Gift of Gold (23 page)

“Me?” She stared at him in confusion.

“I knew the night I found your earring in that alley down in Mexico that you were some kind of key for me. You were connected to me somehow. There was a possibility that you were the only means to control things in that corridor that I was ever likely to get in this lifetime. Until I met you, I wasn’t even sure there was such a thing as controlling what happened inside. But with you, I think I can start exploring that corridor again.”

Verity sat perfectly still, mesmerized by the intensity of his expression. “Jonas, what are you saying?”

“That with you I have a chance of dealing with this curse that’s been laid on me. You’re the lifeline that I can hang on to when the past tries to rip through me into the present. With you I think I can control my psychometric ability.”

Chapter
Ten

Verity
was subdued and thoughtful the next morning as she descended the steel staircase to meet her hostess for breakfast. She was also feeling washed out and tense, an unsettling combination. The events of the night had kept her awake until nearly four in the morning and it was only seven now.

Jonas had not spent the remainder of the night in her room. He certainly would have done so, given the slightest encouragement, but Verity had not encouraged him. She needed time to think. His lovemaking seemed to have that effect on her, she acknowledged wryly.

It was beginning to look as if every time she made love with Jonas, she needed time and space afterward in which to recover. Why couldn’t the man have been a normal, sex-crazed male looking for an easy, no-strings-attached affair? Things would have been much simpler in that event. She’d had some practice keeping such men at bay.

Jonas had left the rapier behind in her bedroom, though. He had told her bluntly that if he picked it up he would be in the same situation as he had been in last night when he charged through her door.

“I’m sure you don’t want that,” he had said dryly, taking his dismissal with bad grace.

“No,” Verity had agreed with alacrity, “I don’t want that. We’ll put it back where it belongs tomorrow.”

“You can hang it back up on the wall,” he had told her without much interest, “or throw it over a cliff. Hell, I don’t care what you do with it. I won’t be spending another night here, so it doesn’t matter where the rapier winds up.”

He had stood for a moment in the doorway of her bedroom as she prepared to close it in his face. His gaze was brooding and watchful as he looked down at her.

“I see a pattern developing here. I’m not sure I like it. Are you always going to kick me out after I’ve made love to you?”

“Are you always going to spring a surprise on me after we’ve gone to bed together?” she had countered aggressively. “Last time it was that earring in your pocket. This time you liven things up by admitting you’re only interested in me because you think I’m some kind of anchor for whatever it is that happens to you when you pick up old swords.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth, Verity.” He reached for her, his hands closing around her shoulders. “I wanted you the first time I saw you standing in that cantina doorway. The light was in your hair and you had on one of those breezy little Mexican dresses and you looked sweet and sexy as hell. I followed you initially because I wondered what a fire-haired little gringa with jeweled eyes was doing going from cantina to cantina. I figured if you were just looking for some fun on the wild side of Mexico, you might as well have it with me. Considering what Pedro had in mind for you, you’re damn lucky I was attracted enough to follow you that night.”

“Maybe any woman who attracts you physically can act as the key you say you need,” Verity said seriously. She wondered if he was telling the truth about his initial attraction. It wasn’t much consolation, but it was better than nothing, she supposed.

He shook his head impatiently at her suggestion. “That’s not so. I just wish it were that easy. If it were true, I would have found out by now. Verity, listen to me. I know this has all come as a shock. We need to talk some more. I need to explain some things to you.”

She softened then, touching his hard jaw with her fingertips. “Jonas,” she said earnestly, “I believe you when you say you’ve got a problem. I’m not sure I believe in your psychometric ability, but I know you believe it and I accept that. But for some reason you’ve fixated on me as a solution to your problem. I’m not sure what that means, but it might be dangerous for both of us. Perhaps you should seek professional help.”

“Christ, don’t tell me to get counseling. I don’t need therapy! I gave that a whirl back at Vincent when I first began to think I might go crazy. It was useless. I’m not suffering from delusions or psychoses. I’m suffering from an excess of reality, past and present. You haven’t understood a word I’ve said tonight, have you?” He dropped his hands and gave her a small push back into her room. “Go ahead and go back to your lonely bed. I hope you enjoy your solitude. But I’m willing to bet it won’t be nearly as satisfying as the way I made you feel a while ago when you were shivering in my arms.”

