red bow and waiting in bed for you?”
    His grin was wickedly knowing. “Never, but a man can fantasize, can’t he?” His eyes moved over her body, most of it quite visible in the crystal-clear water. “Don’t worry, finding you this way is just as good.”
    Verity stirred and glanced toward the entrance of the spa room. “What if Laura shows up again the way she did the last time we were here together?”
    “I doubt she’ll be terribly surprised at what she finds.” Jonas tossed his shirt aside. His long fingers went to work unbuttoning his jeans.
    Verity watched, half-mesmerized by the sexy sight of Jonas undressing. He took his time about it, revealing his strong shoulders and flat stomach first. The hair on his chest seemed to offer an open invitation for her fingers to scamper through it. When he stepped out of his jeans he was already partially aroused.
    Verity cleared her throat. “Are you practicing to be a striptease artist?”
    He slanted her a laconic smile and moved into the water. “I don’t believe in teasing you, little tyrant. What you see is what you get.” He spread his arms out along the edge of the pool and leaned back, savoring the hot water. “Damn, this feels good.”
    Verity held her breath for a few seconds and then rushed into the question that was hovering in her mind: “Do you really think I’m a petty tyrant?”
    “Little, not petty. There is nothing petty about you, honey. But there are a few little things I could mention.” He half opened one eye, obviously prepared to turn the conversation into sexy channels.
    “Jonas, I’m serious,” Verity said urgently. “You think I’m a shrew, don’t you?”
    “It’s part of your charm,” he assured her blandly.
    Verity got angry. “No, it’s not part of my charm. You’re always pointing it out and making rude remarks about it. And now there’s this other thing about your talent getting more bothersome. Let’s face it, Jonas, I’m not your kind of woman.”
    “Oh, hell.” He closed his eye again. “I get the feeling someone is spoiling for a fight tonight, and it’s not me.”
    “I’m not looking for a fight. I just want to clarify a few things.”
    “Such as?”
    “Such as why you’re hanging around.”
    “I’m hanging around because I need the job and I have discovered that sleeping with you is like sleeping with a cactus. Once a man gets past the thorns, the fruit is very sweet.”
    “If that’s supposed to thrill me, you’re in for a surprise. I don’t like being compared to a cactus,” Verity muttered, feeling put upon. She was prepared for an intense, in-depth, thoroughgoing discussion of their relationship, but Jonas was in a bantering mood.
    He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her against his side. “Hey, what is this?” he asked gently. “We’re supposed to be relaxing after a long, hard day.”
    “I’d like us to be honest with each other, Jonas. You find me a shrew and a tyrant. You say I’m sarcastic. I don’t pay well. Furthermore, we’re complete opposites in a lot of ways. We don’t even share similar nutritional habits. There is nothing between us but sex and your weird psychic talent.”
    “I’ve got news for you, honey. That’s a lot to have between us. More than I’ve ever had with any other woman.” He lifted his dark lashes again and examined her intense expression. “And it’s more than you’ve ever had with any other man.”
    Verity leaned back against his arm. “Maybe we’re just using each other. You need me to explore your psychic abilities and I need you to give me a taste of what passion is all about.”
    “Even if that’s all there is to this relationship of ours,” Jonas said roughly, “it’s enough for now. Verity, you’re going to drive yourself nuts if you dwell on this too much. Just relax and go with the flow.”
    “That’s good advice for someone like you who’s lived by that principle for years. But I’m different, Jonas.”
    “I know,” he said wryly. “You’re going to spend an enormous amount of time and energy dissecting our relationship, examining it inside and out, and generally working yourself up about something that should just be taken one day at a time. It’s your nature to try to label and organize things.”
    “You’re right,” she agreed. “Maybe we’d better change the subject. When’s Dad going to pay off that shark?”
    “Reginald C.