Gift of Gold

married women in the world, I think we can safely assume Gaspare was full of chicken manure.”
    Jonas folded his arms and studied her for a few seconds. “You must have had more than a fleeting interest in the Renaissance if you remember that tort of detail from a book you read years ago. Let’s go pack lunch and head for the lake, boss lady. I’m hungry.”
    Verity thought about telling him one more time not to call her “boss lady” but decided to tackle that at a later date. The idea of a picnic was too compelling to resist. It had been a long time since she’d been on a picnic.
    They packed a lunch and Jonas put a couple of cans of cold beer into the basket. Then he led Verity through the trees to the water’s edge. He made a production out of picking the perfect spot among the pines before he allowed her to settle down on the blanket he had brought along. Verity was surprised to find herself very hungry.
    Jonas lounged alongside her on the old blanket, sipping beer and eating sandwiches while they engaged in easy, totally nonthreatening conversation. Verity relaxed in the warm sunlight and gave herself over to enjoying the unusual experience.
    She liked listening to Jonas talk, she realized. His voice was curiously attractive. She let him finish an amusing story about tending bar in some far-off corner of the world and then she said between bites of her sandwich, “I’ll bet you were a popular lecturer when you taught at Vincent.”
    He blinked with deceptive laziness. “What makes you say that?”
    She shrugged and realized she was blushing. “You have a good voice,” she mumbled. “There’s something very, uh, well...”
    “Something very what?” he prodded.
    “Something compelling about it. I mean, it’s easy to listen to you.” She stuffed the rest of the sandwich into her mouth before she was tempted to try her foot. She didn’t know why she was so embarrassed. Probably because she found his voice more than compelling. She found it distinctly sensual. It touched her in an almost physical way and she responded to it.
    “Thank you, Verity,” Jonas said very gently as he leaned back on his elbows and watched her through narrowed eyes. “I shall treasure the compliment.”
    She was even more embarrassed and covered it up by fishing around inside the basket for a pickle. “Anytime,” she said with false heartiness. “I always believe in giving credit where it’s due.”
    He smiled faintly and she knew he was aware of her discomfort. His voice dropped to a low, sexy purr as he quoted softly:
     
    “
My lady scatters precious gifts with a casual, careless
hand.
    She knows not how much
I
value the fragile gems she
chooses to bestow.
    Greedily
,
I
snatch all that I can take;
a smile of silver, a glance of crystal.
    But still
I
hunger for more priceless things;
Treasures that can
’
t be bought or sold.
    For
I
will not rest until
I
claim her body and her
heart;
    Gifts of white hot fire and rarest gold.
”
     
    Verity’s head came up quickly and she found herself staring into his brilliant eyes. She knew in that moment that she was being wooed. She had never been caught in a web of seduction before, but it was shatteringly evident that she was rapidly becoming entangled in it now.
    For a moment neither spoke. They simply looked at each other and Verity became aware of a vibrant truth. Jonas was the one who could give a gift of gold. It was there in his eyes, waiting for her. And as for fire, well, she might be inexperienced, but she was woman enough to know he offered that, too. It would be a blazing, masculine fire that would burn her to the depths of her soul, branding her forever. She shook her head a little to free herself of the dizzying images. Frantically she sought for a way out of the web that was tightening around her.
    “Would you like another pickle?” she asked brightly and slapped it into his outstretched hand. She ignored the amusement in his eyes and began a running commentary on the economy and social aspects of Sequence Springs.
    But even as she pushed the conversation back into safer channels Verity knew she was running from the stark truth that awaited her. She was fascinated with Jonas Quarrel. She wanted him. It was the first time in her life she had ever known the full, blazing power of this kind of attraction and it both frightened and excited her.
    Why, oh why, she wondered once again, did he have to be the wrong sort of man for her?
    The question was, of