Page 71 of Knotted Laces

I’ve been waylaidby a silver fox.

Or, I suppose,Idid the waylaying.

Jean-Michel Dubois might be a successful businessman who owns vineyards around the worldanda hockey team—bottles and blades, who would have thought that combination might work?—but I can’t deny that there’s something that draws my focus to him.

Andonlyhim.

It’s an actual struggle to remember my surroundings, to not get sucked into the black-hole-like pull that is Jean-Michel.

Maybe it’s the French Canadian accent.

Maybe it’s the strongly built body that doesn’t speak of a man in his late forties.

Maybe it’s the hint of salt in his dark brown hair.

Or maybe it’s that he’s ruthless with those who fuck him or his loved ones or his businesses over, but that he funds his daughter’s cat charity—and that includes support staff and veterinaries and vet techs along with reimbursing the volunteers who take care of the innocent animals.

Maybe—

Okay, maybe it’sallof that.

Along with the fact that we investigated him so thoroughly I can tell you exactly how many billions this many is worth—down to the penny—and I didn’t find a single illegal act.

Immoral? Maybe.

But I happen to approve of Jean-Michel’s brand of justice.

Come after his family—you’ll face the consequences.

Come after his businesses—you’ll end up bankrupt.

But come at him with innovation and competition and hard work, and he’ll invest, compete, or cede that line of business, depending on what’s the best use of his time.

Gotta respect the standards.

Especially when he built his empire from the ground up.

No rich daddy seed money here.

“You’ve been investigating me,” he says, eyes fixed on mine as I lean back against Cam’s car. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve seen my hot hockey hunk—my fault because I needed time in the office—but even though I framed this foray to my team as necessary so I could make contact with Jean-Michel and warn him that he might need to amp up his private security, in reality, I jumped on the chance to ensure our interaction happened here.

Where Cam is.

“Yes, wehavebeen investigating you,” I say and have the pleasure of seeing surprise skate across his handsome face.

I don’t think he’s surprised often.

And that’s…well, I decide I get my gold star for the day.

Go me.

“How’d you know?” I ask when he just tucks the shock away and fixes me in place with an intense stare.

I shiver.

This is a man who’d fuck you on a desk so hard that you’d feel him with every step the next day…and then draw you a bubble bath to make that pleasurable discomfort fade.

Hot as hell.

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