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unsteadily. She couldn't think of another single thing to say. She felt tongue-tied and nervous and frustrated, still hungry for a kiss she'd wanted with desperate abandon.
    Jason blew out a thin cloud of smoke, keeping his eyes on the road as they turned onto the long dirt track leading up to the Donavan house. ' 'If you want the truth, I've been celibate for a long time," he said bluntly, wanting to ward off trouble before it started. He looked at her deliberately and added, "I guess I need a weekend in the city."
    Murderous jealousy stabbed into Kate like a knife. She couldn't even speak for it. Somehow she'd never thought of Jason in bed with another woman. Everybody knew there wasn't a less likely playboy in the state, even if Jason was rich. But now she thought about it, and the mental pictures she saw were shocking and embarrassing and they hurt.
    He glanced at her set expression as he pulled up in front of the barn, where she'd left her horse.
    "What is it?" he asked.
    She swallowed. "Nothing. I'd better get home and start supper,"
    He caught her arm as she started to open the door. "You and I have never lied to each other," he said quietly when she looked at him with visible reluctance. "It's one reason we get along so well. Don't hide your feelings from me."
    "This is different..." she blurted out.
    "Tell me," he persisted, his voice deep and slow and insistent.
    Her lips parted as she met his level gaze. "I.. .don't want to know."
    "About what?"
    "About you. With other women."
    His breath came hard. He searched her eyes for a long, static moment. Everything around
    them vanished in the green mist of her eyes, the sound of her soft breathing. He'd meant to shock her, but now he didn't like the flash of pain in those soft green eyes. "I'm sorry," she said abruptly, turning her face aside. "I had no right to say such a thing." Her eyes stung. "Let me go, Jason!"
    "For God's sake," he burst out, exasperated. He didn't understand bis own confused feelings. Her reaction to his blunt statement had thrown him off balance. She'd believed him. She'd actually believed that bald-faced lie, and it had hurt her more than he'd ever expected.
    She shook off his hand and jumped out of the Bronco. "Hi, Red, did you put Kip in the barn?" she called to the young cowhand who'd seen them off, because Kip hadn't been at the holding pen when they'd driven past it. Even upset, she'd noticed that.
    "Yes, ma'am, Miss Kate, I sure did." He grinned. "I even mended your saddle for you. That nail must have been uncomfortable, even in jeans." "It was," she confessed, avoiding Jason's interested gaze. "Thanks, Red, I'll remember you in my will." "In that case, I sure would love a Rolls Royce," the younger man said. "And a house in Florida, on the bay. And a few bonds...." "Oh, shut up," she laughed. "If I had half those things, I'd do my best to live forever and I sure wouldn't be riding around Texas on saddles with nails sticking through them."
    "Well, it was just a thought," he said. "I'll saddle your horse."
    She murmured a thank you and started to follow him into the well-lit confines of the mammoth barn, where several horses were quartered in tidy stalls off a wide aisle neat with pine shavings. "You didn't mention anything about your saddle being worn," Jason said from behind her. She could feel the warmth from his tall, well-muscled body and it made her legs go weak. She
    felt tingly from head to toe and deliberately moved away from the close contact. It was all too devastating a reminder of how close she'd been to him in the field, of the flash of passion that had almost but not quite ripped away the fabric of their casual relationship.
    "You've got enough on your mind," she said evasively.
    "Kate, don't run from me."
    The quiet fervor in that statement brought her head around. She looked up at him with soft, searching eyes. He seemed really concerned about her, regretful almost.
    She smiled at him. "Okay." She sighed. "I'm a little off