Page 29 of Devlin

Closing her eyes, she gave in to the desire sweeping through her, opening her mouth to his, taking the kiss where she wantedit to go. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts against his solid chest, slipping her leg between his.

The chemistry between them was incredible, the hunger running through her strong and irresistible. She thought she could keep on kissing him forever…

If only her brain wasn't trying to leap into action, wasn't trying to remind her that Devlin was the enemy.

But he didn't feel like an enemy, and she was having trouble remembering why she didn't like him.

And then a loud thud from below broke them apart.

"What was that?" she asked in alarm.

"I have no idea, but I'm going to find out. Stay here."

CHAPTER SIX

HANNAH STEADIEDher hand on the wheel as Devlin moved across the deck and down the stairs, not sure if she should be grateful or unhappy that their impulsive kiss had come to an end.

Relieved, she told herself.You should be relieved.

She frowned, hearingDevlin talking…What the hell?She'd thought it was just the two of them on the boat.

Since Devlin wasn't shouting with alarm, she ignored his order to stay put, and went down the stairs, into the salon and galley kitchen that separated two staterooms. Standing in the doorway of one of those staterooms was a boy of about ten or eleven. He had blond hair and big brown eyes and was wearingshorts, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"This is Mason Rogers," Devlin said. "He apparently got on the boat when I wasn't looking."

"Hi, Mason. I'm Hannah."

"Don't be nice to him," Devlin said. "He's a stowaway. We should make him walk the plank."

Mason's eyes widened. "You're going to throw me in the water?"

"I should," Devlin said.

Despite his firm tone, Mason didn't look too worried by Devlin's threat. Clearly, the two of them knew each other.

"Where does your mom think you are?" Devlin asked Mason.

"At baseball practice, but I don't like baseball. I'm terrible at it. I want to be a sailor like my dad."

Hannah smiled at the fervor in his eyes. Mason definitely had the bug. She could see the understandinglurking in Devlin's eyes as well. He'd probably been a lot like Mason as a kid.

"Are you going to tell my mom?" Mason asked.

"You're going to tell her. Right now." Devlin pulled out his phone.

"Can't we sail for a little longer?" Mason pleaded. "She won't let me out of the house for a month after this."

"We'll finish our sail, but you're still going to call her now,so she doesn't worry about you." He pushed a button on his phone, then handed it to Mason. "It's ringing."

Mason let out a sad sigh, and then said, "Mom, it's me. I'm not at baseball practice. I'm sailing with Devlin." He paused. "Mr. Blackthorne, I mean. He's going to bring me back after we're done sailing." He listened for another minute, then handed Devlin the phone. "She wants to talkto you."

"Hi, Erica," Devlin said. "Mason is fine. He snuck on board when I wasn't looking. Don't worry. It will be fine. It's not an inconvenience. I'll bring him home in an hour or so. Does that work? Great." He ended the call and put the phone into his pocket. "I should make you spend the rest of the sail in the closet you were hiding in," he told Mason.

Mason gave him a pleadinglook. "Can I please come up on the deck? It's hot down here. I'll do whatever you say."

"You will definitely do whatever I say," Devlin told him. "And you'll put on a life jacket, too."

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