Page 22 of Full Mountie

He laughs. “That’s an understatement.”

“Mmm. You’re welcome to talk about that if you want.”

A sigh is the only answer I get at first. That’s okay.If you wantis what I said and I mean it. I tug his jacket off and smooth my hands over his shirt-covered muscles.

He finally speaks, low and quiet. “This isn’t how I pictured any of this going. You and me, I mean.”

Regret rolls over in my tummy, because maybe if we’d acted sooner, if I’d opened my mouth and issued an invite last fall, over the winter…

But I didn’t. And maybe that was for a reason.

Plus this isLachlan. No matter what, I think I love him. I want to be his friend. His face is the first one I look for each morning and the last I seek out before heading home at night.

I roll my thumb along a knot in one of his neck muscles. He has more than most men, it’s hard to name them all. And I tell myself to hold my tongue, but that’s a total fail. “Yeah. Me, too.”

I swear he growls under his breath, but he holds still as I work my fingers from his neck down to his shoulders and back again. He rolls his head, stretching his neck out, and I let my fingertips glide onto the bare stretch of skin above his shirt collar.

Smooth, warm, and taut, his skin stretches tight over flexing tendon and muscle. He doesn’t move, so I let myself explore further, to the sharp edge of his hair cut, short and cropped in the back, fading up to a bit longer on top.

Precise, just like the man himself.

Controlled.

Whatever history they share, Hugh’s arrival has thrown Lachlan for a loop. I should step back and let them sort that out.

Instead I play with his hairline and let myself imagine touching him in a more intimate way. Exploring more skin than the few inches above his collar.

Hearing that tight, reserved grunt because I’m taking him deep into my mouth and he’s throwing his head back—

Lachlan’s hand closes around my wrist and I freeze.

“Come here,” he says quietly, tugging me around the sofa. His long arm doesn’t let me go, not even for a second, and my pulse is pounding by the time I settle next to him again.

9

Lachlan

She curlsup beside me on the couch and I gently stroke my thumb over the back of her hand as I gather my thoughts.

I need to get this right.

“Hugh came to my house last night,” I finally say.And our history became something quite present tense again.Hard to say that out loud.

“He told me he was planning to get together with you this weekend.” She says it without any sign of irritation or jealousy, and some of the guilt I’ve been carrying slips away. Maybe they’ve been doing a better job of sharing than I have.

Although I wouldn’t put it past Hugh to mislead her a bit. Innocently so, I’m sure he’d think.

“We didn’t just eat pizza.” My gut churns as I prepare for her reaction to my almost confession. She deserves honesty, but I don’t know how much detail to get into. “I want to be up front with you about what happened.”

Her eyes go wide, but at the same time, the corners of her lips tug up a little, and then a lot. She leans in, her smile broad and her eyes soft. “Lachlan, it’s fine. I don’t need the particulars.”

I search her face. She’s heard what I’ve said tonight and she’s not blinking. Not wavering. She’s still right beside me, leaning in. Even though I still feel like I owe her an explanation, I take her at her word because I’ve waited too long for another taste of her.

Turning more fully towards her, I cup her cheek in my hand and I brush my lips over hers.

She opens for me and I lick my way into her mouth. She tastes like the liqueur we’ve both been drinking. Right now, maple might be my new favourite flavour.

As I slide my fingers through her silky tresses, I deepen the kiss…but not as deep as I want to go. She deserves sweet and gentle, and I want to be the one to give it to her.

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