She grinned. “’Tis true, that. Which brings me to my problem; they just don’t make men capable of reading maps.”

“I read maps. But only if there is a treasure to be found.” He pulled Lady up short. “Perhaps we should find somewhere to eat before this rain lets go.”

She glanced over their heads, then nodded. She led them to a small bluff, looking out over the wind-tossed fields. Devon dismounted and tied Lady to a low shrub. Then he went to Thunder and helped Kat dismount. The feel of her in his arms sparked the heat that had been growing all day. She was so perfectly made for him, her hips at his, her face only an inch or so lower. To kiss her, all he had to do was bend down ever so little—

Somehow, in thinking about kissing her, he did. Kat responded immediately, kissed him back, her arms sliding about his neck, her body melting to his. He devoured her, his mouth seeking, demanding. His hands splayed over her back as he melded her to him. Passion exploded and flared. Devon slid his hands lower until he was cupping her backside and holding her hips firmly to his.

She moaned beneath his mouth and pressed herself against him. God, but he wanted her. Every day with her had fed his desire. Every time she laughed, he wanted to kiss her. Every time she tilted back her head to look up at a bird or at the canopy of trees overhead, he wanted to open her gown and free her lush breasts, to hold them and cup them and taste them until she sighed his name. Every time she talked about the glasswork or Malcolm or her horses, or anything that ignited her passion, he wanted to sweep her from her feet and sample that passion for himself, let it sweep them both away.

And now he held her in his arms, her body moving as restlessly as his. Devon finally broke the kiss, but he did not release her as he usually did. This time he just held her. She clutched his coat, her face buried in his neck, her scarf on the ground at their feet. Her warm breathing tickled his overly active body, but all he did was hold her a little tighter. He waited for his breathing to still, resting his cheek against her silky hair, before he said, “One day soon, we are going to have to do something about this.”

She lifted her face and met his gaze. “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

Her cheeks colored, but she didn’t deny it.

“It is building between us. Can you feel it?”

She nodded.

He lifted his fingers to brush them across the line of her cheek. “I want you,” he said simply. “I want to make love to you.”