“Getting a little egotistical, aren’t we?”

“You’ve had a taste of the real thing now, lady, and you’re going to want more. You are one hot little number. You’ve been locked away ice all these years but I’ve melted
that ice. The next time you want to feel as good as you did when I was inside you, just remember I’m the man who can make it happen. You need me for that, if nothing else. Sweet dreams, your majesty.”

He had turned and stalked off down the corridor, leaving Verity more confused and wary than she had ever been before in her life.

No one really believed in psychometry.

And no one except the most sheltered and naïve of innocents believed in finding true love with a man who was wrong for her on every count.

On her way downstairs Verity reminded herself forcefully that she never had been sheltered, nor was she naïve. She had no excuses for the daydreams she hadn’t even begun to acknowledge until recently. Whatever she had with Jonas amounted to nothing more than an affair that probably wouldn’t last through the winter.

The odds were that Jonas would grow restless and hit the road long before spring. Or she would lose her temper with him one time too many and wind up kicking him out for good. Either way, once he was gone she would never see him again.

A sobering thought. The man might be difficult, crazy, and haunted by ghosts, but he was her first lover. It was depressing to think she had waited all these years for a wacko to sweep her off her feet and into bed. That probably said something about her own flawed judgment, Verity decided gloomily.

At least now she knew the source of the ghosts in his eyes.

As she entered the gray-on-gray dining room she found Caitlin waiting for her at the far end of the granite table. Verity decided she did not care for the table. With its unrelenting near-black surface and its wide, heavy base, the thing reminded her entirely too much of someone’s idea of a witch’s altar.

Caitlin was pouring coffee from a silver pot when Verity walked into the room. She turned her scarred face to look at her guest, her eyes searching for answers to questions that remained unasked.

“Good morning, Verity. I hope you slept well. Did the storm disturb you? We get some violent ones this time of year.”

“Storms don’t bother me.” That much was true. “That coffee looks good.”

“Help yourself. Tavi is busy in the kitchen. I take it Jonas is not up and about yet?”

Verity concentrated on pouring her coffee. “I didn’t stop by his room to see if he was in motion.”

“I see.” There was silence for a moment and then Caitlin said quietly, “It was kind of you to come for a visit, Verity. I want you to know how much I appreciate your company. I feel that in a short time we have become rather close. Is that presumptuous of me?”

Verity’s head carne up sharply at the diffident tone in Caitlin’s voice. “Not in the least. I feel exactly the same way. I’ve enjoyed the visit thoroughly and I hope you’ll be able to come back to Sequence Springs soon. I don’t have a second bedroom, but Laura can always make room at the spa.”

“That would be nice,” Caitlin started to say something else but broke off, her eyes going to the doorway behind Verity. “There you are, Jonas. I was wondering if you would want to sleep in.”

Verity turned to glance at Jonas, who strolled into the room with his usual negligent grace. He always looked so calm and at ease on the mornings after. It wasn’t fair. He took the seat beside Verity and reached for the coffeepot. She thought she saw some evidence of exhaustion around his eyes but she couldn’t be certain. Probably wishful thinking on her part.

“Good morning, Verity,” he said politely.

“Good morning, Jonas.”

They might have been the most casual and polite of acquaintances, Verity thought in annoyance.

“I was just about to tell Verity about some plans I’ve made regarding the sale of
Bloodlust,
”
Caitlin said smoothly as Tavi walked into the room carrying a platter of eggs and fruit.

“Is that right?” Jonas did not appear overly interested. He was concentrating on his coffee, treating it as if it were an expensive drug.

Verity tried to cover up Jonas’s lack of social grace. “What plans, Caitlin?”

“I believe I mentioned that I will be conducting a bidding session for the painting.”

Verity nodded. “I remember. You said you were going to handle the auction yourself.”

