Gift of Gold

eyes. Maybe it was better to view him in the soft glow of the moon rather than the more revealing glare of artificial light. Verity wasn’t sure she could take the full impact of what she would see. For an instant she knew a jolt of fear once more.
    “Jonas, I...”
    “Hush,” he said, kissing her back into silence. “I’ve told you I’ll take care of you. You’ll be safe with me.”
    She wondered why he was so determined to promise safety but there was no opportunity to ask. Jonas was already untying the sash of her coat and unbuttoning the oversized buttons.
    “I knew it,” he muttered as the coat fell to the floor. There was satisfaction in his voice. “I knew you were wearing your nightgown. I sat there watching you sip that vodka and I got hard just thinking about what you had on under that coat. Did you come to see me tonight intending to stay with me until morning, sweetheart?” He touched his tongue to the corner of her mouth. “Were you going to seduce me after you had apologized?”
    She shook her head violently. “No. I was only going to say I was sorry for yelling at you. I never meant to stay.”
    “Don’t say that,” he said, indulgent amusement in every word. “You don’t know for certain what you wanted. You don’t even know your own secrets.”
    “And you think you do?” she challenged softly.
    “I can only guess at some of them.” His fingers worked the tiny buttons of her flannel nightgown until he had it open to her breasts. When he brushed against the gentle swell of her softness he sighed hungrily.
    For a few seconds Jonas teased both of them by exploring the curves that were partially exposed and then he grew impatient. His fingers slipped inside the gown to cup her completely. He held her gently captive in the warm palm of his hand and his thumb flicked over one velvet nipple. There was an instant, uncontrollable response. Verity caught her breath and her nails sank into the cotton of Jonas’s shirt, finding his hard, muscled flesh underneath.
    “Go ahead and use your claws on me, vixen,” he said, the words rough with his desire. “I don’t mind carrying your mark. I think I was meant to bear it.”
    “Jonas, sometimes I don’t understand you.”
    “You will soon enough. Don’t think about the future, sweetheart. Just think about the here and now. It’s all we need tonight.”
    He shoved the gown down over her hips, letting it fall into a pool at her feet. His gaze roved over her as she stood nude before him.
    His hands followed the trail of his gaze, scorching her skin as he explored the small valley between her breasts and the curve of her waist. Then his fingers went lower, tangling lightly in the dark red curls at the juncture of her thighs. The heat in him assailed her, summoning forth a torrent of damp fire between her legs. When his fingertips brushed through that liquid fire, Verity thought she would collapse. All the strength seemed to be gone from her limbs.
    “Jonas, I can hardly stand.”
    “I know. I feel the same way. You don’t know what you’re doing to me. You’re so wet and hot. Why the hell did we wait this long?”
    Verity gave a small, shaky laugh and clung to his shoulders. “We haven’t waited long at all. Jonas, we hardly know each other.”
    “Not true.” His fingers glided around to her hips. He squeezed her gently and then he picked her up and carried her down the short hall to her small bedroom. “I know you better than you think and soon you’re going to know all you need to know about me.”
    He put her down in the center of the small bed and his hands went to the buttons of his shirt. He stripped the garment off with ruthless energy while he stepped out of his low boots, and he tugged at the button of his jeans. He yanked the pants off along with his briefs and a moment later he was standing naked beside the bed.
    Verity looked up at him, her eyes full of feminine wonder. The shadows in the room concealed the details of his arousal but gave hints of the broad planes of his shoulders and chest. Silhouetted against the pale glow of the window he seemed very large and very male. “You’re strong,” she murmured, trailing questing fingertips along his taut thigh. “Strong and hard.”
    “Harder than I’ve ever been in my life,” he agreed with a groan as he came down beside her on the bed. “I feel like I’m going to explode. I need to be inside you more than I need my next breath. Open for me, honey.  Let me