Gift of Gold

it but she knew that this was special, much too special. The taste and touch of him was unique, intoxicating, something for which she had been waiting for a long, long time.
    Until this moment, Verity realized, she hadn’t even known she had been waiting.
    Without conscious thought Verity’s right arm moved to encircle Jonas’s neck. She felt the hard outline of the muscle of his shoulder beneath her fingers and she kneaded his bronzed skin the way a cat kneads a silk pillow. Jonas responded with a deep groan of desire.
    He urged her mouth open and when she slowly parted her lips for him he muttered something thick and sensual. Hot gold poured through her in a dizzying wave. Then he was tasting her with the tip of his tongue, inviting her to join him in a small, astonishingly sexy duel. His hand moved farther up her thigh to the edge of her bathing suit.
    For a timeless moment Verity hovered at the edge of never-never land, delightfully suspended at the gate of sensual exploration and discovery. She was aware of Jonas’s fingertips as they slowly eased beneath the elastic leg of her swimsuit but she didn’t worry about it. Time enough to stop him later. Right now she had to sample a bit more. She was enthralled.
    The hot water frothed and foamed around her as Jonas changed position again without breaking the intimate kiss. He settled back against the white tiled pool wall and lifted Verity across his thighs. He kept one hand on her hip, his fingers just barely inside the barrier of the elastic. His arm was behind her back, his palm on her side, not quite touching her breast.
    Verity felt no sense of being rushed. She had all the time in the world to enjoy this kiss. Languidly she touched him, her fingertips trailing through the crisp, curling hair of his chest.
    Jonas seemed content to let her explore him slowly just as he was exploring her.
    All the time in the world,
Verity thought. She had waited so long and now she could take her time and do it right. This was the man—the right man. She didn’t understand how it could be possible, but she knew intuitively that she was poised on a precarious peak. If she took one more step...
    The lights suddenly blazed in the pool room.
    “I’m sorry, folks, no guests allowed in the spa pools after ten o’clock. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”
    Verity gasped at the sound of the familiar voice. She jerked out of Jonas’s grasp, flailing wildly for an instant before toppling off his thighs and falling backward into the pool. The hot, bubbling water closed over her head.
    A second later she felt a pair of strong hands grasp her shoulders and pull her upright. Sputtering and gasping for breath, Verity found her footing and stood. Her hair was plastered tightly against her head and she wiped the back of her hand across her eyes to get rid of the excess water. Jonas’s hands remained on her shoulders as he turned to look at the newcomer.
    “Hi, Laura,” Verity mumbled.
    Laura Griswald stared at the pair in the pool, the expression on her pretty face registering first astonishment and then speculative amusement. “Sorry, Verity. I didn’t realize it was you. I just saw two people in the pool and assumed a couple of guests had violated the rules. Who’s your friend?”
    Verity knew she was turning a dull red. Despite the heat of the water, she could feel the warmth in her face. She ducked out from under Jonas’s hands and waded determinedly to the edge of the pool where she had left a thick white towel earlier.
    “Laura, this is Jonas Quarrel. He, uh, works for me. I hired him Friday. Jonas, meet Laura Griswald. She and her husband operate this place.” She made a production out of blotting her hair and face while the other two exchanged polite greetings. By the time the pleasantries were over, she had herself well under control again. A bit of embarrassment was all that remained. She smiled bravely at Laura. “Busy weekend, wasn’t it, Laura? I thought things would settle down now that fall is here, but the weekends, at least, still seem to be going strong. I’ll be glad to start closing Sundays as well as Mondays. Jonas and I worked hard this evening. We decided to use your spa to relax. Hope you don’t mind?”
    If Laura thought her friend was chattering inanely, she kindly refrained from saying so. She smiled back, her bright hazel eyes moving with open interest from Jonas’s unruffled expression to Verity’s pink-tinged cheeks. Beneath the lighting