“That’s right. This is a very special sale for me, you see.
Bloodlust
is
the last painting I plan to do.”

“The last one?” Verity was shocked. “Caitlin, you can’t stop painting. It’s your life. You have a great talent and you’re in your prime. Why on earth would you want to stop?”

Caitlin smiled fleetingly but her eyes were on Jonas. He was watching her speculatively. “I have my reasons.”

“Like instantly driving up the prices of all your works by making it clear there will be no more?” Jonas asked sardonically. “Not a bad move, Caitlin. It would cause a flurry of interest in the art world.”

“Jonas, for heaven’s sake,” Verity hissed.

Caitlin waved a dismissing hand. “He’s right. Financially, it will be an interesting move. I still have several unsold paintings left. Their value will probably triple when word gets out that
Bloodlust
is my
final work.”

“And
Bloodlust
itself should go for a fortune.” Jonas dug into the eggs Tavi had
put in front of him.

“I fully intend to get as much as I possibly can for it,” Caitlin agreed calmly. “I also plan to make my auction a major event. I have always kept my distance from the artworld but I would like to leave it with a bang. There has always been a certain amount of curiosity about me among art patrons. I have never allowed myself to be photographed, never mingled socially. Call it a whim, but I want to exit with an event that will not only satisfy that curiosity but will be remembered for a time.”

Verity looked down as
Tavi placed a plate in front of her. She noticed that the woman’s fingers were trembling. As she looked up, she caught a tight, pinched, almost desperate look on Tavi’s face. Then it was gone. Tavi moved on toward Caitlin’s end of the table.

“What are you planning to do to make your auction special?” Verity asked uneasily.

Caitlin took another sip of coffee. “I have been giving the matter much thought. Jonas, you’re the one who gave me the final inspiration. In three weeks I’m going to hold a Renaissance costume ball here in my home. I’m going to recreate a sixteenth century court setting as closely as possible. We will eat, drink, and converse as any wealthy gathering would have done back at the height of the Renaissance. The ball will be held on Sunday evening. On Monday I will conduct the auction. What do you think?”

“I think,” Jonas said, “that it sounds like a hell of a lot of work.”

“Oh, it will be, but Tavi and I have little else to do. The preparations should be amusing. We have already started the research.”

“It sounds magnificent,” Verity said thoughtfully. “But it’ll cost a lot of money to organize something like that.”

She didn’t say aloud that the idea was far less appealing today than it might have been yesterday. After last night, Verity was not feeling a great deal of interest in the Renaissance. But then, it wasn’t her party.

“Money is not a problem,” Caitlin said easily. “I have the freedom to indulge myself. And I’m glad you like my whimsical little notion, because I would very much like for you and Jonas to attend.”

“No, thanks,” Jonas said mildly. “Sounds too rich for my blood. And Verity has to run the No Bull Cafe on Sunday evenings.”

“In three weeks we’ll start closing on Sundays,” Verity pointed out, annoyed at the way he had answered for her.

“I believe Laura Griswald mentioned your winter routine,” Caitlin murmured.

Verity sighed. “It sounds fantastic, but I’m afraid Jonas is right. You’ll he entertaining people who are accustomed to moving in the social stratosphere. I’d feel out of it, Caitlin. You can understand that. Besides, what you’re planning is going to be basically a business affair. You don’t need me. I’ll come for a visit afterward.”

Caitlin leaned forward, her cool fingers touching Verity’s hand. Her eyes were deep and filled with urgency. “Please, Verity. I want you to come. It’s important to me. I have no other close friends to invite except Tavi and yourself. The others who will be coming will all be strangers who will be indulging me out of a morbid curiosity. I would like to have you there as my friend. I’ll pay for the rental of your costumes and I’ll cover all your other expenses.”

“Caitlin, that’s not necessary,” Verity interrupted quickly, flicking a glance at Jonas. She could see the disapproval in him and she felt momentarily trapped between two opposing forces. For an instant she had the unsettling sensation that she was merely a pawn being tossed back and forth between these two. But that was ridiculous.

“Humor me, Verity. I’m going to need you when I sell
Bloodlust.
”